Cherish Collection January 2014 (Books 1-12). Rebecca Winters

stared at Colton. “You love her. You love my daughter,” he accused.

      Colton met Joe’s astonished gaze and nodded. “Yeah. I guess I do. I really do.”

      Joe raked his hand through his hair and shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”

      “I do,” Colton said. “You need to man up or shut up. If you want Stacey and your daughter back, then you need to go tell her. I think Stacey deserves better than you, but there’s more involved in this situation. There’s Piper,” Colton said. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours.”

      Joe stared at him, clearly affronted. “Who are you to tell me I’ve got twenty-four hours?”

      “I’m the man who has changed your baby’s diaper, rocked her to sleep and had her poop down my back,” Colton said. “Have you done any of that?”

      Joe looked at him in hostile silence.

      “That’s right. You haven’t. You’ve got twenty-four hours. Don’t mess with me, Joe. I’m disgusted with you,” Colton said, and tossed some cash on the counter and walked away.

      * * *

      The next twenty-four hours passed by in minute-by-minute increments. Colton thought about Stacey and Piper when he drove home, when he took his evening shower, when he brushed his teeth and when he tried to go to sleep. His attempt to sleep was completely futile.

      When he got up in the morning, he didn’t know how he was going to get through the day, so he did it the only way he knew how. Working. He worked clear through until six that evening. As he walked toward the house, he told himself that he only had an hour and a half to go.

      “Hey, sweetheart,” his mom said as he walked through the door. “You want some dinner?”

      “I’m not that hungry,” he muttered.

      “Well, you should take in a little nourishment after spending all day outside,” she said. “I fixed a pot roast. I think you’ll like it.”

      Colton didn’t protest as his mother fussed over him and urged him to take a seat at the kitchen table. In this situation, it was easier to acquiesce than fight her. His mother was clearly in supernurture mode. Colton took a few bites of pot roast and potatoes.

      “You must be sick,” his mother said. “You’re not eating.”

      “The pot roast is great, but I have some things on my mind, Mom,” he told her.

      “What?” his mother said. “What’s on your mind?”

      “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said and rose from his chair.

      “Is it Stacey Fortune Jones?” she asked.

      The question stopped him in his tracks. “And what if it is?”

      His mother sighed. “Give her the benefit of the doubt. Her mother says she has fallen for you. But don’t tell her that I told you,” his mother said.

      His heart swelled at the possibility that Stacey could have fallen for him. He wondered when that had happened. He wondered if it had happened. “How do you know?”

      “I met up with Jeanne the other day at the post office and we got to talking.” His mother broke off and pressed her lips together. “But I’m not going to say anything else. I shouldn’t interfere. This is between you and Stacey.”

      Colton stared at his mother in disbelief. “You give advice and opinions about everything, but now you’re clamming up?”

      His mother lifted her finger. “Colton, don’t you bait me. I’m determined to do the right thing. You and Stacey need to figure out what’s best for you,” she said and turned away.

      Colton, watching the clock every other minute, sighed and put his plate in the fridge to eat later. “Sorry, Mom. I’m just not hungry right now. I’ll eat it for lunch tomorrow.” Colton grabbed his coat and headed for his truck. Eighteen minutes to go.

      He drove around for ten minutes.

      Colton spotted a deer crossing the road in front of him and slowed down. The driver of a semi must have panicked, though. Colton tried to swerve out of the incoming path of the truck. But he was too late. The impact jolted him. He heard the sound of glass shattering. Pain seared through him, and everything went black.

      * * *

      Stacey put Piper down with ease and tossed a load of laundry into the washer for lack of anything else to do. She still couldn’t get over seeing that other woman pawing Colton. He had appeared surprised, but perhaps that was because he hadn’t expected the woman to follow him out of the grill. Stacey suspected Malia was everything Stacey wasn’t. Employed, with no baby and no stretch marks. Malia had looked like a girl ready to have a good time, and now that Stacey was a mom, she had to think twice about throwing caution to the wind for the sake of a good time. She had to think about her little Piper.

      Still, the image of Colton with Malia made her so edgy she felt as if her nerve endings were being rubbed raw with a wire brush. There wasn’t anything she could do about it, she told herself. The fact that Colton hadn’t tried to call her in nearly two days spoke volumes.

      Stacey turned the television in her bedroom on low volume in hopes of distracting herself, but the reality show just irritated her even more. She brushed her teeth and dressed for bed, praying that she would get some relief with sleep. Just as she pulled back her covers and reached to turn out her lamp, her cell phone vibrated with an incoming call.

      Spotting Rachel’s number on the ID, Stacey debated letting it go to voice mail. She didn’t want to discuss her feelings about Colton right now, especially with his sister. Sighing, she picked up, ready to say she didn’t want to talk about Colton.

      “Hey, Rachel,” Stacey said. “What’s up?”

      “Oh, Stacey, it’s terrible,” Rachel said, nearly sobbing. “Colton has been in a bad accident. His truck was hit by a semi. The ambulance is taking him to the Lubbock General E.R.”

      Stacey’s heart turned cold. She tried to make sense of what Rachel had told her. The only thing she knew for certain was that Colton had been hurt. “Do you know anything about his condition? Did they tell you anything?”

      “All we know is that he’s unconscious, and there may be internal injuries. Mom and Dad are driving to Lubbock in their car, and I’m going in mine. Stacey, I’m scared. I’m afraid I’m going to lose my brother.”

      For a moment, Stacey couldn’t breathe. She was afraid of losing Colton, too. Even if they went back to being friends, Stacey didn’t want to lose Colton. Just knowing he was alive on the earth gave her a good feeling inside her. He was a wonderful man, and the thought of not being able just to see him again made her feel like crying. Anxiety coursed through her. But some part of her professional training as a nurse kicked in.

      “Don’t give up yet,” she said. “I’m sure he’s getting good care.”

      “Oh, Stacey, I wish you could be here,” Rachel said.

      “I’m on my way,” Stacey promised, even if she had to drag Piper out of bed. She wanted to be there for Colton. She wanted to be there for his family.

      Stacey changed into jeans and a sweater, then awakened her mother and told her the horrible news.

      “Oh, no,” Jeanne said. “That’s terrible. Do you have any idea if they think he’ll recover? Poor Olive and Frank must be beside themselves.”

      “I’d like to go to Lubbock to be with them. I’ll take Piper with me, but—”

      Her mother shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. I’ll watch over her. You go ahead, but please be careful. And call us with any news.”

      Stacey gave her mother a hug and grabbed a bottle of water before she pulled on her coat and left the house. Driving through the night,