Chapter 2

"DAD, DAD, LeAnn's been hit by a car," came his son's voice blubbering from the speaker.

"WHAT! Is she hurt bad?"

"I ... I don't know, dad. The ambulance took her away a couple minutes before I got here. There're cops all around asking people questions. Right now they're talking to LeAnn's bus driver."

"Bus..." Tyler's mind was going through a thousand scenarios a second. "Bus driver, is he the one that hit her?"

"No—no, I don't so. I think he just saw what happened. I think Mrs. Cermak was hit too."

"Mrs. Cer..." Tyler knew he was wasting time and getting nowhere. "Chris, is your mom there?"

"No, dad, she's not back from classes yet."

"Okay, I want..."

"Oh wait—I see her. The cops have the street blocked off so she can't get through. I can see her car though. It's about third in line. I'm pretty sure she has no idea about what's going on, dad."

"Okay, listen, Chris. Go to her and tell her what happened, but try to stay calm and try to keep your mother calm. We don't need her getting into an accident on the way to the hospital. I'll meet you guys there."

"Okay, dad; I'm almost to mom's car now. She's seen me already. I think she knows something. She looks worried."

Tyler was slipping one arm into his coat while holding the phone with his other hand. "Remember what I said, Chris, try to keep your mother calm enough to drive. I'm leaving right now. I'll see you guys at the hospital."

He clicked off the phone. "Charlene, LeAnn's been hit by a car. I'm on my way to the hospital to see how bad she's hurt. I'll call you later," he roared as he rushed passed his secretary's desk.

During the twelve minute drive he never stopped praying. "God, just let her be okay," he said over and over. "God just let her be okay."

Once inside he rushed to the emergency desk. He didn't wait for anyone to look in his direction. "My name is Tyler Anderson. My daughter was just brought in after being hit by a car," he anxiously barked.

The pretty, young nurse took a quick look at the roster of incoming victims. "Oh yes, Mr. Anderson. They've already taken her to X-ray. Why don't you have a seat and we'll let you know..."

"No, she'll be scared. I want to be with her," he declared.

"Ah, okay; just take this corridor—"

"Tyler!"

He turned to see his ex-wife and son rushing in through the doors.

"How is she? Is she hurt bad?"

"I don't know yet. I just got here. She's in X-ray. I'm going there now. You and Chris have a seat and I'll let you know." He turned back to the nurse who finished telling him how to get to X-ray.

"Daddy," cried LeAnn as a nurse led her dad into the room.

Tyler felt sick to his stomach just seeing his little girl's condition. The right side of her face was scraped up and it was swelling and turning an angry purple color. The same went for both of her knees. He couldn't see her right hand. They had it wrapped in a bubble cast. "It's alright, honey; everything's going to be okay," he said as he carefully hugged her.

"Is Mrs..." LeAnn was trying to be brave but couldn't help a few more sniffles. "Is Mrs. Cermak okay?"

"What does she have to do with you getting hit by a car, honey?"

"She ... she pushed me out of the way. The car hit her instead. She's hurt real bad, daddy. I know she is..." she was able to say before starting to cry again.

Tyler remembered Chris saying something about Sue at the scene. He couldn't worry about Susan Cermak he decided; at least not at that moment. It was his little girl that needed him. He turned toward the doctor on the other side of the room who was now looking at some X-rays.

"Doctor, are those of LeAnn?"

"Yes, they are," he replied. "I'm doctor Czymanski. I'm assuming you're the girl's father."

Tyler indicated he was.

"She's a very lucky girl. She has two fractured bones in her wrists but it's nothing that won't heal good as new," he said with a smile. "The cuts and bruises on her face and knees are all superficial. I doubt there'll be any scarring."

Tyler almost felt like crying with relief. He closed his eyes and silently thanked the man upstairs. "Thank you, doctor," he said while giving LeAnn a big smile. "Honey, is it okay if I go tell mommy that you're going to be okay? She and Chris are waiting to hear from me."

"Su ... sure, dad. I'll be okay," she replied with just a hint of her former sniffles.

"You've got a brave young lady there," commented the doctor with a big smile. "We're going to cast her wrist. That'll take half an hour or so. We'll wheel her out to you as soon as we're done ... okay?"

Tyler was bursting with pride as he and his little girl agreed. With a gentle kiss to LeAnn's forehead and his assurance that he and her mother will be waiting for her, Tyler headed out to inform the rest of his worried family of the good news. He also started to wonder about Sue Cermak.

Nancy and Chris literally leaped out of their seats the moment they saw Tyler coming their way. "How is she?" they both cried in unison.

"She's going to just fine," he answered with a comforting smile.

"Oh thank God," replied Nancy grabbing the back of one of the seats before collapsing in tears.

Both Chris and Tyler grabbed her and held her steady while she sat down.

Chris sat next to her and put his arms around her. "It's alright, mom; she's going to be okay."

Tyler knew they had each other for comfort so took the opportunity to check on Susan. "Excuse me again," he said, catching the attention of the same cute nurse as before. "I understand that Susan Cermak was also hit by a car at the same time as my daughter. Can you tell me if she's badly hurt?"

"Are you a relative or family member?" she asked.

"No, no she's our neighbor. She pushed our little girl out of the way of the car and was hit, herself. It sounds like she saved my daughter's life. I just want to make sure she's going to be okay."

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't give you any information."

Tyler was just about to get angry when a policeman in uniform came to the desk and asked if the family of a hit and run victim was around. He wasn't sure if the cop was talking about LeAnn or not. He never even thought about the driver of the car.

"Excuse me, officer. Are you talking about the little girl who was hit on Landmeire Drive?"

"Yes."

"I'm Tyler Anderson. That was my little girl who was hit. Did you say hit and run? You mean some asshole hit LeAnn and didn't even stop?"

"I'm afraid so," confirmed the man in blue. "I'm Sergeant Norris. Would you be able to answer some questions, Mr. Anderson?"

"Ah, yeah I guess; although I don't know how much good I'll be. I was at work when my son called and told me what happened."

"I see. Is your son here, sir?"

"Yes, that's him with his mother over there. Come on, I'll introduce you."

Tyler introduced the sergeant and they all sat while he asked questions. Chris explained how he got there after it happened. He hadn't seen anything. All he knew was what the neighbors told him and what he overheard the bus driver telling the cops at the scene.

The officer was just about to leave when his radio started to squawk. "Copy," he said into the speaker after listening for a minute or so. He looked over at the Andersons. "That was the station. They found the driver of the car. He's nineteen years old. His girlfriend had just texted and said she was breaking up with him. He was angry and admits to driving way too fast. By the time he saw the school bus stopped in front of him it was too late to stop so he tried to swerve around it. They found him two blocks from the scene. He had pulled over and was sitting in his car, crying.

"I'm sorry but I have no sympathy for the son-of-a-bitch," expressed an angry Tyler.

"I can understand that," confirmed the officer. "If it was my kid I'd feel the same way."

Just as the cop was about to leave, Tyler thought of something; "Ah, Sergeant Norris, could you do me a favor?"

"Depends on what it is..."

"Susan Cermak lives across the street. From what I understand she actually pushed LeAnn out of the way of the car and was hit herself. I have no idea how badly she's hurt and the nurse won't tell me because I'm not a family member. Could you find out if she's okay for me?"

"Sure," he replied with a smile. The good sergeant walked over to the desk and quietly conversed with a couple of the nurses.

Tyler watched one pick up a phone and talk to someone for about a minute. Then she put the phone down and resumed her conversation with the man in uniform who was now nodding his head in a confirming manner. When he turned around to walk back to Tyler he didn't have a very encouraging look on his face.

"I'm sorry," he said, "Mrs. Cermak was injured pretty badly. They have her in surgery but she's not expected to make it."

Tyler could feel his knees buckle. The thought of someone giving up their own life to save that of his daughter's was devastating.

The officer noticed the blank stare on his face as his eyes filled with moisture. "I'm sorry," he told Tyler before leaving.

Chris and his ex had enough to worry about. He wasn't going to mention Susan for the time being. A few minutes later a nurse wheeled LeAnn out to the waiting area. After tearful smiles and lots of hugging and kissing, they all went back to the house. Nancy fussed over their little girl while Tyler drove to the drug store for her prescriptions. At Nancy's invitation and his kids begging, Tyler stayed for dinner but went home soon after. As grateful as he was that his daughter was okay, Susan never left his mind.

As soon as he got home he called the hospital. Surely they would say if she had passed away. After a brief conversation with a night nurse, he learned his brave neighbor was still alive ... barely, but still fighting for life. A miracle is how the nurse described it ... nothing short of a miracle. She was in ICU and not allowed any visitors but that didn't stop him from calling every day and checking on her progress. More than a week had passed by the time he was informed she was considered stable and was assigned a regular room.

Susan couldn't turn her head but out of the corner of her eye she saw something red enter her room. It was a big bouquet of roses and behind them was her thankful neighbor.

Tyler held the flowers in his hand as he looked down on the broken woman in the bed. They had both legs in traction and a cast that went from her ankles to her waist. Her right arm was in a similar condition. The whole left side of her head was covered with bandages but from what he could see, her face was still very swollen with angry looking purple and yellow bruises and her neck was in a brace.

He had prepared a little speech for this moment but seeing her in that condition had rendered him speechless.

A smile stretched painfully across her face. "Hi, Tyler, come to take me dancing?" she asked in a voice no louder than a whisper.

A grateful tear swelled and clouded his vision as he chuckled. "I will take you dancing anytime, anywhere," he told her.

"How's LeAnn? One of the nurses said she was okay but I'm not sure she knew who I was talking about."

"She's fine," he confirmed. "She broke her wrist when she hit the sidewalk and got skinned up a little but in a couple of months she won't even know she was hurt. I don't know how we'll ever thank you, Susan. There's no doubt that you saved her life."

"Now you know how it feels," she joked. "I guess this hero stuff must be catching, huh."

"Yeah, I guess," he said with a slight chuckle.

"Are those for me?"

"Huh?"

"The flowers ... are they for m..."

"Oh-yeah," he said, forgetting that he was holding them. "Here, I'll put them right here ... okay?" he asked while setting the vase on a little table next to the bed.

"Tyler, could you do me a favor?"

"Anything you want ... just name it," he replied emphatically.

"Would you check on the house for me? I had just run outside for a second when I saw what was happening so as far as I know the door is probably still unlocked."

"Oh, of course; I'm sorry, I should have thought of that. Is there anything you need from there?"

"I don't know," she said while thinking a moment, "maybe my purse; I suppose something to wear when I get out of here—IF I ever get out of here," she grumbled. She thought for another second. "Oh, you could do something else for me too. On the dining room table is a card from my realtor. She's probably wondering why I stood her up. Would you call her and tell her what happened for me?"

"Sure. Realtor? Are you selling the house?"

"Yeah, that's why I was home at that time of the day. I was waiting for Abby, the real estate agent. We were going to do a walk through. Without Kevin I just can't keep up with the payments."

"Isn't Kevin paying you alimony?"

"Are you kidding? I didn't get squat in the divorce—well, I shouldn't say that; I did get seventy percent of the house. But I make almost as much as he did and with no kids..."

"Damn it, that's not right. He should pay for what he did."

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," she replied with another painful grin. "I guess in a way he is paying, though. You know he skipped town, right?"

"No, where'd he go?"

"I don't know. He got so paranoid he was constantly scared to death. He was so sure you were coming after him that he finally just took off. I have to put thirty percent of what I get for the house in escrow for him but hopefully he never claims it. If he doesn't then I get to keep it all."

Tyler thought back..."It's funny how things work out. That day in the yard I wanted to kill him. I think I would have if it hadn't been for LeAnn. She probably saved his life and here you are saving hers."

"Well thank God for LeAnn, I'd hate to think of you sitting behind bars because of that no-good ex-husband of mine."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, that hero thing seems to be going around."

They said their goodbyes and Tyler went directly over to Sue's house. He wondered if someone from across the street would see his car but no one called him or came over. Sue was right, the door was closed but it was unlocked the whole time.

He collected her purse from the kitchen counter then headed into her bedroom. He had seen his wife's underwear drawer a thousand times but it was a little embarrassing to go through someone else's. He found a small suitcase and stuffed it with some of her unmentionables, a skirt and blouse, and a pair of shoes. He almost forgot about the realty card but it caught his eye as he was leaving.

Tyler took a seat and called the number on the card.

"Stonehedge Realty," sang a female voice.

"Yes, I'm calling for..." he had to look at the card for the realtor's name. "Abby Smorek?"

"This is she."

"Hi, ah, my name is Tyler Anderson. I'm calling on behalf of Susan Cermak..."

"Oh yes, how is she, is she okay?"

"Oh, you know then. Yeah, well not really; she's in the hospital and pretty broken up, but according to the doctor she should make a full recover. How did you find out?"

"I was there ... I guess about an hour or so after it happened. I saw her car there so I couldn't understand why she wasn't answering the door. I stood there ringing the bell for quite a while. Finally one of the neighbors saw me and told me what had happened."

"I see. Well I was just at the hospital and she asked me to give you a call."

"Does she still want to sell the house?"

"Oh, I don't know. She didn't say anything and I didn't think to ask her. I'll tell you what; I'm going over there again tomorrow. I'll ask her then."

"That would be great, Mr ... Anderson was it? I would really appreciate that."

"Okay, I'll see what she says and call you tomorrow."

With that they said their goodbyes and hung up. Seeing Susan in her condition hit Tyler hard. Even though he obviously had nothing to do with the accident, he felt somehow responsible. He made up his mind that until she recovered, he was going to devote his time, efforts, and resources in every way he could.

The following day he quietly entered her room. It looked like she was sleeping and he didn't want to wake her. He put her suitcase in the small closet and took a chair beside her bed. It wasn't long before Susan sensed someone in the room and started to stir.

"Ty ... Tyler, is that you?" she asked as her eyes slowly opened.

"How did you know?"

"You're the only visitor I've had. Who else would it be?" she quipped.

"I locked the house up and brought you some clothes. They're in the closet. I called your realtor, too."

"Oh good, thank you."

"No need to thank me, Sue. The realtor wanted to know if you still wanted to sell the house. I wasn't sure what to tell her."

"Yes, I need to get that place sold as soon as possible. Can she do it while I'm in here?"

"I don't know," responded Tyler. "Probably; but why not wait. You should get a good settlement from the accident. Maybe you won't have to sell at all."

"Tyler, I'm going to be in here for a while, and after I get out of here they're going to send me to a convalescent home for three or four months for therapy. It's going to be months before I can get home. What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

"I don't know, I just hate to see you lose the house."

"I'm not losing it, I'm selling it. Tyler, I want out of there. Hell, every time I walk out my front door I have to look across the street knowing that the woman who ruined my life still lives there. Everything in that damn place reminds me of something I'd rather forget."

Tyler had to laugh. "I guess since you put it like that—is there anything I can do to help?"

"Could you meet her there for the walk through? I don't think she'll have any issues. I had everything all cleaned up and ready to show before the accident."

"Sure, Sue, that's no problem. I'll give her a call and arrange it."

The following morning Tyler kept his promise and called the realtor from work. He told her Susan still wanted to sell and asked if he could accompany her during a walk through. They agreed on a day and time and scheduled it.

Two days later, as he drove through his former neighborhood that morning, he was reminded of why his wife and Kevin thought they'd never get caught. There wasn't a single car or a sign of life anywhere. Everyone was either at work or school. Maybe he should have let her get a job, he thought. If he had maybe he'd still be married—still be happy. We'll never know, he resolved. Maybe she would have found some guy at work and cheated anyway—then he would have cursed himself for allowing her to work ... who knows. I guess all we can do is our best and leave the rest up to fate, he told himself.

He got to the house first and was waiting for the realtor when she rang the doorbell. "Hi," he said, opening the door with a smile. "Come on in."

She returned his smile and stuck out her hand. "Hi, I'm Abby Smorek. You must be Mr. Anderson."

"Tyler will be fine," he replied while taking her hand.

"I appreciate you taking your time like this," she said. "I know Susan is kind of anxious to sell. How is she doing? I should go see her."

"Ah, well she's pretty busted up. The jackass that hit her did a good job. She has two broken legs, a broken pelvis, and her right arm is broken. She had some internal injuries as well and they had to remove her spleen. She also suffered a skull fracture. One of the nurses told me she has fourteen pins holding her together. At first they didn't even think she was going to make it."

Abby was shaking her head. "Oh, that's so horrible. I don't know her very well. She knows a friend of mine so I've met her on a few occasions. She seems like a nice person."

"She is. She sure doesn't deserve everything that's happened to her lately. You know it was my daughter she saved." He saw the surprise in her eyes.

"No, I didn't know. How is your daughter?"

"Yeah, she broke her wrist when she fell but she's going to be just fine. We're all so indebted to Susan..." he was starting to choke up and had to stop talking about it. "So," he said taking a deep breath, "where do we start?"

For the next hour Tyler just tagged along behind the real estate woman while she thoroughly inspected the house, taking notes here and there. She had a few questions but unfortunately Tyler couldn't answer them.

"That's okay," she told him with a smile, "they're not that important anyway."

When they were all done, Abby graciously thanked him and they parted in different directions. He was surprised to see her so soon after that when he stopped in to visit with Susan like he had for the last several days after work.

"Abby?"

"Hi, Tyler; I still had a few questions so I thought I would take the opportunity to come and visit."

"She walked in just a couple minutes ago," Susan commented.

Tyler noticed her voice was stronger than in days past. She sounded more like her old self and he could see some of the swelling in her face had gone down. "You sound better today, Sue."

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little better too; not quite as weak as I was," she said with smile.

Just then two nurses entered the room.

"I'm sorry but we have to take care of some personal procedures," one of them said. "We'll need about half an hour then you can come back," she said while starting to pull the curtain closed around the bed.

Always the gentleman, Tyler asked Abby if he could buy her a cup of coffee in the cafeteria.

"So," Abby started the conversation as she stirred her coffee, "I was talking to Denise, the friend that Susan and I have in common and she was telling me about a guy named Tyler who saved the life of Susan's husband ... was that you?"

Tyler really didn't want to be reminded of it. He took a sip of brew and restarted the conversation so it was more to his liking. "So--how long have you been selling real estate?"

Abby was a little taken aback by Tyler's obvious and abrupt change in subjects. Quickly her mind flashed back to several months ago when Denise told her about Susan's marital problems ... the neighbor ... oh, my gosh, she thought as she remembered the rest of the story and put two and two together. Embarrassed over the fact that she hadn't realized Tyler was, "that neighbor" until then, she tried to follow his transition as seamlessly as possible. "Ah, let's see, how long? Five years now."

For the first time, Tyler was actually starting to notice the woman across the table. She looked very prim and proper but even in her business suit he could see she had a great body. She wasn't bad looking either ... red hair with green eyes, he was a sucker for green eyes. "How'd you get started?"

She chuckled. "That's kind of a funny story. I had to sell my house after my divorce. When Jean--that's who I work for; she was the agent at the time. When she brought over a prospective buyer I did more selling than she did. After the sale she offered me a job. That was a God-send because I had no idea what I was going to do for a living. She tutored me so I could pass the real estate test for my license and the rest is history, as they say. I've been working for her ever since."

"You like it?"

"Oh I love it. I don't think I could survive working in an office, seeing the same people and doing the same job day after day. This gets me out and around. I'm constantly meeting new people and today is never the same as yesterday," she said with a smile.

"So tell me the funniest thing that's happened to you so far."

"The funniest thing? Oh, gosh, there's been a few. I almost sold the wrong house once. And then there was the time a prospect and I walked in on a couple while they making love..."

"What?" Tyler broke in, "This I have to hear," he chuckled.

"They were supposed to be gone long before we got there," she said with a small laugh. "We walked in and there they were ... both naked as J-birds ... on the couch going at it."

Tyler noticed his storyteller blushing and thought it was cute. "So how come they were still there?"

"They had forgotten all about it."

"Both of them? How could they both forget?"

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "I made the appointment the week prior. I even called and left a message on the wife's cell phone earlier that day, but she never checked it."

"So what happened? Did you make the sale?"

"Believe it or not, I did," she said with a broad smile. "We both turned right around and hustled ourselves out of there as the owner said to give them ten minutes. This time we knocked before going back inside. By that time they were both dressed and said they were going to a motel and the house was all ours."

Abby took another sip of coffee and looked at Tyler with a grin. "They were the horniest couple I think I've ever seen ... but I got'em their asking price for the house."

She was easy to talk to ... personable. She had a bright smile and eyes to match. Tyler found himself enjoying a woman's company for the first time in months. Ah, but all good things must come to an end. He glanced at his watch and wondered where the time went—a sure sign that he was having fun.

"It's been forty-five minutes already," he told his female companion. "We better get back up there. I don't have much time. I'll run up just to say hi then I have to get going."

"Yeah," she replied. I can't stay too long either."

By the time they got back to the room, Susan was wondering where they were. They all three talked for a little while but Tyler had things to do and excused himself telling Susan he'd be back the next day, again.

After he left, Sue and Abby talked for a little while longer. Sue told her Denise, their mutual friend, had been in earlier in the day to visit.

"Yeah, I talked to her the other day," explained Abby. "She didn't know anything about the accident. She said she tried calling you and was starting to get worried because she'd left a couple of messages that you hadn't returned. Now that she knows, I'm sure you'll get lots of visitors. You know Denise; the news will be all over town in no time."

Both women laughed.

"She does like to talk," Susan confirmed. "So, you and Tyler were gone for quite a while. He's a nice guy isn't he."

"He seems to be, although I can see he's still hurting."

Susan knew Tyler well enough to know he wouldn't talk about his marital problems but Abby's comment didn't surprise her. "I figured Denise would have told you all about it by now. You know then. It was his wife that was sleeping with my ex-husband. He divorced her and I divorced Kevin."

Abby suddenly had a thought that was disheartening. "So ... are you and him..."

"Oh no, never!" Susan said, already knowing what Abby was about to ask. "Not that I would mind; Tyler is one of the good guys ... there's just way too much baggage for us to ever get together. I hope I never lose him as a friend though." Susan looked up at her visitor. "That doesn't mean you can't pursue him though. Like I said, he's one of the good guys."

"Mmm, I don't know. Like you said, he has a lot of baggage. When you're in sales you've got to be able to read people pretty good; he's still hurting—big time. His body language says he's building a wall around himself. I did that for a while after my divorce. You want to protect yourself so your little inner voice tells you not to let anyone get close ever again."

Her words hit home. "Yeah, I guess I'm guilty of that, myself," Sue admitted.

"I think everyone goes through it for a while after a divorce. I had numerous offers after my ex and I separated but I didn't start actually dating again until last year," Abby replied. "Hell, I know of one guy who built that wall so high and so thick, no one will ever penetrate it. It's sad but it happens."

The next day, Nancy was surprised to see a for-sale sign looming in the yard of her former friend. A tear rolled down her cheek as she pulled into her drive. She knew, of course, that they'd never be friends again but seeing her move away was yet another reminder of the life she had lost. She knew the kids were home so she sat in the car for a couple of minutes and dried her tears before facing them with a brave face like she had every day since losing Tyler.

For the next few months life just seemed to merge from one day into another. Nancy was still going to school during the day and working at the diner at night. Not a day went by that she didn't long for her ex and the life she once had. There seemed to be no end to her loneliness. She never looked toward the future because she saw none and it was depressing. Her one joy was her children but she saw so little of them now. The only thread to which she clung was the thought that someday Tyler would forgive her and return; they would be a family again. She could hold out and do her penance for as long as it took, but she needed to believe in the dream.