Whatever Love Means Read online

  “Buddy asked me to come into the hall because he didn’t want to jinx anything by seeing you in your wedding dress. He handed me this box. He said for you to open it now.”

  “He’s so sweet.”

  Maggie tore into the wrapping, letting the crumpled paper fall to the floor as she flipped open the velvet box. She sucked in a breath. A diamond solitaire on a yellow gold chain sparkled from inside.

  “Oh my goodness.”

  Carly and Riley gathered behind her, ogling the shiny gem.

  “Mom, it’s a diamond necklace.”

  “It’s beautiful, Maggie. You should wear it.” Riley took the box from her hand. “It will look perfect with your dress,”

  “I feel terrible. I didn’t get him a wedding gift.”

  “You’re the only gift he needs.” Riley squeezed her shoulders and turned her around so that Carly could clasp the diamond around her neck.

  “Perfect,” Riley said, pushing her toward the mirror. “It’s just the right length for the neckline of your dress.”

  “I love it, Mom. You look so pretty.”

  Maggie stared at her reflection, but instead of seeing a beautiful bride in white with a glittery diamond necklace, she saw a teenager in a blue prom dress wearing a dimestore sapphire pendant around her neck. Travis had bought it with money he’d earned mowing grass and gave it to her for their one month anniversary. She had thought it was the most beautiful necklace she’d ever seen. She still had it tucked away in her jewelry box.

  She shook her head, confused why that memory had popped into her mind.

  “Just gorgeous.” Riley wrapped her arm around Maggie’s shoulder and pressed her cheek to hers. “I’m so happy for you. No one deserves happiness more than you.”

  “Oh, stop.” Maggie swiped an errant tear from her face. “You’ll make me cry.”

  “Save that for when you see Buddy at the end of the aisle.” Riley squeezed her friend and then put Maggie’s bouquet in her hand. “The photographer wants to take some pictures of the three of us outside before the ceremony.”

  “Okay.” Maggie shook her head, hoping to clear her mind of long ago memories, as she followed Riley and Carly toward the door.

  Officer Pete stood in the hallway.

  “Hi Riley, Carly.” He gave a crisp nod of his head. “Maggie, may I speak with you a moment?”

  “Sure.”

  “Carly, you’ll want to hear this.”

  “I’ll leave the three of you alone.” Riley pulled the door closed behind her, leaving Maggie and Carly with the police officer.

  “Pete, what’s wrong?” Maggie’s legs trembled as she reached out for her daughter. Obviously he had bad news. Nothing was wrong with Buddy. Carly had just seen him in the hallway. Had something happened to her brother down in Florida? Was it Penny? Maggie hadn’t seen her sister yet today.

  “Why don’t you ladies take a seat?” He guided them toward an upholstered bench that sat beneath the window and took a seat in a chair beside them.

  “You’re scaring us.” Carly slipped her arms around Maggie and snuggled close. “Tell us.”

  “It’s Travis.”

  “Dad? What happened?”

  “He was hit by a car this morning out on Dry Lick Road.”

  Stars flashed in front of Maggie’s eyes, and she stopped breathing. If she hadn’t been sitting down, she’d be a puddle on the floor.

  “That’s my road,” she muttered.

  “I know. Apparently he was along the berm when he was hit.”

  Her heart raced. Carly buried her face against Maggie’s chest and squeezed with all her strength.

  “He didn’t have a flat tire or anything. So we’re not sure what he was doing,” Pete said.

  “Is Daddy dead?” Carly asked the question Maggie was afraid to ask.

  “No, but he’s pretty banged up. They flew him to Morgantown to the trauma center.”

  “Oh my God.” Maggie’s bouquet fell to the floor as she stood up, pulling Carly with her. “We have to go.”

  “I’ll get Riley.” Carly’s voice quivered as she ran toward the door.

  “Was he conscious when the ambulance got there?” she asked Pete. “Did he say anything?”

  “No, he was unresponsive.”

  “What was he doing out there? Was his truck broken down?”

  “Didn’t appear so. There was a bunch of flowers scattered around him.”

  “Flowers?”

  “Irises. They grow along the road where he was hit. Looked like he’d been picking them.”

  The room spun. Maggie felt her eyes roll back in her head as she stumbled back onto the bench. Her heart pounded at an alarming rate, as a tear slipped down her cheek. Irises? Travis knew they were her favorite flower. He learned that when she had insisted they take pictures in front of her grandmother’s iris garden before going to his senior prom. Could he have been picking the flowers for her?

  Riley and her husband, Derek, rushed into the room with Carly close behind. Riley dragged Maggie into her arms. “Derek will take you and Carly to the hospital. I’ll stay here and deal with the guests.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Do you want me to go get Buddy?”

  “No.”

  “What should I tell him?”

  “Just tell him . . .” Maggie couldn’t think. Her head was spinning as she fought back tears. She had to get to Travis. “I don’t know.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll explain everything to him. Let me help you out of your dress.”

  “There’s no time.” Maggie grabbed Carly in one hand and Derek in the other and rushed out the door.

  * * *

  The drive to the hospital had been the longest of Maggie’s life. Derek had broken a few laws with his excessive speed and disregard for stop signs, but still the one hour drive had felt like it had taken all day. Travis was injured and alone in the emergency room, and he needed his family. Carly had sobbed the entire trip, but Maggie had swallowed her fears in order to appear strong for her daughter. Inside, she was falling apart.

  Now, she and Carly stood at the emergency room counter, waiting for the receptionist to get off the phone.

  “Sorry about that,” the receptionist said, dropping the receiver in its cradle. “How can I help you?”

  “We’re here for Travis Kane. He was brought in by medivac from Highland Springs.”

  “Your name please.” The receptionist’s fingers were poised over the keyboard.

  “Margaret Timbrook.”

  “Relation to patient?”

  “Ex-wife, but this is our daughter, Carly Kane.”

  “How old is your daughter?” She asked this without taking her eyes from the computer screen. Was this woman for real? Travis could be dying on a cold, metal table right now, and the receptionist was worried about protocol? It took every fiber of strength for Maggie not to blow up.

  “She’s seventeen, but will be eighteen in a month.”

  “Has he given you medical power of attorney?”

  “No, but—”

  “Unless you have power of attorney—”

  “But she’s his daughter, and I’m her mother.”

  “I know, but—”

  “We’re all he has.” Maggie hadn’t realized she’d screamed until the reception area grew suddenly quiet. She glanced over her shoulder to find waiting loved ones staring at her. Turning back to the receptionist, she reached her hand across the counter. “Please. Carly is very mature and only a few weeks shy of being an adult. We may be divorced, but I know he’d want me to help make decisions about his case.”

  “I’ll have to get authorization.”

  “Fine, but can we at least see him?”

  “The doctors are still with him. Why don’t you have a seat? I’ll let you know when he can have visitors.”

  Maggie’s feet felt weighted down with cinder blocks as she and Carly walked toward a row of chairs. Every person in the room stared at them with their mouths agape as they
sat down. So she had raised her voice. So what? Why were they looking at them so intently? A lady sitting two seats down clued her in.

  “Did your fiancé have a wreck on the way to the ceremony?”

  Maggie glanced down at her lap, realizing she was still in her wedding dress. Carly’s lovely purple gown was now marked with damp spots where her tears had landed. Black mascara had streaked down her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy. Maggie surely looked as bad. No wonder people gawked.

  “No, my daughter’s dad was hit by a car.”

  “Oh, my.” The lady clasped her hands together. “I’ll pray for him.”

  “Thank you.”

  Carly grabbed Maggie’s hands and pulled them into her lap. “Maybe we should pray, too, Mom.”

  “Maybe we should.”

  Maggie hadn’t always been good about taking Carly to church on a regular basis, but they had gone enough for her daughter to develop her faith. She belonged to a Christian student group that met in the mornings before school started and she’d often share what she’d learned when she got home. At this tragic moment, Maggie was grateful for the faith she and Carly shared. They held one another and prayed quietly, ignoring the stares and the buzz around them.

  A few minutes later, a nurse interrupted them. “Ms. Timbrook?”

  “Yes.” Maggie jumped from her chair.

  “Come with me, please. Dr. Singh wants to update you on Travis’s condition.”

  Maggie wrapped her arm around Carly’s shoulder as they followed the nurse through large swinging doors and into a small cubicle. The doctor snapped closed the curtain after he joined them.

  “Mr. Kane is in critical condition. We’re prepping him for surgery now.”

  “Surgery?” Carly squeezed Maggie’s hand until it went numb. “Mom?”

  “What happened?” Maggie asked the doctor as she pulled her hand from Carly’s vice grip, and wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

  “Mr. Kane sustained some serious injuries. His fibula is broken, he has several broken ribs, a slight skull fracture, lacerations, and there’s some internal bleeding.”

  “Will he be okay?”

  “It’s too early to say.”

  “This sounds bad.”

  “He’s not in good shape, but rest assured our team will do everything they can to get him back on his feet. The next few hours will be critical.”

  “Can we see him?”

  “Not now. After he comes out of surgery.”

  Dr. Singh left the room the way he came in—with a swish of the curtains—leaving Maggie and Carly alone in the cubicle. Carly fell into Maggie’s arms, weeping, while Maggie fought back her own tears.

  Carly couldn’t lose her father. She was about to graduate high school and go off to college. This should be the happiest time of her life. She shouldn’t have to deal with this.

  Why had Travis been along the road picking flowers? He knew that stretch of road was unsafe. Those flowers grew at the bottom of a hill along a curve. She’d always wondered who had planted them. What the hell had he been thinking? Did he not stop to consider he could get hit?

  She rolled her gaze up to the paneled ceiling and sent up another prayer that Travis would be okay. But, the minute he was out of the woods, she’d give him a piece of her mind.

  “Ms. Timbrook.” The nurse had returned. “I’m sorry, but I need to ask you and your daughter to wait in the reception area.”

  “Oh, yes, of course. Come on, Car.”

  Maggie and Carly returned to the same chairs along the wall and sat like zombies, staring off into space.

  “Your dad will be fine, honey. He’s strong and healthy.” Maggie muttered all the things she could think of to keep Carly calm. “This a great hospital with very capable doctors.” She stroked Carly’s hair and continued her reassurances—as much for her daughter as for herself. “He’ll be out of surgery in no time. You’ll see. Your dad will be back on his feet quick.” Carly buried her face in Maggie’s shoulder, sniffling softly, surely afraid she might lose her dad. Maggie worried that Travis would be gone from her forever.

  After a few minutes, Carly broke her silence, and sat back, wiping her hands over her wet face. “Did you ever really love Dad?”

  The question sent an electrical charge through Maggie. “What? Why would you ask that?”

  “I’ve always wondered. All I’ve ever seen you do is fight with each other. But you’re so upset that I thought maybe you did love him at one time.”

  So much for trying to stay strong. She hadn’t fooled Carly by holding back her own tears. “Oh, Car.” Maggie sighed, pulling her daughter back into her arms. “Your dad and I don’t fight. We just bicker. We like to pick at each other for some stupid reason. It’s just the way we communicate.”

  “I didn’t think you liked him much.”

  “Honey, why didn’t you tell me? I do like your dad. He was my first love.” And still is. The revelation jolted her. It had taken this tragedy to wake her up to the fact that she had never stopped loving him. “Your dad and I loved each other very much. That’s how you came to be. But we were too young to handle the pressures of marriage and being parents. Under different circumstances, we might have made it.”

  “You’ve never told me about those years when you were married to Dad.”

  “I guess I didn’t think you’d understand.”

  “Will you tell me now? Tell me how you and Daddy met, and how you had me.”

  Maggie fell back against her chair and released a sigh. Could she go back there, reliving the happiness and heartache, knowing Travis was fighting for his life? She glanced at the eagerness in Carly’s eyes and knew it was time to tell her daughter their crazy, mixed-up story.

  * * *

  “I didn’t think you’d ever get off work.” Travis pulled Maggie out the backdoor of the Brass Rail, where she’d been bussing tables and washing glasses. Being sixteen, it was about the only jobs she could do at her dad’s bar. Travis pressed her up against the concrete building, ravishing her lips with a deep, feral kiss.

  “I’m sor—”

  He smothered her apology with his mouth.

  He plunged his hand down the back of her shorts, pulling her tight against his growing hardness. Tomorrow he’d leave for boot camp and would be away for months. He had told her he wanted to make tonight special, but right now they were plastered to each other and in no hurry to come unglued. She was ready for whatever he had in mind. She loved him and planned to show him tonight.

  Maggie slipped her hands beneath his T-shirt and ran her nails down his back, moaning as his tongue dipped deeper. She rocked her hips against his erection, letting him know she was ready. If they didn’t go somewhere private soon, he might yank down her cut-offs and take her virginity against the outside of the bar.

  Their lips came apart with a pop. “Come on, baby. I’ve got something planned for us.” Travis grabbed her hand, and they ran across the gravel parking lot, down the steep ravine, and into the woods that backed up to the bar. Brushing past trees and stomping over soft leaves, he dragged her into a clearing where he had lain out a blanket where no one would see them. There were flickering votive candles and a bottle of strawberry wine. Travis had outdone himself to make their last night together memorable.

  “Oh, Travis.” Maggie pulled her hand from his and covered her mouth, her heart swelling with anticipation. “This is so nice.”

  “I wanted our last night to be special.”

  “You make it sound like you’ll never be back.” Her voice quivered, fear streaking through her. He pulled her into his arms and pressed her face to his beating heart.

  “I’ll be back. You know that. But it’ll be months before we’re together again. I wanted to show you how much I love you.”

  Maggie’s head snapped back. “You love me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh,” she whimpered as she pulled him down for a long kiss. “I love you, too, Travis. I’ve wanted to tell you.”

&nb
sp; “Just because I’m going away for a little while doesn’t change anything. You’re still my girl.”

  “What if you’re deployed overseas? When will we see each other?”

  “Listen to me.” He took her face between his hands. The moonlight glowed in his eyes. “We’ll email every day, and talk on the phone as often as we can. I’ll come home on every break.”

  “You better.”

  “I don’t just love you tonight. I’ll love you forever. And when you graduate, we’ll get married.”

  Maggie giggled and threw her arms around his neck, happier than she’d ever been. “Jumping the gun, aren’t you?”

  “I know it seems like we’re too young, but I mean it. I love you Maggie Timbrook, and I plan to marry you someday. This time apart will just be a blip in our lifetime together.”

  She kissed him quick and tangled her fingers in his curly hair. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

  “I’m serious.”

  She rose up on her tiptoes, grazing her nails down the back of his neck. “I know you are. I’ll wait for you, Travis. I love you and will marry you someday.” She had never been so sure of anything in her life.

  “You promise?”

  “I promise.” Maggie stepped out of his arms and held out her hand. When he slipped his hand in hers, she pulled him down to the blanket and lay beneath him. “In fact, let’s seal the deal.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She kissed him deeply and then sat up, pulling off her shirt and unsnapping her bra. She tossed her clothing aside and stood up to unfasten her shorts. He loved her, and she loved him. There was only one way to show it.

  “Maggie, what are you doing?”

  “Tonight we’ll seal our commitment to each other. Make love to me, Travis.”

  Travis jumped to his feet, grabbing her hand before she pulled down her zipper. “Are you sure?”

  “Don’t you want to?” A moment of doubt made her heart skip.

  “Hell yeah, I want to. I just—”

  “Have you ever?”

  “No. Have you?”

  Maggie smiled, and shaking her head, dropped her cut-offs to the blanket. She kicked them aside before pressing her naked body against him. “Are you just going stand there with me completely naked?”