Page 40 of The Accidental Witch

However, as Greer read the article over Nina’s shoulder, he blew out a breath. An example of what Robbie had told him about St. Raphael’s mentioned one little boy in particular and the fight for his life.

They’d featured Josh Warner, seven, diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of six, his picture that of a brown-eyed, smiling boy with three missing teeth, beaming at the camera.

Right next to that picture was one of him after surgery, hooked up to dozens of tubes, his mother, Eva, at his bedside, looking exhausted while she clung to her son’s small hand.

Among the list of charges concerning Agatha and Steadman, and the remaining suspicion about Robbie, there was an interview with one of Josh’s nurses, who claimed she couldn’t believe Roberta Tisdale would be a part of stealing from the children of St. Raphael’s, especially because of Josh, who adored her and asked after her all the time.

Greer took a deep breath as he finished reading, clenching his fists to keep from smashing the top of the reception desk.

The rest of the article said, according to his doctors, Josh’s prognosis was guarded at this point, but he was nowhere near out of the danger zone.

Greer swallowed hard. Goddammit. He loved kids. He hated to see them suffer in any way, butthis? This disease where it ate them from the inside out, made him want to punch something. To make matters far worse, they’d been cheated out of millions of dollars of donations. Agatha Tisdale deserved to fry.

Nina’s eyes narrowed, her nostrils flaring, a sure sign she was angry. “Man, would I like to get my hands on that mother of hers and give her the business. I’d wring her fucking rich head clean off her wrinkled turkey neck.”

“I’m not much for violence, but I’d back you up,” Greer agreed, his chest tight. Who could do something like this to children?

Tottington appeared from around the corner, likely to announce lunch the way he did every day at this time, but his sharp eyes zeroed in on the laptop screen and the picture of Josh.

“Oh, heavens… No,” he murmured, his face a sad mask.

Nina threw an arm around him, pulling him close. “What’s up, Tater Tot?”

He didn’t stiffen up as much as he had in the beginning when Nina showered him with her brand of love and affection. He’d actually begun to lean into it a little—but only a little.

Tottington pointed at the screen, his gray eyes full of concern. “That’s Master Josh. Roberta was quite close with him and his family.”

At the most inopportune moment, Robbie came to a screeching halt right next to them at the reception desk. She was giggling and chatting with Hervé—until she stopped cold when she saw the laptop before Marty could slam it shut.

She held up her hand to keep Marty from closing it. “Josh…” she whispered, her voice hitching as she slid off Hervé to reach out and run her finger over the computer screen. She looked at all of them, her eyes filling with tears. “Is he…is he worse? OhGod, the last time I saw him he was so, so sick…”As Robbie skimmed the article, her body slumped, her long beautiful hair covering her face.

“Oh, Miss.” Tottington rushed to her side, cupping her elbow.

Greer reached out to her, putting a hand on her arm. “The article says his prognosis is guarded.”

She blew out a shuddering breath, pushing away the tears that had begun to fall down her flushed cheeks. “Oh, thank God.”

Marty pulled her into a hug. “He was one of the children you visited?”

She nodded against Marty’s shoulder, scrunching her eyes shut as she gulped for air so she could explain. “Twice a week, I went to read to him. Sometimes we’d play games. Candy Land. Hungry Hippos, cards, whatever I could find to take his mind off the agony of chemo. He loved…lovesMarvel superheroes, so I hired an actor to play Iron Man for his birthday. Josh was so brave. Before he’d go off to his chemo treatments, we had this thing where I’d cheer him on by saying, ‘Be brave, Warrior,’ and he’d say, ‘I’m so brave. The truth is…I’m Iron Man.’”

Her lower lip trembled before she began to sob, tearing Greer’s heart out.

Nina brushed the tears from Robbie’s eyes, pushing her hair from her forehead. “And they won’t let you see him because that bitch of a mother of yours fucked it all up. I’m sorry, kiddo. Really sorry.”

Inhaling, Robbie nodded while tears streamed down her face. “They won’t let me within a mile of the place because of what my mother did. I’ve been checking his Facebook page to see how he’s doing, but there hasn’t been an update in a couple of months. So I…”

“Oh, honey,” Marty soothed, rubbing circles on her back.

“Roberta’s inability to see Master Josh was one of the harshest punishments she could have received for her mother’s misdeeds.”

Pulling from Marty’s embrace, Robbie let her shoulders sag. She slid a long length of shiny hair over her shoulder and began to twirl it around her finger. He’d noticed she always did that when she was nervous.

“It’s fine. I’m just relieved he’s still okay. I’d give anything to tell him what the press and the papers say isn’t true, but his parents would never let me see him. But it’s okay. He’s okay. That’s all I need. It’s enough. It has to be.”

But Greer knew it wasn’t enough. Her eyes and her hopeless, dismal tone said it all. She loved this little boy. She was being denied the opportunity to spend time with him because her mother was a monster.

And she didn’t deserve that. She’d put a stop to what her mother was doing. She’d done the right thing. And still, they’d punished her.

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