Page 69 of All Along The Watchtower

As I read the names in the caption below, I sucked in a breath. “Holy shit.”

Mr. Ed and I were on to something. And wouldn’t it be the best get well present ever if I finished following his leads?

CHAPTER 32

FORD

A few days later, I found a quiet spot just down the hall from Ed’s room in the ICU where I actually had decent signal. My phone vibrated as texts and voicemails began to roll in. I screened the lot of them, mentally filing things into what had to be dealt with and what could wait. A voicemail from Cross Country Moving had come in a couple of hours ago. I hit play.

“Mr. Donoghue, this is Mark Wheeler from Cross Country Moving. I have good news! Your shipment was recovered. We don’t have a full inventory of everything we were originally carrying, but there’s very little damage to what we have. As soon as the police release it, we’ll have it on a truck and headed your way.”

Well, that was good news. I never had told Peyton about the theft. I still would, since it was possible that stuff would be missing when we did get it, but at least not everything was lost.

Deeming everything else in my messages as things that could wait, I dialed home.

Mom answered on the first ring. “Ford?”

“Hey, Mom.” I kept my voice low out of respect for anyone else in the area.

“What’s the news?”

Now that I was out of Bree’s sight, I let some of my own mask drop and scrubbed a hand down my face. “Well, we’re past the first 72 hours. The doctor said that’s the most critical. At this point, Ed’s vitals are good, the brain swelling is going down, and prognosis is hopeful.”

“Oh, thank God,” Mom breathed.

“How’s Bree?” Mimi asked.

She must have had me on speaker.

“She’s holding up.” That was the most positive thing I could say. In truth, she was barely holding it together, running on nothing but coffee and sheer stubbornness. Cartwrights had a boatload of that, but she was at low ebb by now. Her eyes were red-rimmed from exhaustion, and her shoulders carried the weight of all her fear. I wished I could do more to take that off her than simply putting sustenance in her hands or providing a shoulder for her to lean on and doze.

“I’m gonna try to get her to leave the hospital for a bit. Grab a hotel room so she can shower and sleep in something that isn’t a chair.” My own back was protesting the lack of horizontal surface the past three days.

“Is she eating?” Of course, that would be the first thing Mimi focused on.

“Ish? The hospital cafeteria here isn’t bad. She’s had some soup and a lot of tea. Some pudding.” I rubbed at the ache in my neck. “How are things going there? How’s Peyton?”

“I’m good. And tell Bree that Keeley’s doing fine.”

My heart squeezed. “I’ll do that. I’m not sure how much longer we’re gonna be over here, kiddo.” I didn’t want to leave Bree in her current condition, but if Peyton was struggling, I’d figure something out. Willa would probably come without hesitation. Either way, we’d make sure she wasn’t alone.

But my daughter was made of tougher stuff. “We’re all holding down the fort here. And we’re sending all the positive vibes and stuff to Mr. Ed and Bree.”

This kid was just amazing. I swallowed past the tightness in my throat. “They’ll definitely appreciate all that.”

“What about your work?” Mom asked. “Do you need us to bring you anything?”

“Sawyer’s coming by in a bit with some overnight bags and my laptop. That’ll set me up for a while longer.” Feeling my phone vibrate, I checked the screen to find a text from the man himself saying he was downstairs. “In fact, he just got here, so I need to go down to meet him. I’ll check in again soon.”

After a quick goodbye to my mothers and daughter, I stepped into Ed’s room. Bree looked up from where she sat at his bedside, her hands wrapped around one of his weathered ones. Her eyes were so shadowed, they looked bruised, and her skin had taken on that waxy, exhausted pallor that came from too many hours under fluorescent lights. I had no idea how she was still upright.

“Sawyer’s here. I’m gonna run downstairs to get our bags, okay? I’ll be right back.”

She just nodded and turned back to her grandfather.

I hoofed it down to the lobby, where I found my friend waiting, two duffel bags and a laptop case in hand. His solid presence was a welcome relief after the strain of the past few days. “You’re a lifesaver for this.”

“Of course. We should’ve done it sooner. Willa packed Bree’s bag with pajamas and toiletries and stuff. Several changes of clothes. I loaded you up with the basics: clean shirts, jeans, your shaving kit. Y’all need anything else?”

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