Chapter 1.5

   "You're sure he's going to be okay? There's nothing else I should watch for?" Tyler could seem to let go of his son, who had been clinging tightly to his neck for the past twenty minutes.

   The doctor who had examined the boy smiled reassuringly. "Tom's going to be fine, Mr. Hamilton. He took in very little water and he was apparently conscious throughout the entire episode. According to your nanny, he was only underwater for a very short time. He was more terrified than anything. You should probably watch for emotional repercussions. Perhaps you should get him into swimming lessons soon to keep him from developing a permanent fear of water as a result of this."

   "Thanks. I'll keep your advice in mind."

   Just the mention of swimming lessons had made Tom hide his face again. He'd never liked water, and didn't trust strangers enough to take instructions easily from them—something Tyler was hoping they could change by the time he started kindergarten.

   Penny Lopez, the nanny Tyler had hired only a month earlier, was sitting in the waiting room with Amy, who'd fallen asleep on her lap. She looked up anxiously when Tyler carried Tom out the examination room. "Is he okay?"

   "He's fine," Tyler answered shortly, resisting an impulse to add, No thanks to you.

   Penny sagged relief. "I'm so glad. I'm really sorry about this, Mr. Hamilton. I was busy with Amy and he just fell in. I never saw him."

   Tyler's arms tightened instinctively around his son. "Thank God the lifeguard saw him."

   Penny snorted. "The lifeguard had nothing to do with it. He was too busy flirting with a bunch of girls. If that woman hadn't notice Tom in the pool..."

   Tyler had rushed straight into the examining room upon his arrival at the hospital. He hadn't yet heard the details of his son's rescue. "What woman?"

   "The new drama teacher at the high school. You know, the one with the red hair and lots of earrings and cool clothes? Ms. Doherty. I think her first name is Jane."

   "Jane Doherty," Tyler murmured, his mind filling with almost fifteen-year-old memories is a young woman who tempted him to be wild and reckless for the first time in his life. "Jane Doherty saves my son?"

   Eyeing him a bit warily, Penny nodded. "Yes."

   Masking his feelings, Tyler motioned toward the exit. "I'll drive you home. Can you carry Amy?"

   "Of course." Penny shifted the sleeping baby to her shoulder.

   Tyler scooped up the diaper bag and followed her out the hospital, grimly aware that there were several things he had to take care of that evening—and none of them were going to be easy. Finding Jane Doherty to thank her for rescuing his son was one of the most awkward, but necessary, chores he faced.

   The last tine he talked to Jane, he'd rather bluntly told her his future plans did not include her. Holding his son tightly in his arms, he was aware of a mixed sense of gratitude and dismay that she reappeared in his life at this particular time.

*A/N: Hi, full story is available in my Patreon page, please look for creator Zetar086. Thank you for the support.