Nothing but a small boy in a man’s body, terrified out of his mind he’s going to lose yet another parent before he’s even finished high school.
I surge to my feet and wrap him in my arms.
“He’s going to be okay,” I whisper in his ear as his shoulders shake in my hold.“I promise you; he’s going to be fine.”
From the corner of my eye, I see Nate pull Savvy out of the room, closing the door on us.
I’m not sure how long we stand here, Carson letting go of his emotions while I struggle to hold on to my own.
“What happened?”he eventually asks, wiping at his face with his sleeve.
“He was protecting me,” I share, not hiding from the truth as I slowly release him.The boy deserves to know.“And was shot in the back.Right now, the doctor is placing a tube in his chest so his right lung can inflate again, but we’re hoping he won’t need any additional surgery and will heal on his own.I expect Dr.Sharma to drop in and give us an update any time now.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, honey.I’m fine.”
Good Lord, what a sweet boy he is.His parents really did a good job with him, and hats off to Hugo for making sure his son was nurtured emotionally after losing his mother.
Carson is a sensitive kid—something I assumed was inherited from Emily—but now that I’m getting to know his father better, I can see that same sensitive side in him.Although, Hugo has more trouble expressing his, and instead walks away from an emotional confrontation, like he did when I opened up about the secrets I’d kept.
“Did you have a chance to talk to Tate?”
I know those two have a lot in common—Nate’s daughter, Tatum, lost her mother to an overdose only about a year ago—and it’s been good for them to have someone in their own age group who’s been through a similar experience to talk to.
“Yeah, Nate picked her up too.She was going to wait in the truck.”
“Good.”
I’m restless, but I do my best to present a calm front and force myself to sit.No sooner does my ass hit the seat when my phone starts vibrating in my pocket.I don’t recognize the number but answer anyway.
“Hello?”
“Bess?”
Hearing my brother’s voice is a relief.A team of FBI agents whisked him away after what happened in his room, and I was told he was taken into protective custody.We never had a chance to finish our conversation.
“Ken…”
“Listen, I talked one of the agents into letting me use their phone, but I only have a few minutes.I never had a chance to say goodbye.”
“I know, I had come up with all these things I wanted to say to you.I was going to bring up things I remember of when we were kids, before moving to Seattle, but it doesn’t really matter, does it?I’m sure you have those same memories, or maybe you have different ones.”
“Good times, Sis,” he mumbles.
“Yeah, good times.”
“I have regrets—” he starts, but I cut him off.
“As do I, but you know, in the end the only thing that matters is I love you.I always have, and no matter where you are, or who you are, that will never change.”
It’s silent for a beat, and then I hear him clear his throat before he comes back on.
“I feel the same,” he returns gruffly.“Have a good life, Bessie.”
“You too, Ken,” I choke out, hearing the line go dead.
This time it’s Carson—a little taken aback by my sudden flood of tears—who comforts me with a warm hug.I barely get a chance to explain what my emotional outburst was about, when Dr.Sharma pokes his head around the door.
