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“That’s what my mom used to say just to get rid of us,” he muttered.
Linnie grinned. “Who’s ‘us’?” she asked, as she kept working.
Sean had to focus. Whowas“us”? “Umm, me, my brothers.”
The nurse kept checking the drip and eyeing his blood pressure reading as she talked.
“How many brothers?”
“Three and me. Two are police officers here. Baby brother…chef in New York City.”
“And what do you do when you’re not stopping bullets?” she asked.
“Computers…IT. I’ve been here before, unlocking a system failure. Can I have a drink of water?”
“Your brothers are policemen here?” she asked, as she poured some water in a cup and then aimed the straw toward his mouth. He took a few sips. “Easy,” she said. “More later,” and set it aside, then she checked the name on his wristband again. “Sean Pope? Pope?” And then she looked at him closer. “Are you Wiley Pope’s brother?”
His eyelids were getting heavy. “Yeah.”
She frowned. “Are you as hell on wheels as he is?”
Sean opened his eyes again. “Ah…you’ve met him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, but I won’t hold it against you. You know how to call if you need us. Rest now.”
“Not until I see my girl. Tell Mom. She’ll find her for me.”
She sighed. “Youarelike Wiley. He doesn’t take no for an answer, either. I’ll let your family know they can come in now.”
“Thank you,” he mumbled, and closed his eyes.
Amalie was sitting among the family, letting their voices and their prayers roll on around her.
Shirley knew Amalie was still in shock and toooverwhelmed for this gathering, but it was their way—always being there for each other—and she needed it to keep from coming undone. She’d always feared one of her sons would be shot in the line of duty, but she’d never imagined it happening to Sean. Growing up, he was the steadfast son. The quiet one. The dependable one and, when the brothers got too loud, the referee.
She glanced at Amalie again and gently patted her hand, then looked around the room and saw Charlie Raines sitting on the floor playing on his phone.
“Charlie! Can you come here a minute?” she asked.
Charlie unwound himself and immediately headed her way.
“Yes, ma’am, Aunt Shirley. What do you need?”
She handed him some money. “A couple of cold drinks for Amalie and me, and get yourself one, too.”
“Yes, ma’am. What’s your poison?” he asked.
“Pepsi or Coke.”
“Comin’ up,” Charlie said, and loped across the lobby to the snack area. A couple of years ago, Charlie had been the one in this hospital, hanging on to life by a thread. Now, he was fifteen years old and towering over both of his parents.
Amalie heard the interchange, but she was staring off into space, lost in the past. Remembering Sean from their school days and the miraculous full-circle moment when he walked into her office.
She closed her eyes and saw him standing before her, a skinny, long-legged little boy with a busted lip, a tornshirt, his knuckles raw and bloody, and the fire in his eyes as he helped her up out of the dirt.
Can children fall in love? Not childish crushes, but a forever bond born when soul mates find each other again? She was still lost in thought when her phone signaled a text. She took it out of her coat pocket to look, saw it was from her dad, and immediately opened the message.
It hurt her heart to see the fear in his words. He was afraid she would reject him. That she would blame him for what had happened. She responded immediately.
