“No. You wouldn’t. No one’s been listening to me lately.” Sniffing, her eyes filled so quickly that her earnest appeal almost brought him to his knees. “I know I’ve been a brat… a lot, but I need someone to talk to me. You know. Like really talk. Not just pretend everything’s okay or lie about it. I’m not just some stupid kid.”
Whoa! From the mouth of babes!
He knew exactly what Rosie meant, and feeling regret for his own role in her dilemma, he leaned toward her until she looked into his face. Then he held her cheeks in his big hands and smiled with such love, she didn’t look away. “I’m sorry, kiddo. And you’re right.” He wiped her eyes gently and pushed her long hair from her face, remembering doing the same with her mother only a short time ago. “We’ve been so wrapped up in ourselves, we’ve forgotten that you’re as much involved in this as we are. I promise that from now on, we’ll tell you whatever you want to know. But I think right now, we need to get you to your daddy.”
Rosie shot up straight, leaning away so she could look into his face. “Seriously? You’re going to take me to the hospital?”
“Yes, honey. As quickly as we can. Your daddy’s been asking for you too.”
On their way, Lance called Rachel, his voice soft with happiness. “I have Rosie with me now. She was waiting for us at the police station. I’ll explain it all later. Right now, we’re on our way to see Damon.”
“You’re taking her to the hospital. Good. I’ll leave right now. Nadia, our next door neighbor stopped by to see if there was anything she could help with, and she’s nodding about staying here with Nico. He knows her well, so if he wakes up, it’ll be fine.”
“Good. He settled down okay?”
“Yes. Just happy to be in his own bed and have Mommy to put him there. I read one and a half stories, and he conked out. Little doll clutched my hand the whole time, scared I’d leave him again.”
“Don’t worry. When that kid falls asleep, a tornado couldn’t wake him up. Besides, Rosie needs you now.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“Here Rosie, your mom wants to say something.” He held the receiver toward her.
Rosie clenched her hands and held them against her chest, refusing to take the phone. “I can’t right now. I need to talk to Daddy first.”
“She’s refusing to take the phone, Rachel.”
“Oh, poor baby. She must think I’m going to be angry with her. I’m not. Please just tell her I love her. I’ll see you both soon.”
Ending the call, Lance turned to the little girl who crouched close to the door as if expecting to be hurt. “She says to tell you she loves you.”
Rosie spun to face him, her expression brightening. “She’s not mad at me?”
“Should she be?”
“I guess. Maybe. I don’t know.” She thought about her answer and added, “I’m sorry.”
“How about we don’t worry about regretting what you did, especially since you had the best of intentions. We’ll just pray we’re in time for you to see Damon.” He sent a loving smile her way. “From now on, I figure he’s the important one, right?”
“Right. Please hurry, Uncle Lance. I feel him calling to me again.”
Chapter Nineteen
Damon garnered all the strength he had and made such a fuss when they went to administer another round of drugs that the nurse’s held off and called his doctor in to help. When Damon felt him approach, he repeated, “Ro-sie. Ros-ieee.” Damon’s slurred speech made it hard to decipher at first, but the nurse seemed to know what he meant. “Doctor, I think he’s calling for his daughter.”
“Ye-sss. Rosieeee” His voice trailed off, but he knew they understood. Concentrating on breathing, he forced the air into his lungs, his strength building slightly. Both people nodded and then the doctor reaffirmed to be sure they had it right. “You’re telling us that you don’t want the drugs. It’s better if you take them now, easier on your body. You’re organs are going through terrible trauma, Mr. Marks. I’d feel better if you took the medication.”
“Nn-ooo.” Voice barely above a whisper, Lance groaned but still shook his head, knowing it was but an imperceptible movement, but thankful they seemed to understand. Suddenlythe door to his room opened, and Lance poked his head in. The doctor rushed to greet him, stopping him from entering and forcing them to step outside in the hall so they could talk. When he saw the anxious little girl behind Lance, he spoke one word. “Rosie?”
“Yes. She’s his daughter. She needs to see him. You said he called for her.” Lance wasn’t willing to accept a no from the doctor.
“Yes. He’s doing so again.” The older man looked at Rosie and held up a warning hand. “Rosie, honey, you have to understand. Your father’s very badly injured. His face is almost unrecognizable with the wounds and bruising, and there are tubes everywhere. But he’s refused any medication because he wants to see you. Are you sure you’ll be okay doing this? You won’t be frightened?”
***
“I guess.” Knowing that to be a lie, Rosie didn’t care. The doctor had to let her into the room. “Daddy’s been calling me. I have to see him. I don’t understand why, but he wants me.” She glanced up, the urgency clearly defined on her small face. “I gotta go in there.”
Shaking his head in bewilderment, the doctor spoke to Lance. “Damon’s barely hanging on. In fact, it’s a miracle he’s been able to handle his injuries at all. The medical staff feels as if he’s only doing so to see Rosie.”
