EMBER - Part Three (The EMBER Series, #3) by Deborah Bladon

Author:Deborah Bladon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: new adult romance, new adult romance with sex, deborah blandon, deborah blanton, deborah bladon romance, deborah blandon ember, ember part three, alpha male, alpha male romance, bad boy, bad boy romance
Publisher: Deborah Bladon
Published: 2015-06-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

"What is this?" He holds the small white card in his hands. "What is this number?"

I don't want to veil the truth of how I know where Cleo is behind any lie. I have to confess. "It's her room number at the hospital."

"Cleo is in the hospital?" His hands visibly start shaking. "Is she okay? What's wrong with her?"

For the briefest of moments before I pulled the card free from the pocket of my jeans, I wondered if his own mother had told him about Cleo since Vanessa saw the two of them together at the hospital. "She had her baby."

"She did?"

I don't know any details. I can't offer anything other than that card with the blue ink. "Vanessa told me that when she saw Cleo at the hospital with your mom last week that she wasn't pregnant. I asked about her at the reception desk and the woman working there told me Cleo was admitted. She actually called her Cleo Durand."

"Durand," he says the name softly. "She married David."

It's another name that holds no meaning to me. I feel the same emptiness that I did when he first mentioned Cleo a few days ago. These are people who are part of his past.

"David was one of Cleo's doctors." He taps the edge of the card against his palm. "He loves her so much."

"What happened to Cleo?"

His eyes dart up to my face as he shuffles nervously on his feet. "You mean why she can't walk?"

I nod, not wanting to give a voice to my curiosity. I've never known anyone in a wheelchair. I don't know the politically correct way to ask the obvious questions. I don't want to be insensitive but since I stood next to her in the museum that day, I've wondered how someone so bright and positive could find strength when her life is impacted in such a fundamental way.

After I'd left the museum and had walked home, I'd relished each step. I knew then and I still know now, that I was virtually unscathed after the police car hit me. My life could have been very different now and I doubt that I'd have the same grace and acceptance that Cleo does.

"There was an accident when she was an infant." He folds the corner of the card. "Her mother was holding her in her arms in the car. It was a short trip to the store. I think Cleo was four or five months old then."

It's true what they say about life changing in an instant. I listen, not wanting to interrupt.

"Her dad was driving and when they got home, he told her mom to wait so he could help her get out of the car," he pauses to look back down at the card. "She was in a rush to get inside so she opened the door and stepped out."

"What happened?" I ask anxiously.

"Her mom tripped." He shakes his head as if to ward off an image that is crossing his mind. "She dropped the baby on the concrete.

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