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“Oh no. Oh no, please, God, no,” he whispered.
“Is she hurt?” Catelyn knelt beside him.
“I don’t know.” Frantically, he placed his fingers against the side of her neck. Relief filled him. “I’ve got a pulse.” But where was all the blood coming from?
Catelyn looked at him. “Janice is dead.”
“We need paramedics here now!” Mason hollered.
“They’re on the way,” Joseph said from behind him.
Heart pounding in his throat, Mason found the wound. Some of the blood was Lacey’s. She’d been shot in the side. He placed his hand over the area and pressed.
He looked up, hoping to find help on the way, only to see Daniel in the doorway, gun lowered to his side. Who did he shoot?
Before he could voice the question, EMTs rushed in. Mason moved out of the way and watched intently while they worked on Lacey.Please, don’t let her die.The prayer slipped from him and he realized he meant it, believed God heard it.
But would He answer it the way Mason wanted?
Soon, efficient hands fitted Lacey with an oxygen mask and lifted her onto the stretcher. She moaned and rolled her head, her eyes flickering for a brief moment. Mason’s throat tightened. “Is she going to be okay?”
The younger EMT looked at him. “Her vitals are good. She’s breathing well, so it doesn’t look like the bullet hit anything vital like a lung, however, that’s up to a doctor to determine.”
Mason felt slightly better. “I’m right behind you.” And he would be as soon as he introduced himself to his daughter.
Watching Lacey roll away was one of the hardest things he’d ever done, everything in him wanting to be with her, but he knew she’d want him to take care of Bethany.
In the care of two officers, Bethany didn’t see him approach until he was standing in front of her. She looked up and went still.
They eyed each other for a long minute then her lower lip quivered and her eyes filled with tears once again. She stood and stepped toward him. Then hesitated.
His heart clenching, he held out his arms.
With a muffled cry, she threw herself into them, resting her head against his chest. She was slightly taller than Lacey and he lay his cheek against her hair for a brief moment. “Your mom’s on her way to the hospital.”
“She was shot, wasn’t she?”
“Yes.” His stomach churned at the thought.
A sob hiccupped through her and her arms tightened around his waist. Then she pulled back and palmed her eyes like a two-year-old. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“I think so, but I’m going to the hospital to meet her and they’re going to want to check you out, too.” An ambulance and two EMTs waited to transport her. “You want me to ride with you?”
“Yeah.” A brief pause. “Are you my dad?”
He nodded and his eyes misted.
She sighed and said, “Good. I’m glad.”
Mason gave a little laugh. “Me, too, Bethany.”
“I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused,” she whispered.
“You didn’t cause any trouble. That was all Janice.”
“Who is she?”
“A woman who used to be your mother’s best friend growing up.” He shook his head. “A woman with some serious mental-health issues brought on by a lot of things.”
