LUKE HAD BEEN fighting the urge to recklessly rush home ever since he’d left Austin. Every horror story he’d investigated or heard about through the grapevine or watched on the news had run though his head.
He’d known the kid was out of sync. Why hadn’t he pushed harder or figured out the right method to coax the kid into talking sooner?
As soon as his car came to a stop, he’d jumped out and spotted Jen. His relief grew when he saw Davy Adams trotting down the driveway and people pouring out of the house. And now he could run, go as fast as he could, so Luke reached the bottom of the hill above the creek before the rest of the group. He anxiously scanned the tree house. That was where the kid should be, hiding out, maybe as a punishment, to show the rest of them. That would be fine. Luke would take every bit of his anger, worry and frustration and swallow it, even if it choked and burned all the way down. He’d very casually say Joseph was late for dinner and life would go on.
He’d have time to fix everything.
Instead, the ladder was missing. That was his first clue. Joseph’s backpack was on the ground under the tree house. Luke rushed toward the creek.
When he saw Joseph leaning against a tree, Luke nearly buckled. The tears on the kid’s face could be dried. This was a happy ending.
Joseph swallowed hard. “I think it might be broken.” He motioned with a limp hand at his leg, stretched out in front of him. “The ladder fell and I knew I’d be in trouble if I missed dinner, so I tried to jump.” He shook his head pitifully. “Fell. Heard something crack. Rolled right down the hill.” He winced. “Should have kept going, drowned myself in the creek, put us all out of our misery.”
Luke braced his hands on his knees and breathed in deep and slow until his heart stopped racing in his chest. The adrenaline was making his hands shake but relief was quickly draining him of energy and strength. “Nope. You should have left a note on the table.” Luke straightened slowly as Davy and the others slid to a stop behind him. “He’s a little banged up, but okay.” Luke glanced over his shoulder and tried to communicate clearly that a low-key rescue was the only way to do this. That’s what his gut was telling him.
Yelling at Joseph for scaring them half to death and sending every police official he knew into action would only compound this problem.
And it was all going to be fine. Luke had the time he needed to work this out.
If he had to repay the favors he’d called in for no good reason for the rest of his life, that would be easy enough to do.
Joseph shifted as if he was going to try to move.
“Wait right there.” Luke checked on his support team. “Cole, you okay with climbing?”
Cole nodded.
“Davy, grab his backpack. Cole, you join me and we’ll carry him back.” Luke tipped his chin at Will. “Would you go ahead of us and let everyone know the situation?” He waited until Will nodded, indicating he’d understood Luke’s message and had taken off up the hill. To Joseph, he said, “Let’s get you out of here. Dinner will be getting cold.”
“Yeah, Mom hates that.” Joseph tried a weak laugh and Luke could feel a smile twitching on his lips. The kid was quick. No matter how easily Luke played this, Joseph must have known he was in trouble with Connie Hollister. Big trouble.
“I saw a chili pot and something smelled delicious,” Davy said cheerfully. “Dinner is worth climbing up the hill for, I’d say.”
When Cole joined him, they both stepped carefully down the last few feet of the crumbling, rocky bank. “You grab his shoulders. I’ll take his legs.” Luke met Joseph’s worried stare. “Carefully. I’m going to be very careful.” But it would hurt anyway. Joseph nodded. “On three.”
Luke counted softly and they hefted Joseph up. Cole took the lead, reversing up the bank slowly with Luke following. Davy fell in behind Luke. The trip seemed to last a lifetime, and Luke was covered in sweat and breathing hard by the time they reached flat ground, but Joseph endured quietly, his lips a tight, white line.
“Should we call an ambulance?” Davy murmured next to Luke’s ear, but Joseph immediately shook his head no.
“Not necessary, I’ll take him to the hospital. Let’s put him in the car. Davy, you let my mother know we’re headed to the ER? I’ll call when I know more.” His eyes met Joseph’s as the kid drew in a deep, relieved breath.
“Sure thing, Luke. Do you want us to hold dinner?” Davy’s comically worried face, as if that would be a horrible turn of events, surprised a laugh out of Luke, as it was meant to. Davy clapped a hard hand on Luke’s shoulder, and they both enjoyed the feeling of relief and friendship.
“Nah, we’ll be back before your second helping.” When Joseph was settled in the passenger seat, his leg extended in front of him, Luke strode around to the driver’s seat.
Cole had his arms crossed over his chest. “You want me to follow?”
There would be a wheelchair and help at the hospital. Still, Cole’s show of support meant a lot. Luke shook his head.
“Later.” Cole turned to follow Davy up the sidewalk and Luke started the car.
“Thanks. For not making a bigger deal of this,” Joseph said in a low voice. “I was going to try to be less trouble, not more.” He thumped his head against the headrest and closed his eyes.
“Accidents happen, man. There’s not a whole lot you can do to get around that.” Hearing the words come out of his mouth, the same words other kind people had said to him over the years about the loss of Alex, was shocking enough that Luke was distracted from the road for a split second.
He’d meant every word he’d said to Joseph even if he’d always had a hard time letting go of the guilt and grief of losing his brother in such a senseless way. It had been an accident. Luke hadn’t pulled that trigger.
When Joseph shifted and gasped in pain, Luke snapped back to attention. He had to fight the urge to press hard on the accelerator again. Not an emergency. Don’t put others in danger.
The hospital came into view as Luke glanced over at Joseph. “I mean it. Accidents are accidents, J. You hear me?”
His little brother finally met his stare and nodded. Some of the tension in Luke’s gut eased. He braked in front of the ER doors, where a man in a suit, a doctor in a lab coat and a nurse with two orderlies and a wheelchair were waiting.
Before Luke could run around to open the door, the orderlies were helping Joseph out of the passenger seat and into the wheelchair.
He was amazed and truly grateful for Holly Heights. Maybe for the first time. The small community had rallied round and he’d never forget it.
The man in the suit held out his hand. As Luke shook it, the man said, “I’m the hospital administrator. Rebecca Lincoln called me at home to let me know you were coming, so I thought I’d see if I could do anything.” He motioned at Joseph. “She’s sent us so many young people as volunteers that we are happy to have a chance to repay a small bit of her help. Besides, it’s a slow night so far.”
The doctor bent down to pull up Joseph’s jeans. “We’re going to need an X-ray. We’ll start there.” He stood and pointed at the Mustang.
The administrator nodded and said, “As soon as you move your car.” Luke sprinted back to the driver’s seat. This time, he pushed hard on the gas and screeched into the closest parking spot. Then he ran back up to the group that was already in motion.
Whatever he’d thought about small towns before, this trip to the hospital made up for a lot. At every step, the nurses were patient, the doctor was calm and the administrator hovered in the background.
While they waited for the technician to complete the X-ray, Luke realized he had a whole lot of people to repay in addition to his fellow police officers. Rebecca had called in favors on his behalf. Cole, Sarah and Will had shown up to help with a search because they were good people.
And Jen was the person who’d started the whole ball rolling. After he’d spoken to her like he had, it was hard to believe that she would have gone so far out of her way to help.
“I don’t see anything broken,” the doctor murmured as he studied the X-ray. “The swelling and bruising is bad, but no broken bones is good. We’ll splint this. Give you crutches. A sprain like this will need some serious recovery. Ice for swelling. Over-the-counter pain killers should be enough, but keep me posted on the pain.” The doctor nodded at the nurse, who bent to place the splint on Joseph’s leg. “You’re lucky your injuries weren’t more severe. Unfortunately, now that the ankle’s been weakened, you’ll be prone to reinjure it. Whatever you did? Don’t do that again.”
Before he left, Luke offered his sincere thanks.
The nurse expounded on how to ice the ankle to help with swelling, how often and how many ibuprofen to take and what to be watching for. The administrator came back in. “Just got off the phone with your mother, Joseph. We’re all set to discharge you.”
Luke leaned in and said in a low voice, “What about all the paperwork? Insurance?”
The administrator held out a clipboard. “Sign by the X.” Luke did that quickly and handed it back. “And we’re done.”
No way. There was no way it was that easy.
The administrator shrugged. “Rebecca and I handled it with a phone call. You’re free to go tonight. Get Joseph home because you’ve got some very concerned people there.”
Luke wasn’t quite sure how it all happened so simply and quickly, but he wasn’t complaining as he pulled the car back up in front of the ER’s doors and helped load Joseph in. When they were on the road for home, Joseph said, “So, how much trouble am I in?”
Luke sighed. He still wasn’t sure how to talk to the kid, but he wasn’t going to let that be an excuse anymore. “You know, I don’t think you’re in any trouble.” He shook his head and stared hard at the road. “You were doing your best. This whole time, you’ve been doing your best. I told you that’s all Mom expected.”
“It ended in a trip to the hospital, Luke,” Joseph said dryly. That made it easier to remember why he liked the kid.
“Accidents happen,” Luke repeated. Then he took a deep breath. He was running out of time to make this work. It was now or never. “Do you know why I’m a cop?”
Joseph shook his head.
“You’ve seen the pictures with Alex, the first foster the Hollisters adopted. Well, when he was shot, I felt like it was my fault. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because of me. The cops were the only ones who could get answers or justice.” He glanced at Joseph to see that the kid was staring at him, his eyes wide. “And I could… I don’t know, maybe my life would mean enough if I worked hard every day. For Alex.”
Luke slowed as he came up on the subdivision.
“I never believed it when people said it was an accident, but I need you to understand that when I say to you that this was all an accident, I mean every word. You have nothing to feel guilty about or…whatever.” Luke made the turn in and saw the cars still parked in front of his house. They’d answered the call for help, and no one had left until they learned how everything turned out. Good people. Jen and Sarah had connected his family to some very good folks.
“Think I’ll ever be adopted into the family?” Joseph asked in a low voice. “I want to be a Hollister.”
Luke stepped hard on the brakes and closed his eyes. The way the kid said it convinced him that this was at the heart of everything, Joseph’s trouble fitting in at home and school and… Why hadn’t he seen this before?
“Yes.” Luke stopped at the curb behind the cars in front of his house. “Yes, of course. Mom’s been struggling, but I’ll make this happen, Joseph. You are a Hollister. To her, to me, and that’s forever. Don’t you even think for a second that Mari will let you go.” Luke realized he needed to get as close to the house as he could with the patient, so he eased up to block Davy in the driveway and turned off the ignition. “When Alex broke it down for me, this new family thing made sense. I should have done that for you. I’m sorry. This isn’t for a minute or a day, or until things change again. The Hollisters are forever, even if things change again. That’s been true since I walked in the door, even through my wild times and losing Alex. You can trust that.” He offered Joseph his hand. “I’m giving you my word that you’ll be a Hollister before school is out.”
Joseph grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Guess it’s not anyone who would move to this place because they were worried about my safety.”
Luke nodded. “Yeah. I know that’s right, but after today, small-town living’s growing on me.”
Joseph sniffed. “Maybe we can go back to Austin soon. To visit.”
Luke smiled as he watched Joseph’s eyes sharpen. The kid could see his chance to twist the softy into some lucrative agreements. “Definitely,” he said, chuckling.
“Maybe I could even drive your car,” he said innocently, “because it’s time I learned, don’t you think?”
“To Austin? No way.” Luke cleared his throat, and then added, “But somewhere with wide-open spaces and no traffic, like a parking lot, maybe.”
Joseph wrinkled his nose. “Okay, but you’re going to have to help me with the tree house. That place is a death trap and little Mari deserves better.”
The twist of the trick he’d used to get Joseph to pick up his bicycle wasn’t lost on Luke, but the effort was stellar and such a turn in attitude that it was easy to agree. “Okay, but you don’t need to take her down there alone. If she clobbers you with her lightsaber, you’ll be sorry.”
Joseph was laughing as he opened the car door and banged and yanked and cursed under his breath until he managed to liberate the crutches from the backseat. “Deal.”
Luke fought the urge to lift the kid up and instead crossed his arms over his chest as Joseph lurched down the driveway. The dark night was darker here on the edge of town. Luke could hear wind blowing in the trees and the faint trickle of water. Then a burst of laughter erupted from behind the front door.
“Sounds like they started the party without me,” Joseph muttered. “What are the chances I can slip by and make it to my room unnoticed?”
“Zero. You need to go in and reassure Mom.” Luke smiled as Joseph straightened his shoulders, prepared to do his manly duty.
Thank you, Alex.
Luke enjoyed seeing everyone crammed into the kitchen. Dirty dishes lined the counter and his mother dropped her apron near them as soon as Joseph paused in the doorway.
“My baby. I should have gone to the hospital. Those places are so cold, and the waiting…” She wrapped her arms around Joseph and squeezed until the kid squealed.
“Actually, we happen to have friends in high places who smoothed things over for us.” Luke watched a pink flush spread across Rebecca’s cheeks. Sarah’s eyes narrowed but she shrugged a shoulder.
“And Will here has given me the name of a good lawyer to help me get the adoption proceedings finalized.” His mother bent her knees to stare into Joseph’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Joseph. I’m too late with this, but we will make up for lost time. Walter would be put out with me so don’t tell him, okay?” She blinked rapidly. “Joseph Hollister. That sounds right.”
Joseph ducked his head. “You could call me Joey. But only you.”
His mother was grinning as she squeezed him tightly again and she wrapped one arm around Luke’s neck. “My boys. I’m so proud of you.”
The warm glow in the center of his chest should be embarrassing. Luke was a grown man who’d seen and done some hard things.
A mother’s pride and unconditional love should never be taken for granted.
“We should be going,” Sarah said as she stood and slipped her hand in Will’s. “I’m glad everything worked out okay.”
Sarah seemed satisfied with that and tugged Will toward the door. Luke followed, determined to wipe his slate clean if he could. He wanted to make a new start in Holly Heights and everything started with Sarah.
Luke caught them at the edge of the yard. “Hey, Sarah.”
He knew she was trying to get along when she didn’t answer with a snide remark about his lurking or trying to catch her off guard. “I need to say thank you for coming to help.”
“Jen asked. I answered. That’s what friends do.” She stared down at the ground. “But you’re welcome. I’d have done the same if you’d asked.”
Luke rubbed his chest, right over the spot where the ache was forming. Good people. Was the whole town made up of good people?
“I don’t deserve that, but I’ll take it.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Can’t deny that, but I’ve been on the receiving end of a lot of forgiveness and love that I never deserved. I guess I have a little to spare.” She narrowed her eyes. “But if I hear of you doing anything to hurt my friend Jen, I will run you out of town myself.” Her smile showed all of her teeth, but no friendliness to match. “Just so we understand how far the line between us has moved.”
“I get that.” Luke laughed as he glanced at Will, who was shaking his head in despair. “They’re exciting, aren’t they?”
Will sighed. “Unfortunately. Once you fall for one, you won’t ever be the same.”
“You’re her brother. Don’t you have some threatening to do?” Sarah asked.
“Has it gotten that serious?” Will asked as he squared off in front of Luke. There was no chance he was going to attempt to answer that question.
“Jen’s going to forgive him for making her cry. It’s that serious.” Sarah tilted her head. “And this man made her cry.”
Luke thought he could take Will in a fair fight, but the ugly scowl on his face didn’t seem to promise a fair fight. “Don’t do that again. I’ve spent some time daydreaming about how I would break your nose for the way you treated Sarah. We’ll get past that. It was a job. This will be personal.” Will didn’t back down until Luke nodded.
“My hero.” Sarah batted her eyelashes. “Take me home, sweetie.”
“Yes, dear,” Will said as he held his truck door open. Sarah slid inside and they were laughing together as Will drove off.
They fit. Jen and her friends were smart and strong. Only smart and strong men could keep up with them.
So where did that leave him?
Luke studied the front of Jen’s dark house and wondered when she’d left.
He was going to regret not having the opportunity to talk about every single minute of this day with her.
When had that happened?