Page 83 of Final Approach

“Thanks. So how’s Andrew?” Kristine had explained his situation in as few words as possible when she’d gotten the call from Nathan about the wreck. As she ran out of Emily’s room to head to the emergency room, she’d promised to come back with news as soon as possible.

“He’s fine. A little rattled, but thankfully, fine.”

“And someone hit him?”

“Yes. On purpose.”

Emily’s eyes went wide. “Wow, who’d he make mad?”

“Not him, someone he used to work with. We suspect they went after Andrew to get to this other guy. Thankfully, someone saw the accident and called it in and the other guy ran off.” The long-winded explanation was just a way to avoid what she really needed to say. “Anyway, I can’t believe you feel good enough to sit up and eat something.”

“I don’t, really, but if I want to get out of here, I need to.”

Kristine frowned. “You’ve had a rough time, Em. No need to rush it. And where are Ethan and Aunt Wendy?”

“They left. Dad was getting on Ethan’s nerves, and I think Aunt Wendy needed a break too. I asked everyone to leave and give me some space.” She chewed her bottom lip. “Is that mean?”

“No. Not at all. Do you know where they went?”

“No, Ethan just said he was going to cool off, Aunt Wendy said she was going to make some phone calls, and Dad said he was goingto chill in the cafeteria.” Emily picked at the sheet, then looked up to meet Kristine’s eyes. “What’s wrong with him anyway?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s being so ... nice. It’s unnerving. I think that’s why Ethan had to leave. It was driving him nuts that he couldn’t figure out the angle.”

Kristine laughed. “Well, I imagine Dad’s feeling grateful you’re still alive but realizes how close he—we—came to losing you. Maybe he’s just, I don’t know, filled with regrets? Maybe he wants to make amends with you?”

Emily studied her, the bruises on her face still clear, although changing colors as they healed. “Hmm. Maybe.” She scowled. “I doubt it, but guess time will tell.”

It didn’t take much to tire Emily out, and Kristine needed to ask her about Dana before her sister decided to take a nap. “Hey, change of subject. Detective Tate Cooper’s on his way here to talk to you aboutyourwreck.”

“Okay. I’m not sure what I can tell him. One minute we were laughing and excited about getting on the ship and the next Dana was screaming she couldn’t stop the car. And then I woke up here.” A tear slipped down Emily’s cheek and she brushed it away.

“Was Dana dating anyone?”

“Yeah, Brody McGill. He won’t leave her side until she’s released.” She grabbed a tissue from the box on the end table and blew her nose. “Is she awake yet?”

“No, she hasn’t regained consciousness yet. You don’t have a brain injury. She does. They’re keeping her in a medically induced coma.”

Emily frowned. “I didn’t think she was hurt that bad. Or at least not worse than me.”

“She didn’t have any broken bones, just the hard knock on the head.”

“Wow.”

“So, Brody and Dana,” Kristine said. “Any bad feelings between them?”

“What?” Emily frowned. “No way. He was actually going to fly into the Bahamas and ask her to marry him on the beach. Then we were going to have an engagement celebration right there at the resort.” She bit her lip and more tears spilled.

“Oh. Wow.”

“Yeah.” She sniffed. “Why are you asking?”

Kristine rubbed her eyes and sighed. She struggled for the words and finally found them. “Someone tampered with the brakes on her car.”

Emily’s eyes narrowed and she shook her head. “That can’t be right.”

“It’s right.”