“Does it count that I was in a medically induced coma for most of that time?” she asked, groggy and fuzzy from the medication.

“What counts is you overcame your fears, you didn’t freak out, and you got through it. Who cares how you did that? What counts is that you did it. I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m rather proud of myself right now.” She withdrew her phone from her coat pocket to see if there was any word from her mother since she’d sent the hospital name and address. There’d been no calls or texts while she was asleep. Was that a good sign or a bad one?

“She would’ve called if it went bad,” Slim said, reading her mind.

“Would I receive the call up here?”

“Yeah, we’re within cell range.”

“Oh good,” she said, expelling a sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

“Hang in there. Won’t be long now.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking over at him. “I appreciate this so much.”

“I’m just glad I could do something for you.”

“You’ve done so much. You have no idea how much.”

“Every minute with you is a pleasure, Erin. From the minute I picked you up on the side of the road—”

“Stop saying it like that! You make me sound like a hooker!”

Chuckling, he said, “You hooked me, all right. With your determination, your sweetness, your resilience, your humor. I’ve been hooked on you ever since that night, if you must know the truth.”

“That long?”

“Uh-huh.”

After that, there was no more conversation for a while as Slim focused on landing at Philadelphia International Airport and Erin wallowed in the thrill of hearing he was hooked on her. As the wheels touched down, the tightness in Erin’s chest loosened somewhat. She’d managed to survive the flying portion of the program, which was a huge accomplishment. But she couldn’t celebrate that until she knew her father was going to be okay.

They taxied to an area of the tarmac where private planes were kept. Slim secured the plane, talked to a guy about when they’d be back and had them heading for the cab stand—all in less than ten minutes.

“Have you flown in here before?” she asked while they waited in a short line for a cab.

“Twice.”

“So that’s how you knew where to go.”

“Yep.”

In the cab, Erin asked the driver to take them to the UPenn hospital on Spruce Street. During the fifteen-minute drive, Slim held her hand between both of his, continuing to prop her up as he had since she received the upsetting call from her mother. At the hospital, they were directed to the surgical waiting area, where Erin found her mother, Mary Beth, and Aunt Sue huddled together. Her mother burst into tears when Erin and Slim walked in. She rushed over to hug Erin and then Slim.