Texas Rebels: Falcon

“What?” The dread in his stomach became a burning ache and permeated his body. He felt as if he was on fire.

“Most of that time is a blur, but Miss Hattie...”

“Who’s Hattie?”

“Hattience Thornwall, but everyone calls her Hattie. She’s the lady who hit me. She was seventy-five years old and felt guilty over what had happened. Her car hit me and knocked me into the intersection, where another car ran over me. I had two broken legs, my chest was crushed and I had severe head injuries—the side of my face slid on the pavement, ripping away the skin and part of my ear, and one eye bulged out. Once in the ER they worked on my chest and my head, the most life-threatening injuries.”

Falcon stood up, needing to move as his emotions swamped him. “Why didn’t someone call me? I’m your next of kin.”

“Someone stole my purse at the scene and no one knew who I was. I had no identity. I was Jane Doe number seventy-two.”

“In this day and age there had to have been some way to identify you! What about your wedding ring? Our names were engraved on the inside.”

“I was told they cut it off my swollen hand and it must have gotten thrown away by mistake. The authorities ran my picture in the paper, but no one came forward. The picture was after the accident and Miss Hattie said I probably didn’t look like myself.”

“You talk of this woman with fondness and she caused you all this misery.”

“Yes, it’s a little confusing, but it was part my fault, too. Please listen to the whole story.”

He sat down again, unable to do anything else.

“They didn’t expect me to live, and the hospital had to get a court order to take me off the ventilator. Miss Hattie fought this, but she lost. They removed it and were shocked when I could breathe on my own. Since they didn’t know who I was and I had no insurance, they moved me to an indigent hospital. After many weeks, I was still unconscious, so they prepared to put me in a state institution. Once again Miss Hattie objected to this. She had me moved to a private facility and she paid the bills.”

“That was generous.”

“Yes, the nurses said she visited at least three times a week and always brought fresh flowers for my room. One year and two days later I opened my eyes and the first word I said was Eden. I had no idea who she was or where I was and I quickly drifted into a deep sleep again. I kept waking up, confused and disoriented. The nurses said I kept calling for Falcon and asked who he was. I had no idea, but I knew he was important to me.”

A catch in his throat kept him from responding.

“Little by little my memory started to come back, but my muscles had atrophied and I couldn’t even feed myself. I was totally helpless.”

“If you knew your name, why didn’t someone call me then?”

“My memory didn’t come back all at once. Bits and pieces came to me and it was five years before I could put all those pieces together. In the meantime they had to concentrate on my legs because they didn’t operate on them at the time of the accident. They were more concerned about my chest and my head and they didn’t think I would make it anyway. Nor did they think I could live through the surgery. Anyway, I had several operations on my legs. It was a long road to recovery. Miss Hattie hired therapists and they worked diligently with me to teach me to use my muscles and legs again. And David repaired my face.”

“David?” By the tone of her voice he knew this man was special to her.

“He’s Miss Hattie’s son and a plastic surgeon. It took numerous skin grafts but he did an amazing job. He even repaired my ear.”

Falcon looked closely at her face and saw the beautiful woman she’d always been. There was no way to tell she’d been through such a horrific tragedy. There were so many questions in his head that he didn’t even know where to start. The anger that he carried through the years wasn’t there anymore. All he felt was empathy for what she’d been through.

“When did you realize you had a husband and a child in Horseshoe?”

She glanced down at her hands in her lap. “It was probably about six years before I had the full picture.”

“And yet, you didn’t call home or ask anyone else to. You let us believe the worst.”

She kept staring down at her hands. “I know it’s hard to understand. But I woke up a completely different person from the shy, timid Leah that you knew. I always had this feeling that no one loved me until you filled that empty place in me. But then I met Miss Hattie and David and they loved me unconditionally. After two and a half years in the facility, Miss Hattie took me home to her house and hired a nurse and a therapist for me. I was on a walker and I couldn’t believe that she cared that much about me. We became the best of friends.”

“You had a family in Horseshoe who loved you.”

“I know,” she murmured, still looking at her hands. “After my memory came back, a day didn’t go by that I didn’t think of you and Eden, but I had so many health problems and I didn’t want to be a burden to you. I kept thinking once I got better I could go home. The surgeries to my face took a long time and it took forever for me to regain my strength. Each day was a struggle and I didn’t want to put the responsibility on you and your family.”

He stood up again as emotions hit him like a slap in the face. Why couldn’t she come home? He didn’t understand that. “When we got married, the vows said in sickness and in health. Did you forget that?”

She looked at him for the first time. “I caused all this misery to myself because I didn’t have the courage to care for my child. I ran away instead. That’s all on me and it was hard to live with. I didn’t want to come home until I was fully well. But then things happened.”

“Like what?”

“Miss Hattie had a stroke and I couldn’t leave then. She’d been so good to me and I had to stay to help her. She took care of me and I had to take care of her. She was the loving mother I never had. And David and I grew closer. He was just as nice and loving as his mother. I never had that kind of love in my life.”

It finally dawned on Falcon. “Oh, this David is who you want to marry. This David is why you want a divorce. This David is why you have finally come home, only to leave again. That’s not fair to Eden and it’s not fair to me.”

“I know, that makes me a really bad person. I’m not asking for forgiveness. I’m not asking to be a part of your life again. I’m only asking for a few minutes with my daughter.”

“What will that help, Leah? She’s seventeen and dealing with all kinds of conflicting emotions. I can tell you she will not understand, so why put her through this?”

She stood, her eyes a wave of frosty green. “I’m prepared for that. I can’t go forward with my life until I talk to her.”

Looking at her expensive clothes and artfully made-up face, he had to ask, “Your life is good, I take it.”

“Yes. I took some business courses and I work in David’s office.”

“How nice. Doesn’t Miss Hattie need you?” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice because the anger was starting to come back like a tidal wave and he couldn’t stop it. He had to wonder if she thought he had nerves of steel and he could take all this with a smiling face and have-a-good-life attitude. He was far from feeling that.

“Miss Hattie died a few months ago and she left me her house and many good memories.”

His gut clenched. Didn’t they have good memories? Was that what she was implying? He drew a heavy breath. Almost eighteen years and he remembered everything, even things that hurt. But it was clear that she didn’t. The thought caused an unsettling emotion—green-eyed jealousy.

“I guess you share this house with David?”

“No. He has his own place. David and Miss Hattie saved my life and we became a family. They spent so many hours helping me to get well and to live a full life. I never knew anyone could be so loving and giving. I know you don’t like to hear that, but it’s the truth. I didn’t mean for this to happen. It just did and we both have to move on now.”

He wasn’t going to go gently into this divorce. No way. He wasn’t built that way. “Do you think it was easy for me, Leah, raising a baby? And then my father died and I had to take over the running of the ranch while taking care of a four-year-old. There weren’t enough hours in the day, but Eden was always my top priority.”

She gasped. “John died?”

“Yes, four years after you left the ranch. It was hard on all of us, but especially for Eden because she loved her Papa.”