Page 2 of Knox
I pretended to think it over. “I think that can be arranged, but you have to eat some broccoli with it too.”
Even though his mom and dad were both sticklers for regular vegetable consumption, he still frowned. “Do I have to?”
“Gotta eat those veggies so you can grow big and strong.”
“Fine,” he huffed. “If I eat them, can I have dessert?”
Somehow, this four-year-old had already mastered the art of negotiation, but I didn’t see the harm in giving in to his request. “You’ve got a deal.”
He hopped off the couch and padded into the kitchen ahead of me. As I plugged in the air fryer, he pulled open the freezer drawer and held up the bag of dinosaur-shaped nuggets.
“While you’re in there, can you get the tater tots too?” I asked and then watched as he pushed aside the bag of frozen broccoli and picked up the bag of potatoes.
“Can I put them in the basket?”
“Sure.” I carried over one of the dining chairs so he could reach everything on the counter.
He climbed up, and I opened the bag of tots so we could get those going first.
Once the potatoes and nuggets were in the air fryer, I went back to the freezer and snagged the bag of broccoli. It took everything in my power not to crack up when Grady’s shoulders slumped, and his mouth turned into a slight pout.
“Remember, if you eat your veggies, we’ll have dessert.”
That brought a small smile to his face. And much to my surprise, he ate all of his dinner.
2
CREW
I peeledout of the complex, barely checking to see if any cars were coming. My gaze was locked on the road; my hands were clenched around the steering wheel. I couldn’t think past the pulse hammering in my ears and the words Mallory’s mom had sobbed into the phone.
“Mallory was in a car accident. A head-on collision.”
Every red light felt purposely rigged to keep me from getting to the hospital quickly. Even though Mallory was in surgery, I had to be there when she got out.
Neededto be there.
Grady was probably curled up with Knox on the couch, unaware of what was happening. He didn’t know his mom was hurt and might not come home. All I could think about was how I’d explain it to my boy if a doctor walked in and told me she was gone. How I’d take something that heavy and turn it into words a four-year-old could understand, knowing it would crush him. I tried to think about the good times instead of what I might walk into. I pictured her, sixteen years old, sporting herblack Converse and chipped purple nail polish, laughing so hard at one of my bad jokes that she snorted Sprite through her nose. My memory shifts to us in the college library, her cocooned in one of my hoodies while pretending to study with me. She used to underline the dirty words in her psych textbook just to make me lose focus. I chuckled as I remembered some, like “erectile dysfunction” and “penile plethysmograph.” That was the version of her I clung to as I drove, not the one of her unconscious on an operating table.
Finally, I turned into the hospital entrance and whipped my truck into a parking spot. Throwing it into park, I hurried out of the cab and jogged through the glass doors.
“I’m looking for Mallory Wade,” I told the woman at the front desk. “She was in a car accident and brought in by an ambulance.”
“Are you family?”
“I’m her roommate,” I lied. “I got a call that she was in an accident and is in surgery. Can you tell me if she’s okay?”
She clicked through a few things on her screen, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t share that information unless you’re on her emergency contact form or she gave us prior authorization, which isn’t possible given how she came in.”
“I am. I have to be. She lives with me. She puts me down for everything.” Another lie, but the way my voice cracked made her pause.
“Sir, I understand you’re worried. But I can’t help you.”
I looked past her toward the door I knew would get me farther into the hospital. I was hoping a doctor or a nurse would come out.Anyonewho could tell me if Mal was okay. Eventually, I took the only empty seat, which was next to a woman in a medical mask who coughed every few seconds. It was all I could think to do because I couldn’t leave.
Minutes passed until a nurse stepped out of the door. Our eyes locked, and then hers widened. “You’re Crew Stratton.”
I stood. “Yeah.”
