Page 88 of Together Is Where We Belong

I pulled down his jeans as I removed the cap with my teeth, jabbed the needle into his thigh, and pushed the button to release his meds. I counted to ten before I pulled the pen back and tossed it on the floor. Those ten seconds were the longest ten seconds of my life.

“Mama,” Luke’s broken voice said as he gasped for breath and reached for me.

“Lay down, baby, and give the meds time to work,” I said as I reassured him.

“What can I do?” Leo’s frantic voice asked from beside me.

“I need you to call nine-one-one,” I told him, not taking my eyes off Luke for even a second.

“Already done,” I heard Holden say somewhere off in the distance.

The clubhouse that was once full of laughter and the chatter of the guests, now had hushed whispers of concern.

Luke took a huge deep breath, and I finally let out the one I’d held.

“Medics are here. Clear the way,” I heard someone shout from behind me.

I relayed all the information to the medics as they picked up Luke and strapped him to the gurney.

The medics hooked Luke up to an IV as soon as they had arrived and placed an oxygen mask over his face to help him breathe.

“I’m going with him.” I turned toward Leo who hadn’t left my side. His eyes were trained on Luke, and his lips were pursed together. Anger mixed with fear exuded from him.

“Leo, he’s going to be okay,” I said, trying to reassure him as I touched his arm.

He flinched and pulled away from me, and I dropped my hand.

“I’ll follow you in the truck,” he said as he watched them load Luke in the back of the ambulance.

With a nod, I walked away from Leo and climbed into the back of the ambulance.

Leo stayed close to our side the entire six hours we were in the hospital. He quadrupled checked with the doctors, who’d been amazing, that it was safe to bring Luke home prior to us leaving.

Luke slept soundly on the hospital bed with my hand wrapped around his. My mind raced as to who’d given him the cookie and who the man was I’d sworn I’d recognized from across the room. I’d wanted to ask Luke, but refrained. I didn’t want to cause any undue stress after the scare we’d had.

The doctors released us, and Leo carried Luke out to his truck. He hugged Luke’s sleeping body against him a little tighter the entire walk across the parking lot, and my lip trembled as the weight of the evening’s events finally caught up to me.

If I hadn’t been so diligent about bringing his medicine everywhere, tonight could’ve gone an entirely different route. I could’ve lost him, but I brushed that thought aside as I climbed into Leo’s truck.

My body tensed more and more the entire drive back to the ranch. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Luke’s anaphylactic reaction tonight wasn’t just an accident. Luke had been fully aware of his allergic reaction since he was old enough to explain it to. He knew better than to take food from strangers, and he always made sure to ask if peanuts were in something given to him. That was why my brain couldn’t grasp why he’d taken that cookie from someone. The only way he’d have done it was if he knew the person who’d given it to him.

But who would’ve knowingly given something to my son that would harm him?

After we arrived back at the ranch, I got out of the truck and walked into the house on autopilot. The same question ran over and over in my mind as I followed Leo as he carried Luke up the stairs.

As Leo laid Luke down in the bed, Luke stirred and rolled over to him; his groggy eyes stared up at his dad as his little hand rubbed across his eyes.

“Mom,” his raspy voice said.

“Yeah, sweet boy,” I said as I moved around Leo and sat on the bed beside Luke.

“I thought Mitchell was a nice man,” he whispered.

I wracked my brain at the mention of the name Mitchell, and realization dawned on me causing me to still.

“He is, buddy,” I managed to choke out.

“Then why’d he give me the cookie that hurt me,” he said as he rubbed his eye once more and turned and settled into the pillow. A gasp escaped my throat, and I brought my hand up to my mouth to cover the sound.