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I smiled and lowered the phone to Rylan’s ear, half-listening to the murmur of Xander’s voice through the speaker as he cooed to our son, half-imagining the lives we’d lead when all this was over, and our family could be together once again.
* * *
The next morning, I managed to catch Dylan before he left.
“Morning!” I called out to him as he rushed toward the door. At the nape of his neck, I spied a tag at his collar. “Your shirt is inside out.”
He glanced down at it, frowned, then pulled the shirt over his head. “Shit. Thanks.”
“Where are you headed in such a hurry?” I asked, glancing to the keys in his hand.
“Evergreen General.” He shoved his hand through the shirt, righting it. “A bed just opened up.”
I gasped. “That’s great news!”
It really was. After so many weeks of waiting at Morrow Manor, Tony would finally be able to come back to Evergreen. It wasn’t world-shattering, but it was progress. It would be good to have Tony around again, though I suspected he’d be spending most of his time at the hospital than at the lodge.
“They say they’ve reserved it for Ma, but I wanna get over there to make sure. Dad’s working out the transfer now.” He pulled his shirt back on, right-side out this time. “Figured I’ll pick up some supplies and wait for them.”
“Need any help?” I still hadn’t showered yet, let alone had breakfast, but if there was anything I could do, I was desperate to chip in.
Take care of them. That’s what Xander had told me, notsit on your ass and wait for something to happen.
“Not with this, no. But…” Dylan glanced toward the door to the den. As usual, it was closed. “If you’ve got time, maybe you could talk to Kingston for me? I tried telling him about the transfer, but he’s not real keen on listening to me say just about anything right now.”
With Dylan’s face turned, I spied a pink mark on his forehead. The skin beneath it was flushed green with the promise of a bruise.
“Did he do that to you?” I asked, pointing to his head.
“This?” Dylan rubbed his forehead. “Oh. Not a big deal. He threw his boot at me and told me to get lost. Only good thing about him being short a leg, come to think. He’s got half as many shoes to throw.” He laughed but sobered quickly. “Not that I think he’ll do the same to you.”
“He’d better not,” I said. “I’ll throw it right back.”
* * *
After Rylan settled into nap mode and I rushed my way through a shower, I decided to undertake the mission Dylan had given me.
It wouldn’t be easy, but lately, very little had been.
At least this was a chance to do some good.
“Kingston?” I knocked on his door a few times, keeping my voice gentle. “Can I come in?”
“Nope!” he answered promptly through the door. “But you can feel free to fuck off.”
“Okay…” At least he hadn’t thrown his boot at me, but we weren’t exactly off to a great start. “Could you come here, then? There’s something I need to tell you. I can make it quick.”
There was no answer this time, but a few moments later, he opened the door. I was hit with the strong smell of cleaning supplies mingled with the sweetness of scented candles.
“What’s wrong?” Kingston barked at me, his tone implying that there had to be something amiss.
Given the way our lives had been going lately, I supposed I couldn’t even hold it against him.
“Nothing’s wrong.” I smiled when I noticed his hair looked freshly brushed. His beard, which had grown wild since the attack, was surprisingly tame. “You look nice.”
He had a fresh T-shirt on, too… and was that cologne I smelled?
“I’m a little busy here,” he said, glancing behind me anxiously. “You said you could make this quick?”
