Page 74 of Wed to the Devil

I hesitate. Is that the name I go by now? I still haven't decided. Will it be strange to change my name?

"Chance is my maiden name," I say, trying to see if it feels like too much of a lie to claim it. "I go by Mrs. Morgan now."

I prickle runs over my skin as I say the words. They sound nice rolling off my tongue.

"Mrs. Morgan, I'm calling from Our Lady of Penitent Faith Hospital. Minnie Chance has you listed as an emergency contact. She took a spill this morning and has several broken bones."

My heart stops for a second."Oh my god. Oh my god, is she okay?"

"She'll need surgery. But for now, she can go home and rest. She wanted to know if you could pick her up."

Tears spring to my eyes and I squeeze them closed. "Yes! Yes, of course. I'll be right there. Thank you so much for calling."

The woman responds briskly. "We'll let her know."

God, I feel like the worst niece in the world. Aunt Minnie probably hurt herself working in the store while I was out shopping, of all things. If I hadn't totally ignored her requests for help the last time I saw her, she would probably be perfectly fine.

I am so self-absorbed!

It's all I can do to hold it together while I head to the hospital.

Things get frantic for the rest of the day. The next four hours have me picking up a completely loopy Aunt Minnie from the hospital, getting her prescriptions for pain medication, and bringing her into the loft to stay in the spare bedroom.

"I can't stay here," she protests. "I have too much to do at the store!"

"You broke your leg in three places," I counter, tucking her into the guest bed. "You're on so many drugs right now that it would be irresponsible of me to let you leave. You need rest, Aunt Minnie."

Aunt Minnie catches my hand and grips it tightly.

"You're a wonderful person. And..."

"And what?"

"And I have a shipment of books waiting at the front of the bookstore. If they aren't brought inside someone will steal them."

I kiss her knuckles. "Don't worry about that. I'll have someone go to the shop right now."

Aunt Minnie purses her lips. "I don't want just anybody to have keys to my store."

"You don't have a choice. Your leg is broken. I am almost six months pregnant. I promise, I will get the books in the door somehow. And then the rest of the work can be figured out tomorrow."

Aunt Minnie wrinkles her nose. But I can tell that she is tired from her heavy-lidded eyes.

"Okay," she acquiesces. Her eyes slip shut. "I love you, Talia."

I grab her hand in both of mine and kiss it, then I sneak out of the spare bedroom. Calling a temp service, I get a young woman to come pick up the key to the bookshop from the loft and then go wrangle the packages.

Then I arrange to have a nurse come and stay with Aunt Minnie, to be at her beck and call.

Dare arrives home late that evening, and finds me stressing out in the living room. He takes one look at me and just knows that something is wrong.

"What's going on?" he asks. I hope he doesn't notice the worry lines that I'm afraid are etched on my face.

I explain what happened with Aunt Minnie and how I had arranged for a nurse to stay with her while she recovers. Dare listens silently, wrapping me in his strong embrace when I finish the story.

"I'm sure your aunt appreciates what you've done," he murmurs. He wraps me in a hug. "You look exhausted, though. Maybe you should lie down for a bit."

"I'm fine."