Page 21 of Thunder

Scottie – Two Days Later

“Thank you so much for your help,” Mrs. Jenna, a tearful mother, chokes as she clutches her son's hand, and I give her a soft smile.

“You’re very welcome,” I reply as I stand and grab my notes, then add, “Dr. Klien will be with you momentarily to admit Parker.”

She nods, her light-blue eyes watering again, and I give Parker a small smile. He rolls his eyes at his mother's behavior but doesn’t remove her grip or knows he can’t with how hard she’s holding him. I swallow my chuckle as I leave the room, leaving the poor kid with his very overbearing mother.

Pretty sure I heard him ask at least ten times when his father was going to arrive. I’m guessing he’s hoping his dad will calm her down, but somehow, I don’t think it’ll work.

Parker fell off his skateboard and ended up landing on his arm funny. His skin was scraped up where his bone had popped out of the joint. I think it’s traumatized his mama more than him. He was talking about finding a better skateboard and I honestly thought I was going to have to admit his mother for a stroke with how limp her body went.

Shaking my head, I take Parker's notes to the nurse's desk, ready for Dr. Klien, the orthopedic surgeon. I give, Tilly, the nurse on shift with me, a smile when I stop at the desk.

“How’s the mama doing?” she asks, and I wince as I admit, “Parker asked if he could get another skateboard.”

She eyes the room I just came out of, and she mutters, “Remind me to never let my son near a skateboard,” and I grin wide.

Tilly is a single mama, her husband left when her son was four. Even though she’s tried to convince her son to be a geek in high school, he’s gone the opposite way, he is popular and he’s a jock.

The boy loves his ice hockey, is currently captain, and has been accepted on a full scholarship to play college hockey. Tilly is terrified because he does end up in the boards a lot. I have seen it firsthand and I have been trying my hardest to steer my troublemaker of a nephew away from hockey or anything that could get him hurt. He already sets my nerves on edge, especially after the other day…

Deep hazel eyes hit me, a knowing smile set on his kissable lips, and I blink as I try to chuckle, hoping it doesn’t sound tense, and I say, “Somehow, I don’t think Coop will risk an injury,” and she huffs but nods.

“I love my son, I do, but why couldn’t he have chosen to be a bookworm?” she grumbles, and I smile wide despite my current turmoil.

I don’t want the biker, I repeat, I do not want the biker!

Yeah, sure, whatever you say, the devil on my shoulder cackles, and heck, even the angel smirks.

Stupid subconscious!

“Admit it, you feel nothing but pride when you watch him skate around the rink with the crowd cheering his name,” I goad, and her lips twitch, making me chuckle lightly.

Did I mention that she hates her son's career choice? Yet, unlike my family, she’s standing by Coop, cheering him on in games. All while threatening to show all the girls that look at him with lust naked baby photos if he ends up breaking a bone.

“Did I hear that your sister left Sammie at the diner the other day?” Tilly asks as I sign my name at the bottom of the chart. I curl my lip at the reminder, the need to punch my sister high yet again.

If I knew she wouldn’t press charges, I would have attacked her by now.

My sister is… there is not even a word to describe the type of person she is. I never thought she would stoop any lower than she already has where her son is concerned than leaving him on my porch. I guess I was wrong, and she has literally shown that she just wanted whatever I had.

Getting a phone call on hour twenty-two from Dad asking if Sammie was at mine, or if he made his way to the hospital. Apparently, Rachel had walked out of the diner while he went to the bathroom, my heart sank. I got angry when I heard my sister scream in the background that he was right behind her when she left the diner, that he ran off despite the cameras showing her walking out. Child abandonment. As a lawyer she should know it is a felony.

She was lying through her teeth, and while Mama believed her, refusing to see the footage. I was clearly her walking out as soon as Sammie went to the bathroom after spending the whole time berating him and snapping at him for not sitting up straight or eating freaking salad. She had the nerve to bring up boarding school, claiming that Kavan is barely home and she can’t raise a child alone.

Ha, raising a child alone- I have him more than she does, and he is her kid. She made sure to trap Kavan, knowing he wouldn’t dump me otherwise. To make things worse, he still wanted me, which just pissed her off even more, and don’t get me started on my sister-in-law.

You could hear Yasmin in the background agreeing with boarding school, claiming he was too noisy when he came over for dinner. Dad ended up snapping at her to shut up or get out of his house.

I don’t really remember much after that. I kind of went into panic mode, and Sammie became my sole focus. Dad has finally taken off his rose-tinted glasses, and can now see my sister for who she really is.

“She did, then claimed he ran off when Dad confronted her, demanding to know where his grandson was when she walked into his home alone,” I say, and she snorts.

“Yeah right, sure, he ran off,” Tilly says sarcastically, and I hum.

Everyone knows Sammie is a good kid, that he’d never run off, and everyone also knows my sister doesn’t want him. She just wanted my boyfriend, so I wasn’t happy.

Pathetic really.