Page 122 of Nothing But It All
He yelps and races back down the path.
Lauren and I follow, our hearts in our throats.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
LAUREN
Ican barely breathe as we race down the path. Jack pulls ahead of me, trying and failing to keep up with Snaps.
Harvey’s bandanna—what does that mean? Is he lying somewhere hurt? Did he drop it and Snaps just happened to find it? Is he ...
No. Don’t go there.
My heart pounds, sending tremors through my body with its force. A bead of sweat dots my forehead in response to the humidity and the adrenaline coursing through me.
Jack hops a fallen tree ahead of me and then disappears to the left into the trees.
“Please, God. Please let him be all right,” I whisper through the clog of emotions in my throat.
I make it to the spot on the path that shows Jack’s shoe prints detouring off to the side. I step into the grass and over a small stream of running water. Then I step under the canopy of trees.
My eyes adjust to the much dimmer light. I can’t see anyone, but I hear Snaps’s bark.
“Snaps,” I call out.
“Over here, Lo.”
I spot the top of Jack’s head next to a tree and sprint through the vegetation—getting whacked by sticker bushes in the process. As soon as they come into view, my feet fail to move.
My hand covers my mouth as I take him in.
Harvey is sitting with his back against a tree. His clothes are soaked, his hair drenched. One of his shoes is missing, and his blackberry buckets are strewn on the ground around him.
There’s a slice above his right eye that seems to have stopped bleeding. Dried blood crusts against his hairline next to his ear. A purple welt rises from the top of his right hand, and a matching one grows on his cheek.
“Harvey,” I say, dropping to my knees beside Jack. “Are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?”
“One question at a time. What is this—a speed round?”
I giggle, leaning my head on Jack in relief. He wraps a hand around my waist and squeezes.
“First question—are you okay?” I ask.
“Yes, I’m okay. Don’t I look all right to you?”
“Well . . .”
“No, Dad. You look like shit, to be honest.”
“Well, nobody asked you.” Harvey’s tired smirk grows into a smile. “It took you long enough to find me. I’ve been sitting out here forever.”
Jack tries to touch Harvey’s forehead but gets his hand swatted away.
“If you’d told me where you were going, we would’ve come sooner,” I say.
“That would’ve been a good plan, wouldn’t it?” He shakes an unsteady finger at me. “But if I’d told you I was coming, one of you would’ve come with me. And everyone had something to do today instead of farting around with an old man.”
“Looks like we’re farting around with you anyway, doesn’t it?” I ask.
