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Their relationship began with English giving him food, then a place to sleep, then a shower and clean clothes. Eventually, Jackson slept inside English’s apartment over the bar more than he slept outside. He earned money by doing odd jobs around the bar. Then English pushed him back into school and insisted he graduate. English became his guardian before he realized it was happening.

Jackson and the others had similar stories. They owed English their lives. The time had come for them to make it up to the man who raised them, the man who groomed them to take his place as someone who looked out for the underdog, who helped those who couldn’t help themselves. English had taught them everything they would need to know to be the next and better generation of Legends.

Jackson couldn’t shake the feeling this might be one mission that would tax the Legends to their limit.

Chapter Four

Reagan couldn’t believe she was at Trinity Medical Center. She’d spent her whole life convincing herself she didn’t care about English Barlowe or anything he did. It was a lie. She owed this man nothing, but she still came. She needed answers, so she could move on.

“Excuse me.” She spoke to the nurse behind the desk in the Intensive Care Unit. She’d been directed there by the volunteer who manned the information center at the front entrance.

The nurse glanced up from behind a computer. Her round face softened with a friendly countenance, her blue eyes carrying the gleam of her friendly smile. Reagan wanted to smile back, but she couldn’t bring herself to make the small gesture.

“I received a call that my father was here, and his doctor needed to see me.”

She managed not to wince when she uttered the words “my father.” She wasn’t used to talking about him, much less acknowledging him with the phrase. From the moment Randall Dunlap married her mother, he’d fulfilled the role of father in her life, to the point that she never thought to add the “step” in front of his moniker when she talked about him. She felt like she betrayed all he’d done for her by calling someone else father.

“His name?” The nurse typed on her keyboard as Reagan answered her question. “And your name?”

“He’s English Barlowe. I’m Reagan Bell. The volunteer downstairs said he was in the ICU, but I don’t know what room or anything.”

The nurse read something on the screen before nodding. “Dr. Briggs will want to talk with you, but he’s in surgery with another patient now. It may be an hour before he’s available. Visiting hours haven’t started yet, but the doctor has been making exceptions for Mr. Barlowe. Please limit the number of people in the room with him to no more than two at a time. I think your stepmother is in with him now.”

Reagan’s brain skittered at the wordstepmother. It seemed today was the day for unpleasant surprises from English. He had a wife. So why had his friend been the one to call her and not the wife? Was English dangling two women from the hook, having his cake and eating it too? It fit with the impression she had of him.

“He's in room eight, around the corner,” the nurse continued. “You may want to prepare yourself. His attackers did a number on him. His condition is very serious. Dr. Briggs will be able to tell you more.”

Reagan nodded as she allowed the information to sink in. “Thank you.”

She turned in the direction the nurse indicated, but her feet refused to move. Her adrenaline had worn off. When she’d been at her house, the sight of the strangers fighting to get to her freaked her out. Once she had gotten away from them, she ran until her legs were too weak to continue. That put her in front of her neighbor’s house, and fortunately, she was a neighbor Reagan knew. Since she’d left her cell behind, the neighbor had been only too happy to offer her phone for Reagan to use. Her call was to her business manager, whom she sent to sort out the mess at her house and retrieve her car, an overnight bag full of essentials, her purse and her cell phone.

The police encouraged her business manager to have her come in to complete a report about the ruckus. She tried to convince Reagan, but she decided to hit the road instead and drove straight to Fire Creek.

The ruckus…somehow giving the situation a silly name made it less scary. The man who held her at gunpoint, the man waiting outside her door, the fight which ensued, the man chasing her, and then the second fight which ensued. It was tied to English and the reason he was fighting for his life. Trouble followed him, and now it touched her.

“It’s alright.”

Reagan looked back at the nurse, hating the sympathy in her eyes. “I’m sorry?”

“It’s alright. To take a minute. It’s a lot to process.”

“You have no idea.”

Reagan turned and moved down the hall. She found English’s room easily. The curtain was drawn, so she couldn’t see inside. Her only view was of the edge of his bed with the covers tucked in tight around his feet. The nurse warned her to brace herself, but she didn’t think she could ever prepare for what she would see. Years had passed since the last time she put eyes on English Barlowe, and then, with all the viciousness an eight-year-old could manage, she told him never to reach out to her again. She should have guessed he wouldn’t heed her wishes.

“Reagan?”

She jerked, her eyes swinging around to see the woman standing only a couple of feet away, her hand holding to a Styrofoam cup, steam billowing from the top. Her silver hair was clipped short in a pixie cut, the front spiked in a chic, messy fashion. Her dark eyes watched Reagan’s with surprise and uncertainty. She was about Reagan’s height, her full figure clad in jeans and a loose shirt. Lines etched the skin around her eyes and mouth, evidence of how often she smiled. She took a step closer, and Reagan instinctually moved back.

“You are Reagan, aren’t you? You look a little different from your picture, but I was sure it was you.”

She had no idea what picture the woman referred to, but she nodded.

“Yes, I’m Reagan Bell.”

For a moment, Reagan thought she detected disappointment in the women’s eyes, but the emotion evaporated before she could be sure.

“Of course. I wasn’t sure you were coming. When the boys told me they lost you, I worried you wouldn’t be here in time. I should have known better than to doubt Jackson. When it comes to English, the boy would move heaven and earth to get anything the man needed.”