Page 35 of The Lucky Heart (Jamison Valley 3)
Would he want my explanation now? In the few times that we’d spent together since Wes’s funeral, he’d never asked why I had left, but even if he didn’t want to hear my excuses, the least I could do was apologize.
I hadn’t apologized to Wes for that night and now I never could.
But I wasn’t going to miss my chance to atone with Silas.
Monday. I hated Mondays. For the last ten years, I had spent all but a handful of Mondays in back-to-back conference calls, so when my phone rang over my fifteen-minute lunch break, I really didn’t want to answer it. But Gigi’s name flashed and I picked it up.
“Hello?” I shoved a potato chip in my mouth and did my best to muffle my crunching.
“Hi. Can you come to the hospital? Your mom’s here. She cut herself pretty badly.”
I shot up from my desk chair and rushed to find some shoes. “I’ll be right there.”
My pulse was racing at Mach three by the time I jogged through the ER doors. The sterile smell assaulted my nose and I gagged.
I hated this hospital. I’d spent too many days here in my youth, sitting beside Mom and watching her get treated for countless burns, cuts and sprains. By the time I was ten, I had become an expert at triaging her injuries
and determining which needed emergency treatment.
“How’s Mom?” I asked Gigi. She was a nurse at Jamison Valley Hospital and was waiting for me when I reached the ER counter.
“She’ll be fine. The doctor will come down in a few and get her stitched up. Silas is in with her now. He stayed so I could come out and call you and Jess.”
“Silas?” I asked. “What’s he doing here?”
“He was at the hardware store when she got hurt. He brought her in.”
“The hardware store? How did she get cut there?”
“I’m not sure. She can’t remember much.”
I sighed. “Okay. When Jess gets here we can talk to Silas and see if he knows what happened. Which room?”
“Three. I’ll wait for Jess and then we’ll be in.”
I nodded and hurried across the shiny linoleum floor to Mom’s room. Knocking twice, I slowly pushed open the door.
Mom was propped up on the bed. Her jeans were spattered with blood and a thick white bandage was wrapped around her left forearm. Silas was sitting in a chair by her feet. His gray, long-sleeved Henley was streaked with blood too.
My heart twisted but I forced a smile. “Hi, Mom. How are you feeling?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, shaking her head.
I walked in and sat on the edge of her bed, gently holding the hand of her uninjured arm. “It’s nothing to apologize for. Accidents happen.”
She nodded but her eyes filled with water. I had always encouraged her not to feel embarrassed, but these episodes left her feeling ashamed and it would take days for her to shake this off.
“Hi,” I told Silas, squeezing Mom’s hand tighter and giving her a moment to collect herself.
“Hey.”
“Thank you,” I mouthed and he nodded back.
I wasn’t sure why he was here, I was just glad he was. Mom had always been comfortable around Silas, probably because he’d been one of Jess’s best friends for ages. That, and it was just him. He was a master at giving support and lending his strength.
We all sat quietly until Jess poked his head inside the room. “Hi, Ma.”
At the sight of her son, Mom’s entire frame relaxed into the bed. Jess had always been able to give Mom comfort that I couldn’t.
