Her parents waited outside while Sydney escorted Luke into the house and helped him get settled on the sofa.

He removed the walking boot and propped his foot on a pillow.

Sydney gasped at her first look at his horribly swollen and bruised ankle. “Oh, Luke,” she said. “God, it’s awful.”

“Could’ve been much worse,” he said, but she noticed he was sweating and his lips had gone white with pain.

She got him an ice pack, wrapped it in a towel and brought him two of the pain pills the clinic had sent him home with. Bending to kiss his forehead, she said, “I’ll be right back, okay?”

“I’ll be right here.”

Handing him the remote for the TV, she kissed him one more time and hurried out the door, anxious to get back to him. She climbed into her parents’ car and closed the door.

“Is he all right?” Mary Alice asked.

“He’s in pain, and his ankle is horrible.”

“Will he be able to work?” Allan asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

“Not for a while, I suppose.”

“I wonder what he’ll do,” Mary Alice said fretfully.

“He’s not destitute, Mom.”

“He’ll get workman’s comp for an accident at work,” Allan, the lawyer, said.

“I suppose,” Sydney said.

“Quite a piece of property he’s got there,” he added.

“Yes.” Her mother’s worries had Sydney wondering if even with workman’s comp Luke could afford to be out of work for several weeks, especially in the summer. “Thanks for the help, you guys.”

“We were glad you called,” Mary Alice said, turning in her seat. “We feel bad about what happened the other day.”

“I certainly don’t want to be at odds with you. Not after all we’ve been through.”

“We don’t want that either, honey.”

“I’d like you to do something for me.” She met her mother’s gaze. “I want you to get to know Luke so you can see what I see in him. I’m asking you to give him a chance. Can you do that?”

“There’s nothing we wouldn’t do for you, Syd,” Allan said. “You know that.”

“Does that include respecting my choices?”

“We want you to be happy again,” Mary Alice said. “If Luke makes you happy, then we’re happy, too.”

“You mean that?”

She nodded. “The last thing we want is for you to suffer any more heartache. You’ve already had more than your share.”

“He loves me,” Syd said. “I feel that every minute I’m with him.”

“Are you sure it’s not too soon to be getting so involved with someone else?” Allan asked. “It hasn’t been that long.”

Even though she knew it was a reasonable question, it still made her mad. “How long is long enough, Dad? Can you tell me that? Is there a widow rule book I don’t know about?”