Her Very Own Family

By Gina Wilkins

HER VERY OWN FAMILY?

For Brynn Larkin, marriage and babies seemed like a wish upon a star. Until fate landed her in the strong arms of Dr. Joe Allesandro. Too long, Brynn had hungered for happiness and Joe's tender touch almost had her believing in the power of love. Yet was the dashing M.D.'s promise of forever enough to fill the emptiness of her orphaned heart? Could Brynn leave her lonely past behind and embrace the image of Joe by her side, and their baby in her arms?

THAT SPECIAL WOMAN!:
She's friend, wife, mother she's you! And beside each Special Woman stands a wonderfully special man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jul 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781460862841

Gina Wilkins

Author of more than 100 novels, Gina Wilkins loves exploring complex interpersonal relationships and the universal search for "a safe place to call home." Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, and she was a nominee for a lifetime achievement award from Romantic Times magazine. A lifelong resident of Arkansas, she credits her writing career to a nagging imagination, a book-loving mother, an encouraging husband and three "extraordinary" offspring.

Book preview

Chapter One

Dr. Joe D’Alessandro had been at the hospital for hours. He was tired and hungry, eager to get home after a long, eventful day that had begun, for him, at 5 a.m. It was after 6 p.m. now, and he hadn’t even had a chance to eat lunch. But when a speeding pickup truck entered the highway, going the wrong way on an exit ramp, and rammed into the passenger side of a compact car just ahead of Joe’s vehicle, he never even considered driving on, leaving someone else to deal with the mess. Almost before the sound of the horrendous crash had completely faded, Joe was out of his car and running to help.

His brother Michael, who’d been riding with Joe home from the hospital where they’d just welcomed a new addition to the D’Alessandro family, was close on Joe’s heels. I’ll check the truck, he shouted. You look after the other car.

Joe nodded and sprinted toward the driver’s side of the car that had taken the impact. The older model, preairbag car, had been built more for economy than safety. The passenger door was crushed against the front of the truck. Joe hoped no one had been riding in the passenger seat, but it took only a glance inside the vehicle to see that both front seats were occupied.

Two young women were in the car, and they were both ominously still. Boxes and suitcases were tumbled throughout the interior of the small, crumpled vehicle, taking even more of the available space.

Other people were beginning to gather, shouting questions and suggestions.

I called 911. Should we try to get them out of the car? a burly, breathless young man asked Joe as he joined him beside the car door.

Not yet. Joe opened the driver’s door of the compact and knelt inside to check the driver. I’m a doctor, he said over his shoulder. Unless there’s someone else with medical training out there, have everyone stand back out of the way.

The young man took Joe’s words seriously, turning immediately to hold out his arms and motion the gathering onlookers off. Stand back, everyone, he shouted. We’ve got a doctor here.

The car’s driver moaned when Joe pressed his fingers to her neck to check her pulse. Her eyes fluttered, opened, then squinted in the yellow glare of the interior lighting. She was young, Joe noted objectively. Pretty. And terrified when she came to full consciousness and realized what had happened.

Gasping, she surged forward, would have toppled right out of the car if her seat belt hadn’t restrained her. Joe caught her shoulders, steadying her. It’s all right, he said firmly. I’m a doctor. I’m here to help you.

What...?

She blinked, looking confused. Joe didn’t think she’d been knocked unconscious, but she was badly shaken.

Can you tell me your name?

Brynn Larkin. I... Lifting a hand to her head, she frowned, then jerked around to look at her passenger. Her gasp was anguished. Kelly!

Help is on the way, Joe promised, reaching out to take her shoulders. I’m a doctor, he repeated firmly, when he saw panic begin to suffuse her face. Are you in pain?

Still looking at the other woman, Brynn shook her head. I’m fine. Please, help my friend. She’s hurt.

I can’t get to her, Joe said. The truck that hit you is completely blocking the other side of your car.

Brynn fumbled desperately for the latch of her seat belt. She winced with the movements, showing discomfort but no evidence of serious injuries. A swelling lump on her temple was the only damage Joe could see, probably from where the side of her head had hit the driver’s window. She seemed coherent enough; he thought she’d be all right. Her friend, however, was a different matter. Even from where he knelt, Joe could tell that the other woman had not been as fortunate.

He took Brynn’s arm, steadying her as she slid out from behind the wheel to give him better access to her friend. Please help her, she begged.

Michael appeared at Joe’s side. Lean on me, ma’am, he said, taking the driver’s arm as she rose shakily to her feet. My brother will see what he can do for your friend while you and I wait right here for the ambulance.

She refused to move more than a step from the open car door. Joe slid quickly into the seat she’d vacated. A big, leather purse was in his way; he scooped it up and tossed it backward, aware that Brynn caught it and clutched it in her arms. A glance over his shoulder told Joe that Michael was hovering protectively beside her, and then Joe turned his attention to the more seriously injured young woman.

Her head was slumped over the seat belt, which now rested across her throat. Very carefully, Joe moved her head to ease the pressure on her airway. Mentally cursing the fading daylight, he rapidly assessed her visible injuries.

There were too many of them.

The driver leaned into the doorway behind him, her voice frantic. Is she breathing? Please, how is she?

Hearing imminent hysteria, Joe spoke soothingly over his shoulder, the majority of his attention still focused on the injured woman. She’s breathing. I’m taking care of her, Brynn. Stand back, now, so the emergency teams can get to us.

Already the sound of approaching sirens was growing louder, to Joe’s relief. Kelly needed help, and quickly, but there was little he could do as long as she was all but enfolded in the buckled metal of the car. Michael?

Yes?

Joe glanced through the jagged-edged opening of the broken passenger window toward the smashed truck. Is someone taking care of the other driver?

He’s all right. Drunk as a skunk, but he’s sobering fast. I’ve got a few guys keeping an eye on him until the police get here. Michael’s tone held pure disgust when he talked about the negligent driver.

Joe grimaced and returned his full concentration to the unconscious woman in front of him. If it were up to him, he thought, the drunk would pay dearly for what he’d done to this young woman.

Brynn’s head hurt, but she ignored the pain, her full concentration centered in that horribly mangled car with Kelly. She was dimly aware of the man who stood so close to her side, his hand resting supportively on her shoulder, but she didn’t bother to look at him. She was more concerned with the man in the car with Kelly, the one who’d identified himself as a doctor.

Let him help her. Please.

Something about him reassured her, gave her hope. Maybe it was his deep, calm voice, or the kindness she’d seen in his brown eyes when he’d leaned over her and asked if she was in pain.

An ambulance pulled up among the people who had stopped to help or gawk. A patrol car arrived almost simultaneously, and an officer jumped out to send the onlookers away and clear access for emergency crews. Two EMTs rushed to the interlocked vehicles.

The man with Brynn stepped forward to brief the medics. This woman was driving the car that took the impact. Her friend is trapped inside. The man in the car with her is my brother, Dr. Joe D’Alessandro.

The medics nodded and went to work. Brynn could hear Joe D’Alessandro updating them on Kelly’s condition in frightening terms she couldn’t understand and then barking orders which the EMTs efficiently followed.

Another ambulance pulled in behind the first. A tall, coffee-skinned woman in a crisp white uniform shirt with dark uniform slacks stepped in front of Brynn. You were driving this car?

Brynn nodded, feeling unspecified guilt flood through her. She had been driving the car. So why was she standing here now, relatively uninjured, while Kelly was...?

She swallowed painfully, feeling the threat of tears burn behind her eyes.

The medic brushed Brynn’s hair away from the lump at her left temple. I’m Gail. What’s your name?

Brynn Larkin, Brynn answered mechanically.

Come with me, Ms. Larkin, and let me have a look at you. And there’s a very nice police officer who wants to take a statement from you about the accident.

My friend...

Your friend is being cared for by professionals. Gail took Brynn’s arm in a firm, yet gentle grip. Let’s get out of the way and let them work, shall we?

Tears trickled down Brynn’s cheeks. Clutching her purse, she nodded and allowed the woman to lead her to one of the waiting ambulances.

It took almost an hour for Kelly to be extricated from the wreckage. She regained consciousness soon after the ambulance teams arrived. Pain and fear made her words nearly incoherent, though she repeatedly said Brynn’s name. Joe stayed with her the entire time, holding her hand, calling her by name, repeating that he was a doctor, reassuring her that Brynn was fine and that Kelly herself would receive the very best of care.

Don’t leave me, Kelly begged, clinging weakly to his hand and sobbing.

I won’t leave you, he promised. You’re going to be fine, Kelly.

He hoped he was telling her the truth.

It was an enormous relief to everyone when Kelly was finally lifted gently out of the wreckage and strapped to a waiting gurney.

Brynn had refused to be transported to the hospital until she knew her friend was out of the car. She rushed to the gurney, stumbling a little when she reached it.

Joe steadied her, then kept his hands on her shoulders, since her pale skin and wild eyes worried him. She hardly seemed to notice he was there. Her eyes were fixed on Kelly’s bloody, mangled legs. The blood gushing from her right arm. The blood on her face.

Kelly? Brynn’s voice was little more than a choked whisper.

Kelly moaned and groped weakly for her friend’s hand. Brynn. I hurt so bad.

A sob broke from Brynn’s throat. I know, sweetie, she murmured the words, barely audible. I’m so sorry.

We need to load her into the ambulance, ma’am, one of the medics said, his voice quietly sympathetic.

Joe pulled Brynn gently back from the gurney. Let them get her to the hospital, Brynn. It would be best if you followed in the other ambulance. You’ll only be a minute or two behind her, all right?

She turned her tear-streaked face toward him, as though noticing for the first time how closely he stood to her. Please, she said. Ride with her, Dr. D’Alessandro. Take care of her.

Unexpectedly shaken by the appeal, and the blind faith it implied, Joe nodded. I will. Michael...

His brother stepped quickly forward. I’ll wait here until the cars are towed away. And then I’ll join you at the hospital.

Joe nodded. Thanks. Take Brynn to the other ambulance first, will you?

Michael nodded. Anything you want to get out of your car before you go, Ms. Larkin?

Joe thought he’d never seen a more vulnerable expression than the one Brynn turned toward Michael. Everything I own is in that car, she said simply, clinging even more tightly to the purse in her arms.

Michael glanced at Joe, then spoke to Brynn. I’ll take care of everything here, he said kindly. You just worry about your friend and yourself right now.

Thank you, she whispered.

Joe touched his brother’s arm in gratitude before climbing into the ambulance behind Kelly’s gurney.

By the time the ambulance arrived at the hospital where Joe had already spent most of the day, he had examined Kelly as thoroughly as possible under the circumstances, and knew what would have to be done for her. After sending Kelly off with the emergency team to be prepped, he was waiting when Brynn was wheeled into the ER futilely insisting that she did not need a wheelchair and that she wanted to see her friend.

Joe got his first real look at her then, under the harsh lights of the hospital emergency entrance. Bruised, pale and shaken, she was still a very attractive woman, probably somewhere in her mid-twenties. Her tousled nape-length, blunt-cut hair was almost as dark as his own, but her eyes were a clear, crystalline blue. The unexpected contrast was very appealing, particularly in combination with her delicately rounded face, small, straight nose and full, soft mouth.

She spotted him and climbed quickly out of the wheelchair, resisting a nurse’s attempts to keep her seated.

Dr. D’Alessandro, Brynn said urgently. Where is Kelly? What’s being done for her? When can I see her?

Your friend is being stabilized and prepped for surgery, Joe answered in the southing voice he typically used for hysterical family members.

Surgery? Brynn whispered.

He nodded. She has sustained a rather serious injury to her right leg, as you saw at the accident scene. There are other injuries, as well, but her leg took the brunt of the damage. I’m an orthopedic surgeon on staff here, so I will perform the operation, if you have no objection..

She moistened her colorless lips, gripped her possessions more tightly in her arms and looked him in the eyes when she asked, Are you good?

I’m good, he answered simply—because it was what she needed to hear, and because it was true.

He’s the best, ma’am, the hovering nurse piped in.

Joe sent her a slight smile of thanks, then looked back at Brynn. You’ll want to call your friend’s family.

She doesn’t have a family. She and I were raised in the same foster home. I’m all the family she has—and she’s all I have.

Is there anyone else we can call for you, Ms. Larkin? A friend, perhaps? the nurse asked.

Brynn shook her head. We’re new to Dallas. We don’t know anyone here yet.

Joe frowned, feeling the urge to hurry to his patient but hating to leave Brynn so alone. I want you to be thoroughly examined, as well. You’ve been so worried about your friend that you haven’t taken time to assess your own condition.

I’m fine, Brynn answered impatiently. Kelly is the one who’s hurt. She looked at him pleadingly. Please go help her.

Joe placed a hand on her shoulder. She felt very fragile beneath his hand, as if she were holding herself together by sheer willpower. I’ll take care of her, he promised.

He turned then to the nurse. Do me a favor, will you? he asked quietly. See if any D’Alessandros or Walkers are still hanging around in the maternity ward. Ms. Larkin needs someone with her.

The woman nodded and hurried away. Joe led Brynn to a vinyl-covered bench at an unoccupied end of the waiting room. He urged her to sit down and then sat beside her, explaining as simply and reassuringly as possible what the operation on her friend’s leg would entail. By the time he’d finished, the nurse had returned, followed by a tough-looking, deeply tanned cowboy in flannel shirt, jeans and well-worn boots.

Jared. Joe stood to greet the older man, pleased to see him. Jared Walker, with his calm, quiet strength, was the kind of man a frightened young woman would instinctively trust.

Jared nodded. Hey, Joe. I understand there’s been an accident.

Speaking quickly and in a low voice, Joe explained the situation to Jared, who looked at the slender young woman sitting alone and lost on the bench in the bustling emergency room and nodded. I’ll sit with her.

Joe clapped a hand on Jared’s shoulder. Thanks. She needs the support.

No problem. I’d want someone to do the same if it was my Molly in this situation.

He led Jared to Brynn, who was watching them questioningly. Brynn Larkin, this is Jared Walker, a very good friend of mine. He’s going to stay here with you for a while, okay?

Oh, that really isn’t necessary. Brynn’s protest was automatic, and held a touch of shyness as she looked quickly from Jared to Joe.

Jared gave her one of his rare smiles, and Joe could almost see Brynn warm to it—as most people did, from what Joe had observed during the more than ten years he’d known Jared Walker.

No trouble at all, ma’am, Jared drawled, his tone pure, laid-back Texan. Hospitals are bad enough without having to sit in them by yourself.

Reassured that Brynn was in good hands, Joe excused himself and rushed off to scrub for surgery.

Brynn watched Joe disappear and then turned to the kind-eyed cowboy who had seated himself beside her on the hard bench. You know him well?

Joe? Jared Walker nodded. I’ve known him quite awhile now. My sister Michelle is married to his brother Tony which makes us family, in a manner of speaking.

Brynn thought of the man who’d assisted her at the scene of the accident, who had introduced himself as Joe’s brother Michael. She wondered briefly how many brothers the doctor had, but she pushed that question aside to concentrate on one that was much more important at the moment.

He’s a good surgeon?

Jared answered without hesitation. I would let him operate on my wife, my son or my daughter. If you knew me better, you would understand how much confidence in him that indicates.

Jared’s love for his family was so obvious that Brynn’s throat tightened in reaction. Thank you for reassuring me that Kelly’s in good hands, she murmured.

I can tell you’re very close to your friend.

She’s... Brynn had to clear her throat. She’s like a sister to me. The only family I have. I don’t know how I would bear it if...if she...

Jared covered Brynn’s icy, clenched fingers with his own work-hardened hand. Joe will do everything he can, he said.

She might have preferred a reckless promise that Kelly would be fine, that there was no chance Brynn would lose her. Somehow she knew Jared Walker wasn’t the kind of man who made promises he wasn’t so sure he could keep. She sighed and nodded, grateful for the comfort he’d offered. I know. It’s just...I’m afraid.

I understand.

Brynn bit her lip, doubting that he could possibly understand how she felt at this moment.

Jared’s hand tightened around hers. I understand, he repeated. Eleven years ago, I sat in this very room waiting for word about my son, Shane, after a drunk driver ran a red light and smashed into the side of my truck. The side where my son was sitting.

Brynn went very still, searching his face. She could almost see the grim memories mirrored in his dark-blue eyes.

I had been driving, Jared added. "I sat here, hardly injured, and blamed myself for the accident, even though there was nothing I could