“That’s Wendy from the Scarlet Gazette. She had us figured out.”
When he stepped out of Hawke’s vehicle, Wendy hurried over to him, a copy of the statement Victoria had helped him write in her hand. “Please just answer a few questions for the hometown paper. Let us tell the story before the TV stations and the big papers get it. And, chief, I want to talk to you, too.”
Something in that touched Jesse, broke through his aggravation. “Okay, but can we sit in my vehicle? I’m freezing.”
They sat in the Jeep with the heat running, Jesse telling Wendy what had happened, answering her questions. She’d done her homework. She knew he was a member of the Team and a ski patroller. She also knew about his military service.
“So, you know the little girl and her mother?”
“We’re neighbors.” He left it at that.
“How long have you lived in Scarlet Springs?”
“It’s been almost three years. Still a newcomer, I guess.”
“You’re not a newcomer now, Mr. Moretti. You’re a hometown hero.”
Her words slid over him, strangely soothing.
They spoke for maybe twenty minutes, and then she let him go. “Thanks for what you did—and thanks for giving us a chance to tell the whole story first.”
She climbed out and went to pester Hawke, who waved to Jesse as he backed out of his parking spot and drove toward home and a hot shower.
* * *
Ellie wentwith her parents to the hospital cafeteria, more because they needed to talk than because she was hungry. They sat together at an open table, all of this feeling surreal to Ellie.
“I am so sorry. I let go of her hand to pay for cocoa and then zipped Daniel’s coat, and she was gone.”
Ellie saw the regret and anguish in her mother’s eyes and fought not to lash out at her. “I know it was an accident. I know you love her. You’ve done so much to help me with the twins. But, Mom, I’ve never been more afraid in my life. My baby girl… almost died today. Her heart quit beating. She wasn’t breathing. My Daisy Mae...”
Ellie dissolved into tears. They were tears of release now, washing the horror of the past few hours away.
Her mother wrapped an arm around her, while her father got to his feet, his arms encircling them both.
“She’s going to be okay,” he said.
Yes, she was going to be okay. She was breathing again. She’d woken up for a few minutes, reached for Ellie, and said, “Mama.”
It was the most beautiful sound Ellie had ever heard.
Thanks to Jesse.
They ended the embrace.
Ellie’s mother handed her a tissue. “I’ll understand if you want to find someone else to watch them when you work.”
“Mom, stop torturing yourself. It was an accident. Daisy is a handful. We all know that.” She told her parents how Daisy had stuck her hand on the waffle iron simply because Ellie had warned her not to. “No one I could pay to babysit her could love her more than you do.”
Ellie wiped her tears away, stood. “I want to get back upstairs.”
“We’re going to pick up Daniel from your sister’s house and take him home.” Her mother put her cell phone in Ellie’s hand. “You keep this so you can stay in touch.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Jesse was sitting outside the Pediatric ICU, waiting for her, the sight of him putting a lump in her throat and making her heart soar. He stood when he saw her, and she ran to him, sinking into his embrace, tears streaming down her cheeks again.
“Thank you.” She said the words again and again. “Thank God for you. Thank you for saving Daisy. I was so afraid.”