Page 26 of Just One Kiss

He looked up, and for a moment he wondered if this was a cry for help. Did she want out? Did she need out? He could only imagine what her life had been like these past sixteen years.

“Come with me, Mom,” he said, his voice low.

Her reaction told him that no, that’s not at all what this was. This was more about preserving the carefully crafted Dixon façade, and not at all about her safety—or his. “I could never leave your father,” she whispered.

And he remembered asking her the same question years ago. Her reply had been the same then too.

How did he help someone who refused to be helped?

“I’ll see ya, Mom.” Josh moved toward his truck, and the door behind him snapped shut. He opened the rear door, threw his bag behind the driver’s seat and glanced back at the house, where his mother now stood on the porch, a picture of perfection for the neighbors who were out mowing their lawns or weeding their flowerbeds.

“Okay, honey,” she called out cheerfully. “We’ll see you soon!”

He shook his head, got in the truck and drove away, angry with himself for stopping at home in the first place and certain it was the last time he’d set foot in that house for as long as he lived.

* * *

Josh:Hey, man. I’m in town for a few days. Think Gemma would mind if I crashed on your couch? I’ll pay you in pizzas.

Cole:Don’t think Gemma will mind since she doesn’t live here anymore. Guest room is all yours.

Josh:Whoa. Sorry. I hadn’t heard. What happened?

Cole: Long story. Not worth rehashing.

Josh:Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

8

Carly sat in the waiting room outside the cardiology unit of the hospital, knees bobbing up and down nervously.

She found herself wishing for an ounce of Jaden’s faith—something more than rules and checklists to get her through the here and now.

Jaden’s diary was complete, but who knew what it or the Holter monitor would reveal? Carly hated thinking about it. She’d been up most of the past couple nights stewing, and no amount of talking herself off the ledge had been successful.

Jaden sat beside her, flicking his fingers around on his phone, and, just as she’d feared, Josh was nowhere to be found.

“Have you heard from your dad?” she asked Jaden.

“He’ll be here,” Jaden said without looking up.

Carly decided not to respond. It made no sense to argue. Besides, she didn’t want to come off looking like a Negative Nelly, even though, when it came to Josh, negative was her primary feeling.

Yes, he’d spent a lot of time with Jaden over the past year. They’d gone camping and skiing and talked over the internet while they played video games. But this was different. This wasn’t fun.

“Carly, hey.”

The voice belonged to Dara Dempsey, whose last day at the hospital was just a couple weeks away. Carly hadn’t heard a word about her application for Dara’s position, but she did wonder, with small-town politics being what they were, if her soon-to-be-former supervisor had any say in who they hired for her job.

Carly smiled at her. “Hey, Dara.”

“Hi, Jaden,” Dara said.

She was met with a lukewarm smile and a three-fingered wave that seemed to conveyI can’t be bothered to lift my whole hand. Carly would talk to her son about that later.

“Listen, I know this is probably the last thing on your mind, but I wanted you to know they’ve narrowed the pool to three for the supervisor position. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but since you’re my pick and I’m leaving, I’m giving myself some leeway.”

“Wow, they’re moving fast,” Carly said. She hadn’t thought much about the unit manager position since the parade, but it was a lingering hope at the back of her mind.

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