Page 5 of Chocolate Cherry Cabin

“You volunteer? Where?”

“I was kidding. But I do volunteer at the boys’ school when—”

“Mom!”

The panic in Thomas’s voice made Hannah clutch the ladder and snap her head in his direction. “What’s wrong?”

He was holding his pale blue mittens under his bleeding nose. His gushing nose.

Lots of blood. And oh so red…

Her head grew light, just as it had in biology class when she was seventeen. Hannah clung to the ladder, trying to steady herself as she stumbled down the rungs.

“You’re okay, Thomas,” she said, trying to soothe him as her vision began to narrow, like headlights dimming on a dark winter’s night as the car battery began to die.

Not here. Not now. Not in front of Louis. And definitely not in front of Thomas.

“I’ve got you,” Louis said, and she let out a breath of relief. At least someone could help her boy.

Hannah jolted when Louis’s large hands landed on her waist to help her descend. Once she was on the ground, he gently directed her to perch on the bottom wrung of the ladder, her head between her knees. She almost wished she’d pass out so she could skip over this humiliating moment.

“You’re okay,” he said calmly. His firm hand on her back was soothing, and her vision slowly returned.

Obi was barking, jumping around them.

“It’s okay, doggy. Yeah, just helping Hannah,” Louis said, his voice deep and calming. Man, she hated that beautiful voice. Obi-Wan pranced about, his tail whacking her in the leg, his nose nudging her.

“It’s okay, Obi,” she said. “You’re okay, too, Thomas,” she called. “Just keep holding your mitten to your nose. It’ll stop soon. And go inside. Wade will help you, and I’ll come in, too.”

“Hey, buddy, you got a tissue?” Louis asked Thomas.

“Mom! I’m going to bleed to death!” Her son’s voice was edged with hysteria and the dog left her side. She heard Thomas hit the ground, crying, “No, Obi-Wan Kenobi! No!”

“He senses a disturbance in the force,” Louis said, amusement in his tone at the dog’s name.

He’d made aStar Warsreference. Thomas was going to love him. It only figured that her boys would be traitors in this scenario. Louis had that effect on everyone. Everyone but her.

“He’s using his Jedi skills to protect you,” Louis said.

“I don’t want him to!” Thomas yelled.

Hannah scrambled to help him, but the world swirled again when Louis’s warm hand vanished from her back.

Why couldn’t Thomas have his first real nosebleed on Calvin’s watch? Or at school? Somewhere other than here and now?

She forced herself to stand upright so she could take charge. Her vision was gray, but she could get Thomas to the house, pretend she was fine, then take it moment by moment. And not faint. Definitely not faint.

She took a few steps toward him, the tunnel vision returning when she caught sight of his ruined mittens. She bent over.

“Frosty punched me! He punched me and now I’m bleeding. I have to go to the hospital. Mom!Mom!”

“Let’s get inside,” Louis said in a soothing command. “Keep your mitten against your nose. It’ll all be okay. It’s just a blood vessel that broke and it’ll fix itself in seconds. These things are normal.”

“But I’m bleeding!”

“Does it hurt?” Louis asked.

There was a pause.

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