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“Wow, you must be frantic.”
“I am, and the long, bumpy flight isn’t helping anything.”
“Have you heard anything about how they are?”
“The latest is they’re both conscious and being evaluated in the Emergency Department. My nephew has a broken jaw, and my son has a couple of broken ribs and a collapsed lung along with some cuts in his mouth that caused some bleeding.” He’d been relieved to hear that was where the blood had come from.
“Jeez. That’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks, but all we care about is that they’re alive. My mom said it could’ve been much worse when she texted me. And thank God for onboard Wi-Fi.”
“No kidding, right? How did it happen?”
“They turned at the same second and crashed into each other. My brother was right behind them and said it happened so fast, he couldn’t do a thing.”
“A freak accident.”
Max nodded, grateful for the conversation that had calmed his nerves somewhat. “They’re both great skiers. We’ve hammered safety into them since they were first on the bunny slope.” He wondered how he’d ever stand to let Caden strap on skis again after this.
“Do you have a connecting flight to Vermont from New York?”
“Sort of. My brother’s father-in-law is Patrick Murphy, the famous businessman. He’s sending his chopper to pick me up at LaGuardia.”
“That’s great.”
“It is. He’s saving me six or seven hours on the road. My nephew Chase is his grandson.”
“Ah, I see.”
“He’s a good dude. He would’ve done it for me even if Chase wasn’t hurt, too.”
“That’s what family does.”
“I haven’t even asked what’s bringing you to New York?” The conversation was helping to keep him calm as the flight stretched on interminably.
“I live there. I was in Houston for a college friend’s wedding.”
“Ah, I see. Two of my sisters-in-law are from New York. They moved to Vermont to marry my brothers, and then one of their sisters married my cousin.”
“Wow, what a family affair.”
“It gets better. Lucy, who married my brother Colton, and Emma, who married my cousin Grayson—their dad is also married to my aunt Hannah, Grayson’s mom.”
“Wait… I might need you to draw me a picture of that.”
Max laughed, which he wouldn’t have thought possible an hour ago. “Two sisters married my brother and cousin, and their dad married my aunt. Emma’s mother-in-law is also her stepmother.”
“My mind is blown.”
“It’s cool, though. They’re all so happy together, and they deserve it.”
“What brought you to Houston?”
“My high school girlfriend. We recently reconnected at our tenth reunion.”
“That’s amazing.”
“It’s been great so far. I’ve been a single dad to Caden since he was born, and he just turned seven.”
