“They’re here.” Travis rushed to the door.
Then the ambulance crew swarmed inside, taking overfor Hank who wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Mi Tia, mi niña.”
Hank turned to Bethany. “I’ll go with Rosie and Tia in the ambulance so Tana can stay with you.”
Rosie raised grateful eyes to him. “Gracias, Hank.”
Bethany hugged Rosie. “Travis and I will take care of Tana. Go. We’ll follow you to the hospital in my car.”
Then Rosie and Hank were out the door, and Bethany rushed around like one of those robotic vacuum cleaners that bounce off walls, gathering a change of clothes for Rosie and Tia, their personal items, Tia’s favorite stuffed dog, and anything else that came to mind.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Mama?”
Hank took off his hat and let out a breath he hadn’t known he was holding.
Rosie sobbed and smoothed a hand across Tia’s forehead where she lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to countless machines. “Gracias a Dios.You’re awake. How do you feel?”
“Good. Is that Mr. Hank?”
“Yes,pequeña. He saved your life.”
“You almost died,” Tana said, crowding in next to her mother. “I was scared. So was Miss Bethany.”
Hank noticed Tana still clutched Bethany’s hand, her pale face streaked with tears. Now that the crisis had passed, his brain began to function again.
“What do you think caused it?” Rosie asked the doctor, a middle-aged woman in scrubs.
“We won’t know for sure until we’ve completed all of our tests, but nuts are a common allergen, and you mentioned there was a pistachio dessert?”
Daphne gasped, and Hank’s eyes met hers. “I brought a pistachio dessert. I had no idea the child was allergic.”
“Has your daughter ever eaten them before?”
Rosie looked at Tia. “Tia, did you eat the pistachio cake?”
Tia’s face dropped like she’d done something wrong.
“It’s okay if you did,” Bethany said. “Your mom isn’t mad. She just needs to give the doctor the right information.”
The child fingered the sheets. “Yes. It made my tongue feel weird.”
“That’s most likely the cause, but we’ll confirm,” the doctor said to Rosie. “In the meantime, you and your daughter must be extremely vigilant to make sure she never comes in contact with pistachios again or ingests them. You’ll also need to have an EpiPen on hand. Tonight’s emergency could have been fatal. She was lucky this gentleman reacted so quickly to her distress.” She squinted at Hank. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
Hank wiped his hands on his jeans and suppressed a sigh. Of all the times for him to be recognized.
Hank was grateful when Travis jumped in to explain. “Television. This is Hank Haverill. You know—Apollo.”
The doctor’s eyes lit up like it was the Fourth of July. “That’s it. I knew I recognized you from somewhere. So you’re a hero on screen and off now, aren’t you?”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Hank said.
“He is our hero.” Rosie gave Hank a tremulous smile. “I don’t know what we would have done without you. Thank you, Hank.” She held her hand out to him.
Hank took it and squeezed. Warmth flooded his chest. “It was nothing.”
