Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon

that 100 percent. Once I get up to speed on the past.”
    For another few seconds she held her ground. Then she huffed out a sigh. “Fine. You want a download? I’ll give you a download. A month after you left for Iraq, I was broadsided at an intersection on my way home from work by a car going at a high rate of speed. The other driver was drunk. He didn’t make it.
    “My tibia and fibula were broken. The tibial shaft fracture was bad, and a metal rod was inserted and screwed in to hold the tibia in place. In the interest of full disclosure, the procedure is called intrameduallary rodding. I wore a cast from above my knee to below my ankle and used crutches for quite a while. Both of those breaks are almost healed.
    “I also suffered an unstable pelvic fracture, which led to severe internal bleeding. The doctors inserted long screws into the bones on each side of my pelvis and connected them to a frame outside my body to stabilize the pelvic area. That allowed them to address the blunt trauma injuries to my abdomen. The worst was uterine avulsion, which required a subtotal hysterectomy. My pelvis was put back together with screws.
    “As for the prognosis, it’s very good. I’ve already made tremendous progress, and in time, I should be able to walk normally. Other than never being able to have children, I should make a full recovery.” She leaned back against the counter, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the edge. “And now you know the whole story, in all its gory detail. Satisfied?”
    Jake was still reeling from the fast-paced data dump. He didn’t understand half of the medical terminology she’d used or the subtleties of her injuries, but he filed away the information and planned to check it all out later on the Net.
    What he did understand was that she’d recited the facts in a clinical, dispassionate voice—until she’d gotten to the part about not being able to have children. Then her composure had started to splinter and her words had grown shaky.
    And that had spoken volumes. She might have come to grips with the physical baggage of the accident, and she might be making her peace with her shattered romance, but she was still working through her inability to conceive.
    He’d known, when Cole had dropped that bombshell, how crushed Alison must be. She loved children. Had dedicated her life, through her work with Social Services, to seeking justice for little ones caught in bad situations. Had always talked about having a large family of her own.
    As he watched her now, struggling to hold on to her self-control, a lump rose in his own throat. Following his heart, he closed the distance between them and took her in his arms.
    “Oh, Twig.” He cleared the hoarseness from his voice. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through.”
    He felt a shudder ripple through her, mirroring the quiver in her words. “I’ll be okay. But I have to admit, an occasional hug is really nice.”
    “Count on plenty of them from now on.”
    She leaned back and gave him a watery smile. “In moderation, though, okay? Mom was smothering me; that’s why I sent her packing. And Cole never stopped hovering. I need my space.”
    “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
    “I’ll remind you if you forget.”
    He gave a soft chuckle. “I don’t doubt that.”
    “Are we all squared away now?”
    “Yeah. I guess. But I still wish you’d told me all this sooner.”
    “Just remember, my motives were good.”
    “What’s that old saying about a certain road being paved with good intentions?” He slung an arm around her shoulders and grinned down at her.
    “I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
    As she repeated his words back to him with an impudent tip of her head, he laughed and squeezed her shoulder. “It’s good to be home.” Releasing her, he picked up the bottle of salad dressing. “Let’s eat.”
    After the emotional prelude to their meal, Jake made a concerted effort to keep the conversation light and