Daniel's Gift by Barbara Freethy Page B

what your mother's up to."
    "My mom?" Danny suddenly felt heavy again. In fact, he started to sink into the cloud.
    "Now, now, don't be doing that," Jacob said, grabbing him by the arm. "There are things to be learned, choices to be made, son, and I'm going to help you make the right ones for everyone concerned. Stick with me, kid."
    "Like I'm going anywhere else," Danny said as he looked around him.
    Jacob laughed. "That's better. Now you got your guts back. Thought we'd left 'em on the operating table."
    "Where is my mom?"
    "At the hospital. Want to see her?"
    Danny nodded, and suddenly they were flying again.

    * * *

    Alan walked over to the coffee machine and bought two cups of coffee. Juggling them carefully, he handed one to Merrilee.
    "Thanks." She looked over at Jenny, who was sitting across from them, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. "Can you tell me what happened?"
    "I wish I could." Alan sat down in the chair next to Merrilee. "Danny's friend Christopher was with him. He said they got off the bus and were walking home. The fog was so thick, they couldn't see. Danny stopped to tie his shoe or something. When he stood up, a car ran him down. Christopher said he didn't see the car, and it didn't stop."
    "Oh, Lord." Merrilee took a sip of coffee, drawing strength from the hot liquid. "I'll have to call my father and let him know."
    Alan shook his head. "I don't think Jenny can handle seeing John right now."
    "Danny is his grandchild. He'll want to know."
    "Your father doesn't give a damn about Jenny or Danny."
    "Of course he does," Merrilee said, shocked to the core. "We're a family. We support each other. They've had their differences in the past, but this is serious."
    "Don't call him yet, okay? Not till we know more."
    "I suppose. What about Matt?"
    "He's probably too drunk to be of any use to Jenny."
    Merrilee bit back a sharp retort. There was really nothing she could say to combat Alan's comment, and it irritated the hell out of her. She didn't take criticism of her family from anyone. But as Merrilee glanced over at Jenny, Alan's comment faded away. Jenny looked terrible, and Merrilee didn't know what to do.
    She was supposed to be the leader in the family, the one who always knew the right thing to say. But she couldn't even bring herself to attempt a word of solace. Jenny wouldn't hear her. She was locked inside of herself.
    "What I can't figure out is what Danny was doing on that road in the first place," Alan said. "I'll have to talk to Christopher again."
    "He was probably coming back from seeing his father."
    Alan choked on his coffee. "What the hell are you talking about?"
    "Jenny came by my house earlier this evening, looking for Danny. Apparently, he left her a note saying he'd gone to see Luke."
    "Luke? Is that his name?"
    Merrilee sensed the anger building in the man next to her, but at the moment she was more concerned about Jenny than Alan. "Luke Sheridan. He's come back to town."
    "Goddammit. So he's the reason Danny's hurt."
    "I don't think he ran him down," Merrilee said with a sigh. "I don't even know if Danny saw him."
    The doors in front of them opened. Alan stood up. Merrilee set down her coffee cup, and Jenny opened her eyes, as if sensing the moment of truth.
    "Mrs. St. Claire?" Dr. Lowenstein, the physician who had handed her a release form several hours earlier walked over to her. He was still wearing surgical scrubs, and his face was grim.
    Jenny nodded dully, not even bothering to correct him about her married state. "Danny?" she whispered.
    "He's alive," the doctor said, his eyes softening as if he wished he could share some of her pain. "We were able to remove the blood clot and your son is holding his own. We've done everything we can for now. We have to wait and see what Danny can do for himself."
    "Is he going to die?" Jenny asked. She stood up and grabbed the doctor's sleeve, twisting it through anxious fingers. "Is my baby going to die? Tell me the truth. I have to