Free Contributor (Contributor Trilogy, book 1) by Nicole Ciacchella Page A

means—"
    "It means that she heard me!" Dara threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.
    "Oh, thank the Creators," he moaned, collapsing against his daughter. He hugged her tightly in return and, when she looked up at him, his cheeks were wet, but she knew they were happy tears.
    "The doctor says she needs to rest now, but he wants me to come back tomorrow and talk to her about some more of my memories."
    "Dara, this is...it's wonderful," Joshua breathed.
    "I know. Isn't it?" She rose onto the tips of her toes so that she could kiss his cheek. "Come on, let's go home and have some dinner. Maybe we'll both be able to sleep tonight."
    "Maybe." A look of shocked wonder spread over Joshua's face. Dara hugged her father once more and released him.
    "This is fantastic news," Jonathan said. Sounding as elated as she felt, he clasped her to him.
    For that moment, she felt as if all the fragmented pieces of her life had lined up once more, leaving her hopeful for the future. Her mother would recover, her family would remain intact, and she and Jonathan would fall back into their familiar rhythms.

Chapter 13

    Dara lay awake the entire night, her mind sifting through memory after memory, trying to find the perfect one to share with her mother, the one that might magically make Leona open her eyes.
    Though tired when she got ready for shift the next morning, she felt almost euphoric, thanks to a heady mixture of adrenaline and hope. She and her father were both able to eat a little more than they had the previous morning and, as he headed off with a kiss from her, his eyes looked brighter, more aware than they had the day before.
    "Your dad looks much better and so do you," Jonathan commented, as they made their way to headquarters.
    "We're both feeling much better. Thanks for staying with him yesterday."
    "You don't have to thank me, Dara. Your parents have always been so good to me. They're like parents to me too."
    She squeezed his arm. "Will you come with us again today?"
    "Of course."
    Letizia's face relaxed when Dara walked into engineering. "Your mom must be better."
    Dara told her what had happened the previous night and Letizia looked thoughtful.
    "That sounds like a very good sign," Letizia said.
    "The doctor seemed to think so."
    "Today, I want you to try to focus intently on your work. It'll make the hours pass by more quickly. Don't pay attention to anything else; leave that to me. I don't want you to be sidetracked by distractions."
    "Thank you, for everything." Dara felt a sudden and unexpected rush of warmth for her master.
    "You're my apprentice, Dara," Letizia said.
    "I'm glad I am."
    "Sentimentality on the job? Really, Apprentice Morrow." Letizia's slight smile belied her words.
    Javier paused as Dara walked to her station. "How's your mother?"
    "She's a little better, thanks." Dara smiled at him.
    "That's good. You don't need any distractions."
    Stung, she stared at him. "Distractions?"
    He winced. "I didn't... Never mind."
    "This isn't about me," she said coldly.
    "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice tinged with something like regret. She turned her back to him and pretended to be very busy.
    The day did seem to pass quickly. Though it appeared that her reprieve from Ryan had ended, his barbs either lacked their normal venom or she was simply immune to them. She wondered if maybe, finally, she had reached the zen state of indifference to him Letizia had tried to tutor her to reach, but she suspected it might be due to numbness caused by the overload of emotions she'd been feeling over the last couple of days. Still, she hoped for the former; she could really use the skill.
    When she and Jonathan arrived at the hospital, her father stood outside Leona's room, talking intently to the doctor. Dara couldn't deduce anything from the expressions on their faces, so she hurried over to join them, anxious to join the conversation.
    "Her brain activity has increased somewhat, though not to the same level I saw