My head was jerked back down for her to inspect. Christ, at this rate, I was going to have whiplash.
“You should have come here straightaway. I would have taken you to the doctor.”
“And that’s why I didn’t come.”
Jeff sighed heavily. “I tried to talk some sense into him, but you know Liam. He always does whatever he wants.”
He grabbed an apple off the basket in the back hall, rubbing it against his shirt with a grin before taking a bite. I was about to smack the wide grin off his face when my mom jerked my head upright again.
“Do you think you could stop doing that?” I grumbled. “You’re not helping.”
“I’m shocked at you, Liam,” Jeff pretended to be astonished. “She’s your mother. Imagine how worried she must be.”
“No thanks to you,” Mom scolded him. “Don’t think you’re off the hook, Jeffrey Michael. If you were over there, you should have forced him to come home.”
“Well, I?—”
“Imagine if he had a brain bleed. He might never wake up, and then it would all be your fault.”
“But I?—”
“Honestly, your brother is injured, and you’re more worried about getting him in trouble.”
“He just said he was fine!”
“I’ll decide who’s fine and who’s not! Until then, I expect you to treat your brother with the kindness he deserves.”
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as she chastised him like a little kid.
“And you.”
Well, shit. That didn’t last long.
“If I ever hear about you getting hurt and not getting help again, I will take you over my knee and make sure you remember that you are an important part of this family, and we’ve already had too many close calls this year.”
With that, she turned and stalked back down the hall, her anger still lingering in the air.
“She middle-named me,” Jeff muttered. “She hasn’t done that for a few years now. What do you think that means?”
“At least she didn’t threaten you with physical violence after getting injured.”
I snatched an apple out of the basket and headed down the hall toward the kitchen. I wasn’t ready for her wrath again, but something smelled good, and I had hardly eaten at all today.
“What’s on the stove?”
“Beef stew. Not that you deserve any of it.”
“Ma, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Taking the opportunity to get her on my good side, I spun her around and pulled her in for a hug, hoping that would calm her nerves. “I promise, if I wasn’t feeling good, I would have told you.”
I knew she didn’t believe a word I said, but she relented, pushing me back a step.
“Alright, get on with you. I have to finish this up before it burns to the bottom of the pot.”
I kissed her on the cheek, earning massive brownie points for the rest of the week at least. But when I spun around, my father’s pointed look said we needed to talk.
And I knew exactly what he was going to say before the words left his mouth.
“Want me to throw myself down the stairs so he has to take me to the hospital?” Jeff whispered.
