Page 47 of Your Love

My cousin Trevor, his brown hair matted with sweat from a long day of work on the farm, directs us with steady hands and a confident voice. He’s become really important to Earl, but he’ll be leaving in a few short weeks to attend the firefighter academy, leaving Earl to find a replacement. I’m worried about how that is going to work out, but my mind continues to focus on thoughts of Kerri, my priority above all else.

I want to be by her side, holding her close and offering comfort. It’s killing me that I can’t be with her when she wakes up, and she will likely feel scared and confused. Her parents and grandparents are there for her now, but it does little to quell my anxiety. I need to be there to hold her hand and brush away any tears.

“I’m going to go muck the stalls,” I say to Paisley. “Are you okay staying with the goats?”

“Yes,” she says quietly.

A grin spreads across my face, but I quickly school my features into a more subdued expression. I’ve learned from experience that if we make a big deal out of every word she speaks, my sister will clam up and refuse to say anything at all. She’s stubborn like that. So, instead, I just let a warm feeling fill my chest and go about my chores.

After finishing with the animals, I grab the mail from the mailbox at the end of the dirt road and drop it on the table by the door as the phone begins to ring.

I have no intention of picking it up since it’s not mine, but then I hear Earl’s voice booming through the answering machine. “Landry? Are you there, Kid? Pick up if you are.”

I sprint to the phone and pick it up with my heart galloping in my chest. “Earl, I’m here. I’m here,” I say. “Is Kerri awake? What’s going on?”

“Hi, Landry. I’m glad I caught you. Kerri woke up for a few minutes earlier.”

I exhale a deep breath as the thousand-pound weight that’s been settled on my chest begins to lift.

“Is she okay? Is she in any pain?”

“She doesn’t seem to be in much pain; at least, it doesn’t look like it. She was pretty out of it from the medication, but she smiled before she went back to sleep, so that’s a good sign.”

I’d give anything to feel the warmth of that smile right now. “What are her injuries?”

Earl clears his throat. I think it hurts him to think about it. “She has a broken arm, broken collarbone, and a severe concussion.” He sighs. “Along with lots of cuts and bruises.”

I wince at the words. I’d rather be going through this pain myself, and I know he would, too. But it could have been so much worse. “How long are you guys going to stay?” I ask. Earl reads the subtext of my question, which is, “When are you going to be home so that I can go see her?”

He chuckles, and the sound loosens the vice around my chest even more. “We’re going to head back tomorrow. Now that I’ve seen Kerri Ann, I feel good about coming home.”

I quickly work out the logistics, making a list in my of things that need to get done before I leave for Texas. “That will work. I’ll plan on heading out tomorrow. Hopefully, she will be more awake.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” he says.

Suddenly I realize I’ve never met Kerri’s parents. They’ve only heard my panicked voice on their answering machine. “Earl, can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” he says. “What’s on your mind?”

“Do Kerri’s parents know about me? I don’t want to show up and be the strange guy who barges in and upsets everything.”

“They know who you are, Landry,” he says. “Kerri has told them about you, and we’ve been telling them about you. They’re excited to meet you.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “Okay. Well, then I’ll get my stuff together and plan on heading tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. We can all be thankful that the situation turned out the way it did,” he says before hanging up.

I place the phone back on the cradle and turn to Paisley. “Good news, Pais! Kerri is going to be okay.” I wrap her in a hug, but the sound of her sniffling against my ear causes me to pull back and study her sad face. “It’s going to be fine. I’m going to visit tomorrow. Maybe you could make a drawing for her? She would love that.”

“I go?” Paisley asks sweetly.

My heart cracks at her sweet voice. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry you can’t go. I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone, and I’ll be spending most of my time in the hospital. But I promise to keep you updated on everything that’s going on, and I’ll bring Kerri home as soon as I can.”

The next day is loaded with things to do to get ready for my impromptu trip. My flight leaves this afternoon, so I’ve been packing, calling the airline to book my ticket, and begging my parents to pay for it. I’ll be doing chores around here until I’m twenty-five.

The last thing left to do is call Coach Dupree. I’ve been putting it off, not because I’m scared to tell him—he’s a reasonable man, and he will understand. But he’s also running a junior hockey program and can’t have star players disappear for weeks on end. I hate letting people down, and I feel like that’s exactly what I’m doing right now, though I don’t have a choice.

As it turns out, he’s really understanding about my situation and assured me that my spot will be waiting for me when I return. However, he also reminds me that this is a competitive league, and I can’t be gone all summer.