Several hours of play wore out Chase. He tired of running and plopped his growing body in the grass. Monica poured him water from a bottle, and Rex retrieved a blanket from the toolbox. They sat on the ground, talking for another hour before heading home.
She gave Chance more water as soon as they got into the house. Remembering she’d left her phone at the house, she grabbed it from the counter and checked for missed calls. The green light blinked rapidly. There were nineteen missed calls from her parents and a message flashing urgent. She checked her voicemail and a message from her dad in a strained voice said to call his cell phone immediately. A sick feeling came over her and twisted her stomach into a pretzel.
Hands shaking, she dialed her dad’s number. No answer, so she frantically called her mom, who answered on the sixth ring. Monica heard the tears and sorrow in Mom’s strangled greeting.
“Mom, what’s going on?” She willed her voice to steady. “I had all these missed calls, and Dad said to call immediately. Please someone tell me.”
“Sweetheart, there’s been an accident.”
“What kind of accident. Is everyone okay?”
Her mom burst into tears and her dad’s voice took over the phone. “Sweetheart…”
“Daddy, please tell me what’s going on,” she begged in near panic. Where was Rex? She needed him.
“I’m sorry, princess. Carrie was in a car accident this morning. A truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and hit her head on.”
“How is she?” She already knew the answer—if the sorrow in her parents’ voices were not enough, the chills coursing through her were.
“I’m sorry, baby girl—she was killed on impact.”
“No!” She shook her head with vigor, as though it could undo Carrie’s death. “What about the baby?”
“They are doing an emergency c-section right now. There’s still a heartbeat, but we won’t know anything for thirty minutes at least.”
Monica dropped the phone, not knowing if her dad was still on the line and sank to the floor. Her baby sister was dead, gone forever.
ChapterFifteen
Rex heard Monica’s wail and rushed inside from taking out the trash. He found her in a heap on the floor, her body convulsing with sobs.
He sprinted to her and kneeled beside her, touched her shoulder gently. “Monica?”
“Carrie’s gone.” She choked on tears. “My sister is dead.”
Pulling her into the safety of his embrace, he listened as she told him the news in broken sentences. His heart shattered with hers, and she wept in his arms for hours until her grief-stricken body passed out from exhaustion.
She was in no condition to drive home, and he wasn’t about to wake her up. Carefully, he stood to his feet while holding her and carried her to the bedroom. Twisting his hand, he managed to peel back the blanket, then tuck her under it after he’d laid her down. She never stirred.
Nothing he could do would take away her pain and he felt utterly helpless, a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to. He pulled himself together. Maybe he couldn’t take away her pain, but he would do everything in his power to ease her burden during this time.
Confident that Monica was comfortable and still asleep, he began putting plans into motion. There was a lot to take care of and a short time to do it.
The first thing he had to do was book a flight to Pennsylvania for early tomorrow. He grabbed his tablet and opened the travel app. After searching for the best arrival times, he chose two tickets for a flight which would depart at ten the next morning and arrive at three in the afternoon. He also reserved a rental car at the same time so no one would have to meet them at the airport.
Finally, he called his boss to arrange for time off, praying it could be arranged. He hadn’t purchased return flights yet, not knowing how long Monica would want to stay. If anything, he would catch a late flight tomorrow night if he couldn’t get the time off.
Mclean answered right away. “What are you calling for on a Saturday night. I thought you had plans.
Rex explained the situation with Monica, both their involvement—which didn’t surprise Mclean— and her sister’s sudden passing. “I booked a flight for both of us tomorrow. I’d like to stay with her if at all possible.”
“I can give you until Wednesday for sure.” Mclean’s deep breath sent muffled sounds over the phone. “There are a few issues in the works that I might need you for toward the end of the week. I’ll see what I can work out.”
“Thank you.”
Now came the hard part. He dreaded this call, but someone had to watch Chance, and he wouldn’t leave Monica on the chance she’d wake up. He had to make a choice and ultimately hoped Monica would accept it. He reached for his phone and dialed Beau’s number.
His younger brother answered happily, unaware of the crisis facing Rex. “What’s up?”
