Page 70 of State of Grace

“What happened?” Harper cried in her ear as her body shook in fear.

“We hit a deer.” Blake carefully knelt as she helped Harper stand up. She looked her over, and nothing appeared broken. A sliver of blood formed above Harper’s eyebrow, but Blake didn’t want to draw attention to it. “Are you ok? Does anything hurt?”

Harper shook her head quickly before wrapping her arms around Blake’s neck again. Blake picked her up, holding her tightly as she fished her phone out of the car’s center console and called 9-1-1.

“I want Mommy.”

“I’m calling her right now, baby.” Blake dialed Isla’s number next, knowing she’d be at the bar with Alexis. She quickly explained what happened to her and Isla promised to drive Alexis over to where they were. Until then, Blake held Harper in her arms and tried to calm her down, all the while thanking her lucky stars things hadn’t been worse.

Chapter 24

The bar was more crowded than usual for a Thursday night, and Alexis regretted picking up the double shift. But she needed the money, especially after cutting her hours short the last few months to accommodate the play’s rehearsal schedule. Evening shifts were the best shifts for tips though, so she was thankful she’d garnered a few good tips that night.

“It’s crazy out there,” Alexis commented as she pushed open the kitchen door with her hip. She was immediately approached by Isla, who looked like she had seen a ghost. “What’s wrong?”

“Lex,” Isla’s voice cracked, and Alexis quickly set the tray down before she dropped it. Something was wrong. Something was wrong, and Alexis’s mind immediately went to the worst-case scenario. “What happened?”

“Everyone is ok.”

“What happened?” Alexis gritted her teeth as tears nipped at the corner of her eyes.

“Blake and Harper were in a car accident.” Mindlessly, Alexis walked to the office to grab her bag. “They hit a deer, but they are both fine. Harper’s ok and Blake is ok, and everything is ok. Blake called me, and I’m going to drive you to them.”

Panic.

Fear.

Terror.

The emotions kept fighting for top billing as Isla sped to the site of the accident. Alexis hadn’t been able to take a full breath since Isla had told her what happened. She’d assured her Harper was fine, but Alexis’s brain couldn’t believe it until she laid eyes on her daughter and checked every inch of her herself. Her hands shook as the car’s headlights landed on the smashed front end of her car. An ambulance, a fire truck, and a police car surrounded the small back road, and Alexis opened the car door before Isla had entirely stopped the vehicle.

Alexis ran over to the ambulance where Harper was sitting on the tailgate with her arms around Blake. When Harper saw her, she bolted for Alexis. Her arms wrapped so tightly around Alexis as she fell to her knees and held her close. She didn’t bother to stop the tears as they flowed freely from her eyes. Behind her, Isla placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed before walking over to Blake.

“Are you ok, baby?” Alexis brushed Harper’s hair out of her face and looked her over. She had a pink Band-Aid on her forehead, but she couldn’t see anything else wrong. Wiping the tears from Harper’s eyes, Alexis kissed each of her cheeks.

“I got a scratch on my head, but that’s it.” She shrugged nonchalantly, making Alexis laugh. Alexis dropped her head to Harper’s chest as she finally let her lungs take in a full breath.

“Are you her mother?” A young EMT came over to them.

“Yes, I am.” Alexis stood, putting Harper on her hip. “Is she ok?”

“We did a field exam, and everything appears fine, but I’d recommend both of them going to the hospital to make sure.”

It was then Alexis remembered the other person in the car.

Blake.

Alexis had been so focused on Harper that she hadn’t had time to think about Blake. Walking over to the ambulance, Blake stood and hugged them. They held each other tight as Blake sobbed in her ear.

“Blake, baby, it’s ok. You’re both ok.”

“I am so sorry, Alexis.” Blake wiped the tears from her eyes when she let them go. She rubbed her hand on Harper’s back. “I didn’t see it coming. I know it’s cliché, but it came out of nowhere.”

“It’s ok, Blake.” She leaned in and kissed her quickly.

“I ruined your car.”

“I don’t care about the car.” Placing her hand on Blake’s cheek, Blake leaned into her touch as her teary blue eyes looked at her. “I only care about you and Harper. The fact you both walked away from that,” her voice caught in her throat as the image of the crumpled hood of her car flashed across her mind, “is all that matters to me. Do you hear me?”

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