“I don’t know how.” She practically pouts. “You boys aren’t being proactive.”
I step in and hug her. “Thank you for everything—even the party.”
She smiles and ruffles my hair like she did when I was little. “I love you, Cody.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
Chapter 27
Carli
You are my anchor
when the waves come crashing down.
~ Court Young
My office is an older one,right next to the bathrooms on the second floor of the county offices. The walls are painted this odd seafoam color that makes me wonder if they got a discontinued batch of paint on clearance. No one would intentionally choose this color. My two file cabinets don’t match. My chair squeaks.
And I love all of it.
I’ll hang some pictures in here eventually. Maybe stick a realistic-looking ficus tree in the corner. But, for now, it’s still my first office and I love that it’s mine.
I’m filing some end-of-the-week reports this morning and going over my schedule of inspections for the coming week when my personal cell rings.
I glance at the screen: Mom.
“Hey,” I answer. “Everything okay?” They rarely call me, especially while I’m at work.
“It’s fine. We’re fine. Dad’s fine.”
“Dad?”
My throat tightens and my gut feels suddenly hollow.
“He had an episode. But he’s stable.”
My chair squeaks and stutters backward. I’m up, grabbing my purse.
“Where are you?” I ask.
“We’re at the doctor. Don’t worry, Carli. I just wanted to let you know. Jace drove us here.”
“Mom. I’m coming.”
“No, Carli.” There’s a gravity to her voice that has me sitting back down in my chair.
As much as I ache to be with my family, I’m letting Mom make the call.
“What happened? Is he really okay? Do they know what’s wrong?”
My questions fire off one after the other. I grip my purse strap, ready to take off even though she told me not to come.
“He woke from a nap and just couldn’t catch his breath.”
“He’s been short of breath a lot lately,” I say, almost to myself.
“We’ve all been on him. He’s a stubborn man.”
