The Best Bride. Сьюзен Мэллери

asked.

      She shook her head.

      “You’ll like it. I promise.” That earned him a sniff. He settled her quickly beside him, then glanced back at Elizabeth. She lay across the seat, her knees pulled up to her chest, breathing rapidly.

      “How you doing?” he asked.

      “Hanging in there,” she said, her voice tight with strain.

      “I’m going to use the siren,” he said, starting the engine and switching it on. Instantly a piercing wail filled the car. Travis checked his mirror, then pulled out onto the road.

      Traffic was light and they were at the hospital in less than fifteen minutes. Two minutes after that, Elizabeth had been wheeled away on a gurney and he was filling out paperwork at the circular counter near the emergency entrance. Mandy stood beside him, crying.

      She didn’t make a sound, but he could swear he heard every one of those tears rolling down her cheeks. Her pain made it tough to concentrate. Poor kid. She was scared to death.

      He bent over and picked her up, setting her on the counter next to him. They were almost at eye level. A headband adorned with cartoon characters held her blond hair off her round face. The same collection of animals, in a rainbow of colors, covered her T-shirt. She wore denim shorts and scuffed sandals. Except for the tears, she looked like just any other six-year-old.

      “When did you and your mom move here?” he asked.

      She clutched the tattered teddy bear closer. “Yesterday,” she said, gulping for air.

      “Yesterday?” There went his hope they might have made friends in town. “Do you have any family here?”

      She shook her head and sniffed again.

      He reached over the counter to a box of tissues beside the phone. The receptionist was also a nurse, and she had disappeared into the room with Elizabeth. Mandy wiped her face and tried to blow her nose. It didn’t work. He took a couple of tissues and held them over her face.

      “Blow,” he ordered, wondering how many times he’d done this during summer T-ball practice. There were always a lot of tears as the kids skinned knees and elbows…and lost games.

      “Where’s your daddy?”

      Her blue eyes filled again. “He’s gone.”

      Gone meaning dead? Or divorced? “Where does he live now?” Travis asked.

      “I don’t know. He doesn’t see us anymore. Mommy said he had to go away because he’s big. She said he’s never coming b-back.” Her voice trembled.

      He gave her a reassuring smile. Big? That didn’t make any sense. Elizabeth Abbott must be divorced. He glanced down at the hospital forms. She had an insurance card in her wallet, so he copied that information. “Where do you live?” he asked, then realized that if they’d just moved here, Mandy wouldn’t know her address yet.

      “By the ducks.”

      “The duck pond?”

      She nodded vigorously, her tears momentarily forgotten. “It’s pretty. I have a big bed all to myself. Just like Mommy. And there’s little soaps in the bath.” She smiled. She had a dimple in each cheek and he could see she was going to grow up to be a heartbreaker.

      He pictured the buildings around the duck pond in the center of town and remembered there was a small motel on the corner. So much for having an address here.

      “What about your grandmother and grandfather? Do you know where they are?”

      “They live far away.”

      Before he could think of any more questions, the receptionist came bustling back into the room. “Appendix,” she said, pulling her stethoscope from around her neck and placing it in the right hip pocket of her nurse’s uniform. “Caught it in time.” She looked at Mandy. “Your mommy is going to have an operation. Do you know what that means?”

      Mandy looked scared again. “No.”

      “The doctor is going to make her sleep for a little bit while he makes her feel better. There’s an infection inside and he’s going to take it out. But she’ll be fine.”

      Mandy didn’t looked reassured. She bit her lower lip hard and tears filled her eyes. Travis felt like he’d taken a sucker punch to the gut. Apparently the kid didn’t know a soul in town, and if the grandparents weren’t local, finding them could take days. He didn’t even know if Abbott was Elizabeth’s maiden or married name.

      He held out his arm, offering Mandy a hug, but letting her decide. She threw herself against him with the desperation of a drowning man clutching a raft. Her slight body shook with the tremors of her sobs. She smelled of sun and grass and little girl. So damn small to be facing this alone.

      “Hush,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “I’m right here and everything’s going to be fine.”

      * * *

      It was nearly seven in the evening before Travis was able to take Mandy in to see her mother. The nurse had informed him children weren’t allowed on the ward, but he’d ignored her and marched past, carrying Mandy in his arms. He was the sheriff. What were they going to do? Arrest him?

      He should have gone off-duty at four-thirty, but he couldn’t leave the kid on her own, and he didn’t want to take her to the local child services office before she’d seen her mother. It didn’t much matter, he thought as he walked down the hospital hallway. He hadn’t made any plans for the weekend.

      Although Glenwood was far enough off the beaten track not to get much tourist trade even over Labor Day weekend, the last celebration of summer usually kept him and his deputies busy. There were fights at the park as too much beer was consumed, and the teenagers would get involved in illegal drag races down by the lake. Come Monday afternoon, the small jail would be filled with red-faced citizens who would work off their sentences doing community service.

      The last door at the end of the hallway stood partially open. Travis knocked once and entered. He’d already warned Mandy that her mother would be hooked up to tubes, but it wasn’t as frightening as he’d feared. Elizabeth had an IV in each arm, but her color was good. Medium brown hair fanned out over the white pillow. The pale hospital gown set off her tan. For someone who had just had emergency surgery, she didn’t look half-bad. Hospital smells filled the room: antiseptic and pine-scented cleanser.

      “We can only stay a minute,” he reminded Mandy in a quiet voice.

      “I know. Is she sleeping?”

      “Not anymore,” came the groggy response. Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at him. She blinked. “Do I know you?”

      “We haven’t been officially introduced,” he said, walking closer and setting Mandy on the ground. Before the little girl could jump onto the bed, he laid a hand on her shoulder. “Stand next to your mommy, but don’t bump against anything. I’m Travis Haynes. I stopped you for speeding.”

      “That’s right.” Elizabeth looked away from him and smiled at her daughter. He remembered when he’d stopped her he’d thought if she ever really smiled it would be a killer, and he’d been right. Even fresh from surgery, the lady was a looker.

      “Hi, sweets,” she said. “It’s good to see you.”

      “Oh, Mommy.” Mandy stood as close to the bed as she could without actually touching it. She clutched her bear to her with one hand and with the other stroked her mother’s arm. “The nurse said you had something bad inside, but it’s gone now.”

      “I feel much better.” Elizabeth touched Mandy’s hair and her face, then raised herself up on one elbow. She grimaced. Travis moved closer. She looked up at him. “I’m trying to get a hug here.”

      He picked up Mandy and held her close to her mother. They clung to each other for a second. He could see the fierceness of Elizabeth Abbott’s