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The minute he was off the plane, Max ran through the terminal, following signs to the place Patrick had told him to meet the chopper. It was waiting for him in a section of the airport reserved for private aircraft. Max had to show ID to an agent at the doorway and was buzzed through to the tarmac.
He saw the distinctive black chopper with the PME initials on the side and jogged over to it.
“Max Abbott?” a man in uniform asked.
“That’s me.”
“Welcome aboard. We’ll have you to Burlington in about ninety minutes.”
That sure as hell beat six to seven hours. “Thank you so much.”
“We’re sorry about your son and nephew, but we’re hearing they’re going to be okay.”
“Yes, they are, thank goodness.”
They handed Max a headset to wear to mute the noise and so they could communicate with him if needed. As they lifted off, Max looked out the window at Manhattan in the distance. His phone vibrated with a text from Lexi.
SO relieved to hear they’re going to be okay. I’m thinking of you and them nonstop. Please keep me posted. Love you. PS: I finally got through to cancel the rental car.
Max smiled as he read her text, comforted by her kind words and her love.Thank you. I’m so sorry I had to leave the way I did. Was having the best time ever. Will make it up to you. I promise. Love you, too.
She wrote right back.No need to make it up to me. Caden is your top priority, and I totally understand that. I’m here if I can do anything for either of you. Xoxo
Thanks for understanding. Means a lot to me. I’ll try to call you later.
Call me any time.
Max felt better knowing she wasn’t upset about the way he’d left her. He felt terrible about not bringing her with him, but he still felt this wasn’t the time to try to force things between her and Caden. He would want Max’s full attention, and that’s what he would have until he was recovered from his injuries.
After that, Max would work on making the three of them into a family.
The helicopter landedabout three miles from the hospital. Linc was waiting in his new Range Rover when Max stepped off the chopper in a remote field, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. But after having attended college in Burlington, Max recognized the location a short distance from downtown and the University of Vermont campus.
He jumped into the passenger seat of his dad’s vehicle. “Thanks for meeting me.”
“No problem. I’m glad to see you.”
“Same. What a hellish day. I’m never leaving him again.”
“Don’t say that. Everyone deserves a break, especially single parents.”
“Being far away from him when he was hurt is the worst feeling I’ve ever had.”
“I understand that, but you can’t be with him all the time.”
“Yes, I can.”
“No, Max, you can’t,” Linc said gently, “and you shouldn’t be. As he gets older, he’ll spend more time away from you, which is the natural order of things. You have a right to your own life.”
Max shook his head. “I don’t want my own life if it means I’m not there for him when he needs me.”
“You’re always there for him.”
“I wasn’t today.”
“But we were. Will and Cam were. He was surrounded by people who love him almost as much as you do, and that will always be the case in our family.”
“I know, but it should’ve been me.”
