“We’re waiting on some test results to come back.”
I let out a long breath. “Is she awake? Can I talk to her?”
“Yeah, hang on.”
I heard a door opening and closing and some shuffling before Violet said, “Hey.”
She sounded weak and tired, and it broke my heart not to be there for her. “Hey Vi. How are you feeling?”
“Stop. I can hear the worry in your voice. I’m not ready to kick the bucket yet. Still got a few more fires to raise, if you know what I mean.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure it will take more than your cancer returning to knock you out. We aren’t that lucky.”
“Damn right, you’re not. I can’t leave my brother to fend for himself. Fuck cancer. It can’t keep me down.” Her voice grew gravely despite her words, and she erupted into a fit of coughs.I didn’t want to force her talk, I only needed to hear her voice.
“Vi. I need you to stay focused on getting better and out of the hospital.”
“You can count on it.”
“Will you hand the phone back to Jodie?”
“Yeah. And remember, I love you, Rascal.”
“I love you, too.” Her old nickname for me stirred something in my chest as more rustling came through the speaker before Jodie came back on.
“Anything she needs, anything at all. No questions, send me the bill. I’ll take care of it.”
“Violet is lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one. She took care of me when I had no one else.”
I was instantly brought back to when I was twelve years old and finding out our father had fallen off an electrical pole and died. He was a lineman, and I couldn’t understand why he would free climb a forty-foot pole, only to have his gaff not grip enough and fall to his death. The helmet he wore stood no chance of protecting his head, not from a fall like that. Our dad had been our sole caretaker after our mom had run off with my dad’s best friend. Without him, Violet and I had no one left.
But the person who took the brunt of the tragedy was Violet. At sixteen, she took it upon herself to become the household provider. I couldn’t begin to imagine what she had done to keep warm meals on our table and a roof over our head.
Violet was the only woman in my life who’d never hurt or betrayed me. And I could never repay her for all she gave up to make sure I never went without.
And now, she was a happy mother of two.
“Where are Grant and Maylee?” I asked.
“Legally, they are old enough to stay home alone, but I didn’t want to risk it while they slept. Marianne came by to watch them while we’re gone.”
“How much longer will the doctors keep her?”
“Honestly? I don’t know. They won’t release her until they figure out why she can’t breathe.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose and tried to push back the emerging migraine. Grant and Maylee didn’t deserve this. They’d already been through so much in their short lives.
“Anything the kids need—a sitter, entertainment, whatever—I’ll take care of it. Violet doesn’t need to worry about anything but getting better.”
“Okay. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Thank you, Jodie.” I let my head fall back against my pillow.
“You take care of yourself, too. The last thing we need is for something to happen to you. I’ll be in touch.”
We hung up, and seconds later, Shane pushed my curtain aside and leaned down into my bunk looking like a bat in a cave.
