Page 56 of Chasing the Horizon

“I know. We were thinking of calling child protective services.”

“Don’t,” Victor said. He’d had numerous bad experiences. He’d seen too many children slip through the cracks. “He can stay with me.”

Marty raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure about that? It’s highly unusual.”

Victor found that he was more than sure. There was nowhere else in the world this kid belonged. And Victor was the only person Kade had opened up to since he’d come to Nantucket. Where else could he go?

It was decided that Kade would leave school early that afternoon so he could visit his great-uncle Jack and pack up his things to move into Victor’s place, at least temporarily. This was not often done, not in Nantucket and not anywhere else, Victor knew, but he couldn’t think of any other way, and Marty agreed.

“If anyone gives you grief about this, I’ll stand up for you,” Marty said. “That kid has been through enough. He needs stability. He needs to be with someone he knows and trusts.”

Of course, Kade moving in with Victor meant that Kade would need a new therapist. Victor would deal with that later. He’d find someone he half trusted. But who in the world did he trust?

In the car, Kade hardly spoke. Victor asked him a few questions about what happened last night and learned that Kade had found Jack on the floor of the living room and called 911.

“What did it feel like to see him like that?” Victor asked tentatively.

Kade said, “I’ve seen plenty of accidents through the years. I know it’s better not to think about your emotions first. I know it’s better to act. It could save someone’s life.”

It was such a clinical answer that it shut Victor up.

To give Kade and his uncle space, Victor waited outside the hospital room for a little while, breathing in the smell of disinfectant and watching hospital workers whizz past. He felt like he was having an out-of-body experience as if he didn’t fully understand what was happening or what would come next. He hadn’t even asked Esme if he could bring Kade home. Then again, Esme was a softy and would take to the boy right away.

Probably, she’d see Joel in him, too.

He lurched with fear. He wasn’t sure if Esme could handle that. Then again, Esme was far stronger than he was, working one-on-one with a psychiatrist who had her on a good route forward. Esme was brave enough to ask for help and to start the healing process.

One day, she’d probably be brave enough to kick Victor to the curb because he wasn’t as brave as she was.

Victor went to the coffee machine and drank an espresso and felt concurrently rattled and high energy. It was terrible.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Bethany found him there in the hospital hallway. But it had been so long since any of his daughters had tried to see him that Victor had almost forgotten they were on the island at all.

Two in one day, Victor thought darkly.

It was incredible how quickly he’d alienated everyone he’d ever loved. After Manhattan, Valerie had stepped away, and then Bethany and Rebecca had found ways to drift, as well. Victor had hardly seen his grandchildren. They’d used plenty of excuses: school, sports, friends. But Victor knew they were too nervous to have him in their lives. He knew he’d done wrong.

“Dad?” Bethany was wearing scrubs and had her hair in a loose ponytail. She looked tired and older than she had around Christmas when they’d had such a joyful time celebrating the holidays and exchanging old and beautiful stories. He wondered if she was planning on marrying that boyfriend of hers sometime soon—maybe in a year or two, now that they were off to the races on a brand-new version of their high school love. He wondered if he’d be invited to the wedding, then felt bad for himself, then cursed himself for feeling like that.

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Bethany asked when Victor didn’t answer. “Is Mom all right?”

Always, the children cared about their mother the most. But of course they did. Esme was perfect, or always on her way to being perfect. Victor was garbage.

“A friend of mine had a stroke,” Victor said, gesturing vaguely.

“I’m so sorry, Dad. Really.” She touched his shoulder, and Victor flinched with surprise. “Do you want me to check in with his doctor? See what’s going on?”

Victor said he would like that. Very much.

Bethany returned a few minutes later with bad news. She said Jack’s stroke was massive with repercussions that weren’t fully understood yet. “He’ll need months of therapy of all kinds,” she explained. “Physical therapy and speech therapy and so on. And even then, with strokes of this magnitude, it’s never clear if he’ll be able to live on his own again.”

Victor’s heart dropped into his stomach.

Kade had lost everyone. Was he really going to lose Jack, too?

Suddenly, the door opened, and Kade stepped out, looking forlorn but not even close to tears. Victor wanted to drop down and hug him, but he held himself back. Bethany’s face transformed, and Victor wondered if it was because she saw Joelin Kade’s face, too. But he knew she would never say anything of that nature, never aloud.

“Bethany, this is Kade. Kade, this is my daughter, Dr. Bethany Sutton,” Victor said.

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