Page 126 of Nothing But It All
I pick up his blackberry buckets and lead the way.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
LAUREN
Pops!”
The kids file out of the house before racing toward Harvey’s truck. Jack insisted that he drive his father home. Harvey put up a resistance, I think mostly because he thought it was expected, but gave in quickly.
Michael pulls open Harvey’s door. He gets shoved to the side by Maddie.
“What happened to you?” she says. “Oh, Pops. Are you hurt?”
“Are you okay?” Michael asks, taking Snaps from his grandfather.
“I would be if I could get out of this truck,” Harvey says.
I climb out of my car and grin, making sure I grab the first aid kit. Harvey’s wounds, while ugly, are only superficial. Still, they need to be cleaned up and bandaged once we get inside the cabin.
Jack moves the kids out of the way and helps Harvey to the ground. He complains the entire time.
“Hey, Michael,” Jack says. “Will you run over to Pops’s and get him some clean clothes and a pair of slippers?”
“Sure thing.” Michael sets off across the lawn toward the other cabin.
“Is he okay, Mrs. Reed?” Ava asks.
“He’s going to be fine, sweetheart. Thank you for your help tonight.”
“Oh, of course. Um ...” She glances over her shoulder. “I hope this is okay, but there’s really nothing I could do to stop her.”
“What?”
“My grandmother came and brought dinner. It’s warming in your oven.”
I wrap an arm around her shoulder. “Ava, that’s the best—second-best—news I’ve heard all day.”
She beams up at me. “I made the cornbread. It’s from a box and nothing fancy, but I think it turned out pretty good.”
“I can’t wait to try it.”
She smiles and rejoins Maddie in their joint effort to get Harvey to the porch despite his protests. The only one who seems to be having a good time is Snaps, in his new red bandanna.
Jack reaches behind me and shuts my door. Then he leans against the side of the car. A look of relief is etched on his handsome face.
“How are you doing?” I ask.
“Fine.”
“That had to be scary for you.”
He takes a deep breath. “I’ve had a lot of shit scare me lately. It’s just another thing, you know?”
I hum.
“I want to talk to you about some things later, once this whole thing dies down,” he says.
My brows pull together. “About what?”
