Page 30 of Entertaining Distraction
“It was an accident, Michael,” Emma rebuked. “And please stop yelling—I’m not a child. It could have happened to anyone.”
“That’s—”
Mike stopped short when Charlotte placed a calming hand on his arm. He glanced at her, and she squeezed his arm, before saying in a low voice, “Easy, Michael—she’s okay. I know you’re upset, but so is she. And she’s scared, too—don’t add to her stress.”
He hesitated, then nodded, running a hand down his face. “I’m sorry, Mom. You just scared the hell out of us.”
When one of the crew members moved an equipment bag from the ambulance’s rear bench, Jake climbed in, sat, and took hold of his mother’s pale, shaking hand. He addressed the female EMT. “Does she have to go to the hospital?”
“Her vitals are good.” She held up a stethoscope. “If her lungs are clear, then I don’t see a reason for her to go.”
Moments later, Nick and Mike helped Emma step down from the back of the rig, just as the fire chief came looking for them. “You got lucky, ma’am. We were able to keep it confined to the kitchen. However, there’s a lot of smoke and water damage, and we had to rip down most of your cabinets and drag the stove out to make sure the fire didn’t spread through the walls. Turns out the builder put fireproofing behind that whole wall, so it saved the rest of the house from going up. Unfortunately, the kitchen itself is pretty much a total loss. We’ll make sure there won’t be any potential flareups. The fire inspector and insurance adjusters can come out and look at it tomorrow, but you won’t be able to stay there for a while. I’ll give you a list of cleanup companies, too.”
Mike shook hands with the man. “Thanks. She’ll be staying with me tonight.”
As the chief left to check on his squad, Jake turned to his brother. “Why don’t Nick and I take Mom back with us? She can stay in the spare bedroom, and the Trident women can fuss over her for the next few days. There’ll be plenty of us to take care of her, and Nick and I can do some work from the apartment.”
A heavy sigh escaped Mike. “All right. Then I’ll take care of the inspector, insurance, and cleanup company.”
“Good.” Jake glanced over his shoulder at the house before turning back. “Nick, can you see if they’ll let us in to get some clothes, her hearing aids, medications, and stuff. We can throw her clothes in the washing machine if they smell of smoke.”
“Okay. It’ll probably take a bit, though, until they’re done in there. Why don’t you take Emma back in your truck? I’ll call Parker and see if he can send someone out to board up the doors and the kitchen window. Once that’s done, I’ll drive her car back to the compound.” Parker Christensen was a member of The Covenant, who owned a construction company and had plenty of men working for him and the supplies to get it done quickly, even in the middle of the night. In fact, he’d done all the renovations of the Trident compound buildings, including the club.
“But I still don’t know where I put those damn car keys,” Emma stated. “I’ve looked everywhere.”
Sheepishly, Mike pulled two conjoined key rings from his pocket and separated them. “That’s because I’ve had them. I was worried about you driving and knew you wouldn’t give them up willingly.”
“And here I was thinking I was getting Alzheimer’s. Michael, how could you?”
He pulled her into his arms, ignoring her angry glare. “I did it because I love you, Mom. If something happened to you, and I could have prevented it, I’d never forgive myself.”
Emma’s shoulders relaxed as she embraced her son. She then pulled back and motioned for Nick and Jake to join them in a group hug. “You, too, Charlotte. You’re more than welcome to be a part of my crazy, extended family. Thank you so much for being here for me and for Michael.”
A warm tingling feeling coursed through Charlotte, and it wasn’t from the woman’s words, but from the gratitude she saw in Mike’s eyes. She could tell it meant a lot for her to be here with him, even if he hadn’t verbally told her so. Charlotte joined the group, standing between Mike and Nick, before smiling at Emma. “I’m just glad you’re okay, Mrs. Donovan. We were all so worried when we heard what happened.”
“Please, call me Emma, Charlotte. And I don’t ever want to worry any of you ever again. Jake, tomorrow we’re going to call that nice lady at Twin Ponds. I’ll have to have the damage to the house fixed before I can sell it.”
Jake’s arm around the older woman’s shoulders gave her a squeeze. “We’ll get Parker’s company on it right away, then get it listed. In this neighborhood, I’m sure it will sell quickly. Don’t you worry about a thing.”
Emma pursed her lips, and tears filled her eyes as she looked back and forth between her two sons. “I probably should have gotten rid of it years ago. There are some very bad memories in that house for both of you. I’m so sorry I didn’t have the courage to stand up to your father back then. He was a good husband, but not a good father. I’m sorry.”
Leaning down, Mike kissed his mother’s forehead. “It’s not your fault, Mom. I doubt either of us can ever forgive and forget what he did, but you always made sure we knew you loved us. And right now, that’s all that’s important—that we love each other and we’re there for each other.”
“Amen,” Jake added.
Leaving Nick to get whatever of Emma’s he could to hold her over for a few days, the other three walked Emma to Jake’s truck. After making sure she was settled into the passenger seat, Mike gave her another kiss on the cheek, and shut the door. After he and Charlotte climbed into her SUV, Mike grabbed her hand before she had a chance to put the key in the ignition. She raised her brow at him. “Something wrong?”
“No. Well, except the obvious, of course. I just wanted to say thank you.” Charlotte relaxed under his gentle gaze as he continued. “I didn’t quite understand it when Nick had said that Jake grounded him when he was stressed, but now I get it. When you touched me and told me to go easy on my mom, it grounded me. You gave me something to hold onto when I felt like I was spiraling out of control. I was able to breathe and think again, instead of worrying about everything that could have happened, instead of what did. I was so freaked out about the fire and the damage and the fact she could have been killed, but you soothed me and made me realize the only thing that mattered was she was alive and unhurt. Everything else takes a backseat to that. So, again, thank you for being here for me.”
Reaching up, she cupped his cheek. Her heart swelled as she smiled at him. “There’s no place else I’d rather be, Michael. Let’s go home.”
