Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 38800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 194(@200wpm)___ 155(@250wpm)___ 129(@300wpm)
“She’s my brother’s woman, so she’s taken.”
“Got my own woman, brother. Two is more than I can handle.” He winked at Evelyn before leaving.
“Do we have another uncle we’ve never met?” Luke scowled at me, then my dad.
“No, Luke,” My dad scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m pretty sure he means ‘brother’ in a different way.”
“I know… uh… Dr. Benedict from my time in the service.” Not a lie. I’d met Bullet when my team had come back shot all to hell. He’d saved my life.
“Oh. So he’s like a friend brother.” Luke nodded like he got it.
“I suppose you could say that. Yeah. But more.”
“‘Cause you’ve been through stuff together.” Maybe the kid did understand.
A woman came to take Evelyn for a test. When they’d left, Luke looked back at me. “Will Dr. Benedict take care of my mom?”
“If your mother is hurt, he’ll find out how sick she is and know how to fix it.”
Luke looked to his grandfather for reassurance. When my dad nodded his head, I felt more gratitude than I ever thought possible. I was beyond needing my dad’s approval for anything. The fact was, I’d left him. And Mom. I’d given him no reason to believe in me, but he did.
We waited mostly in silence while the techs and nurses did tests and gave medicines to Evelyn. Dad and the kids each got nebulizer treatments and some steroids, but Bullet proclaimed them and my dad otherwise unharmed. Evelyn, he wanted to admit, but she refused.
“I’ll take medicine or whatever, but I can’t stay.” She was firm, even though her voice was still hoarse. I could still hear her wheezing, but she did seem a bit stronger. “I’ve got to take care of my family.”
“I can look after Luke and Aneshya,” Dad said, speaking gently to Evelyn. “You can’t take care of them if you’re injured. Let Dr. Benedict keep you to make sure your lungs heal properly.”
“No, Mr. Knoxville. I’m going home with my children.”
“Home to where?” The question popped out before I could stop myself. “Your place is gone. Burnt to the fuckin’ ground along with anything you owned inside that fuckin’ building. Where you gonna go?”
“Knox.” Dad stood, placing himself between me and Evelyn. I wanted to shove him out of the way, but I had no right. Besides, he was protecting Evelyn. Right now, he was protecting her from me.
Aneshya gasped, reaching for her brother who pulled her into his arms. The young man glared at me. “You’re just like your brother,” he muttered.
“No, Luke.” Dad didn’t take his eyes off me as he spoke to the boy. “He’s not. He’s trying to force the issue because he knows it’s what’s best for your mother. Knox is used to having any orders he gives obeyed.”
“That doesn’t mean he can be mean to my mom or upset my sister.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. “I ain’t good at this.”
“No.” Luke gave me a look few men I knew had ever dared give me. He was angry, and I was the cause of his anger. “You’re not.”
“We can all stay at my house outside Riviera Beach.” Dad squeezed my shoulder before turning to Luke and Aneshya, kneeling down in front of them. “It’s been closed up for several years so we’ll have to get a few things to make it livable, but I think we can find what we need easily enough.”
“I’ll help.” I needed to make things right. “I’m sorry, Luke. Aneshya. I only want what’s best for your mother.”
“I can take care of myself.” Evelyn spoke so softly I almost didn’t hear her. When I turned my gaze to her, she ducked her head, her hands bunched in the blanket draped over her lap.
“You can. But everyone needs help sometimes. Now, it’s your turn. I’ll get some friends to help open up the house. I’ll see what everyone needs and have it delivered. In the meantime, you should strongly consider doing as Dr. Benedict told you. Stay here. Get IV antibiotics and steroids. Maybe you’ll be fine, and we can bring you home tomorrow.”
“I can’t leave my kids. They’ve been through something horrifying. They need me.”
“We’ll be fine, Mom.” Luke stood and took his mother’s hand. “I’ll look after Aneshya and Grandpa. If they need help, I’ll make sure they get it.”
“Honey, this isn’t your job.”
“I’m not a kid, Mom. Besides, I can do a much better job than Danny.”
Evelyn was silent for a long time, holding her son’s hand and rubbing the back of it gently. “You know he hates it when you call him by his first name.”
“Well, I ain’t callin’ him Dad.”
“I’ll tell Bullet you’re stayin’,” I said, taking out my phone.
“Who’s Bullet?” Luke asked, turning his head sharply in my direction.
“Sorry. Dr. Benedict. Bullet is, er, was his call sign. It’s how I’ve always known him.”