Page 74 of The Texas Hero's Homecoming

“I’ll be right there.” Sam shut down the phone.

“What is it? What happened?” Nicole asked.

“It’s Autumn. She was in an accident.”

“Oh no!”

“I’ve got to get to her. I’ve got to see her.” He rushed to the front door, his chest hammering hard.

“How bad is it?”

“I don’t know. She’s at the hospital.” All of a sudden, his mind cleared and all he could think about was getting to Autumn, making sure she was alright. And not for Manny. Not for Joe. But because he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.

“Judging by the panicked look on your face, I’d say you’re crazy about her. Now, go to her and call me once you’ve seen her.”

He nodded and then raced to this truck.

He wouldn’t be able to live with himself, if something bad happened to Autumn. If he didn’t make things right with her.

*

“You must havean angel on your shoulder, Miss Messina,” Dr. Walden told her, shining a light in her eyes. “You escaped that accident with minor scratches on your face and neck and a few bruised ribs. You don’t appear to have any serious injuries. If that isn’t divine intervention, I don’t know what is.”

Autumn lay still on the hospital bed as the doctor examined her. They’d done some preliminary tests, taken X-rays, and cleaned up her wounds.

“You’ll likely have muscle soreness tomorrow and more aches and pains than you do now, but I don’t see why you can’t go home later today.”

“What about her head, Dr. Walden?” her papa asked. His worried eyes touched on her tenderly. “She hit it when the truck overturned.”

“She did. But luckily,” Dr. Walden said, his gentle fingers feeling around the bump on the side of her head, “the bump’s almost gone already. There’s no sign of head trauma. No concussion, no dizziness or nausea. We’ll keep her a few more hours for observation, but I’d say she’s doing pretty well.”

“Gracias a Dios,” Papa said, making the sign of the cross.

“I’ll come check on you later, Autumn,” Dr. Walden said. “In the meantime, you should get some rest.”

“I’ll do that, Doctor.”

“Mr. Messina, if you could wait outside.”

“Papa, have Seth drive you home,” Autumn said.

“I am not going anywhere,hija. Don’t even think it. I’ll wait outside while you rest.” Papa gave her an air kiss, acting as if she was fragile and would break if he touched her. She couldn’t blame him. He’d been frightened when she’d been taken to the hospital.

“You take care of yourself. I’m going to be fine, Papa.”

The two men left the room, leaving her with her thoughts. She closed her eyes and the first image that popped into her head was Sam’s. He’d warned her about Gerty. She was old and unreliable. And boy, she’d found out just how unreliable the truck was. She’d tried not to panic when the brakes failed, but she was going downhill and picking up speed. She’d lost control for a second and then a big oak tree came up fast and she’d swerved too quickly. She remembered that roller-coaster feeling of being upside down and it all seemed to happen in slow motion. She’d been able to get out of her seat belt and crawl out of the truck’s cab, grateful and thanking God she was still alive. Was that how Sam had felt when his life was spared? Had he felt as if he’d been granted a second chance at life? And had she been too hard on him, for wanting to show his gratitude?

*

Hours later, Autumnwas home, lying on her sofa, being pampered by Alicia, Seth, and her father. Her poor dad looked worried and worn-out and she hated to see that. She was glad to be out of the hospital, but she wasn’t going to bed this early. And the trio of her nursemaids insisted if she wasn’t going to bed, she had to rest on the sofa and not get up.

Alicia fluffed the pillow under her head for the tenth time. “I’m fine, Alicia,” she told her friend. “Really. You and Seth have been at the hospital all day. You must be tired. You should go home.”

“We weren’t the only ones at the hospital all day.”

She stared at Alicia. “What does that mean?”

Alicia looked at Papa, then at Seth. Both men were nodding.

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