April smiled through unshed tears. Her niece was a force of nature, but she was far too young to be needing to defend herself from such violence. “I wish she wasn’t. I wish she was normal. Maybe then she would’ve had a chance at a normal life. Family. Friends. Happiness.”
“She’s going to have all that now,” Peter assured.
“I can’t wait to spoil her rotten,” Pam added.
“We can play Barbies,” Sienna said a bit too loudly for a hospital waiting room, and everyone laughed.
“After Martin’s phone call woke Sienna, she wouldn’t go back to sleep until she saw Violet. I’m thinking maybe the girls can goback to the house and get a few more hours of sleep in,” Faith suggested.
“That would be great,” April agreed. “But only if Violet wants to. I won’t make her leave if she’s not comfortable with it. I know she’s worried about Tanner and Echo.”
“That guy really came through,” Caden said. “And here I was all set to hate him.”
“Yeah,” April agreed. She still hated him. Maybe just a little less though.
They sat in a comfortable silence until Violet woke up. As April suspected, she refused to leave until she saw both Tanner and Echo. Sienna didn’t want to leave either, but the later it got the more tired and cranky Sienna became. Faith got her settled, lying across two chairs, and covered her with a sweater, letting her use her purse as a pillow. Violet wouldn’t hear of it though. No matter who offered to hold her, or how they tried to get her to lie down on two chairs like Sienna, Violet only wanted to be held by April.
To say April was exhausted was an understatement, but she didn’t mind holding Violet. She’d come so close to losing her niece that she didn’t want to let go of her any more than Violet wanted her to.
Finally, just after seven in the morning, a nurse came in asking for Tanner’s family. Everyone stood except April, who still had a sleeping Violet in her arms. The nurse informed them that Tanner was out of surgery and was being moved to ICU.
April breathed a sigh of relief along with everyone else. Pam asked if she could be the first one to see him, and April agreed. It would give Violet a few more minutes of much needed rest. But as soon as Pam left, Violet woke up, asking to see Tanner. “We can see him in a few minutes when the nurse comes back with your meemaw,” April assured her.
“What about Echo?” Violet asked. “Who’s going to see him?”
April looked up, her gaze meeting Caden’s. “I’ll see if he has any family in the area we can contact for him,” Caden offered, and left the room. When he came back a few minutes later, he had a grim look on his face. “The only living relative Echo has, is a sixteen-year-old son who lives in an assisted living facility for autistic and severely handicapped children.”
“What’s his name?” Violet asked.
Caden glanced at April in askance. April nodded and he looked back at Violet. “Charlie.”
Violet sighed, as if learning the kid’s name meant something to her. “I want to see Echo. He saved my life. Please? If Charlie can’t see him, I should be able to, right?”
April swallowed, knowing Violet was right. They both owed the man at least that much. She had no idea Echo even had a son, let alone that he was severely handicapped. Had Ned used that against him? The thought made April sick to her stomach, but she wouldn’t put it past her dead boss to do that since he’d essentially been doing it to her and her mom for years.
When the nurse came back with Pam, April asked if they could see Echo. “He’s still heavily sedated. Are you family?”
“Yes,” Violet said in a tone that broached no argument.
The nurse looked at her with a hint of suspicion, but then nodded. “We don’t usually allow children in the ICU, but I’ll make an exception just this once. Follow me, and then I’ll take you to see Detective Rhodes.”
Violet insisted on walking instead of being carried. She took April’s hand and they followed the nurse down the hall. When they came to Echo’s room, it was filled with the sounds of machines humming, beeping, and buzzing all around him. April worried it would scare Violet, but her niece promptly released her hand and confidently walked over to the side of Echo’s bed. “Hi Echo,” she said, just loud enough for him to possibly hear her over the noise. “It’s me, Violet. Can you hear me?”
When Echo didn’t move, Violet reached for his large hand, gently touching it with her fingers. “I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for saving my life, Echo. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop all the bullets for you. I’ll do better next time.”
April swore her heart was about to break and explode at the same time. She came up behind Violet and placed a soft hand on her shoulder. “You did amazing, Sweetie. I’m sure Echo thinks so, too.”
They stood there in silence for several long minutes. April didn’t want to rush Violet, but she was also eager to see Tanner.
“Can we go see Daddy now?” Violet asked, looking back up over her shoulder at her.
“Of course.”
They left Echo’s room, and followed the nurse a few doors down the hall to where Tanner was. He was more alert than Echo, and smiled as soon as he saw them walk into the room. “Violet,” he croaked, his eyes barely open. “Were you hurt, Darlin’?”
“No,” April said quickly, wanting to reassure him. “She wasn’t hurt. We’ve just been so worried about you.”
Violet rushed over to Tanner, gently touching his large hand with her much smaller one, just like she had with Echo. “Echo saved me,” she said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t stop the bullets for you.”
