The Magic in Your Touch by Sara Bell Page A

bend, Nate knew he wasn’t going to make it. He closed his eyes and pictured Brandon’s face one last time before his serviceable little Honda ran off the road and crashed into a tree.
* * *
    What in the hell was he doing? Brandon sat behind the desk in his office and thought back to all the things he’d said to Nate. If they gave out awards for ‘Ass of the Year’ Brandon would win by a mile. He knew Nate well enough by now to know why he was really leaving; Nate was trying to protect him.
    If he was honest with himself, he knew Nate’s reasoning all along, but he’d been just frustrated enough to let his anger get the best of him. Now Nate was probably gone and Brandon would have the devil’s own time finding him. He would, though. No way was he going to let Nate get away from him. Especially not when he was taking a chunk of Brandon’s heart with him.
If anyone would know where Nate was likely to go, it would be Amy. Bran picked up the phone and almost had the number dialed when Sam came in.
     
“Boss, we’ve got a report of an accident off of Highway Four. An ambulance is on it’s way and I’m headed out there now, but it sounds like a bad one. You want to ride out with me?”
     
Bran grabbed his coat. He usually handled the more serious accident scenes himself because of all the red-tape involved. He said a silent prayer that no one was hurt and headed out.
     
They rode in Sam’s cruiser with Brandon sitting shotgun. Fire and rescue must already be on the scene because he could see flashing lights in the distance.
     
“Any word on who it is?”
     
Sam shook his head. “Not yet.”
     
Because of the winding road and the rescue vehicles already taking up the shoulder, Sam parked the cruiser several lengths back. They were met by a deputy half-way there.
     
“Boss, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who it was or I would have called you.”

 
Brandon stared at the young officer while dread settled in his gut. “What are you talking about, Collins?”
    “The doctor. I don’t know what happened, but he slid off the road and hit a tree. Must have been going—” Brandon took off at a flat run. He got to the wrecked car just in time to see the medics pulling Nate’s prone body from the twisted metal. He had a thick gash above his left brow and his blood covered right arm was bent at an unnatural angle. What got to Bran the most, though, was the pallor of Nate’s skin. He looked lifeless, dead. Brandon took one look at the man he’d come to think of as his and did something he’d never done in his life: he fainted in a rush of blacktop and agony. Chapter 5
    The last time they were at a hospital together, Brandon used his sick sense of humor to help Nate hold it all together. Now he wished someone could do the same thing for him. But even as he wished it, he knew better. All the laughter in the world couldn’t erase the fear in his soul as he sat in the surgical waiting room of Chicago General, desperate for any word of Nate.
Keith sat down beside him and handed him a cup of coffee and an ice pack. “If you’ll come down to the office, I’ll disinfect that for you.”
    Brandon’s fingers gingerly brushed the raw flesh of his cheek. “That’s what I get for passing out like some rookie at the scene of his first accident.” He took a sip of the scalding coffee, barely noticing when it burned his mouth.
    “Under the circumstances, I think you can be excused.” Keith leaned back as far as the plastic chair would allow. “At least come down to my office and wait. The surgical staff will know to page us down there as soon as any news comes in.”
Brandon started shaking his head before Keith even finished. “I’m not leaving him, Keith. I’ll wait right here until he comes out of surgery.”
     
Keith knew better than to argue. “I called Mom. She’s gathering up the troops and heading on over.”
     
“Nate hasn’t even had a chance to meet the rest of them yet. We were supposed to have