Page 2 of Cannon

“Cannon, stay with me, buddy. Your lung collapsed. It’s going to hurt but we’re going to help you breathe.”

Pain like nothing he’d ever known seemed to cut through his side and everything went dark.

Chapter Two

Beth unlocked Scoop and Sarah’s door, then keyed in the alarm code. It was one in the morning. Sarah had started a group text earlier between the sisters but hadn’t included Jesse. It was basically opinions on should they or shouldn’t they wake Jesse up and notify her of what happened to Cannon. Remi and Winnie, along with Sarah, had said Jesse needed rest. Although Beth hadn’t agreed, she’d been outvoted. But in the hour and a half since the others had said they were heading to bed, Beth hadn’t been able to sleep.

What if Cannon didn’t survive? Beth had been with her sister on this pregnancy journey from the very first. Beth had been sworn to secrecy when she figured it out and had even taken Jesse to her first OB/GYN appointment.

Remi, Winnie, and Sarah, as the older three, had always wanted to protect Jesse and her, but they were all adults. Beth walked lightly down the hall to the spare bedroom, silently opening the door, then closing it behind her. Sheleaned over Jesse and placed her hand across her mouth while instantaneously whispering in her ear. “Cannon was in a motorcycle accident. He’s been medevacked to Wichita. Do you want me to take you to check on him?”

Jesse nodded, then sat up after Beth removed her hand. “Do you know how he is?”

“My last update was an hour ago from Flick that they’d taken Cannon into surgery.”

“An hour ago?”

Beth picked up Jesse’s shoes and placed them on the bed, ready for Jesse when she walked back out of the bathroom. Beth could use the excuse that she didn’t want to wake Scoop and Sarah, and that’s why she didn’t answer while Jesse was in the bathroom. The real reason was Beth knew Jesse was going to be mad. Heck, if her sisters had kept something like this from her, Beth would be livid.

Jesse finished buttoning up the shirt and she came out. She cocked her eyebrow and Beth refrained from rolling her eyes. Her best bet was waiting until they were in the car to talk.

“Let’s get in the car so we don’t wake up the household. I’ve got snacks in the vehicle and extra clothes for both of us if needed. I stuck up the closed sign with today’s date on the garage, so anyone dropping by will know you won’t be there.”

Beth hoped it was enough to keep Jesse quiet. She flicked off the light in Jesse’s room before opening the door to the hall. The light outside in the driveway cast enough into the room that she and Jesse could get outside without turning anymore lights on.

Beth opened the door, letting Jesse go first out to the car. Then she set the alarm and closed the door. Heading toward the vehicle, she prepared for Jesse to scream and yell a little bit. She may not have agreed with keeping it from Jesse, but she had gone along with it for a while. Whatever Jesse wanted to say, Beth would listen to because she deserved it.

Beth opened the door, sat down, put her seatbelt on, and slid the key in the ignition. She started the vehicle and was back out and on the road out of the compound in seconds. She didn’t want Scoop to come running out and slow them down.

“Okay, Beth, spill it!”

Jesse waited for Beth to explain what had gone on. Her sisters had been equal parts mad at Cannon and mad at her. All except Beth but that was because she’d guessed and helped keep it a secret.

But regardless, if her baby daddy was hurt, she deserved to know.

“Well, Cannon and some of the guys went on a night ride to clear his head. While they were out, a black Ford F-350 came from the side road, running into Cannon. All the guys agree it was on purpose. The truck hit him and then raced off. No plates or any identifying marks. Flick deemed Cannon’s injuries were bad enough that he needed to be medevacked to Wichita.”

Beth paused and turned to stare at Jesse. Beth knew her so well. Jesse was someone who needed time to absorb things. Consider all the options. She swallowed to ask the question she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer to.

“How bad is he hurt?”

“Compound fracture in the leg and arm, both on the side he was hit on. Cracked ribs and a collapsed lung. Flick said theywere able to insert a tube, and he was stable when they landed in Wichita.”

Jesse sat in the silence of the vehicle on the road. Beth didn’t turn on the radio, just left it quiet. Jesse thought through everything that had brought them to here. If she had told Cannon before today, he wouldn’t have been so angry. If he wouldn’t have been angry, he might have been watching closer and not been hurt.

“I feel guilty,” Jesse whispered.

“Why? You didn’t run the truck into him. Though I have to say when you were so sad a couple weeks ago, I considered doing something to him.”

“If I’d told him earlier, it might not have happened.”

“You can worry about all the woulda, coulda, and shouldas, but it’s not going to help anything,” Beth said.

Jesse smiled when she didn’t think she could. “How many times did Mom say that to one of us?”

Beth chuckled. “Oh man, it seemed like a million. Mom seemed to live life with no regrets.”

Jesse sniffed, then pulled a tissue out of the console, wiping her nose and eyes.

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