“Why the scowl?” Emma asked.
She held up her pointer finger as she answered her phone. “Hello?”
“Avery, this is Nurse Harding over at the med center. I’m calling about your brother Andy. He’s been involved in a car accident. Are you able to come to the hospital now?”
An accident?
A mystifying sense of calmness descended despite her unsteady hands. “Wait, what?” Avery uttered, her mind wiped clear of all thought. The hum of background conversations seemed to grow louder, but that couldn’t be right. “How bad is it?”
“He’s in critical condition. How far away are you?”
Throughout the many years Avery had interacted with Janet Harding, she’d never before encountered this dire tone. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Her hands trembled as she shoved her phone in her purse. “Andy’s been in a car accident.” She stood to go, then remembered she hadn’t paid the bill. Her body overheated as she dug around for her wallet and keys. Absently, she threw forty dollars on the table. “I’ve got to get to the emergency room. Let me know if this doesn’t cover my share of the tab.”
“Wait a second.” Emma grasped Avery’s forearm. “We’ll come with you.”
“No, please.” She patted Emma’s hand. “Don’t come. I’ll call if I need you, I promise.”
“Aren’t you going to call your parents first?” Emma looked anxious.
“Not until I have all the facts. Sorry, gotta go!” Avery exited the restaurant and sprinted to her car.
Ten minutes later, Avery darted through the emergency room doors. Fortunately her frequent interaction with the hospital staff afforded her quick service. Janet whisked her out of the reception area and into the bowels of the facility.
“How’s my brother?” Avery fixed her gaze on Janet.
“He’s sustained a concussion, some broken ribs, and a traumatic pneumothorax. The puncture was significant, requiring surgery to insert a chest tube. The doctor couldn’t wait for consent before getting started. Andy’ll have to stay here to be monitored for several days while the lung re-expands and stabilizes.”
Flattening her hand against her breastbone, Avery gasped. “Can I speak with him?”
“He’s still in surgery, then he’ll be in the recovery room beyond the end of visiting hours. You probably won’t be able to see him until tomorrow morning, but if you want to leave him a note, I’ll make sure he gets it.” Janet handed Avery a notepad and pen.
In her peripheral vision, Avery noticed two policemen hovering nearby. Frowning, she whispered from the side of her mouth, “Why are the cops here?”
Janet’s gaze darted from the officers to Avery. “They must’ve just finished taking the victim’s statement.”
“Victim? What happened—a robbery gone bad?”
“No.” Janet grimaced. “Andy’s victim.”
“What?” White noise rushed through Avery’s ears as her heart rate sped up. “Why?”
“Andy was drunk when he hit the cyclist.”
Chapter Two
Avery exited the hospital the next afternoon, her body aching as if she’d been the one who’d undergone surgery and was facing criminal charges. Her parents had just called her to say they were only minutes away, having made the nine-hour drive from Phoenix in record time.
Squinting, she shielded her eyes with one hand. The incandescent sunlight reflecting off the fresh snow clashed with the occasion. She needed sleep. She needed a shower. She needed the police to back off and let her brother rest.
Clasping her cashmere scarf to fend off a sudden breeze, she navigated the ice patches covering the sidewalk—ice patches similar to those that had contributed to her brother’s accident.
She collapsed onto a bench and raised her face to the sun. Minutes later, her parents walked toward her from the parking lot. Her mother’s shuffling gait suggested she’d taken too much Xanax. Now she leaned heavily against her husband’s arm for support. A common scenario—literally and figuratively.
Seeing her mom so weak made it difficult to envision that same woman as a premed student with an academic scholarship—all of which she’d given up after marrying Avery’s dad. She’d traded Bunsen burners and a chem lab for a bottle warmer and pie pans.
From Avery’s perspective, it seemed those choices had slowly drained her mom’s spirit and strength. If love had so transformed her once-ambitious mother, then surely Avery could fall victim, too. In fact, hadn’t she allowed Matt’s demands for her time and attention to take priority over completing a business plan for her own clinic? Proof of her own vulnerability.
Avery stood and approached her parents with open arms. Her mother hugged her, sniffling, but her father simply rubbed his big hand over his eyes.
“Oh, Dad, you look exhausted.” Avery stroked his arm. “You should’ve flown in rather than driven.”
“Avery, please. No lectures.” He turned from her and strode toward the hospital entry. “I need to see my son.”
And I don’t need another car accident in this family! Normally she was quick to challenge her dad’s dominance, determined he not dictate to her the way he did to everyone else. Today, however, she bit back the remark and followed him. “He’s awake but still confused because of the concussion. The cops were questioning him again, but the doctor asked them to come back later.”
As they entered the elevator, her mother’s knees buckled, forcing Avery and her dad to catch her before she hit the floor. “Mom? Are you okay?”
“My baby could’ve died,” she whimpered. “And all the police care about is sending him to jail?”
“Gina, come on now. It’ll be all right. I’ve called a lawyer. We’ll meet him tomorrow.” Her dad’s no-nonsense tone held little compassion, no hint of softness. Funny her softhearted mother had fallen for someone lacking empathy.
Granted, the current circumstances were rather dire, but just once Avery wanted her mom to reclaim her backbone rather than fumble and falter and lean on her husband for support.
“Andy’s resilient, Mom. It’ll take a couple of months for his injuries to heal, but if he’s careful, there’s no reason to think his lung will collapse again.” She reached over to massage her mother’s shoulder. It had taken most of Avery’s strength not to break down when she’d first seen the violent purple bruising and scrapes covering Andy’s head, neck, and torso, so she worried about her mother’s reaction. “Prepare yourself, though. He looks bad.”
Avery’s mom squeezed her hand while her father stared up at the lighted numbers until the elevator came to a stop.
When they reached Andy’s room, Avery gave her parents a few minutes alone with him. Her raw nerves couldn’t tolerate additional tension. She’d barely had a moment to take in everything that had transpired during the past twelve hours.
The disgrace associated with the cause of Andy’s injuries made everything more difficult, at least for Avery. How many people in their tight community would now judge her brother by this single mistake rather than by his history of living with a ready smile and helping hand?
Her father strode into the hallway, his face drained of color. “Tell me exactly what the cops said.”
“Although this is Andy’s first DUI, the fact he injured someone elevates it to a class-four felony. If convicted, that typically carries a two-to-six-year prison sentence.” As she spoke those words, that reality tightened around her throat. “Arraignment should occur within three to sixteen weeks, depending on Andy’s health and the court schedule. The DMV will also pursue suspending his license.”