Page 33 of Drive To Survive

“I need my phone,” she said, every breath seeming as if it took tremendous effort.

“I’ll get it. Where is it?”

“In my purse. Kitchen.”

I followed her directions, spotting a black handbag hooked over a wooden dining chair painted in a bright yellow with butterflies stenciled on the seat. It looked homemade, a way to cheer up the drab interior, so reminiscent of rental properties.

“Here you go.” I set her bag beside her.

She reached inside, pulled out her phone, and sent a text. Seconds later a ping came back.

“She’s on her way.”

I went to the door and opened it, waiting for the neighbor and Rhett to appear. A short while after, they did. Rhett spotted me and came bounding down the path.

“Nico!”

I swung him in my arms and grinned. “Hey, buddy. I missed you at the track today.”

“Yeah, Mommy’s sick.” He bit his lip, worry swirling in his sea-blue eyes, a replica of his mother’s.

“I know, bud. That’s why I’m here. You’re coming to stay with me for a little while.”

“For real?” Rhett’s eyes widened. “Cool.”

I set him down and he went inside. I shifted my gaze to the neighbor, a middle-aged woman with an oval, kindly face and twinkling gray eyes. “Thanks so much for looking after him.”

She looked me up and down. “Well, I can see why you’d beat me into first place as a choice of caregiver,” she said, grinning. “I’m sure Everly will bounce back in no time with a handsome chap like you taking care of her.”

I chuckled. “She might not say that after I’ve bossed her around for a few days and forced her to eat bowl after bowl of chicken soup.”

“That’s what she needs. A good man to look after her. Not like the last useless one.”

I shouldn’t pry, it wasn’t my place, but I admit I was curious about Everly’s husband, and Dorothy had given me a way in. “Why do you think he left? Do you think something bad happened?”

She hesitated, perhaps wrestling with her conscience. “I have no idea whether it did or it didn’t, but whatever the reason, she’s better off without him, and so is Rhett, despite the trouble he’s had coming to terms with his father disappearing. Nasty temper, that one had.”

A prickling crept across the back of my neck, and I rubbed it. “Did he take that temper out on Everly and Rhett?”

“Not physically, no, but I’d hear him yelling. A lot.”

I flexed my jaw. “Hmm. Well, thanks again. I’ll make sure I take good care of them both.”

I moved Rhett’s car seat from Everly’s truck to my car, reclined the front seat as far as it would go, then carried Everly from the house and laid her down, making her as comfortable as I could. Rhett could barely contain his excitement at riding in my Aston, and on the drive to my house, he kept throwing out adjectives like cool and ace and boss.

I let him chatter away while I glanced over at Everly to check on her. She did not look well. If anything, she’d worsened in the last half hour, her skin flushed and even more clammy. Her fever must be escalating.

By the time I pulled up at my house, she’d fallen asleep again. Rhett’s chattering came to an abrupt halt, and his eyes were round as saucers as he stared up at my large beach house. Madison and Tate were waiting on the front step, her black medical bag set down by her feet.

I helped Rhett out of the car first and then reached in to pick up Everly. She awoke as I tried not to bang her head on the low roof. Her eyes fluttered.

“Are we here?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

“Yes. I have a doctor here to check you over. Let’s get you inside.”

“Don’t need a doctor,” she muttered, her lids falling closed once more.

I ignored her. “Thanks for coming, Madison,” I said, shifting my hold on Everly to free up my right hand. I keyed in the code for the front door, and it opened. I carried her through.

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