Page 4 of Broken Dreams

“Okay.” The little girl spun like a top and dashed inside.

With an apologetic glance at him, she said, “Mom broke her hip a month ago and she needs help getting around.”

And that was his cue to leave. He managed a smile. “Shane mentioned how the Monroe family was closer to him than his own. I can certainly see why he felt that way. Please, give your parents my regards.”

“Why don't you stay for dinner?” Amber stood with a fluid movement he sorely envied. “My brother Adam will be here. He was a good friend of Shane’s. I'm sure he'd love to talk to you.”

Sucking in a deep breath to ward off the anticipated pain, he pushed himself to a standing position. A dark red hot jolt of pain flashed before his eyes, momentarily blinding him. Wow, something as easy as standing shouldn't be so difficult. To distract himself from his weakness, he focused his gaze on Amber's youthful face as he recited her sibling’s names. “Aaron, Adam, Alec, Austin, and Amber. Don't tell me, let me guess. You guys are the A-team.

Amber laughed, the simple motion lit up her whole face, making him suck in another quick breath. “What can I say? My parents have a strange sense of humor. You forgot my sister, Andrea, she’s between Aaron and Adam. Beth is her daughter. I have the dubious privilege of being the youngest. My sister has carried on the tradition, her children are Bethany and Benjamin. We can only pray she doesn't have four more. I'm not sure our family gatherings could take the noise.”

He thought her family sounded wonderful. He'd heard bits and pieces about the Monroe family from Shane. Guilt over his death returned in full force. “You're very fortunate to have such a large family.”

Her expression softened. “Yes, I know.”

“Amber?” A booming male voice came from inside the house. “Beth tells us your boyfriend is here. Why don't you invite him in?” As he spoke, her father opened the door and stepped out on the porch. “You know your friends are always welcome. Hi. My name is Abe Monroe. My wife, Alice is inside.” Her dad held out his hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Nick Tanner, and it's nice to meet you too.” Nick shook Amber's father's hand, subtly shifting his weight to ease the pain in his left leg before it buckled and he embarrassed himself by doing an ungainly nose dive off the side of the porch.

“Nick is Shane’s friend.” Amber rolled her eyes at her dad's assumption they were seeing each other. “He's a surgeon too, and was training with Shane over in Beijing. I just invited him to stay for dinner.” She glanced over her shoulder while opening the door. “Dad, talk him into staying, while I run up to check on Mom.”

“Really?” The older man's eyes brightened with keen interest as he gazed at Nick. Amber grinned slyly as she left him alone with her father. “You were with Shane in Beijing? I'd love to hear about your time there, if you don't mind.”

Nick could swear he heard the clang of a jail door slamming shut behind him. How was he going to get out of this? For a moment, he considered simply walking away. But then realized he owed the Monroe clan more than a couple of minutes of his time. Shane had called them his surrogate family. So what if he didn't have his pain meds and muscle relaxants with him? They didn't work all that well anyway. He could suffer a few more hours.

To be honest, he didn't have anywhere else to go. Except back to an empty motel room. For years he'd roamed the world thriving on his independence. But since his accident he'd become keenly aware of his lack of a home. Of a family.

“No, sir, I don't mind at all.” He forced a smile. “I'd love to stay for dinner.”

“Great! Come on in.” Abe gave a hearty laugh and opened the door gesturing for Nick to follow. “I'll tell Andrea to set another place at the table.”

He followed Amber's father inside the house and immediately felt surrounded by the warmth of the Monroe family. One entire wall of the living room was covered with framed pictures of the children, including he saw with a grimace, several pictures including Shane.

And of course, dozens of Amber.

In his humble opinion, she was the cutest of the bunch.

He felt like a traitor stepping into this wholesome homestead. When he heard the tinkling sound of Amber's laughter, he knew he was sunk.

His mission of returning the cardboard box to Amber had been completed. He had no intention of telling the family the graphic details about the plane crash that had nearly killed him and had stolen Shane’s life. The hotel had sent his bags to the hospital upon his transfer back to the United States, but had mixed up some of his and Shane’s belongings. He wasn't even sure how it happened, some phrase had caught his eye and he ended up reading part of a letter. Then another. Then all of them. Every letter and email Amber had sent to Shane.

Then he'd suffered complications from surgery that had extended his stay in the hospital for another two months. If he was brutally honest, Amber's letters were the only thing that kept him from losing his mind during the long, painful weeks of rehab. He'd read each letter and e-mail so often he could quote them by memory.

Bad enough he'd betrayed her privacy. What was he doing hanging around here?

Meeting Amber in person hadn't helped exorcise his demons. In fact, just the opposite. Now that he'd met her in person, he only wanted to stay.

Amber couldn't concentrate on taking care of her mother, not when she could hear the rumble of Nick's deep voice downstairs as he spoke to her family. She was more than a little intrigued by the tall, dark-haired stranger.

Although he really wasn't a stranger, she silently corrected. That hadn't been just a line to satisfy her niece. Shane had mentioned Nick several times in his letters, how they'd go out and play tourist in Beijing after putting in long grueling hours in the operating room. Shane had also been impressed by Nick's skill as a surgeon. It was such a shame he'd been injured.

“Ouch!” Her mother yelped.

“Oh, I'm so sorry.” She winced and turned her attention back to the task of getting her mother out of the bathtub. “I didn't mean to bump your knee like that. Here, wrap your arm around my shoulder so I can support your weight off your hip.”

“That's all right, dear.” Her mother flashed a forgiving smile. “Did you have a rough day at work?”

“No more than usual.” With caution, she helped her mother stand then step out of the bathtub. According to the physical therapists, they weren't supposed to rely on the automatic lift anymore, even though her mother preferred the ease of using the supportive equipment.

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