“I don’t know, girls.” Mitch pretty much thought it was either that or an animal rights activist, although that seemed stupid as shit given that something like an explosion could traumatize a horse for life.
“I promise, we’ll find out when we get there. Uncle Mark will help a lot.”
Speaking of Mark, his phone rang and he hit play on the hands-free. “You’re on speaker, buddy.”
“Hey, girls!” Mark sounded chipper, filled with energy, which was a little bit of what they needed.
“Hey, Uncle Mark.”
“So, I found us a place. It’s at what they call an apartotel. It’s got a kitchen, two bedrooms, four beds. There’s a Walmart close. Everything about it looks like it’ll work.”
“Yeah?” That seemed perfect.
“It’s not far from the hospital, a bit of a drive, but everything else that was closer I’d have had to have gotten more than one room, and this just seemed better. There’s outside places, there’s a hot tub that the girls can get in. It’ll be too cold for the actual pool. Does that work?”
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” The girls could play in the hot tub. That would have to be good enough.
“I went ahead and booked for a week. I figure we can always leave early. This way, there’s a place for us all to relax, we can have snacks, there’s a full-size fridge, we can go to the Walmart and get everything that we need. We’ll have a little mini-vacation.”
Bekka sighed softly. “This isn’t a vacation, Uncle Mark. Cam is hurt.”
“Yeah, I know, I know, sweetheart, but it’ll be good to see you guys anyway. I missed you.”
The little girl’s parroted back in unison, “We miss you too, Uncle Mark.”
What a fucking mess. “I’m on the road. When is your flight coming in?”
“I worked it out so that I get there about the same time you should arrive. I gave you an extra hour because, you know, stopping to eat and stuff. But your name is on the room. I’ll text you all of the pertinent details in case I have a problem getting there. I’m just going to take a shuttle from the airport, so don’t worry about picking me up. You just get there and get settled in, and as soon as I get in, I can take over and let you go to the hospital.”
“I really appreciate this, buddy. You’ve been more of a help than…”
“Hey, you’re my family. Besides that, I haven’t seen you guys in what seems like forever. And I’m not that far away. I should be better at this.”
Better at what? Rescuing him? “I think you’re great at it.”
“We think so too, Uncle Mark.” Sarah’s voice was a little shaky. “It’s going to be okay, you know. Daddy said so.”
“Well, goodness knows your daddy has been through enough, hasn’t he?”
“Yes, sir.” Little Rachel sounded pissed off. “We have had a lot of things.”
Mark barked out a hard laugh. “You have, but don’t you guys worry, I’m on my way. We’ll all meet in Vegas, and we’ll get Mr. Cam fixed up, and then we’ll get everybody home solid as a rock before Christmas.”
Mark sounded so damn sure, and Mitch didn’t have a choice but to believe him.
“From your mouth to God’s ears.”
“You know it. I am evincing my will to the universe, man.”
“Good deal.” He chuckled. “We’ll check in again soon, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll keep you posted.”
“And vice versa,” Mitch agreed. “Love you, bye.”
“Love you, man.”
Bekka met his eyes in the rearview. “We’re okay?”
