Page 55 of That One Heartbreak

Kate caught James’s eye. He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He’s just old and he likes eating at his own home.”

There was a rap at the door. Three short knocks that sent her heart into a tailspin. Before Kate could even try to get it under control, Addy was running to the door. By the time Kate made it into the hallway Marley was half inside, Addy jumping up and down in front of him until he picked her up.

As he held her daughter in his arms, his gaze met hers.

She opened her mouth to tell him to come the rest of the way in when the back door opened and Ethan started shouting for her.

“Mom! I cut my hand. There’s blood everywhere.”

He sounded a little too excited for an injured child. Kate shot Marley an apologetic glance and ran back into the kitchen.

Ethan was holding his hand out. Sure enough, there was a jagged cut on the meaty part of his palm beneath his thumb. It wasn’t exactly pouring with blood, thank the lord. Her stomach turned, because despite being a mom of three, she’d always hated dealing with blood.

Still, she was nothing if not prepared. She swallowed a mouthful of air and grabbed the first aid kit from the cupboard, washed her hands, then guided Ethan to a seat.

“Want me to help?” Marley asked her through the ringing in her ears.

She took Ethan’s hand in hers, trying to keep them both steady. “It’s okay, I’ve got it.”

“Mom hates blood,” Ethan said, sounding happy about that.

“I don’t hate it, I just…” She grabbed an antiseptic wipe from the packet and started to clean the wound. Her stomach only twisted a little. She blew out a breath. “I just don’t particularly like it.”

“I love it,” Ethan said. “It’s so cool. Did you know the president’s car has spare blood for him in the trunk in case he needs it?”

Okay, now she was feeling woozy. “No, I didn’t, sweetheart.” Thank god it was a shallow cut. Her hand was starting to shake as she reached for the Band-Aids.

And then a warmer, stronger hand took hers. “Let me do this,” Marley said. “I’m qualified, I promise.”

“Qualified in what?” Ethan asked. “Are you a medic?”

“No he isn’t, dufus. He’s not an EMT.” James shook his head. “But all the volunteers are first aid trained.”

“How about you?” Ethan asked him.

“Not yet.” James sounded a little annoyed at that. “But I will be.”

Marley grabbed a chair and put it on the other side of Ethan, turning him around in his own chair like her son weighed nothing. Ethan grinned at the sudden spin, and didn’t protest a bit as Marley took his hand and finished cleaning him up.

“James, get your mom a glass of water,” Marley told him. He looked over at her, frowning when he saw how pale she was. “Take some deep breaths. Let me finish up here, and I’ll help you.”

“I’m not going to faint,” she told him. She was just a little lightheaded.

And then she felt it. The swirl. Her head felt like she was spinning, even though she was sitting down. Nausea rumbled through her stomach as she tried to fight it but then…

“Kate? You okay?”

She opened her mouth to reply but there was nothing. Nothing at all, as her eyes closed and everything in the world disappeared.

“What’s happened to my mommy?” Addy wailed as Kate slumped forward on her chair, her head hitting the table with a thump. “Why did she just close her eyes? Is she dead?”

“She’s not dead. She just fainted.” James glanced at Marley. “What do we do?”

“You take over here.” Marley passed Ethan’s hand to James and rushed over to Kate. “He just needs a Band-Aid and he’s good.”

Addy was softly sobbing next to Kate, where she was slumped face down on the table.

“Your mom’s fine,” he reassured her. “Fainting happens to a lot of people. Let’s just give her some space, okay?”

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