“No, she won’t, ’cause it’s going to your house! Our gift to you, to make that house more Lou-friendly,” he said, and I realized I had been set up. I couldn’t complain, though. I wanted to have Sophie and Lou over more. Over the years, I had let a ton of junk pile up in the spare bedroom. Everything from power tools and construction materials to my high school diploma was stuffed in there.
It wasn’t exactly safe for Lou, so I had spent the past fewweeks cleaning it out with the hope of turning it into a space for her. Dad had just helped me do a final sweep, as well as priming and painting the walls purple—Lou’s favorite color. I found it suspicious that Dad was so eager to help, but with this loud gift, his participation finally made sense.
“Alright, old man, you win. Help me load up the truck.” He patted me on the back. By the time we finished packing, Mom had secured tickets to the event for the entire family. As I was driving home, my phone rang, an unknown number appearing. I hit the button on my steering wheel to answer, distracted by plans on how to set up the music room for Lou.
“Hello?” I asked once I heard the phone connect. There was a beat before a woman’s voice came over the line.
“Lincoln? Is it really you?” I froze. The voice was familiar, but I didn’t fully recognize it.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“Really, Linc? You don’t remember what your wife’s voice sounds like? Ouch.” Turning onto my street, I was grateful I was almost home, completely unprepared for that conversation.
“Lindsey?” I replied, needing confirmation as I steered my car into the driveway. Once in park, I grabbed my cell, switching it from bluetooth to handheld so I could talk directly to her.
“Ding, ding, ding, and we have a winner! It’s been a long time, Linc,” she replied, something in her voice making me nervous.
“A very long time. For averygood reason. Why are you calling me, Lindsey?” I asked, trying not to get sucked into the past or let bad memories sour my mood.
“What, we can’t talk? You’re still mad at me? Come on, Linc. It’s been years.”
“Linds, I’m only going to ask once more.Whyare you calling me?” I asked, gritting my teeth against all of the things I wanted to say to her.
“I’m coming home. I want to see you,” she cooed, her voice giddy, as if it were exciting news.
“Hard pass. Don’t call this number again.” I hung up, my heart beating faster than I cared to admit. It wasn’t that I missed heror that I was hung up on her. I didn’t like the unknown. I didn’t trust her, and I was afraid her coming back would somehow tarnish what I was building with Sophie.
A feeling of dread settled in me, and I thought about asking Mason to run a check on Lindsey to see if she was hiding anything. Trying to shake off the ominous feeling hanging over me, I got to work unpacking the truck. Working up a good sweat by the time I got everything inside and upstairs, I didn’t even realize I’d left my phone in the car. Tired and dirty, I ran out to grab it, only to see several missed calls from Sophie and Walt. Panicked, I called Sophie immediately.
“Linc?” she answered after the second ring. Her voice wobbled.
“Baby, I’m so sorry. I left my phone in the car. What’s going on? Did something happen?” I asked, terrified as the words left my mouth. Sophie inhaled sharply, sniffing.
“I got a call from the school. Lou fell off the monkey bars. They think she might have broken her arm. She just got to the hospital.” I could hear noise in the background, and a cold sweat broke out down my spine.
“Go. Take care of Lou. I’m heading there now. Stay strong for me, baby. She’s gonna be okay. Our Lou is tough,” I told her as I scrambled into the car, throwing it into drive.
“They’re gonna take her for X-rays now. I have to go. I’ll text you the room number once we have it.”
“It’s gonna be alright. Take care of our girl. I’ll be there soon.” I cursed myself every name under the sun as I drove to the hospital. The familiar roads seemed impossibly long, the phone calls to my family doing nothing to quicken the ride. Every car was driving at a snail’s pace.First Lindsey, now this?They said bad things come in threes.What are we facing next?
Chapter 18
Maxwell
My phone rang, and I saw that it was Grandfather. I answered it quickly, not used to hearing from him much anymore.
“Grandfather! How are you, sir?” I greeted enthusiastically.
“I’m on my way to Baptist Hospital. Lou is in the ER. I’m meeting Sophie there.” The line dropped after that, and I struggled to sort through my feelings.
Why did he know before me? Why does he care so fucking much? Why is this the only area I can never win at?With a growl, I had Deidra call my driver and hurried to leave the office.
When I got to the waiting room of the ER, I spotted Grandfather in a far corner. He looked up when I walked in, a hopeful expression morphing to disappointment. As I got over to him, he dismissed the hand I held out and started talking.
“She fell off the monkey bars. The doctors have taken her to get X-rays to see the damage. Sophie is with her, and they’ll call us once she’s out and they have her in a room.”
When they finally called us back, I followed Grandfather as he raced to the hospital room. Once I got in, I spotted Eloise, her small form barely taking up space on the narrow hospital bed. Seeing her lying so still, her face pale and expressionless, caused a strange pang inside of me. A large cast covered her from elbow to knuckle. She was asleep as we settled in the room, Sophie seated next to her, who didn’t turn when I entered. She was focused on stroking Eloise’s hair as silent tears poured out of her.I took a step toward the bed, but Grandfather stopped me with a hand to my chest, firmly shaking his head.
