you wouldn’t think this was a pleasant surprise. But that old busybody is my mama and if you ever talk ugly about her in my presence again, I will make you go back to your natural hair and nail color and take out all your earrings. Got that, Morticia?”
“Yes, sir,” Dana muttered, faking repentance.
From Erin’s position wedged among many pillows, she observed a brief father-daughter discussion on guest protocol and house rules. The teen negotiated like a United Nations delegate. It was evident she was an only child, always respected as if she were an adult. In the few minutes it took them to reach agreeable terms, the narcotics wore off and Erin’s right forearm began pulsing pain. With the bulk of the bandages removed, she had regained control of her head and left torso. But her lower back and hips were still locked down and dependent for movement, especially during the killer hours of torture, aka physical therapy.
“Here comes the other third of your care team,” Daniel announced.
“Serenity now,” Dana grumbled as she spotted the figure headed their way.
A woman of indefinable years and weight lumbered toward the SUV. She had a Humpty Dumpty figure, bigger on the bottom than on the top. Her bleached updo was complemented by scarlet lipstick and a When-I-am-an-old-woman-I-shall-wear-purple caftan. On her feet were matching sparkly flip-flops.
“Dad, Grandma looks like she’s going on a cruise.”
“Will you let the lady enjoy being away from the ranch for a change? If she wants to treat this like a vacation, so be it.”
“Well, howdy! If you aren’t a sight for sore eyes.” There was no mistaking the natural Texas drawl.
The woman grabbed the door handle and grunted as she pulled herself up onto the driver’s running board. She poked her head through the open window to plant a loud smack on Daniel’s left cheek.
“I thought my sweet boy would never get home.”
She blew an air kiss toward her grandchild and waved a greeting to the backseat. “My word, look at all that stuff.” She counted the boxes and bags by pointing a long nail that matched her lip color.
“Grandma Verne, what have you done to your hands?”
“They’re called press-on nails. I found them in the sale aisle at the drug store and I think they look kinda nice.”
While LaVerne turned her right hand palm outward to admire her faux manicure, Dana glanced into the backseat and rolled her eyes upward beneath kohl-smudged lids. Erin pressed her lips together but let her eyes squint agreeably. She had to admit Dana was amusing and the constant self-chatter had made the last week in the hospital pass quickly.
“Let’s get everybody inside before the neighbors take an interest,” Daniel instructed.
“Too late for that.” LaVerne backed away from the SUV while Daniel stepped out. “As soon as I got here on Thursday evening, that pretty young woman across the street came right over to see if you were home.”
Erin noted his quick glance up the block and failure to acknowledge the comment. A girlfriend? The throbbing in her arm increased. She was beginning to feel nauseous.
“Excuse me,” Erin called. “I hate to break up the reunion but it’s time for my meds.”
The father-and-daughter team launched into precision drill activity. Car doors slammed, different doors opened, metal creaked and clanked as cases were removed and a wheelchair was snapped into shape. In another moment Daniel was beside her, solid and clean-smelling as he lifted her out of the vehicle. He gently positioned her into the waiting chair and then stepped away from any further contact.
Dana pushed and he walked alongside reintroducing the two women.
“Erin, I’m sure you remember my mama, LaVerne Stabler. And Mama, it’s been a lot of years but you know Erin. She won a Pulitzer prize for the pictures she took in Darfur last year.”
“Yes, I heard, son. Who woulda guessed that she’d parlay running off into a celebrity career?”
“Mama.” Daniel’s censuring tone made only the one word necessary.
Erin expected much worse and deserved anything she got. Judging from the way the Stabler jaws clenched, a lot was going unspoken. For now, anyway.
The move-in passed into a welcome haze after Daniel efficiently administered a dose of pain meds into the still-present IV. Antibiotics dripped day and night to finish off the killer staph while wounds healed and bones mended. The constant jostling of the past twenty-four hours had Erin’s muscles stinging and her stomach cringing. It was sleep or barf, so she slipped into numb unconsciousness.
Daniel tilted the lamp shade toward the wall so the low light it cast wouldn’t disturb Erin’s nap. Thick crew socks muffled his steps toward the metal bed frame. He was pleased LaVerne had thought to set up the hospital rental on the spacious sun porch he’d built last fall.
He gave in to the urge to study her face, attributing his curiosity to years of surveillance work that made it second nature. Her skin was clear, but too tanned and weathered for only thirty-four. Her short auburn hair was sleek and seasoned with occasional flecks of silver. Thick lashes fringed her closed eyes and a handful of freckles were her only adornment apart from an application of Dana’s tinted lip balm.
From the few photos of Erin he’d found on the Internet, it seemed she still didn’t wear much makeup or dress in a manner that would draw attention. Too early in life she’d mastered the ability to blend into the background so she wouldn’t be noticed. He figured that served her well as she waited, still as a fence post, for the right moment to take her photographs. From what he’d witnessed of her career over the years, she was bold to the point of being foolhardy, getting shots others couldn’t manage or wouldn’t attempt.
It was no surprise to Daniel that she’d won so many awards. In a way he was actually proud Erin had made a life for herself, but that made it doubly difficult to deny Dana’s growing need to know something, anything about her mama.
As Erin’s reputation grew, he was almost glad for the terms of the letter she’d left behind in their one-bedroom Austin apartment. She admitted she’d made a terrible mistake in believing she could have a normal life and didn’t dare stay another night. Anonymity was all she asked and in exchange she gave up what he wanted more than his own life.
Their child.
At the time, Daniel had no choice but to live with the deal. He’d known Erin was emotionally damaged, but thought he could love her back to health. He’d been wrong. She’d signed and returned the legal papers giving him full custody. Then she’d changed her last name, and for the past sixteen years Erin had been what her daughter could never be. Invisible.
Daniel almost convinced himself that they wouldn’t have made it as a family, anyway. Erin had been deeply wounded too early in life. Over the years he’d uncovered what she’d hidden about her past and often felt he knew too much.
If all the secrets, his included, ever spilled out of his tight grip, what a devastating mess it might be. He was playing Russian roulette by allowing her into the life he’d painstakingly built for himself and Dana. But what choice did he have?
“Daddy, what are you doing in here?” Dana
