Page 55 of 40 and (So Over) Fixing It
“Did he take his meds this morning?”
Erin glanced up and realized the man speaking was Sheriff Fowler. Henry Easton stood behind him. They were supposed to come to help find Thad, she remembered now.
“I don’t know,” JD responded. “I know he didn’t have time to eat before…”
The words trailed off, but Erin saw him glance at Thad. The boy must have caught the meaning of his words, because he curled onto the ground beside his dad as sobs began to leave him. “This is my fault.”
Lily moved closer. “No, absolutely not.”
Erin knew her friend’s words wouldn’t help, though. Not for a while. She couldn’t have prevented Stephen’s heart attack, but she’d lived with the guilt of not doing so for years.
At least Carter would be alive to help his son get through it.
The sound of a siren rising up the mountain reached her ears. A few minutes later, Linc rounded the house with Colby Reeves and another man Erin didn’t know, both wearing the navy shirt and dungarees that were the uniform of the local fire department. Colby was a nurse and fire department volunteer. He carried a medical bag while the other man pushed a stretcher through the rough grass.
Lily urged Thad to his feet. “Let’s give them some room.”
They all backed away, JD staying close to give Colby the details of what they knew. Colby went to work fast, checking Carter’s vitals, and by the time the stretcher had caught up to them, they were ready to lift Carter onto it.
JD came around to Thad’s side. “Do you want to go with him?”
The boy blinked wide eyes, his curls wild around his head. “Uh-huh.”
Sheriff Fowler looked on sympathetically. “They can only take adults.”
Erin’s spine straightened. “We’ll follow along behind, then. Come on, Thad.” She gestured him toward the house. “I’ll get my keys and we’ll be ready by the time they have your dad in the ambulance.”
Thad didn’t argue. And just as she’d said, by the time she’d retrieved her keys and they’d gotten back out to her truck, Carter was in the ambulance. She got Thad buckled in, and the two of them set off down the mountain, right behind Carter.
“He’s gonna be okay. He’s gonna be okay.”
From the corner of her eye Erin could see Thad rocking in his seat as she drove. She wished she had words of wisdom to make him feel better, but unfortunately her wisdom said that would take a while. But finally she could stand it no longer.
“Thad? Thad?” She waited until he turned to her, his eyes meeting hers briefly. “Do you want me to call your mom?”
He seemed to consider that for a moment. Finally he shook his head. “I want to see my dad.”
“I’ll have us there as soon as possible.” But she wanted him to be prepared. “I don’t know how long we’ll have to wait before they let us see him though.”
Thad frowned but didn’t argue. Which made Erin wonder…
“Has this happened before?”
“No.” Thad looked out the window. “But I’ve been to classes. The teacher told us what to do if Dad got really sick.”
“Because your dad is diabetic.”
“Yeah. Dad’s real careful about his medicine, but”—he shrugged—“he says accidents happen.”
Accidents happen.How true that was. She wasn’t sure how she felt about a ten-year-old being prepared for a medical emergency like that, although Thad had handled it way better than she had, she guessed.
“JD and Linc will come to the hospital soon,” she tried to assure him, assuming the familiar presence of his “uncles” would help.
“But you’ll stay with me?” he asked.
Her heart melted into a puddle at his words. “I’ll stay with you. Every single second,” she promised.
She pulled into the ER parking lot while the paramedics unloaded Carter. When she and Thad arrived at the registration desk, they were directed to wait as Erin had expected. Lincoln, Claire, Lily, and JD arrived shortly after. JD got Rachel, Carter’s ex-wife, on the phone and, after explaining the situation, handed the cell to Thad so they could speak. And all the while, Erin tried to ignore the flashbacks of Stephen’s last moments stuck on replay in her head.
