The Road to Reunion

by Gina Wilkins

  Kyle let the curse that had been building inside him escape in a sibilant hiss that seemed to echo in the sudden silence inside his house. He turned abruptly toward the kitchen. Maybe a cup of tea would ease the tightness in his chest and throat. After that, he would—

  A sharp crack came from outside the front door, simultaneously accompanied by a startled cry. Moving faster than he had in the past eight months, Kyle ran for the door and threw it open.

  Molly lay sprawled on the front porch. Her overnight bag had tumbled to the ground, and one of her shoes lay beside it. Her right leg was twisted painfully beneath her, the foot stuck in a hole created when a rotten board had given way beneath her weight.

  Her face was utterly colorless, making her white skin stand out in sharp contrast to her fiery hair. She looked up at him through a film of tears she was doing her best to hold back. “I think my leg is broken.”

  Molly sat on a paper-covered medical examination table, her bandaged right foot stuck out in front of her. She wore a thin cotton hospital gown over her under-garments. She doubted that her jeans would fit over the Velcro-fastened walking brace that now covered her right leg halfway up to the knee.

  She was fortunate that there had been no broken bones, though her ankle was badly sprained. Her lower leg was swollen and her bare toes looked almost purple beneath the brace. She had the strangest feeling that she should be in pain. She could actually feel a distant throbbing, but it seemed almost disconnected from her body.

  So did her injured foot, for that matter. She gazed at it in fascination as it appeared to float at the end of her leg. “Wow.”

  “What’s wrong?” Kyle had been hovering nearby, watching her with a deeply concerned frown, but he moved closer when she spoke. “Are you hurting?”

  “No. I just feel strange.” She gave him a smile. He had such pretty eyes. “You’re sweet to worry about me.”

  His expression turned suddenly wry. “You’re floating on pain pills. Why do I get the feeling you have a low tolerance for medications?”

  She heard herself giggle, though she tried to suppress it. “That’s why I tried to tell everyone I didn’t need any pain meds, though no one would listen. Shane says I can get high on aspirin. He says it’s a good thing I’ve never wanted to experiment with drugs or booze, since I’d probably be a real cheap drunk.”

  “Sounds like you need to listen to your brother.”

  “I’m sure he would agree with you. Is it cold in here to you?”

  “Here.” He reached for the thin white blanket that lay behind her on the exam table and wrapped it around her. “Is that better?”

  “Um-hmm.” She snuggled into the blanket’s warmth, wishing she could nestle so comfortably into Kyle’s arms. She would bet he radiated heat—but she wasn’t quite high enough to throw away all remnants of her common sense.

  “The nurse should be back to release you soon, so we can get out of here.”

  He looked as though it couldn’t be soon enough to suit him. Kyle seemed to have a pathological aversion to medical facilities. She suspected he had spent far too much time in them during the past nine months.

  “Am I supposed to wear this gown out of here?” she asked, only marginally concerned. “I don’t think I can get my jeans on over this cast thingy.”

  “I’m taking care of that.”

  Someone tapped tentatively on the door.

  “Come in,” Molly sang out, looking expectantly that way.

  The door opened and Mack McDooley entered, along with a tiny, silver-haired woman who had to be his wife. The woman carried a bulging shopping bag in her arms.

  “Mack!” Molly greeted him with genuine, if drug-enhanced, pleasure. “What are you doing here?”

  “Kyle called us from a hospital pay phone. I’m sorry you were hurt. How are you doing now?”

  “It’s my fault,” Kyle muttered grimly, before she could answer. “I knew there were rotten boards on the porch but I forgot to warn her about them.”

  Molly sighed gustily. “Will you stop blaming yourself? I slipped on a wet spot and my foot went through a board. It wasn’t your fault, Kyle. It’s wasn’t anyone’s fault. Just an accident.”

  “Molly,” Mack said quickly, cutting off the argument Kyle looked prepared to make, “I’d like you to meet my wife, Jewel. Honey, this is Kyle’s friend, Molly Walker.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Molly. Mack told me all about his visit with you this morning. He was quite taken with you.” Jewel spoke in a rich, slow Southern drawl that wrapped around Molly like another warm blanket. “I’m sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I’ve brought you something to wear out of the hospital.”

  “That was so sweet of you.” What a nice lady, Molly thought, beaming at Kyle’s friends. What a nice couple. Heck, everyone around here was nice, judging from how well she had been treated since Kyle brought her in.

  “They gave her something for pain,” Kyle explained quietly to the McDooleys. “She’s kind of out of it.”

  “I am not,” she protested, turning to him so quickly she would have tipped over if he hadn’t steadied her. And then she ruined her indignant denial by giggling again.

  “Why don’t you and I step outside, Kyle, and Jewel can help Molly get dressed.”

  Kyle nodded in response to Mack’s suggestion, though he lingered a bit longer at Molly’s side. “You’ll be okay?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need you to help me get dressed, if that’s what you mean.”

  His slight flush amused her again. Muttering something she didn’t quite catch, he stepped outside with Mack, letting the door swing shut behind them.

  Molly shook her head. “The way he’s carried on, you’d think I’d done major damage to myself rather than just tearing a ligament in my ankle.”

  Jewel set the bag on a chair and reached into it. “He’s feeling bad about you being hurt at his house. It must have scared him half to death when you fell.”

  “I think he was more scared than I was,” Molly confided, remembering how Kyle’s hands had trembled when he had helped her up and assisted her to her car. She had tried to be brave, as much for his sake as for her own, but she hadn’t been able to suppress the occasional gasp of pain. Each time she’d moaned, he had gone a shade paler.

  The drive down the mountain to the nearest medical facility had been accomplished at breakneck speed, making her worry that neither of them would arrive in one piece. When they’d reached the hospital, Kyle had told her to remain in the car while he’d dashed inside to fetch someone with a wheelchair. He had then proceeded to snap orders at everyone who had come near her—orderlies, nurses and doctors alike—until someone had sent him out of the room while she was treated. He hadn’t been allowed back in until they’d finished with her.

  Jewel held up a pair of wide-legged gray fleece pants with hot pink piping and a drawstring waistband. “I figured a drawstring would help them fit better if I guessed your size wrong from Kyle’s description of you. The wide legs should fit over your brace without any problems.”

  “They’re perfect,” Molly exclaimed, though she couldn’t help wondering how Kyle had described her. “They look very comfortable.”

  Smiling, Jewel pulled another garment out of the bag, this one a long-sleeved hot pink T-shirt that matched the piping down the sides of the pants. “I didn’t know if you’d torn your blouse when you fell, so I bought the whole set. Kyle neglected to mention that you’re a redhead, but fortunately, this color will look fine on you. There’s another set in the bag, in navy with a lime-green shirt.”

  “This was so sweet of you.” Molly was aware that she was overusing the word sweet, but it seemed to be fixed firmly in her medication-clouded brain. “I’ll reimburse you for the clothes, of course.”

  “Kyle’s taking care of that.”

  As she allowed Jewel to help her into the clothes, Molly decided that she would argue with Kyle about that later. He was already paying the medical bills
, assuring her that his homeowner’s insurance would cover them. He shouldn’t feel that he had to buy her clothes, too.

  The sporty outfit fit very well. Molly felt much better once she was fully dressed and could set the drafty hospital gown aside. A nurse came in, had her sign some papers, then bustled out again, promising to be right back with a pair of crutches.

  Molly sighed. “I’m beginning to wonder if I’m ever going to get out of here.”

  Jewel patted her arm sympathetically. “That’s the thing about hospitals. They run on their own time.”

  Looking down at her injured leg again, Molly groaned.

  “Is your leg hurting, hon?”

  “Not really. I was just thinking about what a mess I’ve gotten myself into this time. I have to call my brother, and he’s going to chew me out for being here at all, much less doing something stupid like spraining my ankle. I’m not sure I can drive in this brace thing, so I don’t know how I’m getting back to Texas. And I’ve caused poor Kyle so much trouble already, nagging him to attend a party he said all along he didn’t want to go to.”

  Jewel’s hand tightened bracingly on Molly’s arm. “Now, don’t you be fretting about Kyle. You were right to invite him to that party, and if he knew what was best for him, he’d go. As for spraining your ankle, surely no one would blame you for that.”

  “You haven’t met my brother.”

  After a quick, sharp rap of warning, Kyle came back into the room, followed closely by Mack. Kyle nodded in approval when he saw Molly’s comfortable and practical outfit. “Thanks, Jewel. I know you’d come through.”

  “It was my pleasure.” Giving Molly’s arm a final, friendly pat, Jewel moved away to allow Kyle to take her place. “The nurse is bringing crutches so Molly can leave. I think you should both come to our house. It’s past lunchtime and I’m sure everyone is hungry.”

  “I’m hungry!” Molly placed a hand on her stomach.

  Jewel nodded as if everything were settled. “Mack and I will go get lunch started. You two follow as soon as you can get away from here.”

  “Looks like we have our orders,” Kyle murmured when the older couple had left the room.

  “They’re so sweet.” The medication was making Molly drowsy. She blinked heavy eyelids and leaned against Kyle’s shoulder for support. After only a moment, his arm went around her.

  She knew he was simply steadying her. A friendly, platonic gesture—but it felt good to be held by him, anyway.

  Carrying a pair of metal crutches and pushing a wheelchair, the nurse returned. “You can ride out in this, then use the crutches when you get home.”

  Molly wrinkled her nose as she studied the wheelchair. “I’d rather walk out on my own, thank you.”

  “Get in the wheelchair,” Kyle murmured. “You’ll likely spend the next few weeks on those crutches. You’ll be plenty ready to get rid of them as soon as you can.”

  The memories mirrored in his eyes showed her he knew exactly how important it was for her to assert her independence again. She wondered how long he had been on crutches. She knew he must have hated every minute that he had been incapacitated.

  This, she thought with a sigh, was not at all the way she would have chosen to bond with him.

  Chapter Five

  The McDooleys lived in a small but comfortable house behind the office of the picturesque motel tucked into a hillside near downtown Gatlinburg. The town, itself, was a prime tourist spot, the streets crowded with restaurants, miniature golf courses, candy stores and boutiques filled with souvenirs and craft items.

  A large aquarium was a main draw, along with an observation tower and a ski lift that rose from the main thoroughfare into the mountains that loomed over the town. A gondola lift carried tourists upward in another direction, disappearing into the more distant mountains.

  Even in town, Molly was delighted to see the numerous streams she already associated with this area. Swollen by the rains, they rushed along the sides of the roads and flowed through the center of town beneath bridges and pedestrian walkways. Gazing up at the mountain tops, hearing the sound of splashing water always in the background, she could see why Kyle had chosen this beautiful and peaceful place for his recuperation.

  She would have loved to spend an entire day exploring every cranny of the inviting town, and several more trekking through the mountains and nearby park areas. She was thoroughly disgruntled with the way her spur-of-the-moment trip had turned out.

  Framed photographs of Tommy McDooley covered the walls and most of the flat surfaces of his parents’ home. From infancy to military service, every stage of his life had been documented and was lovingly displayed. A few snapshots of Kyle were mixed in with his friend’s. In most of them, he stood at Tommy’s side, or slightly behind him. But there were a couple of shots of Kyle alone, proving that the McDooleys considered him a member of this family.

  Awkwardly balanced on her crutches, Molly circled the living room, studying the photographs while Kyle hovered behind her, poised to catch her if she stumbled. Jewel was in the kitchen finishing lunch preparations, having firmly declined offers of help. Mack had excused himself for a few minutes to check on a new employee in the motel office.

  Molly paused in front of a photograph of Tommy with his parents. “Tell me about Tommy. What was he like?”

  “He was…” Kyle looked at the picture, a muscle working in his jaw. “He was a great guy.”

  It wasn’t much of an answer, and he seemed to know it. But she could tell by his expression that he simply couldn’t say anything more just then. There was so much pain in his eyes when he looked at his friend’s photograph that it made her own fill with tears. She turned away quickly to hide them, nearly overbalancing on her crutches.

  Kyle caught her elbow to steady her. “You can’t move that quickly on these things,” he said, his voice gruff. “You’ll fall flat on your face.”

  “They’re a pain in the…leg,” she amended quickly. “But I guess I’ll get used to them eventually.”

  “You’ll never get used to them,” he corrected her. “You’ll just learn to use them better.”

  “How long did you have to use crutches after you hurt your leg?”

  “Too long,” he said shortly.

  “Were you—”

  “You really should sit down,” he cut in, motioning to ward the deep-cushioned, floral couch against one wall of the tidy living room. “The doctor told you to keep that foot elevated for the rest of the day. You’re supposed to have an ice pack on it, too. I’ll go get you one.”

  “I’m keeping the weight off my ankle by leaning on the crutches,” she reminded him, but she moved toward the couch, anyway. To be honest, her arms were starting to get tired—and her entire body ached as a result of the jarring fall. She saw no need to mention either of those facts to Kyle; he would just start feeling guilty again.

  The couch was so soft that she sank deeply into it. Kyle insisted on propping her foot on a pillow on the oak coffee table. Though she felt rather foolish, she didn’t argue with him. She lay back against the cushions and nodded when he said he was going to get an ice pack.

  Left alone in the silence of the living room, Molly focused on a portrait of Tommy in his dress uniform. He’d had such a nice smile.

  She wished she could have met him, she mused, her eyelids getting heavy as the medications combined with the shock of the accident sapped her of any remaining energy. She would have given anything to spare Kyle the heartache she had seen in his beautiful brown eyes.

  It wouldn’t have been too difficult to talk Kyle into taking a pain pill, himself. He hurt all over. He’d overdone it trying to half carry Molly to her car after she’d fallen. Then, unable to sit still long enough to rest his leg, he’d paced restlessly through the hallways of the hospital while she’d been treated.

  Hadn’t they been a pair this afternoon, he thought with a disgruntled shake of his head as he headed back to the living room to tell Molly that lunch was re
ady. The lame helping the lame—he limping on his left leg, Molly on her right. He hadn’t even been able to carry her to his car. Some hero.

  Not that he’d ever wanted to be a hero, he reminded himself. All he’d ever aspired to was to do his job, earn his promotions while serving his country, hang out with a few good friends, enjoy the present and let the unhappy past fade into oblivion. A deadly explosion had turned those vaguely pleasant daydreams into a pile of ashes.

  He had just opened his mouth to speak to Molly when he saw that she had fallen asleep on the couch. Holding the towel-covered ice pack, he stared at her, wondering if he should wake her or let her sleep. She looked so relaxed. The medications she had tried to refuse at the hospital had obviously knocked her for a loop.

  “Let her sleep,” Jewel said softly from behind him, looking around him toward the couch. “She’s obviously tuckered out. I can heat up her lunch when she wakes up.”

  “Maybe she’d rather I wake her.” Kyle knew he wouldn’t like being in her position, sound asleep while others made decisions on her behalf. But maybe Molly wasn’t as much of a control freak as he was.

  “The rest will be good for her. Come on into the kitchen and have some…”

  A sudden, muffled ringing interrupted her words. Kyle and Jewel both looked around in confusion for the source of the sound. Jewel found it first. She snatched up Molly’s soft leather handbag, which Kyle had carried in from the car for her, and held it out to him. “I think it’s her cell phone.”

  He glanced toward the couch. Molly hadn’t stirred. Guessing the caller was her brother, and figuring Shane would worry if he couldn’t reach his sister, Kyle handed Jewel the ice pack, then stepped into the hallway. He dug into the purse and pulled out the phone.

  Maybe he was overstepping his bounds here, but he couldn’t just let the phone keep ringing. “Hello?”

  “Is this Molly Walker’s phone?” a man’s voice asked. Kyle leaned against a wall of the hallway, recogni zing the distinctive drawl even after so many years. “Shane?”