Page 14 of Shuttered Hearts

I nod and make my way to the other side of the bed to give Emily a hug as well.

As Max finishes putting his homework away and tossing his backpack over his shoulder, the door to Dad’s room opens, and in walks Declan.

“Oh! Sorry, I thought you all would have been home by now. I didn’t want to interrupt family time,” Declan says, right inside the door, his hand still on the door handle.

“Nonsense. You could never interrupt family time. You’re part of this family, whether you want to be or not.” Dad laughs. “Come on in.”

Declan glances at me so quickly I almost miss it before he steps completely into the room.

“Hey, man, good to see you.” Caleb walks over to pull Declan in for a quick hug and slap on the back.

“I wanted to stop by and check on you. I heard about the accident.” Another glance my way, almost as if he’s searching for my approval.

“Declan was actually with me when Caleb called to tell me about the accident. He’d stopped by to see how my first day had gone over lunch.” No matter my feelings about his involvement with my family, and whatever this other thing I’m feeling is, Declan is important to these people, and I’m not going to do anything to take that away from them.

“That was nice of you,” Emily says, glancing between the two of us.

“Well, we should go. Max is a bear in the mornings as it is, and if we don’t get him home soon, it’ll be even worse.”

“Hey! I’m not a bear!” Max shouts. “I don’t like getting up early, at least not for school.”

We all laugh. Max gives another round of hugs to everyone in the room, including Declan, before we finally head out the door.

seven

DECLAN

As soon asI heard Scott was in the hospital, I knew I wanted to stop by to see him. I had been aiming to show up after Quinn and Max had already left. Not that I didn’t want to see her, or even Max, for that matter. But it was news to Quinn how close I am to her family, and I don’t know how she feels about that yet. I don’t want to shove it in her face if she’s not okay with it. Plus, I’m still trying to figure out everything going on in my head when it comes to Quinn Marks.

If only I had waited just one more minute.

“How are you feeling?” I ask as I take the seat next to Caleb. “What happened?”

Scott gestures to his leg propped on a few pillows and wrapped in a temporary cast. “I wasn’t paying attention and missed a step. Fell down the stairs and broke my leg in a couple of places. I’ve got to get surgery to fix it, but they’re doing it first thing in the morning. So I should be out of here by this time tomorrow.”

“I’m glad it wasn’t worse.” I relax into the chair, knowing Scott will be fine, at least for a few months longer.

“Now that you’re all here,” Scott says, turning to look at Caleb, “Let’s talk about this surprise party your sister wants to throw Max.”

Caleb shakes his head in exasperation. “She’s missed out on the last few birthdays and thinks throwing him a surprise party will make up for it.”

“When does she want to throw it?” I ask.

Caleb turns to me. “On his actual birthday. So, just under two weeks from now.”

“Isn’t Max already planning something for his birthday with a few friends?” I think I remember him telling me about it not too long ago.

“Yes. That’s why we’ve tried to convince her this is a bad idea.” Caleb falls back in his chair, exactly like I’ve seen his little brother do when he’s frustrated.

“That’s a little harsh. You know Max will love it. You just don’t want to have to do anything other than show up,” Emily says with a big smile on her face.

I chuckle. “That sounds about right. I think you normally leave the planning to Emily and the setup to Scott and me.”

“Exactly,” Caleb says, a smirk forming.

“All right, well, what does Quinn want to do?” I’m still laughing when I look back at Emily.

“Honestly, it’s nothing big. She wants to set up a scavenger hunt in the afternoon and then an outdoor movie night in the backyard. Probably a bonfire.”

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