Free Hope Smolders by Jaci Burton

table.”
    She tried for calm. “How bad is it?”
    “There’s a lot of blood, but of course there would be because it’s her head. But she’s got a pretty good gash and I think she’s going to need some stitches.”
    “I’ll be right there to get her.”
    “I thought you would be. We’ll have her ready.”
    “Thanks, Mom.” She hung up and headed toward the bedroom.
    “What happened?” Will asked as he followed behind her.
    “Tabitha slipped on the way from the bathroom and hit her head on the kitchen table. My mom said she has a prettygood cut on her head that probably needs stitches.” She started to get dressed, grabbing underwear and bra, then a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.
    Will got dressed, too. “I’ll drive you.”
    She turned to him. “That’s not necessary.”
    “Actually, it is. You had way more to drink tonight than I did. You’re likely panicked thinking about your daughter, which adds an adrenaline rush you don’t need while driving.”
    “It’s not like I have a choice. Or I can have my dad drive.” Though her dad wasn’t good with night driving.
    “Look, you can take care of Tabitha while I drive. Plus, I know all the folks at the ER, which late on a Saturday night will be crowded as hell. I can bypass some red tape for you so you don’t have to spend six hours in the waiting room.”
    She shuddered in a breath, realizing he had a point. And despite her wanting to do this on her own, right now she could use all the help she could get. Tabitha was her number one priority. “Okay. Thanks.”
    They climbed in his car and he drove her over to her parents’. The lights were blazing as she made her way to the front door. Her mom was already there. She didn’t even give Will a second look, just smiled at him and nodded. “I’m glad you’re here with Jane.”
    “How’s Tabby?” Jane asked as they came through the door.
    “Fine. Scared. She knows she’s going to have to get stitches, and you know how she feels about that.”
    “I know.”
    Tabby was in the kitchen sitting on Jane’s dad’s lap with a bloody towel on her head. Nausea rolled in Jane’s stomach. It was a weakness she hated to admit, but the sight of blood made her sick. She stomached it as well as she could, because she had kids and that’s what a mom had to do, but she didn’t deal with it well.
    “Took a header into the table, did you?” Jane said, tryingto look anywhere but at the head wound and all the blood soaking the towel her dad had pressed to Tabitha’s head.”
    Tabby’s bottom lip wobbled and tears welled. Big fat drops slid down her daughter’s cheeks. “I fell, Mommy. My head hurts.”
    “I know it does, sweetheart.” She scooped Tabitha into her arms, the pungent smell of blood about to send her vaulting to the bathroom. She pulled back. “Will is going to take us to the emergency room, and we’ll get you taken care of, okay?”
    Tabby nodded, and Jane fell into the chair, gulping deep breaths of non-bloody-smelling oxygen.
    Some mother she was.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    W ill took one look at Tabitha, and then his gaze crossed to Jane, who had gone pale and looked like she was about to lose the dinner they’d had earlier.
    He’d monitored her drinking, and though he told her she shouldn’t drive, it had been long enough that she should have been fine. She’d been drinking water and all she’d had was soda at Cain’s, so he had an idea her current dilemma had nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with her daughter’s current state.
    “Hey, Tabitha,” Will said. “Mind if I take a look at your owie?”
    Tabitha nodded and Will walked over and lifted the towel to take a peek.
    “That’s a pretty good boo-boo,” he said. And it was. A nice gash across the top of her forehead, right near the hairline. It was going to need several stitches or staples.
    “I need to use the bathroom,” Jane said. “I’ll be right back, Tabby.”
    Yeah, that’s what he thought. He could see