Harlequin American Romance May 2014 Bundle: One Night in Texas\The Cowboy's Destiny\A Baby for the Doctor\The Bull Rider's Family (6 page)

“She’s complaining about her head hurting,” Angie told him.

“Is that what the tears are about?”

“No. We had a trip planned for Disney World and now we can’t go.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, still looking at Erin.

“I want to go home,” Erin said.

“Sorry, but I’d like to keep you for a few more days. You have to learn to walk on crutches, and we want to keep an eye on the bruise on your forehead.”

“Crutches?” Erin wailed. “I don’t need them. I can walk.”

Dr. Robbins shook his head. “Not for about six weeks.”

Erin looked at Angie. “We have to do what the doctor says so you can get better,” she tried to reassure her daughter.

Erin didn’t say anything. She just seemed to sink farther into the bed, and Angie’s heart ached.

Angie followed the doctor to the door, then realized Hardy was behind her. She’d almost forgotten he was in the room.

“I’m worried about her head,” Angie said.

“It’s a bad bruise, but we’ve run all the tests and everything is fine. She just needs time to heal.”

“How long will she have to stay here?”

“Maybe a week. If she’s feeling okay, the therapist will get her up on crutches this afternoon to teach her how to use them. But I don’t want to push it if her head is still hurting. The nurse will remove the IV this morning. She’ll bounce back quickly, Ms. Wiznowski. We’ve taped her fractured ribs. The nurse will show you how to remove the bandage to bathe her. They’re tiny fractures. At her two-week checkup, we’ll do more X-rays and I’ll probably remove the tape. Try not to worry. I’m sorry about the trip, but there will be other ones. If anything changes, the nurse will call me.” He looked over Angie’s shoulder to Hardy. “Relax and she’ll relax. Have a good day.”

“Mama,” Erin called.

Angie went to her daughter. “What?”

“Can I have something to drink?”

“What do you want?” Hardy asked. “You name it and I’ll get it.”

Erin giggled. That was a good sign. She was bouncing back.

“Some juice. And ice cream.”

Angie shook her head. “Juice and breakfast.”

“You want ice cream? You’re getting ice cream,” Hardy said, and walked out of the room.

Angie quickly followed him. “Hardy, you can’t give her everything she wants.”

“The first thing my child asks for is ice cream and she’s going to get it, breakfast or no breakfast. That’s the way it is, Angie.”

She threw up her hands. “Okay. But remember, it’s only seven o’clock.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He stepped closer to her, and a light, musky scent drifted to her. Almost eleven years, and that scent always reminded her of him, his touch, that night and everything that happened that had changed her life. “Before this week is over, she will know she’s my daughter.”

Holding on to her pride, she asked, “Are you prepared for her reaction?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you?”

No, she wasn’t, but she wouldn’t admit that to Hardy. By the end of the week, her daughter could hate her and the walls of her life would come tumbling down.

Chapter Six

The next few days were a tug-of-war between Angie and Hardy. She didn’t expect him to be at the hospital every day, and it was starting to get on her nerves. Erin recovered quickly, as the doctor had said she would, and she learned to use the crutches even quicker. The bruise on her head started to heal, and she didn’t complain about headaches anymore. She was back to her cheery self, especially with all the attention she was getting from the family and her friends. And Hardy.

The room was full of stuffed animals, toys, balloons and flowers. Angie stopped telling him it was too much because he never listened. A showdown was coming soon.

Erin was going home tomorrow, and Angie was hoping for some sort of normalcy. That might be wishful thinking on her part because they were far, far away from normal.

Erin played on Hardy’s phone, and he sat watching her, enthralled.

“I can’t wait to get a phone,” Erin said. “Jody and I are going to get one at the same time. I want a pink one. She wants a blue one. It’ll be so cool.”

“I’ll buy you one,” Hardy said without even looking at Angie, without even thinking she might disapprove.

Erin stopped poking the keypad. “You can’t buy me a phone, Mr. Hardy.” Erin looked at her mother. “Can he?”

“No, sweetie. Remember? When Jody turns eleven, you both get a phone. Since she’s three months older, we agreed you could get one then. And we’re not changing the plan now.” She gave Hardy a sharp stare.

Erin raised a fist in the air. “Mama rules.” She handed Hardy his phone. “Besides, you’ve given me all this stuff.” She glanced around the roomful of goodies. “You didn’t hit me on purpose or anything.” Erin dropped her voice to sound like the sheriff. “You didn’t do anything wrong, so you are now free to go.” She ruined the seriousness of the declaration by giggling.

Hardy stared at her with the same enthralled expression. “So I’m forgiven?”

Erin nodded. “But you can always buy me ice cream.”

“Deal, but I’d still like to come by and check on you.”

“Sure.” Erin bobbed her head. “I’ll be home mending.” She made a face.

Hardy kept staring at Erin, and Angie could see it was killing him that she didn’t know she was his daughter. She felt a stab of regret like so many she’d had over the past ten years. Her heart should be a pincushion by now.

The move home went smoothly. Hardy was there to help her get Erin into the SUV, and then he carried Erin into the house and into her bedroom. The whole family was there, and it turned into a three-ring circus, a juggling angry-brother act, a fire-eating grandma and twin comedians determined to make Erin laugh. Hardy stayed through it all. Long after everyone had left, he was still there.

Angie sat in the kitchen, wondering how to tell Hardy it was time for him to go home. There didn’t seem to be a proper way, so she played it by ear and prayed for strength to get through the next few hours.

* * *

H
ARDY
FLIPPED
THROUGH
the channels, looking for something for Erin to watch. Erin lay on the sofa, propped up with pillows, and he was at her beck and call. He would do anything for her. It amazed him he had these fatherly instincts come out of nowhere.

“Tell me when you find something you like and I’ll stop,” he said, zooming through a ton of channels.

“Oh,” she cried excitedly, pointing to the TV. “Let’s watch
The Big Bang Theory.
It’s funny.”

“
The Big Bang
it is.” He sat in a chair and listened to his daughter giggle, and it was the most beautiful sound. Every time she looked at him with those deep blue eyes, he was captivated.

Angie came in looking tired, and his heart twisted. She’d had a rough few days, and his presence made it worse. On one hand, he couldn’t feel sorry for that because she’d caused it. But deep inside, he knew he did.

“Sweetie, it’s time for bed,” she told Erin. “You don’t want to overdo it on your first day home.”

Erin scrunched up her face. “But Mr. Hardy and I haven’t had ice cream yet.”

Hardy got up. “I put ice-cream bars in the freezer.”

Erin raised her arms in the air. “Yay!”

Hardy offered Angie a bar, but she refused, a stubborn expression etched across her face.

After they finished their treat, he said, “Now, peanut, it’s time for bed.” He had started calling her that in the hospital because she’d looked so tiny in the hospital bed. She seemed to like it.

He handed Erin the crutches, and she stood up and wobbled a little. “I can carry you to the bed.”

“No,” Angie immediately protested. “Erin has to learn to use the crutches, and she knows how to use them.”

“Mama’s tough,” Erin said, making her way into her pink-and-white bedroom.

Erin already had her gown on because Angie had helped her with her bath earlier. “Say good-night to Mr. Hardy,” Angie instructed while getting Erin comfortable.

“Good night, Mr. Hardy, and thanks for the ice cream and for helping Mama get me into the house. You rock.”

“Good night, peanut. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He wanted so badly to step over and kiss her good-night, and it took a lot of willpower not to do that.

Angie walked him to the door as if she couldn’t get rid of him fast enough.

“It’s time to tell her.”

“I disagree. We need to talk first.”

He sighed. “That’s not a surprise.”

“Give her time to heal before we throw this at her.”

He stared into her eyes. “No, we’re going to do this just as soon as possible.”

“Are you even thinking about Erin? Or is it just about you and your pride?”

“Angie...”

“Have you told your father or Olivia about your daughter?”

“I haven’t had time.”

“Until you tell them, until you’re prepared to welcome her into your life, you’re not telling her. She’s still healing. She needs time.”

“Don’t you mean you need time?”

There was a long pause. “You used to not be so pigheaded.”

“And you were sweet and honest,” he countered and watched the color flood her face. Back then it had been easy to make her blush. Maybe some things just never changed. “Angie, I want her to know I’m her father.” His voice softened when he saw the look in her eyes.

“Okay, but we need to talk first.”

“About what? Haven’t we covered it all?”

“No. We haven’t talked about anything but her well-being. We need to talk about what happens after we tell her.”

“Okay. Let’s talk.”

“I’m too tired to get into it now.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Peyton and Jody are coming over in the morning, and we’ll have some time then.”

“What about your family? There’s no privacy when they’re around.”

“Tomorrow, Hardy. I’ll take care of the rest.”

His eyes narrowed as he caught something in her voice. “I’m not walking away, Angie. If that’s what you think you can convince me to do, then forget it.”

She held a hand to her head. “It’s not that. Please, I’m getting a tremendous headache. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She closed the door before he could say another word.

He went down the steps, feeling as if they’d made some progress. In a few days, he had become smitten with his daughter. The connection was strong, and he wanted it to be stronger. But he knew the truth could work against him. Erin may resent him, and he didn’t know how he would handle that. It was a risk he had to take because there were no other options. Ten years was too long to be without his child.

* * *

T
HE
NEXT
MORNING
Angie was up early and helped Erin to dress. The whole family showed up before they finished breakfast. They were headed for work and wanted to check in on Erin. She blossomed under their attention.

“I know you’re supposed to be on vacation, and we agreed to do the payroll—” AnaMarie placed a plate of tea cakes and kolaches in front of Erin “—but I have a ton of orders to get out by Saturday afternoon, and I need to be in the kitchen. Do you think you could do the payroll?”

Angie hadn’t even thought of her job in the past few days. Her only thoughts had been of Erin and Hardy.

“Yeah, sis.” Bubba stole a tea cake. “I have to pick up a car in Killeen, and I’m hopeless with numbers.”

Angie sighed. “What would y’all do if I was in Florida?”

“Don’t worry about my payroll,” her dad spoke up. “I can at least write a check, unlike my son and daughter.”

With everything crowding in on her, she didn’t know how she would get everything done, but it would probably be better to deal with it now instead of trying to straighten out their errors later. “The checks might be late, but I’ll have them ready by the afternoon. Just have the hours ready. I don’t want to have to chase you down to get those.”

“Don’t put your sister through any extra stress,” Doris said. “She has her hands full taking care of Erin.”

“We know.” Patsy made a face. “We’re not idiots.”

Doris let that slide with a small smile at Angie. She cupped Erin’s face and kissed her. “I’m so glad my grandbaby’s okay. I’m going to the church to help with a fund-raiser, so I’ll light a candle and say a special prayer for you.”

“Thanks, Grandma,” Erin mumbled around a mouthful of tea cake.

Angie breathed a sigh of relief as everyone left. But it was only the beginning of the long day. Peyton and Jody soon arrived, and Angie set the girls up in the living room watching movies. The two were whispering and giggling as she and Peyton went into the kitchen.

The TV was turned up loud, so Angie knew the girls couldn’t hear them. “I have to tell you something. I’m about to burst.”

Peyton poured a cup of coffee and sat at the table. “What is it? You look stressed.”

Angie sank into a chair. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

Angie fiddled with her cup, hating to tell her friend about her past, but if she could tell anyone, she could tell Peyton. “My ex is not Erin’s father.”

“Mmm.” Peyton lifted a finely arched eyebrow. “And Hardy is.”

Angie gasped. “How do you know that?”

“Hardy told Wyatt, and we don’t keep secrets from each other.”

Angie was stunned that Hardy had told someone. “When did Hardy do this?”

“Right after you told him. He got drunk and was parked at the courthouse, drinking straight Jack Daniel’s. Wyatt sobered him up, and they talked.”

Angie ran her hands over her face, not knowing what to say. At this point she felt like scum at the bottom of a pond.

“Why haven’t you ever told me?” Peyton asked.

“I don’t know. It’s just something not easy to share, and it happened before you came to Horseshoe. And maybe because I wanted you to believe I was that sweet, innocent young girl you thought I was.”

“I still do, but I’m finding it a little hard to picture you and Hardy.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.” Peyton grew thoughtful. “I guess I see you as a hometown girl with hometown values and Hardy as an uptown man with big dreams. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah.” Angie twisted her hands around her coffee cup. She knew exactly what her friend meant. She wasn’t Hardy’s type. It had been obvious eleven years ago, and it was even more so today.

Peyton took a pinch of an apple kolache and popped it into her mouth. “These things are addictive, and I just got my weight back to what it was before J.W. was born.”

“Please.” Angie rolled her eyes.

Peyton took another pinch. “Have you ever worked in the kitchen at the bakery?”

“Heavens, no. I worked there since I was about twelve, but the baking is always left to the older ladies with the guarded secret recipe. Grandma Ruby has it in a safe-deposit box.”

“Who had the original?”

“My great-great-grandfather married a Czech woman, and she started the bakery many years ago. But, ironically, it’s been handed down through the sons. A wife has always taken over the bakery. But now AnaMarie will probably be the first Wiznowski woman to take over.”

Peyton picked up the kolache and took a big bite. “Whatever the recipe is, it’s delicious.” She got up to refill her coffee cup and leaned against the counter. “So how did you and Hardy hook up?”

Angie arched an eyebrow. “I love the way you slipped that in there.”

Peyton resumed her seat. “Spill the beans. I’m dying of curiosity.”

Angie shrugged. “It’s not much to tell. I was a friend of his sister, Rachel. Everyone was Rachel’s friend. She was very popular. Then her mother was killed and she became very reclusive and standoffish.”

“Wyatt told me about the shooting. How sad.”

“It was. Rachel struggled for a long time. Most of her friends just gave up trying to reach her.”

“But you hung in there?”

“Yeah. I became her only friend. When summer came, I’d work at the bakery and then go to her house because she kept calling. It was a pattern that summer. Hardy was finishing up law school and was home a lot. He finally moved home from his apartment in Austin, and he was there all the time. We spent most of our time trying to cheer up Rachel. We played games, watched movies and swam in their pool. It was...”

“What?”

“The best time of my life.” As she said the words, she realized it had been the summer she’d fallen in love. Hardy had paid attention to her and made her feel special. For a young Angie that had been a big turn-on and...She pushed the thought away. “Rachel was an artist and spent most of her time drawing or painting on an easel. Hardy and I cooked in the kitchen, picked out movies and swam a lot in the pool. I knew I was younger and not his type, but it didn’t change the way I started to feel about him. And he...he made me feel beautiful. I never felt like that before.”

“Angie, you’re the most beautiful person I know.”

She glanced at her friend. “On the inside. People tell me that all the time.”

“Angie, that’s not true.”

“Yes, it is. I’ve never been a raving beauty, but that summer I was beautiful. Every woman needs to feel beautiful at least once in their lifetime.”

“Now you’re making me sad.”

“Don’t be. It doesn’t bother me that I’m not a knockout hottie. I’m comfortable with who I am.”