Good Guys Love Dogs (34 page)

Colby thought how incredible it was
that there could be such

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pleasure in companionable silence.
It felt almost too perfect

to last. “What
are we going to do about this? she asked,

and immediately wanted to take the
question back. It was too

soon. He'd just broken his
engagement, and she didn't

want him to think she expected
something more from

him.

“You mean what
happens when the school year is

up?

She nodded.

“I think that's
something we need to talk about.

The phone rang. She sat up, wrapping
her arms

around herself.

“Phoebe? Ian
asked.

“I can't imagine
she would cal , Colby said, frowning.

The ringing stopped. A couple of
seconds later, it

started again.

“We'd better get
it in case something's wrong, he

said.

“The phone's in
the kitchen, she said. She watched

him leave the room, wishing she
hadn't said anything about

the future. She'd gotten so caught
up in what had happened

between them that she'd let herself
forget he had another

life in another world. He might no
longer be engaged, but

that didn't change the fact that his
stay in Keeling Creek

would be temporary. He'd said he
loved her, but she'd

long ago learned the lesson that
love didn't mean forever.

His footsteps sounded in the
hallway. She looked up

to find him standing at the door,
his face creased with

worry.

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“What is it? she
asked, knowing immediately that

something was wrong.

“We have to go,
he said, clearly shaken. “Luke and

Lena have been in an accident. Frank
heard about it on his

police scanner, and he and Phoebe
are on their way to the

hospital.

All the way back to town, Colby
prayed. Harder than

she'd ever prayed in her life.

Ian held on to her hand as the
Mercedes roared down

the driveway, his grip firm enough
that she knew he

suffered the same agonies as she.

It seemed like hours before they
final y reached the

emergency room door. As soon as Ian
stopped the car,

Colby jumped out and ran. He was
right behind her. Colby

went to the first nurse she saw.
“Our children, they were

brought in a little while ago. Lena
Williams and Luke

McKinley. Can you tell us where they
are?

“Certainly. Just
fol ow me.

Ian took Colby's hand, and they
anxiously trailed the

woman to an examining room, where
both Lena and Luke

lay in separate beds. The blood
drained from Colby's face.

Lena looked as white as the sheet
covering her. Her eyes

were closed, and a nasty-looking
gash arced across her

temple. A doctor was stitching it
up.

Luke lay on the other side of the
divider curtain.

Bandages encircled his hands, and
white gauze covered the

center of his forehead. A nurse
adjusted the IV taped to his

hand.

“Oh, thank
goodness, you're here.

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Colby swung around to find Phoebe
and Frank hovering

in the doorway. Phoebe had a
stricken look on her face.

“They're going to
be al right, aren't they? Colby

asked, hearing the fear in her own
voice.

Phoebe nodded and waved them outside
the door,

where she said, “Oh,
Colby, I'm sorry. I feel as if this is all

my fault. If I hadn't sent you two
off to the lake, maybe

this wouldn't have—

“Phoebe, what
happened? Ian interrupted gently but

with a distinct note of urgency.

Frank squeezed Phoebe's shoulder and
said, “They

were hit by another car, and. .
.apparently, they had been

drinking.

“Who had been
drinking? Colby asked, incredulous.

“Lena and Luke.

Ian leaned against the wal behind
him and dropped

his forehead onto the heel of one
hand.

Colby knew what he was thinking. If
Luke had been

drinking when the accident happened,
he would be in

violation of his probation. She
prayed that there had been

some kind of mistake.

“They've both
been out of it since they got them in

here, so nobody knows anything for
sure, Phoebe said. “And

the blood work's not back from the
lab yet.

“Did you call my
mom and dad? Colby asked, her

voice raspy with shock.

“No. I thought
you'd want to do that after we knew

more.

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“Good. Colby and
Ian went back inside and talked to

the doctor who just finished with
Lena. He assured them that

they were bruised and bumped up but
should be fine. He'd

given them something for pain, and
they would both

probably sleep for a while.

As soon as the doctor left the room,
Colby slid back

the curtain that divided the two
beds. She and Ian stood

between them, she holding Lena's
hand, he holding Luke's,

their own joined in the middle.

Luke woke up first. His eyes opened,
and he made a

visible effort to focus.

Relief flooded through Ian, making
him weak with

gratitude. “Luke?
He sat down on the edge of the bed and

pressed his hand to his son's face.
“I'm right here. You're

going to be al right.

“Where am I? Luke
asked, stil groggy. Before Ian

could answer, the boy sat bolt
upright and said, “Lena!

Where's Lena?

“She's right here
next to you, Ian assured him. “She's

going to be fine. Everything's okay.
Just relax, all right?

Luke sank back on the pillow, one
hand pressed to his

temple.

Colby moved to the other side of the
bed. “How are

you feeling?

“Not too great
right now.

“What happened,
son? Ian asked, his voice heavy.

“We. . .the car.
. .it came out of nowhere. I was trying to

get Lena to the hospital.

“Lena. Why? Colby
asked, her hands clasped together.

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“She called me.
She sounded upset about her dad, and

I could tell she'd been drinking. I
rushed over to your

house, and she was passed out. She
wouldn't wake up, so I

was taking her to the hospital
when—

“You weren't
drinking, son? Ian interrupted, relief

flooding through him.

Luke looked up at him and shook his
head with a half

smile. “After al
the trouble you've gone through to reform

me, I'm not gonna blow it that
easily.

Ian smiled down at him. “I
should've known that.

“Old Pokey won't
ever be the same, though, Luke

said.

“Don't worry
about that old truck. It's probably had its

nine lives, anyway. You just rest
now. Everything's going to

be all right.

Lena awoke a half hour or so later.
Colby was sitting by

her side when she opened her eyes
and realized where she

was. Tears rolled down her cheeks,
and she said, “Oh,

Mom, I'm sorry.

“Baby. Colby
leaned down and took her into her arms,

holding her as tightly as she could
with the tubes attached to

her.

Ian opened the curtain between the
two beds, while

mother and daughter held each other
for several long minutes,

reestablishing the precious bond
that had been threatened

in the past few months.

Colby finally pul ed away and
smoothed a hand across

Lena's hair. “What
happened, sweetie?

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“I should have
left it alone. Tears wel ed up in her

eyes again, and she bit back a sob.

Colby waited for her to go on,
knowing she needed to

get it all out.

“A letter came
for you today. It said Personal, but I

opened it. I shouldn't have. It was
from— Her voice

broke, and fresh tears made their
way down her cheeks.

“Oh, Lena.
Colby's heart fell as she realized who the

letter had been from and what it
must have said. She held

her daughter close again, wanting to
absorb her child's pain.

But she couldn't. For so long, she'd
tried to protect her

from this, and she had failed.

“He didn't want
to know me, Mom. What did I do to—

“You did nothing,
honey, Colby interrupted with

force. “Nothing.
He's the loser in all this. Not you. You've

got to believe that.

“I've been so
awful to you, Mom. I just couldn't believe

that he wouldn't want to see me if
he knew about me. I

wanted to blame you for it, to
believe that you were the

reason he didn't care about me.

“Oh, Lena. Colby
held her tight, rubbing her back,

her own voice wavering when she
said, “You don't know

how I wanted to spare you this.

“I know you did,
but I asked for it.

Colby drew back and looked down into
her daughter's

eyes. “You didn't
ask for any of this. You've done nothing

wrong, my precious girl. From the
moment I felt you move

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inside me, you've been the joy of my
life. And you always

wil be.

Lena buried her face in Colby's
shoulder, crying silently

and clinging to her. Colby held her
close and sent up a

silent, grateful prayer of thanks
for her safety.

Colby decided to wait until morning
to cal her

parents. Since the kids were al
right, there was no point in

getting them out of bed at two a.m.
The doctor wanted to

keep both Lena and Luke overnight
for observation.

Colby and Ian stayed with them.
Phoebe went home

around three o'clock and surprised
them by never even asking

how their evening had gone.

Lena and Luke were both awake off
and on, so

conversation between Colby and Ian
was limited. In fact,

they had no chance to talk alone at
al .

Colby cal ed her parents at seven,
and they arrived within

half an hour, hovering over Lena to
make sure she was all

right. Even though her parents had
met Ian and Luke once

at the church breakfast, Colby
introduced them again, and

she saw that both her mom and dad
were more than a little

impressed.

The doctor released both Lena and
Luke when he

came to check on them around eight.
It was after nine when

they got the paperwork taken care of
and checked the two of

them out.

At the hospital exit, Colby's father
insisted on driving

Lena and her home.

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Ian shook hands with her parents.
“I hope to see you

again soon, he said, before turning
to Colby. “I'll cal you

later.

She nodded and watched him help Luke
into the car,

then pull away with a wave.

At the house, they got Lena settled
into her bed,

where she fell asleep within
minutes. After assuring herself

that her daughter was al right,
Colby went back downstairs

and saw the letter from Doug lying
on the coffee table in the

living room. She picked it up and
read it, aching for the

pain it had caused Lena. How could
anyone be so cruel

and callous? Even though she knew
Doug never intended

for Lena to see the letter, anger
propelled her toward the

kitchen. She grabbed the phone and
began punching in his

number, the letter still in her
hand.

“He's not worth
it, you know.

Colby swung around to find her
mother standing in the

kitchen doorway. She hung up and
pressed her forehead to

the receiver. “She
might have been killed, Mom. And Luke,

too.

“I know. Emma
stepped forward and put her hands on

Colby's shoulders, pressing her
cheek against her back. “I

know. But you have to let this go.
Whatever happens between

Lena and her father wil be between
them. You tried to

protect her and nearly lost her.
Focus on what you can

control—your
relationship with her—and leave the rest

alone.

Colby turned around and hugged her
mother. “How'd

you get so wise?

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“It comes with
the crow's-feet, she said, her eyes

shining with love. “I'm
so proud of you, Colby. You're a

wonderful mother. Don't ever forget
that.

“I had a
wonderful role model, she said. “And you're

right. She opened the drawer beside
her and pulled out a

book of matches. Moving to the sink,
she lit one and held

it to the edge of the letter. The
paper went up in a quick

blue flame, crumpled and turned to
ash.

Emma squeezed her arm. “She'l
be fine, you know.

She's strong like you.

“I hope so.

They were silent for a while and
then Emma said, “He's

awful y nice.

“You mean Ian?

Emma nodded. “Is
it serious?

Colby hesitated, not sure what to
say. In the hours since

she and Ian separated, she'd been
bombarded by doubts,