The Patriot Girl by Toni Lynn Cloutier

keep the agreement. It’s not that I blame her, but I don’t understand why we can’t work together on this business proposition.”
    “Does she blame you? For Paul’s death?”
    He nodded. “Yeah, she does.”
    Vicky sat beside him. “Honey, the accident wasn’t anybody’s fault.”
    “I know that, but I don’t think she does.” Not after the beating his chest had taken.
    Somehow she held him responsible for not watching out for other drivers running through red lights. Of course if he hadn’t been behind the wheel, Paul wouldn’t have hit him. But until his memory came back, he wouldn’t know why he was in that section of town or where he’d been headed.
    “It’s not easy for me either, Mom, but you and Dana are right. I can’t live in the past anymore. I settled with the insurance company after I met MaKayla, but before I knew who she was. I realized it was time to move on…and now this .”
    He ran his fingers through his hair again. Never before had a woman given him feelings beyond words. It was kind of how he thought he would feel if he’d hit the lottery, and then lost his ticket.
    “So you like this Patriot Girl?”
    “MaKayla. Yes, she’d be great for the club.”
    “I’m not talking about her business skills. You said after you met her you closed the case. You’re attracted to her, aren’t you?”
    “Yes.” Attracted was an understatement. He’d never been so excited to be in the company of a woman before. Not many people had the ability to brighten a room with their smile the way MaKayla could. “I know she’ll never go for dating the man she blames for her husband’s death. She’s too loyal. If I’m right about her, she’ll feel too guilty.”
    “Under the circumstances, she needs to feel as though she can have both of you without having to choose. She lost her husband in a car accident you were involved in. She feels she has to blame someone. Losing Liz was an act of God. You have no one to blame, you know that. And I know you’ll never forget her.”
    “No. She gave me Melissa.”
    Vicky patted his hand. “As long as you can accept Paul being part of who MaKayla is, dear, you two can get past this. Be patient. Don’t give up. Good things are always worth waiting for.”
    “So you’d be okay with me having her around?”
    “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
    Dustin shrugged. “I know how hard it was for you when I was in the hospital. I wasn’t sure how you felt about Paul and his family.”
    Vicky waved her hand. “My worries had nothing to do with who was involved—I worried about you kids when you got a splinter. You go talk to her and straighten things out.”
    “I don’t know what to say. ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t cut it.”
    “Give her time. Has she backed out of the contract yet?”
    He crossed his fingers. “Not yet. It’s been two days, and she still hasn’t contacted me. No news is good news, right?”
    ****
    MaKayla needed to get out of the house this morning. Alex had been gone twenty-four hours and already she couldn’t handle the silence.
    She wiped her feet on the rubber mat outside her parents’ home. The screen door slammed shut behind her as she stepped into the kitchen. Sobbing was coming from the sink area.
    “Mother?” Something clattered onto the floor. She dashed around the counter and helped Peggy pick up the dropped knife. Her mother’s red swollen eyes took her aback. She’d never seen her mother cry, never even knew the woman was capable of doing so. “What’s wrong? Is Daddy okay?”
    Peggy stood and lifted the corner of her flowered apron to wipe her eyes. “Daddy’s in the living room. I’m okay. No need to make a fuss.”
    Her mother was chopping walnuts on the counter, not onions, so her tears couldn’t be blamed on cooking.
    She turned to ignore the problem in the manner her mother always had. MaKayla had always resented her mother’s emotional unavailability. That was one reason why she and Paul had always made