I hit the highway and head to town, but when I get there, I turn toward my house rather than the hospital.
I told Seth I’d be there for him, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to show up where I’m not welcome. I’ll call Seth and check in on him later. I need a break from all this drama. I need some distance, and there is only one person I need to be with right now.
I pull up to my house, and as I pull my bag out of the car, I call Ty.
“Bob’s Pizza.”
“I need a favor.”
“Shoot,” he says with a chuckle.
“I need a ride to the airport.” I unlock the front door and step inside, toss my keys in their bowl, and stride quickly to my bedroom.
“Are you okay?” His voice has lost its humor.
“No. Can you give me a ride?”
“What time?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t bought the ticket yet.” I pull the dirty clothes from my suitcase and throw them in the hamper, then randomly pull clean ones from my drawers and closet and replace them.
“Text me when you know what time.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I hang up, zip my bag shut, and open my laptop, thankful that I just deposited my insurance check on Thursday, because this is going to be expensive.
Finding a flight out tonight, and feeling nauseous at the amount of money it costs me as I enter my credit card number, I text Ty with the info.
I need to leave in fifteen minutes.
Ty rings my doorbell in ten.
“Thank you,” I murmur earnestly as he takes my suitcase from me, watching me carefully.
“What’s wrong?” he asks softly.
I just shake my head, tears in my eyes. I have to hold it together until I get to Jilly.
He nods once and sighs. “Got it.”
CHAPTER
Sixteen
JOSH
“Where is Cara?” Seth cries, his eyes wild and afraid as he looks around the small emergency room at the hospital. “She said she’d be here.”
“Seth, I need you to calm down,” Dr. Anderson tells him firmly as he examines Seth’s ankle. “Order X-ray, stat,” he instructs his nurse. “We’re going to have X-ray come see you to see what’s happening in there, Seth. I’ll be back with the results in a bit.” The doctor smiles at all of us and hurries out of the room.
“I want Cara,” Seth repeats, crossing his arms over his chest and scowling.
“Where is she?” I ask my mom, who is standing in the opposite corner of the room, leaning against my dad’s chest.
“She said she would meet us here.” She shrugs and frowns. “She should be here soon.”
I pull my phone out of my pocket and dial Cara’s number, only to have it go straight to voice mail. I redial, just in case she was trying to call me at exactly the same moment, but it again goes to voice mail.
“Her phone is turned off,” I mutter.
“Hopefully it didn’t get ruined in the creek when she was holding Seth’s leg,” Zack responds, glaring at me.
What the hell?
Before I can respond, the X-ray techs bustle into the room.
“We need everyone out, please.” A young woman with blond hair, dressed in blue scrubs, pulls a high-tech X-ray machine into the room and positions Seth for the images.
“What the hell, man?” I mutter to Zack, out of our parents’ earshot. He simply shakes his head and hurries back into Seth’s room when the tech leaves.
I try Cara’s cell again, and my stomach clenches in fear when it goes straight to voice mail.
Where the fuck is she?
Long minutes later, the doctor returns with a grim look on his face and dark gray X-ray films in his hands. He pushes them against a backlit frame on the wall and turns to face us.
“I’m afraid I don’t have fantastic news. You did a good job on that ankle, Seth.” The doctor points to the anklebone on the film. I’m no doctor, and even I can see that it’s severely broken. “See here where the bone is completely separated from itself? This isn’t something that can heal with just a cast. I’m afraid you’re going to need surgery, buddy.”
“Can you do that here?” Zack asks with a frown.
“Yes, we have an excellent orthopedic team. We’ll get him into surgery in about twenty minutes.”
“That’s fast,” Mom mutters with surprise.
“We have an OR available, and I want to get this set as soon as possible.” The doctor smiles reassuringly at a shocked Seth. “Don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”
The nurse bustles in to prepare Seth for surgery, and before we know it, the anesthesiologist arrives.
“I want Cara,” Seth whimpers. “She said we were in this together.”
“I know, buddy. She’ll be here when you wake up.”
Seth is whisked to surgery, and Zack, Mom and Dad, and I are led to the surgical waiting room, where we pour horrible coffee and wait.
I dial Cara’s number again and curse when I get voice mail.
“Where the hell is she?” I ask the room at large.
“I wouldn’t have followed you here either,” Zack replies calmly, and grimaces when he takes a sip of his coffee.
“What the hell, man? What is your problem?”
“You were a dick to her today, Bro.”
“I was not.”
“What happened?” Dad asks as I scowl at all of them.
“You should have seen him at the creek.” Zack shakes his head and throws his untouched coffee into the trash. “She was doing everything right, and he snapped at her to get the hell out of his way.”
“I didn’t snap at her, and she wasn’t doing everything right. She put herself and Seth in danger, and she knew she was wrong.”
“Yeah, she screwed up. Who hasn’t? But she was doing everything right with Seth.”
I cross my arms over my chest to suppress the need to punch my brother and break his nose all over again.
“I get that you were panicked, but so was she, and you were a dick,” Zack repeats. “Before you got in the ambulance you told her you needed to go take care of your family. You made it pretty clear that Cara wasn’t included in that.”
“She was devastated,” Mom chimes in. “I didn’t want her to drive herself, but she insisted.”
“Fuck.” I push my hands through my hair and pace across the small space. “I didn’t mean that.”
“I know.” Mom smiles at me and pats my arm reassuringly. “You were worried about our boy. But you hurt your girl today.”
“Where is she?” I ask again, fear and anger growing in me. “If she promised Seth she’d be here, she should be here.”
“Go find her,” Zack suggests, lounging back in his chair and watching me calmly.
“I’ll wait until Seth is out of surgery.”
I pull my cell out and send Cara a text, just in case she turns her phone back on.
I just need to know that you’re safe, baby. Seth is in surgery. Please call me.
The following three hours drag in a blur of more bad coffee, pacing and sitting, and more pacing.
I continue to call Cara’s phone, getting more and more angry each time I hear her voice mail.
When I find her, I’m going to take her over my knee and spank her spectacular ass until it glows.
The surgeon finally walks into the room and smiles. “Mr. King?”
“There are three of us,” Dad tells him with a grin. “Zack is Seth’s father.”
“Seth is doing great. The surgery went well, and he’ll be moved to his room in about half an hour. He’s already coming out of the anesthetic. He’ll be in a cast for a while, and there won’t be any more swimming this summer, but he should be recovered by the time school starts.”
“Can I see him?” Zack asks anxiously.
“The nurse will come get you when he’s in his room.”
“Thank you,” we all murmur.
“Okay, go find your girl.” Mom grins at me and lean
s her head on Dad’s shoulder. “We’ve got things handled here.”
* * *
Her car is in the driveway, and my anger spikes again. She’s home, rather than at the hospital as she promised.
She belongs with us.
I pound on her front door after ringing the doorbell.
No answer.
I peek in her windows, but don’t see any movement, so I make my way around her small house to the back door and pound there for a good five minutes, still not getting an answer.
I’m really fucking sick of not having Cara answer me.
I pull my phone out and call her number again and curse a blue streak when I get her voice mail.
Returning to her front door, I continue to pound until my fist is sore.
“She’s not there.”
I twirl at the sound of Ty’s angry voice behind me. He’s standing a good five yards away on Cara’s sidewalk, his hands shoved in his pockets and his face as angry as I’ve ever seen it.
“Where the fuck is she?”
He smirks and shakes his head. “I can’t tell you that.”
My feet carry me down the steps and to my best friend of nearly thirty years without any thought, and I grip his shirt in my fists, pushing my nose an inch away from his.
“Where. The. Fuck. Is. She?”
“She’s not home. I don’t know what the hell happened, but she couldn’t even talk to me, Josh.” Ty narrows his eyes on me. “I should kick your ass. Cara is as much my sister as Jilly is, and she was shattered when I saw her.”
“Tell me where she is.” I drop my hands and step back, panting. My heart is racing, and for the first time, true fear joins the anger in my gut.
“No.” He shakes his head and pushes his hands through his hair. “I can’t. The women in my life have taken too much shit from assholes.”
“Goddamn it, Ty, you know that’s not me!” I yell, and pace away, frustration rolling off me.
“You didn’t see her face.” He shakes his head. “She won’t see you now. How is Seth?”
“He’ll be fine.” I swallow as I remember the scene at the creek. Seth crying and sitting in the frigid water, and Cara standing with him, holding his leg, reassuring him.
I fucked up.
“Please.” I meet Ty’s gaze with mine. “This was a misunderstanding. C’mon, Ty, you know I love her.”
“Go be with your family. Keep me updated.”
“Damn, Ty.”
“You didn’t see her, man. You’d do the same. Go be with Seth and give Cara a few days to calm down.”
With that, he turns, hands still in his pockets, and walks toward his house without looking back.
* * *
“Ty knows where she is,” I inform my parents, and slump in a chair as they eat chicken from a bucket in a hospital waiting room.
I’ve never before seen my mom eat chicken that she herself didn’t fry.
“He’s right,” Mom mutters, and frowns at the mashed potatoes and gravy. “She’ll come around. Give her some breathing room.”
“I need to apologize and shake some sense into her.” I stand and pace around the room. “Is Seth awake?”
“He is. Zack is with him,” Dad confirms. “Your chicken is so much better than this,” he mutters to Mom, who smiles lovingly at him.
Zack saunters in and sinks in a chair, grabbing a piece of chicken as he does.
“How is he?” Mom asks.
“Pretty good, actually. A bit sleepy, but he’s not in any pain.”
“Good.”
I call Cara’s phone, elated when it rings, but curse when it goes to voice mail yet again.
“That horrible language isn’t going to make her answer the phone,” Mom says matter-of-factly.
“I just wish I knew where she is.” The adrenaline is gone now, replaced by worry. Regret.
Fear.
“You could go ask Seth,” Zack mentions casually, as if my world weren’t falling apart around me. “He’s talking to her right now.”
I immediately hurry out of the waiting room, down the hall to Seth’s room, and push my way inside. He glances up with Zack’s cell pressed to his ear and says, “I won’t.”
“Please hand me the phone, Seth,” I murmur calmly, not wanting to scare the boy. He hands it to me and I immediately stalk out to the hallway, almost running headfirst into Zack.
“Where the hell are you?”
The line goes dead.
“Where is she?” I demand.
“I don’t know,” Zack insists. “She wouldn’t tell me when I asked. She just wanted to talk to Seth, to make sure he’s okay.”
“I wonder if she told Seth.”
“If you’re going in that room,” Zack warns me with narrowed eyes, “you’d better damn well be calm, J. I don’t need you scaring the shit out of my kid.”
“Jesus, man, I’m not going to scare Seth.”
We both open Seth’s door and walk in calmly. Seth is sleepy, but smiles at us when we approach his bedside.
“Hey, buddy, did Cara tell you where she went?” I ask as I push my hand over his soft hair.
“Yeah.”
“Can you tell me?”
He shakes his head and frowns. “I promised I wouldn’t.”
“Seth.” Zack sits on the edge of Seth’s bed and cups Seth’s face in his hand. “Uncle Josh is really worried about Cara.”
“You hurt her feelings,” Seth whispers.
“I know,” I reply. “I just want to make sure she’s safe, Seth.” I brush his hair off his forehead and offer him a small smile. “I love you, buddy. I’m glad Cara called you to make sure you’re okay.”
“She loves all of us, Uncle Josh. She didn’t mean to put me in danger.”
“I know.” I sigh. “Please tell me where she is so I can tell her I’m sorry.”
“I can’t. I promised.” He shakes his head resolutely. “I trust her and she trusts me.”
“Seth,” Zack says, catching his attention. “Do you remember how you felt when you thought that I didn’t love you and I didn’t want to be with you?”
“Yeah,” he whispers.
“Cara and Josh both feel like that now. Josh needs to find her so he can make it right.”
Seth twists his lips, his face pale from his ordeal, and grips the blanket in his fingers.
“She’s with Jill.”
Zack curses under his breath and pushes his hands through his hair.
“She left the state?” I ask incredulously.
“Well, she was calling from some other city where she’s waiting for another plane to take her to LA.” Seth’s voice is small and shaky. “Are you mad at her?”
“I’m furious.” I nod. “But don’t worry, I’ll figure it out.”
“There aren’t any more flights out tonight,” Zack reminds me softly. “You’ll have to catch one in the morning.”
“I’m going back to the house.” I look up into Zack’s face. “I need to pack and book my flight.”
“Go. We’re fine.”
“I want regular calls with updates.” I look back over at Seth and wince. “I’m sorry, buddy.”
“It’s okay. Dad and Gram and Gramps are here. Go find Aunt Cara.” He slips into sleep before he can see the stunned look on my face.
Hell yes, she’s your Aunt Cara.
“Call me when you get there.” Zack grins at me and claps his hand on my shoulder. “Go grovel for forgiveness. I recommend having chocolate with you.” He frowns as his phone pings and scowls when he reads the message.
“Who is it?”
“Jillian.” His eyes find mine and then he reads the message again. “She’s just checking on Seth. Cara must have filled her in.”
“You look surprised.”
“I haven’t heard from her since the Fourth,” Zack murmurs as he types a response with his thumbs and shoves his phone back in his pocket.
“Maybe you should do some groveling of your own?”
He
sighs and shakes his head. “What is up with women today?”
“Full moon?”
He chuckles. “I think they’re like this every day.”
“Like what, difficult?”
“No, maddening.”
He’s probably right.
* * *
“Attention please. All flights are now delayed indefinitely due to severe weather. Flight information will be updated as we have it. Repeat . . .”
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter, and lean back in the hard, black airport seat. I dial Zack’s number and sigh.
“Did you get there?”
“No, I’m stranded in Salt Lake City. All of the flights are grounded.”
“It can’t be snowing,” he mutters incredulously.
“No, thunderstorms.” I stand and pace to the window to watch long streaks of lightning touch down in the distance. “It’s a killer storm. Great timing.”
“I’m sorry, man. How long have you been there?”
“All day.”
“Dude, it’s ten o’clock at night.”
“I know, it’s been a shitty day.”
“Have you slept?”
“A little on the flight down here.”
“Maybe you should go get a hotel room and rest and then fly down tomorrow.”
“Is that what you would do?” I ask.
He laughs. “Fuck no.”
“Exactly.” I return to my seat and sigh. “I’ll text you when I get there.”
“Be safe.”
He hangs up and I decide to take a chance that Cara has turned her phone back on and dial her number.
My heart stutters when it rings.
On the third ring, I hear Jill’s voice. “You’re an ass.” She slurs the last part of ass, making it ash.
“Excuse me?”
“No, let me tell him!” I hear Cara’s panicked voice in the background and I cross my arms, interested to hear where this is going.
At least she’s safe.
“You’re a jerk, King,” Jill resumes.
“I know.”
“Good. He knows,” she informs Cara, making me smile for the first time in more than twenty-four hours. “It wasn’t cool to say that Cara isn’t welcome to move to the Lazy K after you already asked her.”
“Wait. What?” I’m stunned. I know I never told her that.
“You said that you didn’t want to put your foot in your mouth the way you always do and hurt her feelings, and it’s not a forever thing anyway.”