A startled look threatened to possess Erin’s features, but she managed to make her voice steady. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“So am I,” he groaned and threw his napkin on his empty plate.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you want to listen?” His face was a mask of indifference, as if he suddenly regretted his outward display of emotion. No, she wanted to scream. I don’t want to know anything more about you. I’m attracted to you and I’m afraid of the attraction. I can’t learn anything more about you that might bind me more tightly to you. I have to push away from you…I have to.

“Of course I’ll listen,” she murmured, quieting the voice of suspicion that nagged at her.

“Krista is eleven. She was ten when the accident occurred.” A dark, faraway look crossed his features. As he continued, his voice was flat, betraying no emotion. It was almost as if the words were part of a well-rehearsed speech, devoid of feeling or life. “She was riding in the car with her mother, my ex-wife. They were going to some ‘retreat’ or ‘support group’ meeting for the weekend. I really don’t know much about it except it was the latest self-improvement seminar to be offered. Jana, my ex-wife, was forever following the latest self-improvement craze. It was one encounter group after another. Maybe I’m in part to blame for that too.”

Kane shook his head, as if clearing out unpleasant memories. Erin waited in silence as he continued.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter what new kick she was on. It just so happened that she had called and told me where she was going. I was angry. I didn’t think that Krista needed to be exposed to all of that pseudopsychiatric garbage, and I told her so. We got into a helluva fight and she hung up on me. Two hours later I got a phone call from the police telling me that Jana was dead and Krista was in the hospital. To make a long story short, Krista’s been in and out of the hospital ever since. She’s still unable to walk unassisted.”

“She’s paralyzed?” Erin asked cautiously.

“Not exactly.” Kane’s eyes clouded for a minute. “It seems that she was lucky—nothing was actually broken in the accident. Jana was thrown out of the car and killed instantly, but Krista remained in the car, and other than a few cuts and bruises and a sprained left wrist, the doctors can find nothing physically wrong with her.”

“But…”

“I know.” Kane nodded his head. “It seems as if the cause of her paralysis is mental.”

“I don’t understand.” Erin’s brows knit in concern. What was Kane actually saying?

“I don’t either. But what I can gather from the doctors is that she blames herself, or perhaps me, for the accident.”

“No! That’s not fair!”

Kane shrugged his shoulders. “Why not? Maybe if Jana and I hadn’t fought, she would be alive today. Maybe the argument was the catalyst for her reckless driving.”