“My aunt. She says that you’re in league with the devil because you talk to ghosts and spirits and you don’t go to church. I don’t like my aunt,” he added. “She bitches because I write.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, especially with his choice of language, but Randa jumped in immediately. “Mom isn’t evil! You’re aunt’s crazy—”
“Randa, hon, that’s not a nice thing to say, but I appreciate you defending me.” I wasn’t sure how to deal with this. I didn’t want to belittle Gunner’s aunt in his presence, but I wasn’t about to let somebody ride roughshod over my reputation. “Gunner, what do
you
think?”
A faint smile appeared on his lips. “I think my aunt and I don’t get along very well,” he said, accepting his ice cream.
I nodded solemnly. “Yeah, it sounds like you’re going to have some problems all right, kiddo. Well, just for your peace of mind, I don’t believe in the devil … not the way a lot of people do. I do believe evil exists, but it comes in many forms and shapes and behind many facades.”
“So does bad luck,” Gunner said, staring at his plate.
Randa glanced at him, then at the rest of us, and did something I never expected to see her do—she slid an arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay—I know it will. And I’m here if you need to talk.”
He blushed, but I could tell that she had eased his pain, if just a little.
I quickly looked in Kip’s direction—this would be the perfect chance for him to embarrass Miranda, but again, he wisely kept his mouth shut. When I saw he wasn’t going to take advantage of the opportunity, I smiled at him and gently nodded. As soon as the kids finished dessert, they decided to head out into the backyard to search for Sammy since the skies had partially cleared. I excused them from kitchen chores and they bolted for the door.
Joe kissed me and headed back for work, and I was alone in the kitchen. The house seemed to breathe with life and, for a brief moment, everything felt calm. I yawned as I cleared the table. Long day, and I wanted a bubble bath and my sweats. I’d just started to stack the plates in the dishwasher when Randa jerked the door open and stumbled in.
“Mom, Kip fell out of a tree—he’s hurt.”
I was out the door before she could say another word, racing barefoot through the mud. There, near the fence that separated my property from the neighboring lot, Kip lay on the ground beneath the oak. God damn it! Weren’t my children safe in our own yard? As I skidded to a halt, falling on my knees beside him, he groaned and looked up at me.
“I saw her, Mom! I thought I saw Sammy. She was in the tree, but then she disappeared!” Samantha … Kip must have seen Mab and got the two mixed up. I glanced up at Gunner, who looked confused.
“I didn’t see anything,” he said.
Randa caught up and knelt beside me. “Should I call the hospital?”
“Where’s it hurt, kiddo? Are you okay?”
He shook his head, biting his lip and I could tell he was in a lot of pain. “M-m-my arm, I think I broke it when I fell.”
I grabbed the flashlight that was lying on the ground and trained it on his arm. Sure enough, his right wrist and forearm were twisted in an unnatural position. Shit. I turned to Randa. “Go call Joe. He’ll bring a medic unit. Tell him I think Kip’s arm is broken.”
She scrambled to her feet and raced off while I tried to keep Kip from squirming. “Kiddo, I know it hurts but please, keep calm. Joe will be here right away, and he’ll fix you up good and proper.”
“Am I gonna have to go to the hospital?”
“Probably,” I said. “But I’ll be right there with you.” I brushed his bangs back. His forehead felt clammy. Shock, probably. I glanced up at Gunner, who was pulling a Bambi-in-the-headlights. Emotional overload, probably. “Gunner? Gunner!”
He slowly shook his head and looked at me. “Huh?”
“If you want to help out, why don’t you go see how Randa’s doing with that phone call? And ask her to bring me a thick blanket, my shoes, and a coat.”
After he disappeared toward the house, I leaned down close to Kip’s face. “Kiddo, tell me what happened.”
“We were calling for Sammy and then I looked up at the oak tree an’ saw her up there. She was meowing. Randa saw her too, but Gunner didn’t. Anyway, I started climbing up to get her and I almost had her when … when …” His lip trembled.
I winced. Not only was my son in pain but the one thing he wanted most in the world had been right within his grasp before she slipped away. It must have broken his heart when he realized she wasn’t really there.
“When what, hon?”
“She disappeared—poof—and I tried to grab for her and fell out of the tree.” He shivered and I put my arm around him, taking care not to shift his shoulder. Randa and Gunner came back then, they were carrying my heavy coat, a pair of sneakers, and three blankets.
“Did you get hold of Joe?” I snuggled one blanket under Kip’s head, then covered him with the other two.
She nodded. “He should be here in five minutes. He said not to worry.”
Yeah, right. Not worry. Good one. “Randa, I think Gunner had better go home for now. I can’t drive him, so go call his aunt and have her come pick him up. If she can’t, then get a ten-dollar bill out of my purse and call a taxi.”
She looked crestfallen and shot one quick glowering look at Kip, but when she saw that I’d noticed her expression, she hung her head. “Okay,” she said.
“Ms. O’Brien?” Gunner hung back.
“What is it, Gunner?”
“Thanks for everything. I had fun.” After a moment, he added, “Hey, Kip, you get well.” He gave a half-wave and followed Randa through the kitchen door.
Joe was good to his word. Within five minutes he and a crew were crowded around Kip while I stood back, watching and biting my nails. They examined him thoroughly, then Joe headed over to me.
“Well, his arm really took a beating. Legs seem fine, he has some bruises and needs to be checked just in case there’s any internal damage, but overall, I’d say he escaped relatively unscathed. What the hell happened?”
Keeping my voice low so the other paramedic couldn’t overhear us, I filled him in on what had gone down. “We have to do something Joe. White Deer offered to help me cleanse the lot. We’ll get started tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow’s your birthday—”
I cut him off. “And I want to see more birthdays! And I want my kids to see more birthdays. But at this rate, we may not unless we clear up this nightmare that’s been set in motion. Listen, do you mind if the kids and the cats and I stay at your apartment tonight after we get done at the hospital?” I wasn’t above bumming a safe haven when we needed it.
He nodded. “You don’t have to ask, babe. You’ve got a key.”
“All set, Captain!” His partner waved to the stretcher where Kip lay firmly strapped in. “He’s good to go.”
“I’ll see you at the hospital,” I said. After giving Kip a kiss and assuring him that I’d be there soon and that everything was going to be A-okay, I stood aside to let the paramedics pull away. As soon as they headed down the street, I raced back to the house where Randa was waving at Gunner as he sped off in the back of a taxi.
“How’s Kip?” she said.
“Broken arm, I’m not sure what else. Joe said that he should be okay.” I shuffled through my purse to make sure I had everything, then nodded her toward the door. “Randa, did you see Sammy in the tree too?”
She paled. “Yeah, though I thought it was the ghost cat at first. But Kip wanted it to be her so bad … I’m sorry.” She hung her head. “I told him go ahead and climb up to check it out. Kip’s so good at climbing trees that I thought he’d be okay. We didn’t have time to come get you. Since we were in the backyard, I thought we’d be safe.” As she shrugged into her jacket, she said, “Mom, will Sammy ever come home?”
I smoothed her bangs back from her face. “I really think she will, honey. We’re going to stay over at Joe’s apartment tonight after we get done at the hospital. Then tomorrow, White Deer is going to help me finish cleansing the lot and maybe that will be just what Sammy needs to find her way back.”
As we hopped into my SUV, my stomach churned. What if we couldn’t clean the lot and it stayed a haven for sadness? What if Sammy never came home? I pushed everything out of my mind, unable to cope with any more stress.
WE REACHED THE E.R. ten minutes after Kip was trundled in. The nurse glanced at me and smiled.
“Ms. O’Brien, you’re here again?” She blushed. “I mean—”
“I know what you mean,” I said and rolled my eyes. Great. Of all the places where I could be known as a regular, it had to be the hospital. Let’s see, how many times had we been here in the past year? I started counting on my fingers and then shook it off. Enough of the past. Time to focus on the present. Hopefully, the rest of the year would pass without incident.
“Captain Files asked me to tell you he had to return to the station. He wants you to call him whenever you have news.”
“Thank you. Can I see my son now?”
“He’s in the x-ray room. As soon as he’s done, we’ll take you back. Meanwhile, I need you to fill out some new paperwork. We’ve updated our system since you were in last.”
Fretting, I filled out the forms while Randa plunked herself down on a sofa and picked up a magazine. Half-an-hour later, the nurse motioned for me to follow her and led me down the labyrinth of sterile corridors. We stopped in front of a set of double doors that looked all too familiar. I took a deep breath as she peeked in, announced my presence, then guided me through.
Kip sat on the table with an oversized hospital gown wrapped around him. He looked cold, and even though he’d put on his stalwart “I’m a big boy” face, I could tell he was tired and worn out. The doctor glanced up as I entered the room.
“You his mother?” he asked.
I nodded. “Emerald O’Brien. How’s my son?”
“Kip will be fine once he’s mended. His arm’s broken, but it’s a clean break and the x-rays showed no internal damage. Your boy’s a tough customer. Of course, he’s going to be in a hard splint for six weeks, and a sling for awhile, but that’s not going to be so bad, is it, slugger?” He grinned at Kip and a light shone through the doctor’s aura. Curt, but caring.
Kip’s “warrior” face disappeared and he perked up. “Yeah, an’ I can get all my friends to sign it.”
“Whoa, slow down there,” the doctor said. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but the splints we use now aren’t like casts used to be. You’re going to have to pass on having friends autograph it.”
Kip’s expression fell. “Aw gee. Can I keep it when they take it off?” He appealed to me. “Mom?”
Oh yeah, my son was already on the mend. “We’ll see what we can do,” I said dryly, wondering how to preserve a splint so it didn’t stink to high heaven or grow moldy. No doubt, I’d find out if it could be done, one way or another.
The med tech took Kip away to be fitted with the splint. While he was gone, I had a little chat with the doctor. I told him exactly what happened: Kip thought he saw our missing cat in the branches of an oak tree in our backyard, climbed up, got startled by something, and fell. Period. End of story.
He nodded. “If your cat’s still missing in a week or so, call me. I’ve got a batch of kittens at home. We adopted a cat and didn’t know she was pregnant and now we’ve got eight little mouths mewing at us.”
I headed back to the waiting room where Miranda was impatiently flipping through an old copy of
Discovery Magazine.
She glanced up, her eyes red like she’d been crying.
“Your brother’s going to be okay.” I settled in next to her and she dropped the magazine back on the table and leaned against my shoulder. “They’re putting a splint on his arm, and he’ll be in a sling for awhile. It’s a clean break, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“I love him, even if he is a pain,” she murmured. “I don’t want to see anything happen to him.”
I kissed the top of her head—no small feat since she was almost as tall as I was—and gently tucked my arm around her. “We can’t ever be totally safe, honey, but we do our best. Kids get into scrapes all the time, regardless of whether it’s a ghost or a faerie or the neighborhood bully.”
“Did I?” She looked at me, her brilliant brown eyes dark and flashing.
I laughed. “You? Are you kidding? When you were three, you fell down the steps at our old house and banged up your nose. Two years later, you tried to climb out on the roof to watch the stars. I had the horrible feeling you were in danger and ran into your bedroom. You were trying to get out the window. I’d left it cracked for fresh air and you were doing your best to open it.”
She blushed, but looked pleased. “I don’t remember that at all.”
“Well, it’s true. Of course, you weren’t strong enough to manage it but still … that’s when the safety screens went on. I never told your Dad, though. He would have been furious and would have ended your interest in stargazing.” My daughter had been watching the skies since she could toddle.
Randa closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep as we waited for the doctor’s return. An hour later I had dozed off myself, but the sound of my name startled me awake. The doctor waited until I’d rubbed my eyes, then sat down next to me.
“You can take him home in a few minutes. No strenuous activity for a few days. Keep him in a sling until we say otherwise. No climbing trees or any other dangerous stunts until it’s healed. The nurse will give you a home health-care sheet that explains how to keep the arm clean and how to take care of the splint. Take him to your doctor on Monday, and if there’s any noticeable swelling in his fingers or above the top of his cast, bring him back to the E.R. immediately.”
“What about pain medication?”
“Children’s Tylenol or Motrin. We gave him a mild muscle relaxant so he’ll sleep easier tonight, but that’s as strong as he needs.”
I thanked him, took the handouts, and stuffed them in my purse. We waited for another fifteen minutes until the nurse wheeled Kipling out. He looked tired, but excited. Broken bones and bruises and dangerous encounters with the unknown always seemed to perk him up. I had little doubt that he’d end up an explorer or eco-adventurer.