Charlie had finished decorating the last of the sugar cookies with Sage when a commotion came from the back deck.

“Call your father,” was all Bowie said as he, Cannon, and Dalton stumbled through the back door carrying Trig. Her heart sunk to her bare feet. He was still and pale.

“What the hell happened?” Charlie said as she rushed ahead of them to open Trig’s bedroom door. She tossed the clothes he had on the bed away and pulled down the covers.

“Call your dad,” Bowie said again. There was more than concern in his expression. He looked downright scared.

Sage walked in and tossed Charlie her phone. “I called Lydia, she was at Louise’s. Looks like the weather isn’t only bringing us an ice storm, but also a baby. Louise is stable and Lydia is on her way, too.”

Charlie dialed her dad’s number. “Daddy, it’s Trig, he’s not conscious.” She brushed her hand to his forehead. “He’s got a fever. I need you to come right away.” She hung up the phone and started to strip Trig down. “Help me get him out of these clothes. He’s burning up.”

At any other time it would have been funny to see the faces of three grown men look appalled at stripping a man naked, but Bowie, Cannon, and Dalton were pale with worry.

Medicine was medicine, and Charlie went straight into caregiver mode. She couldn’t grow up with a doctor as a father and not glean something from the experience.

When she had Trig in nothing but a sock and boxers, she told Dalton to get a washcloth and a pan of cool water.

She sat on the edge of the bed and mopped at his sweaty brow. He moaned and opened his eyes. “Don’t let them take me to the hospital. Please,” he begged and closed his eyes again.

Her father rushed inside ten minutes later. “Sorry it took so long. The roads are awful. Covered with ice.” He shuffled everyone but Charlie out the door. When Lydia walked inside, Charlie stood back and let them have the space they needed to help Trig.

She was awestruck to watch them work in tandem as if they’d been doing it for years, but seeing her father care for someone she loved brought back old, ugly memories. Anxiety threaded up her spine until it nearly paralyzed her.

“Hundred and four. Blood pressure is elevated at 150/90. Pulse is accelerated.” Lydia pulled a stethoscope from her bag and listened to Trig’s heart while Charlie’s father took a look at his leg.

“He’s got a mean infection brewing here. We should call 911 and get him transported to Copper Creek.”

“Not going to happen,” Lydia said. “I just heard they closed the pass between here and Copper Creek. Silver Springs is impossible to get to as well. No birds are flying. He’s not going anywhere.”

“No,” Charlie cried. While she knew Trig didn’t want to go to the hospital, she saw the look on her father’s face—the same look he’d had the day her mother died. “He didn’t want to go to the hospital, but he needs better care.” Her father’s soft blue eyes dulled with understanding. She hated that she’d hurt his feelings, but she knew if Trig died, she’d always wonder if was due to his level of care.

Lydia stood back and watched them.

Doc walked to Charlie and set his hands on her shoulders. “Honey, he’s a very sick man. He’s got an infection.” Doc pulled her over to see the festering wound at his amputation site. “He needs antibiotics and an IV and round the clock observation. I have to be honest—”

“No,” she said with determination. She looked back at the man she’d come to care for. “You have to leave. Lydia will take care of him.”

She could see the wheels turning in her father’s head. “Honey, he’s going to need round the clock care. I want to be here for you—for him.”

“No.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “Dad, please go. Go help Louise.” She looked at the man covered in scars. “I can’t lose you both in the same night.”

Her father’s features softened and he pulled her to his chest for a big comforting hug.

“You’ll have to keep an eye on him.”

“Yes, I’ll sleep with him.” She hadn’t meant it that way, but knew her father didn’t like hearing that from his daughter.

“Just be with him. I’ll get what we need from the clinic and be right back. Lydia and Sage can pull shifts. We can get one of the EMTs here if needed.” Doc left.

Lydia gave Charlie a hard look. “You want to tell me what that’s about? You just made the man most qualified to care for Trig leave.”

Charlie shook her head. “I’d never forgive him if Trig died.”

Lydia moved around Trig, checking his vitals again. “Is this about your mother?”

Charlie’s head fell. “He should have saved her.”

Lydia pulled her to the corner of the room. “I’ve seen her chart. There was nothing your father could have done.”

“You’re wrong.” She swiped at the tears pooling in her eyes. “He was late getting home. He always took care of everyone else, but when it came to his wife, he wasn’t there. I’d upset her an hour before. I caused the stress and he failed to save her.”

Lydia frowned. “I don’t want to be harsh given the situation, but I feel it’s important to be honest.” She looked toward Trig. “Your mother was dead before she hit the ground. Her brain bleed was inoperable. Even if an entire team of neurosurgeons had been present they couldn’t have saved her. You didn’t cause it either. These things can lie dormant for years like a volcano and then erupt.”

Charlie stared at Lydia, who had returned to Trig. His body shook from fever. She pressed the cold compress to his forehead.

“He could have told me. He never told me those things.”

Lydia shook her head. “Would you have listened? Would you have heard? We’ll pull shifts until we know he’s out of danger. I’ll take the first shift. My sister can take tomorrow.”

Charlie threw herself at Lydia. Tears rushed down her cheeks. “I swear I’ll make it up to you.”

“Don’t make it up to me. Make it up to your father. Forgive him. Forgive yourself.”

When Doc returned, Charlie sank into the seat in the corner of the room and watched them turn Trig’s room into a medical center. Within seconds, he was hooked up to an IV drip that infused his body with antibiotics. A small machine sat on the nightstand monitoring his vitals. When Lydia set out to clean the wound, Trig moaned in pain. Charlie rushed to his side and held his hand. Though he didn’t open his eyes, she knew he felt her presence by the way he held onto her as if she tethered him to earth.

The next time Charlie looked up, her father was gone. Had she made the wrong choice by asking him to leave?

Sage popped in to offer coffee and told her sister that she could monitor him overnight. She was a nurse and fully qualified. No one could argue that fact, so once Trig appeared stable they left Charlie alone with him with strict orders to get Sage if anything seemed off.

She climbed into the bed beside him. “You silly man. You should have told me how badly you hurt yourself.”

She touched his forehead and a sense of relief overwhelmed her when he no longer felt on fire. Her fingers skimmed the chiseled plains of his cheekbones and brushed over his soft supple lips. She rose and pressed her mouth to his. “You have to get better. You owe me more kisses.”

She waited for his reply, but it never came. She snuggled into the side of his body and draped her hand over his chest. So many scars. So much hurt in his lifetime. While his scars were visible, hers were hidden deep inside her heart.

She woke several hours later when Sage entered the room to change Trig’s IV and check his fluid output. She’d winced when they put a catheter in him, but she was grateful that Sage thought it all looked good. While Trig still had a fever, it wasn’t as high as before.

“You think he’ll be okay?”

Sage frowned. “Infections are dangerous. Right now he seems to be fighting it.” She pulled the sheet up to his chest. “You should get some rest. He’ll be okay for now.”

“No,” Charlie replied. “I’m staying with him.”

Sage smiled. “He’s lucky to have you. Many women wouldn’t be able to look past all this. Especially since you’ve only just met.”

Charlie sat on the edge of the bed and brought Trig’s hand into her lap. “As crazy as it sounds, I feel like I’ve known him forever.”

Sage turned and walked to the door. “Like I said, he’s lucky to have you.”

Charlie gave her a weak smile. “Somehow I think I’m the lucky one.”

Sage told her she’d check on him in a few hours. She shut the light off and closed the doors.

“Don't you die on me, Trig Whatley. I have plans for you.” She snuggled into his side and fell asleep.

The next morning Clovis nudged her awake. Dogs always had that funny sixth sense and Clovis had somehow known Trig was ill.

The door opened and Lydia walked inside. “I’ll take it from here. Go get some coffee and something to eat. Agatha dropped off Bisquick breakfast casserole.”

At the mention of Agatha, Charlie felt the waves of guilt flood her senses. She’d come to Aspen Cove to make amends with her father and yet she’d basically shut him out of her life again. She didn’t want to leave the room and face her truth. She’d been unreasonable. Unfair. Her actions had been unwarranted. “I want to stay.” She wiped the sleep from her eyes.

“The last thing he needs is for you to get sick too. I promise he’ll be fine while you fortify.”

Charlie leaned over and pressed a kiss to Trig’s cheek. “Get better fast,” she told him. “Tomorrow’s Christmas.” She turned to Lydia. “Is it normal for him to sleep so long?”

Lydia walked her to the door. “Sleep is the best thing he can get. It can’t hurt you either.”

Charlie knew she was right, but she also knew in her heart that it would mean a lot to Trig if she was there when he woke up. Lord how she wanted—no—she needed him to wake up.

When she walked into the living room she was met with her father, who sat on the couch staring out the window at the frozen lake.

“Dad, what are you doing here?”

Dark circles sat like coal smudges under his tired eyes. “Did you think I’d leave and not come back? I refuse to disappoint you again. Even if you don’t want me to provide care for that man, the least I can do is provide support for you.”

Charlie rushed to her father and fell into his arms. The last time he’d held her while she cried was the night her mother died. How could she forget that while he grieved the loss of his one great love, he still nurtured her?

“I’m so sorry. I know it wasn’t your fault.”

He thumbed her tears from her cheeks. “Oh honey, I would have saved her if I could. I would have given her my life if possible. It wasn’t possible. There was nothing I could do.”

Charlie sat back and really looked at her father for the first time in a decade. She’d missed him so much. “Daddy,” she said in a small voice. “Trig needs you.”

Though her father was visibly exhausted, his broad smile made him seem recharged.

“You want me to help Lydia?”

Charlie shook her head. “No.”

Doc gave her a confused look. “Okay, honey. Whatever you want.”

“Lydia can assist you in making sure Trig recovers. He needs the best care and that will always be you. I’m sorry I forgot about who you were for a second. You’re Doc Parker and you’re like a wizard in these parts. Go work your magic.” She moved off her father’s lap and helped him to his feet.

“I’ll do my best, sweetheart.”

She hugged him hard. “That’s all I can ask for.” She gave him a hug. “How’s Louise?”

Doc smiled, “Aspen Cove has a new resident. Paul Robert Williams was born at three o’clock this morning.”

“She named him after you?”

Her father smiled with pride. “It’s about time. I’ve delivered every single one of those kids.”

“I’m so happy she honored you.” She felt a stab of guilt for not showing him the same respect the last ten years.

While her father went to care for Trig, Charlie entered the kitchen to grab a plate of breakfast casserole and visit with everyone that had congregated there. It was as if the entire town was holding vigil over Trig. In reality, it was only the Bishops, Dalton and Samantha, Wes, and Agatha who were present. Of course, Sage was there too since it was her bed and breakfast. The kitchen counters were filled with foil-covered dishes and plates of muffins from Katie.

“Where did all this stuff come from?” Charlie lifted a muffin from the plate and took a bite.

“You know what small town life is like,” Dalton said. “Word gets out and people cook, it’s what they do.”

Charlie’s father came out of Trig’s room looking relaxed. “He’s still asleep.” He walked over to Agatha and gave her a kiss. It warmed Charlie’s heart that he’d found love in his seventies. Kind of made her jealous that at twenty-eight, she’d never found it at all until she picked up a man and his dog on the side of the road.

“I’ll be right back.” She rushed into the living room where she found the basset hound curled up next to Otis. She dropped to the floor and pulled him into her lap. After a few wet sloppy kisses, he let her look at his eye. When she saw that the eye was healing nicely, she let out a whoop of excitement. A few more doses of antibiotic ointment and the dog would be good as new.

As the morning turned into the afternoon and then the evening, Charlie traded places with her father, Lydia, and Sage as they took turns caring for Trig. The more time she spent alone with him, the more she came to appreciate who he was as a man. She’d nearly memorized every scar on his body. She’d certainly memorized the feel of his lips from the kisses she stole every few minutes. While her father changed his IV bag, Charlie walked outside and sat on the same chair where she’d curled into Trig’s lap days ago. Had it only been a few days?

She stared into the clear night sky and gazed at the thousands of sparking stars. She found the brightest one and closed her eyes in prayer.

As a child, every Christmas Eve, Charlie headed outside with her mother and they wished upon the brightest star. Phyllis Parker called it the Christmas Eve Star and told Charlie that if she wanted something bad enough, the Christmas Eve angels would do their best to grant the wish. She hadn’t wished on that star in ten years. In her mind, the angels owed her.

“Please heal Trig,” she whispered. While she’d like to say the prayer wasn’t for her but an unselfish hope to heal a stranger, she knew she wanted him healthy as much for herself as she did for him. She wanted it for her father too, because even if she wouldn’t hold him responsible if Trig didn’t heal, she knew her father would never forgive himself.

“Sweetheart,” her father said from behind her. “Agatha and I are heading out. We’ll be by in the morning. He’s sleeping peacefully. His fever has broken and his wound is healing.”

Charlie hugged her father hard. “Dad, thanks for everything. I have a feeling everything is going to be okay.”

He kissed her forehead. “You know what, Charlie? I think you’re right.”

She stayed on the deck for a few more minutes before she went back to Trig’s room and climbed into his bed. She giggled at the fact that she’d already slept with him, and he had no idea. As soon as he was better, she’d make sure the next time she spent the night tucked next to his body he’d remember it.