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She laughed and started for the kitchen. “Well, the idea is to keep them from having to miss out on a bunch of summer vacation if they get too many snow days. Want me to make us some hot chocolate?”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” He hung his coat on the last available hook. “And yes, please. Gotta warm up before I get near your bed again, from what I recall.”
She winked. “You listen well.”
A phone buzzed nearby, and they both reached to check theirs for missed messages.
“Oh, yep, I told you so. Five messages from Brooklyn, asking if the roads were clear enough to come home yet. Ope, make that six. In this last one she’s asking me to come and get her.” Mia shook her head as she started texting back. “Sorry, kiddo, that’s not happening tonight.”
“It’s too bad I don’t have my other vehicle,” Alex said, mentally kicking himself yet again for choosing to bring the Camaro. “I probably could have made it out of here to get her.”
“Oh? Is it on stilts?” Mia laughed.
“Not exactly,” he said, opening his message list. “It’s a—Uh-oh.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Not sure. Dad texted an hour ago, said to call him ASAP. I’d better see what’s going on.”
Mia set her ingredients aside. “I’ll hit the restroom and give you some privacy.”
“Thanks.” He waited until he heard her bedroom door close, then placed his call.
“What took you so long?” His father’s voice was even more agitated than when they last spoke.
Was this family dinner to announce something was wrong with his dad? Something that would mean he’s fighting against the clock? Alex drew in a deep breath, trying to hold back the panic creeping up his spine.
“I was away from my phone. What’s going on?”
“Your mother fell. We’ve been sitting in the ER for two hours now, and if I don’t hear her X-ray results soon, I’m going to march up to the counter and—”
“Wait, X-rays—is she okay?”
“She says she is, but you know your mother—she never wants the rest of us to worry.” His father sighed. “She put her arm out to break the fall, and I swear I heard a snap. The way she cradled it when we helped her up…I just didn’t want to take any chances.”
Alex’s heart went out to his mother. Now he wanted those X-ray results to hurry up, too. “Poor Mom. Did she trip on something?”
“We don’t know. One minute she was upright, the next she was falling. I just thank the good Lord that she wasn’t carrying anything to the table yet.”
Alex hung his head. If he’d been home, he could have helped his mother in the kitchen. If he’d been there, he might have been able to catch her. Or kept her from falling in the first place. But no, he was up in Bourbon Falls, shirking responsibility and playing house with Mia.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he said softly. “How’s Mom holding up?”
“She wants to go home. Hell, we all do, but we’re not going anywhere until—oh, I think I see the doctor coming.”
“Please, keep me posted on what he says.”
“I will. Now hurry up and get home. We need you here.”
Alex’s gaze shifted to the living room, its open curtains providing him a clear view of the unplowed road out front. “I’ll do my best.”
Chapter Fourteen
Alex didn’t sleepwell that night, his thoughts with his mother. She’d never fallen before, so what had caused tonight’s accident? Had she been dizzy? Blacked out? Slipped on a melted ice cube?
Okay, so maybe small-town life did have a few drawbacks. Specifically, their inability to clear roads faster. The change of pace was something that would definitely take some getting used to. Unless, of course, he could convince her to move south.
Ha! I’d have better luck asking my parents to move north, and that’s not gonna happen.
