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darling, wake up.” Avery dodged a flailing fist.
    “Mandy?”
    Tate materialized on the other side of the bed. He dropped to his knees on the rug and tried to restrain his daughter. Once he had captured her small hands, her body bucked and twisted while her head thrashed on the pillow and her heels pummeled the mattress. She continued to scream.
    Avery placed her hands on Mandy’s cheeks and pressed hard. “Mandy, wake up. Wake up, darling. Tate, what should we do?”
    “Keep trying to wake her up.”
    “Is she having another nightmare?” Zee asked as she and Nelson rushed in. Zee moved behind Tate. Nelson stood at the foot of his granddaughter’s bed.
    “We could hear her screams all the way in our wing,” he said. “Poor little thing.”
    Avery slapped Mandy’s cheeks lightly. “It’s Mommy. Mommy and Daddy are here. You’re safe, darling. You’re safe.”
    Eventually, the screams subsided. As soon as she opened her eyes, she launched herself into Avery’s waiting arms. Avery gathered her close and cupped the back of her head, pressing the tear-drenched face into her neck. Mandy’s shoulders shook; her whole body heaved with sobs.
    “My God, I had no idea it was this bad.”
    “She had them nearly every night while you were still in the hospital,” Tate told her. “Then they started tapering off. She hasn’t had one for several weeks. I was hoping that once you got home they would stop altogether.” His face was drawn with concern.
    “Is there anything you want us to do?”
    Tate glanced at Nelson. “No. I think she’ll calm down now and go back to sleep, Dad, but thanks.”
    “You two need to put a stop to this. Immediately.” He took Zee’s arm and propelled her toward the door. She seemed reluctant to leave and looked at Avery anxiously.
    “She’ll be all right,” Avery said, rubbing Mandy’s back. She was still hiccuping sobs, but the worst was over.
    “Sometimes they come back,” Zee said uneasily.
    “I’ll stay with her for the rest of the night.” When she and Tate were left alone with the child, Avery said, “Why didn’t you tell me her nightmares were this severe?”
    He sat down in the rocking chair near the bed. “You had your own problems to deal with. The dreams stopped happening with such regularity, just like the psychologist predicted they would. I thought she was getting over them.”
    “I still should have known.”
    Avery continued to hold Mandy tight against her, rocking back and forth and murmuring reassurances. She wouldn’t let go until Mandy indicated that she was ready. Eventually, she raised her head.
    “Better now?” Tate asked her. Mandy nodded.
    “I’m sorry you had such a bad dream,” Avery whispered, wiping Mandy’s damp cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. “Do you want to tell Mommy about it?”
    “It’s going to get me,” she stammered on choppy little breaths.
    “What is, darling?”
    “The fire.”
    Avery shuddered with her own terrifying recollections. They seized her sometimes unexpectedly and it often took several minutes to recover from them. As an adult, she found it hard to deal with her memories of the crash. What must it be like for a child?
    “I got you out of the fire, remember?” Avery asked softly. “It’s not there anymore. But it’s still scary to think about, isn’t it?” Mandy nodded.
    Avery had once done a news story with a renowned child psychologist. During the interview she recalled him saying that denying the authenticity of a child’s fears was the worst thing a parent could do. Fears had to be acknowledged before they could be dealt with and, hopefully, overcome.
    “Maybe a cool, damp cloth would feel good on her face,” Avery suggested to Tate. He left the rocker, and returned shortly with a washcloth. “Thank you.”
    He sat down beside her as she bathed Mandy’s face. In a move that endeared him to Avery, he picked up the Pooh Bear and pressed it into Mandy’s arms. She clutched it to her chest.
    “Ready to lie back down?” Avery asked her gently.
    “No.” Apprehensively, her eyes darted around the room.
    “Mommy’s not going to leave you. I’ll lie down with you.”
    She eased Mandy back, then lay down beside her, facing her as their heads shared the pillow. Tate pulled the covers over both of them, then bridged their pillow with his arms and leaned down to kiss Mandy.
    He was wearing nothing but a pair of briefs. His body looked exceptionally strong and beautiful in the soft