“You want to tell me what’s wrong?” Robert asked, his arm around Regina as they sat on the sofa in her living room. She twisted around, so that he could observe the grimace on her face.

“You mean besides the obvious?”

Nodding slowly, he gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I can tell when you’ve got something on your mind and you have for weeks. Something’s off but I can’t figure out what. I know what I think it might be, but I’d rather you tell me.”

She sighed, knowing he was right. She should tell him…with everything on his mind he deserved honestly.

Shifting slightly, so that she faced him with her leg tucked up underneath her body, she began. “You remember when you were out of town with your family?” Not waiting for an answer, she continued, “I went out. I went to a bar, just to have some drinks and some fun. I just wanted to forget everything…all the pressures, all the worries.” Closing her eyes tightly, she could still see the moment her eyes landed on him. The giant. Her Titan.

“And…” Robert prompted, his eyes pinned on her face.

“And, I met someone.” She opened her eyes but his face was closed off. Clearing her throat, she said, “We agreed…one night…no names…no regrets.”

He nodded his head in slow motion before saying, “The phone call, telling me where you were?” She nodded and he did the same, in understanding. “Right. Okay. That seems fair.”

Lifting her shoulders in a shrug, she said, “But the next morning, he wanted more. I did too. So, we changed the agreement to the weekend. Same rules applied.”

“The whole weekend? You spent the whole weekend with him?” he asked, his brows, as well as his voice, raised. “That’s not like you.”

“I know…but there was a pull. Something magnetic about him, that I responded to.”

Robert sat quietly for a moment, his face still unreadable. Finally, breaking the silence, he asked, “So, what happened at the end of the weekend?”

Sucking in her lips, she said, “We agreed to keep seeing each other for the rest of the week, in the evenings after work.”

Blowing out a breath, he said, “So, that’s where you were.”

“Robert,” she pleaded for understanding, “you’ve got your family. You’ve got responsibilities. I wanted something just for me and for the first time in a long time, I had that.”

“Are you still seeing him?”

Shaking her head, she replied, “No. We went our separate ways, but after I had already realized my heart was involved, so it hurt. And then, I ran into him the other day…he came by my workplace—”

“Are you kidding me? Do I need to—”

“No, no, Robert. It wasn’t like that. Don’t worry, he won’t be by again. But, we did talk for a moment and he proved to not be the man I thought he was, so that hurt too.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tightly. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice sincere.

“Yeah, me too.” Settling in his arms, she heard his phone vibrate.

After he checked his messages, he turned toward her, but she was already standing.

“I know,” she admitted, a smile on her face that did not reach her eyes. “You’ve got to get home.”

He kissed the top of her head, as he mumbled, “Love you,” before walking out the door.

Sighing heavily, she watched him walk down the street to his car and drive away. She closed the door with a resounding click, her heart aching for a love that was never to be.

A week later, Cael stood with Terrance, signing off on the initial paperwork for them to take over his uncle’s construction business. There would still need to be meetings with a lawyer and bankers, but he grinned as they shook hands, knowing his life was about to take a dramatic turn. Part owner in my own business.

“You good, man?” Terrance asked, his smile firmly in place.

He chuckled, “Oh, yeah. Ever since you first brought this to my attention, I’ve been ready. In fact, I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to do this kind of work instead of the newer builds until you suggested it. Now, I drive down the road and see houses that could use our special kind of skills.”

“I know what you mean. Same here.” Terrance folded the papers and put them back in his clipboard. “I’ll get these to the lawyer and then we can start the proceedings for the business. We should be ready soon.”

With a nod, he was walking toward his truck when his phone vibrated a message from his sister.

Come to hospital as soon as you can.

His heart jolted and he stood still for a second, horrible images flashing through his mind. Shaking his head, he ran the few feet to his truck and jumped in. Backing out, his tires squealed as he pulled out of the site’s lot.

Rushing into the hospital a few minutes later, he tried to still his racing heart, but his mind would not shut down the possibilities. Fearing the worst, he grabbed his ID badge and hurried down the hall. He donned his gown and scrubbed up, finally making it to her room. With his mask in place, he halted at the door with his hand flat against the metal. Closing his eyes for a moment, he prayed for Cindy and for his own strength.

With a gentle push, he entered the room, his eyes darting all around, taking in Tom before landing on the empty bed.

Skidding to a stop, he gasped, “Where…”

Tom’s face broke into a wide smile as he nodded toward the bathroom door, just opening. Kathy walked out first, her smile just as large as her husbands. “Cael! You’re here.” Turning to look behind her, she said, “Cindy, come show Uncle Cael what you got today.”

He watched, dumb-struck, as Cindy walked out from behind her mother, her eyes wide and a huge grin on her still-pale, thin face. Instead of the colorful scarf on her head, she sported thick, shoulder-length, reddish-blonde hair. Blinking several times, as though the vision would change, he stared incredulously.

“Surprise, Uncle Cael!” Cindy shouted, her smile wide and her eyes sparkling. “Look at me!” She climbed up onto her bed, tucking her sock-covered feet underneath the covers as Kathy pulled the blankets up around her waist.

Still unable to speak, his feet moved of their own accord, taking him closer to the bed. The wig was perfectly made, easily matching her normal hair in color, although thicker. Shaking his head, he turned toward Kathy, questions in his eyes.

Shrugging, she said, “We have no idea who sent it.” She turned, bending to the chair behind her and lifted a large box, now containing an empty Styrofoam head. “This was delivered today, specifically to Cindy. It’s from Compassionate Creations. Tom looked them up on the internet and they create wigs and will make them from your own hair or the hair from a loved one.”

“But…how…who…”

Still smiling, she replied, “We don’t know. Tom called the company, but they wouldn’t tell us any specifics. They only said that an anonymous donor had the wig made and the directions were to send it to Cindy Clauson at this hospital’s address.”

His mind raced but the obvious solution to the mystery was impossible to discern. He looked at Kathy, who was staring down at her gleeful daughter. Glancing down at Cindy, she was now busy playing with a doll.

“Do you know who I think I look like now?” Cindy asked him, turning her attention from her doll up to his face.

“No, baby. Who?” He smiled, sure she was going to mention one of the Disney princesses.

“I look like the pretty lady who came to see me when she was with you. This looks like her hair.”

Shaking his head, he said, “No. There’s no way.”

Tom stepped up, his arms around Kathy and said, “You brought her here. She must have found out.”

“No,” he continued, more softly. “We didn’t do last names. She couldn’t have known.”

Tom pointed to the white board on the wall, Cindy Clauson clearly printed at the top next to Patient. “She could have seen that.”

A vision of Regina standing on the sidewalk outside her work building, tugging a knit cap firmly down on her head, floated into his mind. It had not hit him at the time how it would have been impossible for her to get all her long hair up under such a tight cap. She cut her hair…for Cindy?

Still shaking his head in disbelief, he said, “But why? Why would she do this for her?”

“Cael, only you can answer that. You said she was special. We just didn’t know how special.”

He looked back down at Cindy as the sun streamed through the window, illuminating the reds and golds in her hair. The more he stared, the more he knew Regina had to have donated the hair for the wig. It was the same play of colors in the light that he had memorized during the week they had together. That glorious, memorable week.

Her words from that night here in the hospital, when Cindy asked if she would come back, slammed into him. “Yeah, baby. I’ll be with you.” His heart ached as he realized this was what she had meant.

He reached out, his hand shaking, and touched the silken strands. The very same strands he had run his hands through. The feel of the tresses sliding over his fingers was an exact memory. His breath caught in his throat as tears hit his eyes. God, it’s hers. Her hair.

“Isn’t it beautiful, Uncle Cael?” Cindy asked, tossing her head back and forth, the silky hair swinging around her shoulders, as her wide smile penetrated his thoughts. “I’m just like a princess again.”

Swallowing, he lost the battle as a tear slid down his cheek. A tear for his beautiful niece, fighting a battle no child should have to fight. And, for the woman who touched them all, but he had pushed her away.

“Let me get this straight,” Jayden said, his mouth, normally in a wide smile, hanging open in shock. “This woman, the one that you met, banged for a week—”

“Jesus, Jay,” Jaxon barked, kicking his brother under the table as Cael growled and Miss Ethel lifted her brow.

“Sorry…that’s not what I meant,” Jaxon said, backtracking, shooting Miss Ethel an apologetic grimace. “I mean, this woman you met and spent time with for only a week, cut off her hair to have a wig made for Cindy?”

“That’s the only thing that makes sense,” he said.

He looked at the others as they sat around Miss Ethel’s large table, gathering for their weekly shared meal, each staring at him in shock. “I know it sounds crazy, but the wig came specially for Cindy from a company that makes wigs. I looked them up. They’ll make wigs from someone’s own hair. Like, if someone had cancer, knew they were going to lose their hair, they could have it cut and this company would make the wig out of their own hair. Or, hair from a family member or friend. In other words, they’ll make a wig for someone specific.”

“I still don’t get why she would do that,” Jaxon said. “Most women are real vain about their hair. Cutting it’s a big deal. Cutting it almost all off is a big fuc—uh…big deal.”

“Hair grows back,” Eleanor said, leaning against her chair, Rafe’s arm protectively around her shoulders. “She gave something of herself, something that she could give.”

“And Cindy is special,” Asher piped up, as he finished the piece of pie placed in front of him. “The woman visits with you, observes a child in need and, even though you and she aren’t going to keep seeing each other, she decides to give in a really personal way. It’s pretty amazing, if you ask me.”

“I know it is,” he admitted. “I just don’t know what to do about it. When I saw her last, I was upset about her seeing me while she was with someone else. I made it very clear what I thought about her at the time,” he finished quietly.

Wincing, Jayden said, “It’s kind of hard to come back from that.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he groused.

Zander, staring at him, his face unreadable, finally said, “So…what are you going to do?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, willing the tension to go away. “I don’t know. I mean, I’ve got to find her again. She deserves to know that Cindy got the wig and loves it. And, of course, that the family is grateful.”

“And…” Zander prodded.

Sighing, he said, “I was a royal prick.” Looking at Miss Ethel, he said, “I’m sorry for my language, Miss Ethel, but I was. Who did I think I was, being so sanctimonious?”

Miss Ethel’s lips curved in a gentle smile. “Don’t worry about a few curse words thrown out here and there. My George was a wonderful man, but he could cuss like a sailor when the occasion called for it.”

Shooting her an appreciative grin, he continued, “We went into our agreement with no preconceived ideas of who we thought the other person was. It was just supposed to be…physical. But, when my feelings got involved and I found out that hers weren’t, I acted like an ass. She didn’t break our agreement…I did. But, I turned it around, acted all holier-than-thou. Hell, if she lays eyes on me, she’d have every right to kick me to the curb and I couldn’t blame her.”

“So, tell her that,” Miss Ethel said, her eyes pinned on him.

He looked at her with doubt, before sliding his gaze around the table again. He knew she was right.

“It sounds like both of you made some assumptions and probably both made some errors in judgment. But, you can’t control someone else’s behavior. All you have control over…is you. You boys know what I always said—the measure of a man is not in the mistakes he makes but in how he handles those mistakes.” She held him with her soft grey eyes, peering at him over her glasses. “Seems like you need to talk to her. It might not lead to the outcome you hoped for, but you can give her your apology and your thanks. The gift to Cindy is, after all, priceless.”

Nodding slowly, he said, “You’re right. I need to find her again.”