It was a simple stone.  He hadn’t wanted anything overly fancy—he’d vehemently vetoed Leighanne’s desires to get an extravagant stone decorated with baby angels.  What he’d finally agreed to was a strong granite slab with the least fussy detailing he could get her to go along with, and a simple quote scripted across the top.

Two years after that horrible day, he stood, the spring breeze blowing gently through his hair, fluttering the greening grass, and looked down at the most painful piece of land in the world.  All of his hopes and dreams for the future lay beneath him.  The hole that had been carved in his heart ached like a wounded limb and, he knew, always would for the rest of his life.

Nothing could take away this pain.

He sensed the moment she came and stood next to him.  There was no need for words.  Everything that needed to be said between them had been said and done nearly six months earlier.

“He would’ve been twelve this year.” Her voice was steady, but he could hear the tears she was suppressing.  “He probably would’ve chopped off those curls of his.  I bet the girls would’ve loved him no matter what.”

He didn’t resist when she threaded her fingers through his.  Instead, he rested his head on hers, taking comfort and giving what he could.  They stood there that way for long minutes, as though they were listening for the sounds of the boy who’d hadn’t been given the chance to grow up.

“Did you go see Nick yet?” Her voice was muffled, but she knew he’d heard her when he stiffened.  She leaned back to look into his face and nearly sighed at the hardened expression.  “He asks for you all the time.”

“He’s wasting his breath.” His blue eyes were cold as he spoke, and his voice flat.  “You can waste your bleeding heart on him if it helps, but that doesn’t mean I ever will.”

Her eyes widened a little in surprise, though she supposed she really shouldn’t have expected any different.  He’d made his decision in the time that had followed the worst day of their lives, and she was sure he meant to follow it for the rest of his life.  “It’s strange,” she began after several moments of tense silence.  “It used to be that you spent so much of your time with Nick, while I kept my distance.  Now, it’s me who spends hours of my day with him, while you refuse to even acknowledge his existence.”

His response was silence.

She waited a few minutes before she spoke again.  “Remember how much he adored Nick? How Nick’s was the first name outside of the family that he learned? He would get so excited just hearing Nick’s voice on the phone.” She smiled to herself as the memories flooded through her.  “The best part was that Nick loved him just as much.  He was never annoyed, never needed a break from what had to have been an annoyance at some points to him.  He was so good with him-”

“Give it a rest!” The words exploded out of him as he wrenched his hand away from his ex-wife and paced away as though to give himself space from the barrage of emotions that beat at his insides like rock-hard fists.  “I don’t care! I don’t care how he was or what he did before! Maybe you can forgive him, maybe you can forget what he did, why he’s the reason that—that-”

And he broke.  Dropping to his knees before his son’s gravestone, Brian Littrell fell apart in a way he hadn’t, not even when the light of his life had been extinguished. 

“He’s gone, he’s gone.” The sobs wracked his body, shuddered through him forcefully.  When Leighanne knelt and wrapped her arms around him, she felt that his bones might break from the mixture of his grief and anger.   “Oh, God. Oh, God, why?”

They sat that way, curled together above where their son lay.  Minutes passed, maybe hours.  He wasn’t sure how long it took him to finally sit up and pull away from Leighanne’s familiar and soothing arms.  His bones felt old.  He felt old and worn down. 

He pushed himself to his feet and helped her to hers.  Shoving his hands in his pockets, he studied the smooth granite stone listing Baylee’s years of birth and death, too close together.

“It will never be okay.  What happened, what Nick did…I can’t get past it.” He rubbed a hand over the ache in his heart.  He’d lost his son and the next thing he’d had to a brother in the same day.  “Maybe you’re stronger than I am if you can stand to be in his presence.”

“Brian-”

“I can’t do it, Leighanne.  Maybe I’m going to hell for this fury that is trapped inside me, for my inability to forgive, but I can’t forgive and I can’t forget.  For the rest of my life, I will never forget that Nick is the reason my son is gone.”

He’d had another nightmare.

This was nothing new.  He’d relived those awful minutes nightly for a year after that night and would always wake screaming for Baylee.  It was only in the last several months that the dreams had died down to two or three times a week.

This was the fourth consecutive one this week.

Sitting on his back deck, staring out over the ocean, he shivered in the warm breeze.  He could still hear the screech of rending metal, the smell of rubber burning, and always, always Baylee’s screams that were always cut short.  Too short.

Cupping his hands around the mug of tea in his hands, he tried to draw warmth from the steaming liquid.  It seemed as though his bones were permanently encased in ice, and, in two years, nothing had been able to penetrate the bone-deep cold he carried inside.

His therapist had told him that he needed to forgive himself before he could ask Brian for forgiveness.  That he would never recover if he didn’t accept the events of that night and try to move forward.

What did she know? He scowled into the orange-scented steam rising from between his hands.  Had she ever killed her best friend’s child? Had she ever made such a terrible mistake, one that she would pay for throughout the rest of her miserable existence?

Yeah, right.

He was utterly alone and completely believed that he deserved to be so.

It didn’t matter what his therapist said or what Leighanne—fuck him, Baylee’s mother had forgiven him, so he was certain she was smoking something incredible these days—told him.  He tuned out whatever Kevin or Howie, even AJ, tried to say with all of their platitudes. 

Brian hadn’t looked at him since the night he’d offered to take Baylee bowling, so the kid wouldn’t be cooped up on the tour bus during the thunderstorm.  Not once had Brian come to see him in the aftermath, and Nick hadn’t been in any shape to seek him out during the funeral.

Most days, it was hard to look himself in the eyes, even in the mirror, but he wanted Brian to look at him, to scream at him, to wish him dead, to do…something.  Anything.  As long as it meant he could see Brian again.

He missed Brian the way he’d miss his arm if he’d lost it.  It throbbed in him daily, and he hated seeing the sympathetic look on everyone’s faces whenever he asked about his old friend and whether he was ever going to come see Nick.

“Nick?”

He turned his head away from the ocean to the back door and managed a grim smile.  “Hey, Kate. How’s it going?”

“You tell me,” she replied briskly as she walked to him, knelt, and looked directly into his eyes.  “You had another nightmare?” When Nick nodded, she frowned.  “They’re happening more than usual this week, aren’t they?”

Nick felt the tears burning behind his eyes but didn’t let them fall.  He didn’t deserve to cry.  “Today’s the anniversary,” he whispered.  “Two years.”

Her lips firmed into a line, and she nodded, her dark curls waving slightly in the ocean breeze.  “I see.  Well, when you’re done with your tea, we should get started for the day.” She pressed a hand to his shoulder in comfort.  “Don’t take too long, okay?”

When she disappeared back inside, he sighed.  Some days, he admitted to himself that, if it wasn’t for Kate’s daily presence, he probably would’ve slit his wrists by now.  There was something about her no-nonsense attitude that pushed him to make it through another day, even when he didn’t see a point in continuing his miserable life.

He tossed back the last of the now-cold tea, set the mug in his lap, and maneuvered his wheelchair back into the house.

He filled his days with a variety of activities.  Anything to keep from hearing the echoes of Baylee’s laughter, his voice, the sound of his feet running down the hall.  The sounds had haunted him in the home that he and Leighanne had raised their son in, so he’d had no choice but to move out to keep from losing his mind.

The Backstreet Boys had fallen apart.  Brian had been the first to drop out, refusing to work with the man who had killed his child.  AJ had rolled his eyes and muttered that it wasn’t likely that Nick would even be able to work with them, but Brian hadn’t cared.

Had refused to let himself care.

He’d dived into the Healthy Hearts Club work with a single-minded focus and was even now working on ideas to create a new division for research into brain and spinal cord trauma.  His son couldn’t be saved, but that didn’t mean that other people’s children had to die just because they trusted the wrong person and ended up with severe, life-threatening head injuries.

Fury grew in him again.  It seemed as though it was a living, breathing thing inside him these days, and it needed very little provocation to emerge.  All he had to do was think of the man he’d entrusted his child to, and he-

The doorbell rang and pulled him from his thoughts.

Brian blinked and looked down to see the pen in his hand had ground through half of the legal pad he’d been taking Hearts Club notes on.  His hand shook slightly as he set the pen down, pushed the pad aside.

He scrubbed his hands over his face wearily and sighed.  It was a good thing that no one else was around to see his daily struggle with control.  He could so easily see himself picking up a vase and winging it at the window and feeling vicious satisfaction at the explosion of glass and pottery.

The doorbell rang again, and this time Brian started.  He hadn’t realized that it had actually rung the first time.

Moving through the condo he’d been living in for the past eight months, he couldn’t help but resent the interruption.  He hoped it wasn’t anyone he knew and was just some door-to-door type individual.

He blinked in surprise when he found his cousin’s wife on his doorstep.  “Kristin?”

She smiled warmly at him and shoved her sunglasses on top of her blonde hair.  “Hi, Brian.  I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Uh, no.  Not at all.” Kevin and Kristin had been among the few people in his life who hadn’t pushed or smothered him with concern over the past two years, but Brian was confused as to why she was here now.  “Come in,” he added, remembering himself and grabbed the small suitcase she had with her.

Kristin followed him in and glanced around his home, her eyes shrewdly observing every detail when his back was turned.  She’d seen the confusion, and the hint of resentment—for the intrusion into his self-imposed isolation, she was sure—in his eyes for a moment before he’d remembered his manners. 

“I hope you don’t mind me barging in this way,” she began.  “I’m in town for two nights for a shoot in downtown Atlanta, and I thought, why bother staying in a hotel when there’s family in this city?” She smiled at him again as she saw his obvious struggle to hold onto his temper.  “Would it be terribly rude of me to impose on you for a couple nights? I’ll be gone early in the morning and be back late.  I won’t get in your way at all.”

No, he wanted to scream.  No, it was not okay. No, he did not want her or anyone to stay with him.  “Of course, it’s not a problem,” he assured her.  “You’re family.  Why don’t I show you to the guest room, so you can get settled in?”

Kristin nodded.  “Why don’t you?”

He’d taken the time to at least put furniture in his spare bedroom, so there was a bed, a dresser, a mirror, and an armchair in the bedroom.  “It’s not much, I know,” he began, but Kristin shook her head.

“It’s perfect, Brian.  Thank you so much.” She beamed at him, and he couldn’t help but smile back, though it felt strange and unfamiliar to let his lips curve into that happy expression.  “I had lunch with Leighanne a little while ago, and she assured me that you would be more than happy to let me stay.  I’m glad she was right.”

He could only nod and wondered what Leighanne had been thinking.  She knew how foul his moods were, and she’d given Kristin the okay to stay with him?  “I’ll, uh, be downstairs if you need anything.”

Kristin smiled at him again, and Brian escaped down the stairs.  What was going on? he couldn’t help but wonder.  He didn’t mind Kristin at all; in fact, he liked her and thought she and Kevin were the perfect couple and had been blessed with their son, Mason.  But he’d rarely ever spent time with her when Kevin or the rest of the family wasn’t around.

He stopped halfway down the stairs, then turned and went back up to find Kristin unpacking.  “Did Kevin put you up to this?” he demanded.

Her motions didn’t falter or hesitate as she removed two pairs of heels from her suitcase and set them inside the closet.  “Kevin doesn’t dictate my actions, Brian.  I’m here because I want to be.”

“Why?”

“Why am I here, or why do I want to be here?”

Brian shrugged.  “Why do you want to be here? I haven’t been the most sociable person to be around for a while, so why wouldn’t you want to just stay in a hotel?”

She studied him for a moment.  “Because you’re family, and I care about you.  We were all devastated by what happened, Brian, but I’ve seen Leighanne working to pick up the pieces and live with it.  I’m worried about you because you’re not living with it.  You’re gripping your grief so tightly, and I worry about what will happen if you don’t deal with it.”

“I don’t need you or anyone else worrying about me,” Brian snapped.  “I don’t need therapy, I don’t need to talk to anyone about my feelings.  I lost my child. Would you be able to move on if you lost Mason?”

“Brian-”

He turned away when she reached out.  “You can stay here while you’re in town because you’re family, and I understand that your concern is because you care about me.  I get it.  I just don’t want to talk about this anymore. I have work to do.”

When he disappeared down the hall, Kristin sighed and pulled out her cell phone to text a simple message to her husband.

XXX

Brian didn’t see Kristin again until late the following night.  He’d been unable to sleep and was sitting in his darkened den with a bottle of beer dangling from his fingers when she found him.

He knew she was there before she spoke.  “Done for the day?”

“I’m sorry about before, Brian.”

He shrugged.  “Don’t be.  I’m fine the way I am.  I’m doing work that I believe in and am passionate about, and I have a great family and friends that I love.” He smiled at her when she sat across from him.  “Including you.  I know everyone’s worried about me, but I wish they wouldn’t.”

Kristin was silent for a moment.  “You need to talk to Nick.”

His fingers vised on the neck of the bottle.  “I don’t want to talk about him. Ever.”

“Don’t shut me out, Brian,” she warned him.  “Kevin and I have kept our distance, but we can see that neither of you has been recovering well.  You can pretend that he doesn’t exist if you want to, but you need to talk to him first and resolve the mess that’s between the two of you.”

“Like hell I will,” Brian replied flatly.

Kristin shrugged and stood.  “I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to.  But, just so you know, I’m only a messenger with a warning.” She leaned over and cupped his face in her hands.  “You can be such a sweetheart, Brian Littrell, and we all want the real you back. Not this bitter, angry man.” She kissed his cheek and stepped back, knowing he wanted his space.  “If you don’t talk to Nick voluntarily, I can’t promise you that you’ll like what happens.”

“Excuse me? That couldn’t possibly have been a threat, could it, Kristin?” Brian kept his voice low, afraid that he’d rage at her.

She turned to leave the room but stopped in the doorway.  “It’s not a threat when it’s what’s best for you, Brian.”

He stood for a long while after she’d left, his breathing ragged as he tried to control his rage.  Did Kevin really think he could force him to do something Brian had no intention of doing? If so, he’d soon find out differently. 

Losing his son had changed him, made him realize some hard truths about who he’d been before.  Trusting, gullible…he wasn’t going back to that Brian. Not ever.

They thought they could railroad him into facing the reason his son was no longer alive?

The empty bottle of beer flew out of his hand and crashed against the wall, showering amber shards everywhere.

“Go ahead and try,” he whispered viciously.

Nick gripped the bars tightly and pretended he was back in his elementary school gym class during the gymnastics unit.  These bars sure felt like parallel bars, he mused.  Then, he looked down at where his feet sat limply on the ground beneath him. 

His entire weight was resting on his hands—and on Kate, who had her arms hooked under his.  He wasn’t at all certain that his skinny, spindly-looking legs would hold him up at all if she were to let go, but this had to be done.

It had been two months since the last surgery on his back.  He and Kate had waited until the swelling had subsided and the last scans had come back clean.

“Okay, Nick.” Kate gave him an encouraging smile.  “Are you ready for this?”

He looked down at his feet again then up at her.  “Are you sure about this?”

One dark brow arched.  “Did you or did you not hire the best damn physical therapist around? I know what I’m talking about when I say that you’re ready.”

True, he mused.  She’d come with the best recommendations and glowing reviews from the top hospitals in the state.  If anyone could get him back on his feet, he knew it would be Kate Callahan. 

Besides, he’d given her an offer she couldn’t refuse and had hired her on for an indefinite period of time to help him and only him.  Hers was the first face he saw each day, and she was the one person who knew all of his issues.

She’d become the older sister he’d never known he’d wanted, and his new best friend.  If there was anyone whose word he knew he could trust, it was Kate’s.

Nick blew out a breath and rolled his shoulders to rid himself of nerves.  When he met Kate’s eyes, he saw the amusement in them.  “What? What’s so funny?”

“Is that how you got yourself ready to go onstage and perform?” she asked with a chuckle.  “It’s like you’re getting ready to box someone.”

He cracked a small smile.  “I guess.  I don’t know.  I don’t really remember.” The smile fell away.  “It feels like that Nick was a different person.  He’s gone now.”

She shook her head and tapped his chest.  “He’s hiding in here.  For now.  Today is the first step to bringing him back.  So,” she gave him a stern look, “are you ready for this, Nick?”

“I guess I am.” He felt a flutter of nerves and tried not to look down at his legs again.  “What do I do?”

Kate shot him an encouraging smile.  “Make sure you have a good grip on the bars, okay? When you do, when you’re sure, I’m going to slowly ease myself away, so that you’ll have all of your weight resting on your arms.  Make sure you breathe during this because I want to see you stand on your own and not pass out on me, okay?”

Nick just stuck his tongue out at her.

She ignored him.  “When you think you’re ready, slowly place a little bit of your weight on your legs.  Don’t rush yourself, and, if I think you are, I will grab hold of you again.  If you overdo it, you might end up damaging muscle that you’ve worked really hard to strengthen over the past few months.”

He grimaced as he remembered the grueling exercises that she’d put his legs through.  So why his legs still looked skinnier than Brian’s, he wasn’t sure.  At the thought of Brian, a sharp pang shot through him, and he focused on Kate’s voice with gritted teeth.

“Tell me when you’re ready for me to step away, okay?”

Nodding, he started counting his breaths, using an old breathing exercise from scuba diving.  He could feel how all of his upper body weight was currently being distributed, more than half rested on his arms and the rest on Kate’s petite, but surprisingly strong, frame. 

When he felt ready, he took a deep breath, let it out.  “You can let go, Kate.”

She studied him for a moment before nodding and, what felt like an inch at a time, eased herself away.  “Make sure you’ve got all of your weight evenly distributed between both arms.  Hold tight to the bars,” she instructed even as her eyes rushed over him, assessing.

“I got it, I got it.” Nick rolled his eyes at her, even as he felt a trickle of sweat seep down his back.  “Now what?”

“Okay, when you’re ready, picture putting two pounds of your scrawny weight on your legs.  Imagine how those two pounds will rest.”

Nick concentrated on the mental image.  “Uh…okay.  I’m good.”

“So are your legs,” Kate told him with a smile.  “Go ahead and add two more.”

Sweat was pearling on his forehead and upper lip by the time she guided him through placing all of his weight—which was barely 160 pounds these days—onto his legs.  He’d squeezed his eyes shut by this point and was nervous about the wobbly, spaghetti-like feeling in his legs. 

“Are you sure they’re supposed to feel this way?” he asked Kate.  “I think I’m gonna break them.”

“Don’t be silly.  You haven’t walked on them in over two years.  Of course, they’re going to feel weak,” she assured him briskly.  “If you hadn’t spent months exercising them, you wouldn’t even be standing right now.”

His eyes shot open.  “I’m standing?” He looked down at his legs and realized that he was no longer placing his weight on his arms.  “Holy shit!” He shot Kate a dazzling smile.  “I’m standing!”

Two years of surgery, therapy, and more surgeries had brought him to this moment.  Nick felt strong enough to do anything now that he knew he could stand.  Surely, with standing would come walking, then running, dancing, everything.

His life was finally getting itself back on track.

“Holy shit, Kate! You did it, we did it!” Nick lifted his arms up in a victory pose.  “I’m sta-”

And he fell.

XXX

Luckily, Kate had been close enough to catch him before he broke his nose.  “Honestly, I don’t know why you’re surprised that you fell,” she told him as she helped him back into the wheelchair.  “Your legs haven’t held your weight in two years, and, even though we’ve been building up your muscles again, it’s going to take time.  You’re learning to walk again, Nick.  Babies don’t just stand up and stay standing the first time.  It takes practice.”

“So now you’re calling me a baby?” he asked sullenly.

Kate rolled her eyes.  “No, I’m telling you not to give up.  That was just the first try.  Believe it or not, walking is going to be a hundred times worse than that.  I fully expect you to fall flat on your face after taking the first step.”

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”

She opened her mouth to retort when the doorbell rang.  They both frowned and checked the clock on the wall of Nick’s physical therapy room, which had once been his home gym.

“Were you expecting anyone?”

Nick shook his head.  “Nope.”

Kate sighed and shook her head.  “I’ll go see who it is, and then we’ll have lunch.  Extra protein today because you’re going to stand again—after we do some more leg exercises.”

Nick scrubbed his hands over his face as she left the room.  It had been the worst feeling to go from invincible to being as helpless as a baby.  For those five seconds, he’d been king of the world.  Now, he was just the cripple in a wheelchair.

He heard the voices before he saw them, and his eyes widened, a smile already growing on his face, when his youngest sister bounded into the room ahead of Kate.

“Angel!”

“Big bro!” She launched herself at him, clearly not caring about the wheelchair, and squeezed him hard.

He patted her back awkwardly as she was cutting off his circulation and air.  “Ange—can’t—breathe.  Get—off!”

“Oh!” She let go of him and grinned unabashedly.  “Oops! I’m just so excited to see you because it’s been forever, you know? They’ve got me so busy with all of these shows, but I got a couple days of vacay and headed straight here to see my favorite brother!” She punched his arm lightly.  “You look good!”

“So do you.”  Nick couldn’t help but smile back at her.  “I’m glad you’re here.  Really.  I’ve missed you.” He pursed his lips.  “How’s Aaron?”

The sparkle in her eyes dimmed a little.  “He’s…well, he’s Aaron.  Same shit, different day.  I’m just glad I have one brother who’s got his head screwed on strai—oh!” She clapped her hands.  “I almost forgot! Look who I found outside your house, trying to decide whether she should ring the doorbell or not?”

Angel stepped away with a sweeping gesture, and Nick found himself face to face with the woman he’d once believed was the love of his life.

“Lauren.”

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Lauren Kitt shifted nervously and sent him a small smile.  “Hi, Nick.” Her eyes flitted over the wheelchair before returning to his face.  “How are you?”

He took a moment to study her.  She’d always had the best body Nick had ever laid eyes on, but something seemed different about her.  And it wasn’t just that she seemed a bit scared to see him.

“Uh, I’m good,” he managed to say, his eyes flicking up to meet hers for a moment before shifting away.  He saw the frown on Kate’s face and nearly smiled.  She’d never liked Lauren.  Not from the first moment they’d met twenty-two months earlier.  “So…what’s up? What are you doing here?”

Lauren nibbled her lip.  “Do you think we could talk? In private,” she added with a glance at Angel and Kate.

Nick shrugged.  He couldn’t think of what she might possibly want to talk to him about, since they’d gone their separate ways a year and a half ago, but he shot a look at his sister and Kate.  “Guys, do you mind giving Lauren and me a few?”

Angel scrutinized Lauren’s face for several long seconds before shrugging and bounding out of the room, her dark hair streaming behind her.  Kate folded her arms, shot him a look, and marched out.

“So.” Nick spread his arms.  “Have a seat.  What did you want to talk about?”

Lauren moved towards a chair but didn’t sit, her fingers curled over the top of it.  “You look good, Nick.  Better.  I hope—I hope you’ll get to walk soon.”

“Yeah, Kate’s working on it.  She’s pretty determined to see me walk.” He sighed a little.  “I just hope she can do it because I don’t want to be stuck in a fucking wheelchair for the rest of my life.”  Not that it wasn’t just what he deserved, he thought sadly.  He should be grateful that he’d at least walked away with his life.  Baylee hadn’t.

She nodded and gave him an encouraging smile.  “I’m sure you’ll walk.  I believe you will.”

“So why’d you walk away from me? Why’d you give up on me if you thought I’d recover?” Nick demanded, irritation beginning to seep under his skin.  She’d told him that she wasn’t strong enough to help him through his recovery, that he deserved to have people around him who would give him strength and courage.  That was why she’d left, right?

Her knuckles turned white on the back of the chair.  “Nick, I loved you, but I couldn’t handle everything that was happening because of the accident.  I just wanted a normal life, and helping you do everything wasn’t part of that normal life.  And yes,” she continued when she saw the anger on his face, “that was mean and downright selfish, but I was freaking out.  I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know that I did that, but I’m looking at you and I can see that you’re doing really well now.”

“You know jackshit,” he told her bitterly but had no desire to tell her about how miserable his life really was.  “Just say what you came to say and then leave.”  He couldn’t believe that this was the woman he’d wanted to spend the rest of his life with.  Where was the courage and spine that he’d always admired?

Lauren’s eyes were glassy, but Nick had to give her credit for not letting a single tear spill.  “I’m sorry, Nick.  I…” She trailed off and pushed a hand through her hair.  Nick’s eyes latched onto the sparkle on her third finger, and her eyes widened when she realized what he was looking at.  “Um, that’s what I came to tell you about,” she nearly whispered.

“You’re getting married?” His voice sounded disbelieving, and he knew it.  How many times had she told him that she was just fine with keeping their relationship the way it was? How many times had she said she didn’t need marriage? And now…

“That’s, uh, that’s not all.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, hugging herself as she met Nick’s icy stare.  “I’m pregnant, too.  The engagement happened before we found out about the baby,” she added quickly, “but we’re excited about both.” She paused.  “I wanted to tell you because, even though it doesn’t seem like it now, you will always have a piece of my heart, Nick.  I’m always going to care about you, and I wanted you to hear this news from me and not through the grapevine or anything.”

Nick just stared at her, his insides feeling like they’d been coated with ice.  This wasn’t as bad as hearing that he was dead to Brian, but it ranked close.  What the hell was his life? he wondered.  How could everything have gone so wrong? How had he managed to screw up his world with one mistake? One single, horrible mistake.

He looked up at her.  “Congratulations.  I hope you, your future husband, and baby will be very happy together.” His voice was hollow and frozen, but he didn’t care.  “Thank you for telling me.  You can go now.”

“Nick.” His name was a shocked whisper, but he didn’t care.

Turning his wheelchair away, Nick scooted over to the sliding door that led out to the wraparound deck.  “Goodbye, Lauren.”

XXX

Angel didn’t say anything about Lauren’s visit or the horrible mood that Nick had descended into following her departure, but Kate had no qualms about pushing him to his limits with her torturous muscle training.  She ignored the barrage of curses that filled the air and got him back onto the bars to stand again.

With Angel leading a one-woman cheer squad for him, Nick managed to stand for twenty seconds this time before his legs decided enough was enough.

The smile on Kate’s face and his sister’s excited shrieks helped clear off most of his dark mood, and he found himself beaming, too.

Later, as Kate packed up to leave for the night, Nick pulled her aside.  “Hey, Kate? Thanks for everything today.  I know I sucked to be around, but-”

“You know, when I took this job, Nick,” she interrupted him, “my colleagues thought I was insane.  Yeah, your injuries were challenging and helping you walk again will get me written up and given accolades I can only dream of, but that’s not why I took this job.”

“Why’d you do it? The money?”

She rolled her eyes.  “My little girl used to love your music, and she was ecstatic when I took her to see your tour once.  You were her favorite, and she believed that you held the sun, moon, and stars in your hands.  That you could do anything.” Kate smiled a little.  “So when I saw the extent of your injuries and thought of what Maggie would say if she saw you, I knew I had to take the job.” She patted his shoulder comfortingly.  “My daughter believed in you, and I do, too.  You’re going to get out of that wheelchair and dance onstage again.  I promise.  Even if I have to go kick that Brian guy’s ass to get your group back together,” she added.

Nick stared at her, his jaw nearly sweeping the ground.  He’d never known she had a daughter or really much about her life other than what little she’d shared over the last two years.  Her bombshell had him stunned.

She was nearly to the front door when he called out to her.   “Can I meet her? Your daughter? Can I meet her?”

Kate’s expression dimmed.  “She died six months before your accident.  She’s gone.”

XXX

Before Nick knew it, the weekend had arrived, and Angel’s visit was over.  He watched as she got into a cab and blew him a thousand kisses before it drove away.  The week had gone quickly, and he was now able to stand for nearly three minutes at a time.  Kate had promised him that he could try to push himself out of his chair and into standing the following week.

They hadn’t mentioned her daughter again, but Nick was determined to walk again, even if it was more for Kate and her kid than for himself.

He’d tried calling Brian again, left a dozen messages, sent emails, tweets, and Facebook messages to no avail.  Leighanne had been sympathetic when she’d come for her weekly visits, but she hadn’t been able to help much either.

The chasm between Brian and him was so wide that he was on the verge of finally giving up.

AJ showed up one day and waved a plane ticket in Nick’s face.  “Can you take your physical therapy stuff on the road?” he asked Kate, ignoring Nick’s attempts to snatch the ticket from him.

Kate frowned at AJ.  “Where, exactly, does this road go?”

“Los Angeles.” Nick stopped reaching and stared at AJ, but AJ ignored him and leaned close to Kate, lowering his voice so only she could hear.  “This shit has got to end.  It’s time for an intervention.”