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“What a jerk.”
“And he asked questions about drugs.”
Matt shrugged and squeezed her hand. “It’s part of his job to be aggressive, trying to intimidate you to discover the truth. Listen, I’ll be in surgery for at least two hours. Here’s my car valet ticket. Go home, change, have coffee. All right?”
“All right. Thanks for everything.”
The elevator stopped, and its doors opened.
“Matt, I’m going to call Tyron. Mia would want to see her dad.”
He peered into her eyes. “Yes, she’ll need loving people around her.”
On her way to the ER’s exit, two women stopped her, one pointing a finger at her chest.
“You and your daughter are responsible for this mess.”
The other added, “If my son doesn’t make it or is permanently injured, I’ll make sure you and your daughter rot in prison for the rest of your lives.”
Deep inside her heart, Brenda knew Mia had never lied to her. These parents would soon have a rude awakening. Reassured that her daughter was in Matt’s good hands, she glanced from one mother to the other and masked her inner turmoil with deceptive calmness.
“Let’s pray that all of our children recover from their injuries.”
Not waiting for an answer, she hurried out into the night and gave the ticket to the valet. “The silver BMW, please?”
During the twenty-minute drive to her house, she prayed out loud to control her nerves. At home, she threw herself onto Mia’s bed and sobbed. To think that her daughter was finally happy, self-confident, and relaxed.
Suddenly, Brenda remembered that she had to call Tyron, not that she wanted to. Since her trip to Colorado, Mia had connected with her father and his way of thinking.
Pulling herself out of her lethargy, Brenda changed into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, brewed a pot of coffee, and pressed Tyron’s number.
“I have bad news. Mia has been in an accident. She has several injuries,” she recited before he could interrupt her.
“Is she going to be okay?” The same question she had asked in the same wobbly voice.
“Hopefully. She’s going through surgery right now.”
“How about you? Are you okay?” After so many years apart, he still worried about her.
A pang of guilt pinched her insides. “I wasn’t in the car. She was with classmates.”
“Not like you to let her go on her own.”
“I didn’t. I believed some parents were bringing her back, and she thought the same. A misunderstanding and a mess.”
“Thank you for calling.” Obviously, he was walking on eggshells around her. “Is it okay if I come to see her?”
His arrival would complicate her life to no end, yet she couldn’t avoid it. “Yes. I’m sure she’d like to have her daddy by her side.”
“Can I stay at your house?”
She shrugged. “No problem.”
Too late she remembered Matt, her dear Matt, who was doing his best to save her daughter and might resent her ex-boyfriend’s presence in her house.
“We’re at Bethesda North.”
“I’m leaving right away. I’ll drive. See you tomorrow morning.”
