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The woman takes a close look at my business card. “Adam Wright?” She stares at me. “You’re Adam Wright?”
“Yes.” I give her a polite smile. I’ve been featured on business magazines and newspapers a few times.
“That’s why you look familiar. I didn’t know you had a baby.”
“Not many people do,” I say. Most of my media coverage has been centered around my work, so there’s no reason for some random person on the street to know much about my personal life.
The woman pauses to think. “Okay, take your son home. He sounds like he needs his mom.”
“Thank you. You won’t regret it. If there’s any problems with insurance, my number’s on the card. I’ll personally make sure everything gets resolved.” I let out a relieved exhale.
I get into the driver’s seat and look back at Sawyer and William.
William’s no longer crying, but he’s still gasping for breath.
“Is he okay?” I ask. “Looks like he’s having trouble breathing.”
“He’s fine. He was just sobbing, and he’s still shocked. We should probably take him home now,” Sawyer says.
So, in silence, I drive home. In the backseat, William continues to sniffle while Sawyer tries to entertain him.
What’s Sawyer going to tell Katie? And how will she react?
Katie
It’s been a while since I had time to listen to an audiobook, especially while I vacuum the floor.
If William were around, I wouldn’t be doing this. I’d be too afraid I might miss it if he called out to me.
Noise levels notwithstanding, I haven’t been able to fit in much time for entertainment in general anyway, unless I count those mind-numbing hours I spend sitting in front of the TV with William, watching and re-watching Caillou.
I jump when something touches my shoulder.
Turning around with alarm, I see Sawyer holding a sleepy William.
“Hey, you guys are back,” I shout cheerfully over the sound of the vacuum cleaner.
I’m in a good mood after a productive—I check my watch—hour. I thought they were only going to be gone for half an hour.
But it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy to have done a bunch of chores. And now, I get to see William again. Maybe we should to this more often.
“I had no idea you were going to join them, Sawyer.” I smile as I pull off my earphones, but Sawyer maintains a grim facial expression.
“What’s wrong?” I turn off the vacuum.
“What’s wrong?” Sawyer repeats. “There was an accident; that’s what’s wrong.”
“What do you mean, accident?” I ask, my heart stopping as I drop the vacuum handle and the plastic tube on the floor. “Is William okay?”
My heart stops as I reach out to William and start inspecting his little body for injuries.
I check his limbs and lift up his shirt, my fingers shaking. I keep expecting to see a big, red, gaping gash somewhere hidden, somewhere Sawyer missed.
But after a thorough examination, there’s not a scratch on him, thankfully. Taking William from Sawyer, I hold my son against my body and kiss the top of his head.
“Just ask that guy.” Sawyer gestures at Adam, who’s walking down the hallway toward us. “I saw him cause an accident just because he wanted to pet a big, goofy Labrador.”
I stare at Sawyer incredulously, then flick my angry gaze to Adam. I let William down on the floor and tell Sawyer, “Take him to his room.”
As Sawyer and William leave, my whole body buzzes with adrenaline. Something bad almost happened to William—no, wait, it already happened. Sure, he’s okay, but he could’ve been seriously injured.
What was Adam thinking?
My heart hammers in chest as I shake with anger in the hallway. I recognize the signs; I’m in mama-bear mode. Adam almost hurt my little cub and now I want to scratch his eyes out.
It would be an understatement to say this is not a good time to talk to me, but Adam’s already walking toward me, not realizing I’m raring to go on the warpath right now.
I put my hands on my hips and glower at Adam. “What happened?”
“The road had a slope, and I didn’t see it at first. There was a dog sleeping on the road and I—”
“Jesus Christ,” I curse.
Adam gives me an alarmed look.
“I couldn’t believe it when Sawyer said you put William in danger to pet a dog, but was that really what happened?” I ask.
“No. I had to move the dog because he was asleep on the pavement. I wasn’t petting him.”
“Okay. You also mentioned a slope.” I raise an eyebrow. I already don’t like the sound of this.
“When I was trying to move the dog, the car started sliding backward. I tried to stop it, but it hit another car.”
I groan, my chest heating up with anger. “Really? After everything you said about being more careful around William? After what you promised me earlier today?”
“William’s not hurt,” he says urgently, as if it should absolve him from blame.
