Diamonds and Dust (Lonesome Point, Texas) (21 page)

The nurse’s eyebrows lifted toward her hairline, but she nodded. “Okay. Then we’ll get Mom back to see her first. If she’s up to it, everyone else can come back for a quick hello a little later, but then we’ll need to get her settled in a private room for a nice long rest. The best thing she can do right now is sleep and heal.”

“Thank you so much,” Tulsi said, reaching out to press the nurse’s hand. “And please thank all the doctors, too. I’m so grateful.”

“It was our pleasure.” Amy smiled. “I’m so happy to be able to give you good news. And just so you know, the boy who was driving the car that hit your father’s truck is out of surgery, too. It looks like he’s going to pull through, but he had a blood alcohol level way over the legal limit, so the police will remain involved. They’ll probably be in touch with you in the next few days.”

“My uncle’s the chief of police,” Mia said. “He’s known Tulsi and Clementine forever, so I’m sure he’ll handle this personally.”

Amy nodded. “Great. Y’all just hang tight for a little longer. Hopefully, I’ll be back to get you in just a few minutes Mom.”

Tulsi thanked the other woman again before turning to Pike and falling into his arms. She hugged him tight, relief making her tremble. “Thank God. Thank God she’s okay.”

“I hope that kid ends up in jail,” Pike said, pressing her to his chest. “If his drunk bullshit had taken Clem away…”

“Don’t even say it,” Mia said, letting out a shaky breath. “I can’t think about it anymore.”

“Me either,” Tulsi said, pulling away from Pike. “I should call my mom and let her know Clementine’s out of surgery before I go back to see her.”

“I’ll make sure someone tells your dad, too,” Pike said. “Then I’ll run to your place and get you clean clothes and whatever else you’ll need to spend the night. You’re going to stay in Clem’s room, right?”

Tulsi nodded. “Yes. Thank you,” she said, gratitude flooding through her chest as he smiled and leaned down to press a quick kiss to her cheek. “And if you could get a couple of Clem’s stuffed animals from her room, too, that would be great. It won’t be the same as Snuggly Blanket and Monster Princess, but I’m sure she’d appreciate something to cuddle when she wakes up.”

“I’m on it,” Pike said, with a wink, before he turned and started toward the front desk.

She watched him go, silently thanking the universe for the host of miracles that she’d witnessed tonight, before she reached for her cell.

“Let me step outside and call your mom,” Mia said, touching her hand to Tulsi’s arm. “I’ve got her number. You stay here so you can go back the second Clem’s ready for visitors.”

“Thank you,” Tulsi said. “Thank you for everything. I’m so glad we’re still friends.”

Mia grinned. “Family. And no sense staying mad at family, right? And since I get the feeling you’re going to be my sister for real before too long, it would be even stupider to hold a grudge. Just be good to Pike, and I’ll consider us square for life.”

Tulsi nodded seriously. “I will. I love him so much, Mia.”

“He’s pretty crazy about you, too,” she said, shaking her head. “I still can’t believe I didn’t see it before, but I guess sometimes we only see what we’re expecting to see.” She slipped her cell from her purse as she backed toward the sliding doors. “I’ll call your mom and be right back.”

“Thanks,” Tulsi said, Mia’s words resonating. For years, she’d done the same thing. She’d only seen what she expected to see, refusing to see the options that were right in front of her. From now on, she was determined to look at the big picture and realize that, no matter how bleak things seemed, there was always hope and paths that led out of the darkness.

A few minutes later, Nurse Amy returned and took her back to see Clementine, who looked even smaller than usual lying in a big hospital bed with tubes in her arms and bandages covering most of her chest. Tears sprung immediately to Tulsi’s eyes, but she forced a smile. She refused to cry or do anything to scare Clem more than her daughter had been scared already.

“Hey, bug. I’m so happy to see you!” Tulsi took her daughter’s small hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, wishing she could draw Clem into her arms and rock her all night the way she did when she was a baby.

“Where’s Grandpa?” Clem asked, her forehead wrinkled. “Is he okay?”

“He’s going to be fine,” Tulsi assured her. “He’s already resting and doing great. How about you, baby? How are you feeling?”

“Everything hurts. All over.” Clem’s blue eyes swam with tears. “I don’t like it here, Mommy, I want to go home.”

“I know,” Tulsi said, heart breaking. “But we need to stay until you’re better. The doctors and nurses are doing a great job taking care of you and in a few days you’ll be stronger and we can go home.”

“I don’t like the nurses. They’re mean. They wouldn’t let me see you when I woke up,” Clem said with a pitiful sniff. “I said I wanted my mommy, but they wouldn’t go get you. I was so mad I wanted to push them and run away, but everything hurt too bad.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” Tulsi smoothed Clem’s hair from her forehead. “I know it’s confusing, but they weren’t trying to be mean. They just had to make sure you were okay before they came to get me. Those are the hospital rules. But now I’m here and I’m sticking to you like glue. I’ll sleep right by your bed and be there whenever you wake up.”

“You promise?” Clem said, her eyelids already drooping.

“I promise,” Tulsi said. “A team of wild horses couldn’t drag me away. Mr. Pike is getting my things from the house and he’s bringing your stuffed animals, too. Next time you wake up you’ll have animal friends in your bed, and I’ll be here to get you anything you need. We’ll rest and watch movies and play cards and do whatever we can to keep your mind off the bad stuff until you’re all better.”

Clem blinked sleepily. “Can we play for candy?”

“Of course,” Tulsi said, swallowing hard as she watched Clem’s eyes close. “Of course we can play for candy.”

She managed to hold back her tears until she was certain Clem was asleep, but then they came in a fresh wave, pouring silently down her cheeks. She was just so grateful—so grateful to hear her baby’s voice, to hear her complain about the mean nurses, to know she was still plotting ways to increase her candy stash. Her little girl was going to be okay and they were both going to have a fresh start, with even more love in their lives than they’d had before.

The past six years had taught Tulsi that her capacity for love truly was limitless. On the day Clementine was born, she’d assumed nothing could surpass the love that had flooded her heart the moment Clem looked up at her with those wise and beautiful baby blue eyes. But with every passing year, Tulsi had come to treasure her daughter even more. Loving Clem was a blessing that had taught her that the heart isn’t a fixed entity, it’s a mansion always under construction, with an endless number of rooms and always more space for love and light.

And so when Tulsi woke up in the hospital folding chair the next morning to see her father sitting in a wheelchair by Clem’s bed, watching his granddaughter sleep, she didn’t hesitate. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, padded in her sock feet around the edge of the bed, and wrapped her arms around her daddy’s shoulders.

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Daddy,” Tulsi said, kissing his cheek. “I love you so much.”

“We almost lost her,” Dale said, remaining stiff in her embrace. “After the crash, I was trapped on my side of the truck. I sat there watching her cry and bleed and I couldn’t help. And then she closed her eyes and I thought that was it…that she was gone…”

Tulsi hugged him harder and whispered, “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Dad. But we didn’t lose her. And we’re all here and we’re a family. It’s going to be okay.”

“You should never have sent her away to camp,” Dale said in a gruff voice. “She’s just a baby. She should have stayed home with you and me, where she belongs. So we could keep her safe.”

“She was with you when it happened, Dad,” Tulsi said gently as she stood up. “Not at camp.”

“So it’s my fault, is it?” he asked, glaring at Clem’s bedspread, his jaw clenched tight.

“No, it’s that boy who decided to drink and drive and race his friend down the highway’s fault.” Tulsi leaned over, trying to catch her father’s eye. “You and Clem were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was terrible luck, but you’re okay and Clem’s going to snap back from this fast, I can tell already. We don’t have to be scared anymore.”

Dale grunted, but still didn’t turn her way.

“Please, Dad,” Tulsi begged, “I love you, but I can’t do this for another six years. I’m sorry I disappointed you, I truly am, but I was just doing the best I could. Can’t you just forgive me and maybe try to…love me? The way you love Clem?”

Her dad turned to her with a stunned expression. “Of course I love you. What do you think the past six years of taking care of you and Clementine has been about?”

“About you doing the right thing even though you think I’m a fool,” Tulsi whispered, smiling even as her eyes filled with tears for the tenth time in the past twelve hours. “And I appreciate it so much, I do, but I don’t want to feel like a fool anymore, Daddy. I’m not a child, I’m a grown woman, and I’m a good mama to Clem and a good daughter to you. I just want to love you and be loved without feeling like I’m never going to be good enough, no matter how hard I try.”

Dale blinked, and Tulsi was shocked to see tears rise in her father’s eyes. She’d never seen him cry, not once in her entire life.

“I just… I hate that I let you down,” he said, his voice gravelly with emotion.

“What do you mean?” Tulsi whispered, afraid of what he was going to say.

“Don’t you think I know it’s my fault?” he continued, tears slipping down his cheeks. “For pushing you aside when you were little and never making time the way I should have? If I’d been better to you back then, if I’d taught you how special you were, instead of being so hard on you all the time, you would have respected yourself enough to pick a decent man. Then you wouldn’t have had to fight so hard to get by and do without the good husband you deserve. It’s my fault. I’m a bastard, just like your sister always says I am.”

“Oh, Dad, that’s not true.” Tulsi shook her head, stunned to realize that this was what had been going through her father’s head all these years. “I respect myself. And I picked a wonderful man, we were just young that’s all. We both made mistakes, but Clementine isn’t one of them. She’s the best thing that ever happened to me. I wouldn’t take back one minute of being her mama. And you’re a wonderful grandfather to her. She loves you to bits and pieces.”

Dale pulled in a breath and his lips turned down hard. “I tried my damnedest with her. Tried to make up for how I failed you and your sister.”

Tulsi squatted down beside his chair, looking up at him with pleading eyes. “Daddy, you have hurt me, but you haven’t failed me. It’s not too late. We can have a fresh start. Right now. I’m ready to let all the bad things go, aren’t you?”

His lips pressed so tight together the color seeped out of them, but after a long moment he nodded. “This is hitting me hard, Tulsi,” he said in a strained voice. “I barely slept last night for thinking. I don’t want to go out feeling like I’ve failed the people who matter the most.”

“Then you won’t,” Tulsi whispered. “You’ll make a change and make things better. But as far as you and I are concerned, all the sad stuff can stay in the past. I’m keeping my eyes on the future.”

Dale swiped the tears from his cheeks as he cleared his throat. “That reminds me, I was thinking…I can probably let the barn rent go until after Christmas. There’s a difference between teaching someone how to run a business and punishing them for things they can’t control. I know your funding was cut and that’s not your fault.”

“Thank you, Dad,” Tulsi said with a smile. “But I think it’s time to find another therapist for my kids. There’s a wonderful woman in San Antonio I bet I can convince to come take care of my clients one day a week. I’ve got things to think about, too, and I have a feeling my life is moving in a different direction.”

“Knock, knock,” Pike called softly from the door, making Tulsi smile.

Speaking of different directions…

“Can I come in?” he whispered. “The nurse said morning visiting hours started a few minutes ago, but I don’t want to interrupt.”

Tulsi stood, turning to face him, smile widening when she saw the flowers he’d brought. “Come on in. Dad and I are waiting for Clem to wake up. She should be awake soon. She slept really well last night, which the nurses say is a good thing.”

“Great,” Pike said, looking a little nervous as he entered the room and said good morning to her dad.

“Morning,” Dale grunted as he rolled his chair away from the bed. “I should get back to my own room. Patty’s plane landed a while ago. She’ll be here soon. We’ll both come back later when Clem’s awake.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Tulsi said, watching her dad roll slowly out of the room, hope swelling inside her.

Maybe things really would be different between them from now on. She hoped so. The real test, of course, would come when she told her parents who Clem’s father really was and that she and her daughter were moving to Montana to be with him. If her dad didn’t give her the disapproving glare and at least a thirty-minute lecture after that doozy, then she’d know they were truly on the path to a healthier relationship.

“How about you?” Pike set the flowers and a brown paper bag, she hoped contained breakfast, down on the nightstand and pulled her into a hug. “How did you sleep?”

“Not much,” Tulsi said with a smile. “But that’s okay. I’ll take a nap later when Clementine does. Are Mia and Sawyer coming by again before they catch their flight?”

“They are. Mia was talking about canceling the honeymoon, but I told her that would only make you and Clementine feel bad. And I promised I’d stick around so you two will have plenty of support until they get home next week.”

“Good.” Tulsi rested her cheek on his chest, soaking up the strength she always found in his arms. “They should go enjoy themselves. We’re all going to be just fine.”