Page 101 of Tempt

“Put him on the phone.”

“He’s sleeping. They cast his arm and—”

“He’s in a cast?!”

He’s all you have. You shouldn’t have left.This is all your fault.

“Where were you?” I demand.

“I was right with him, but a call came in and I turned away for a second.”

I feel the blame rising up, the need to share it because it’s pressing on me like a stone.

“Dammit, Kat. I’m getting an early plane.”

My assistant’s finished work for the day, but I can call the airline myself. Find a standby flight if necessary.

“He’s fine until you get back tomorrow. We’ll call you when he’s awake.”

He’s spent enough time in hospitals, and now he’s in one again, without me.

The line is quiet, but the blood pounds in my ears. I look around the hotel lobby, professors milling about and chatting easily.

“I’m sorry,” she says quietly.

“No, I’m sorry.”

I click off before she can respond.

29

DANIEL

“Dad!” Andy calls when he spots me.

The hospital sounds and smell of antiseptic have me on edge from the second I charge through the doors.

“Andy.” I lean over his bed to hug him fiercely.

The blankets are pulled up around his little body. His cast looks far too big for the rest of him, and he’s got half a Popsicle clutched in his good hand.

“How are you feeling?”

“My arm hurts,” he says with a sigh. “But the cast is cool.”

“Where’s Kat?” I ask.

“Right here.” Her voice makes me turn.

Her hair is piled in a messy knot, her face paler than normal. In an oversized sweater and jeans, she could pass for a teenager as she holds up a small bag of chips. “I went to the vending machine for supplies.”

“Those are the good ones!” Andy crows, and I force myself to smile.

What was I thinking leaving the two of them alone?

“When you finish the Popsicle I can help you open them. Deal?”

“Deal.”

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