Page 39 of Like the Season
“She should be okay to fly by then, yes. You’ll need to get a wheelchair, though. To use in the airport. She shouldnotbe walking any more than necessary for the next week, at least. And she’ll also need crutches. No weight on that ankle, at all, for right now.”
“She’ll have that.”
“In that case, I don’t see a problem, as long as no complications develop overnight. Let me check on if they’ve got her a room or not.” She left them alone.
“Dad, what are you—”
“I’m going to change my ticket on Sunday, give it to you, and you’ll fly home with Caleb. We’re going pack your apartment, and I’ll drive the moving truck to Florida. Won’t take Caleb and me more than a weekend to pack. You don’t have a lot.”
“But—”
“No. I’mnotarguing with you. We’ve already decided it. Thisiswhat will happen.”
She looked like she wanted to do just that when she slumped, defeated, and started crying. “Could my life get any crazier?”
“Yeah, a little.”
“How?”
“Because of who tried to run you over.”
She met his gaze. “It was Rick, wasn’t it? That motherfucker. I’m going to kill him.”
“You won’t have to.”
Her eyes widened as his meaning finally hit home. “What?”
“The cops need to talk to you. Let me call the officer back in. I already told him the backstory.”
“But…dead?How?”
“They think he wasn’t wearing a seat belt when he crashed and he sustained a severe head injury in the wreck. He was also probably very drunk.”
She stared at the ceiling as she wiped away tears. “Holy fuck,” she whispered.
“Yeah.So.” He waited until she once again met his gaze. “You can’t live alone right now anyway. You can’t work, sothat’ssettled, regardless. We good? Any other objections I need to deal with, or are you going to let us take care of you?”
She nodded, which he took as agreement.
He had the officer come in and talk to her. Once they were alone again, Boyd pulled a chair close to her bed and put the side-rail down so he could hold her hand. “I know this sucks, but this could have been so much worse.”
“I know.”
“You’re going to love Caleb. He can’t wait to meet you.”
“He sounds like a great guy.”
Boyd smiled. “Your step-dad.”
It finally pulled a tired smile from her. “I like calling you ‘Dad,’ but I’m not calling him ‘Daddy.’”
Boyd’s mind flashed to Tim and Paul and their dynamic, and how Caleb had started using the title for him, too, and he embraced the evil.
“Yeeeaaah, considering Caleb sometimes callsmethat, I don’t think that’s an option.” He smiled.
Her mouth gaped, eyes wide, before she howled with laughter.
