Page 106 of The Summer We Mended
“That’s an excellent idea,” Lily said.
“I could use some hugs from Max, so I’m going too,” Nora said softly before she jumped up and followed her brother out the back door.
“I wish I could just run outside and burn off this energy,” Anna commented with a soft chuckle.
“To be nine years old again,” Lily replied before she walked into the kitchen and grabbed her phone.
She was shaking and there was a lump in her throat.She was ecstatic that her son-in-law was safe and would be home soon, but until he was, she didn’t know if she could believe it.
She dialed Cody’s number first, and he answered on the third ring.
“Hey, Mom,” he said groggily.
“He’s been found,” she said into the phone, pacing the length of the kitchen.“Cody, they found Luke.He’s alive.”
“What?”Cody’s voice cracked on the other end.“Are you sure?”
“They said it’s him,” Lily answered, her voice thick with restrained emotion.“They’re not saying much yet.Just that he’s at Ramstein.He’s in surgery.But he’s alive, Cody.”
Her son took a shaky breath.“I’m on my way.I’ll be there in twenty.”
Lily ended the call and immediately dialed Margot, her fingers trembling.The line picked up with a cheerful, “Hey, what’s going on?”
“They found him,” Lily said.“Luke.He’s alive, Margot.”
There was a stunned silence on the other end, followed by a gasp.“Lily.Oh my God.”
“He’s in Germany.They’re not saying much yet, just that he was found and brought in.He’s in surgery right now.”
“I’m coming over,” Margot said without hesitation.“Right now.”
Lily barely had time to breathe before she hit Claudia’s name next.This time she was more composed, her tone even, though her heart was galloping.Claudia wept openly when she heard the news and said she, Henry, and the girls would be right over.
It wasn’t even fifteen minutes later when a soft knock at the front door pulled Lily from her place at the kitchen counter.She opened the door to find Tom standing there with a warm loaf of banana bread wrapped in foil, the scent curling into the air like something from a childhood dream.
“Thought you girls might want something sweet,” he said with a smile, handing it over.“No reason.Just felt like baking.And then I learned that it’s a celebratory banana bread.”
Lily blinked at him, touched by the timing.“Tom,” she said, her voice wobbling, “they found Luke.He’s alive.”
Tom’s eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise.“That’s amazing.I thought something was wrong with how hard the kids were pounding on the door.”
“He thought it was the police,” June giggled as she walked up behind him.
Max was already chasing the kids in the yard, June watching them with a wide smile.
“Only the police knock that hard,” he said defensively.
“And you would know this how?”
“I watch a lot of cop shows in my retired life,” he said jokingly.
“Come in, come in,” Lily said as she waved her hand and gestured for them to come into the house.“I think everyone will be here shortly as we wait for more news.”
“This is the best thing I’ve heard in months,” Tom told her as he reached out and squeezed her arm.
Tom came inside and June did as well.She hugged Anna and they talked quietly for a few moments before June made her way out into the backyard with the kids.
“I think she’s still getting used to being around the adults, but the kids, they don’t judge or ask questions,” Tom said as he watched his daughter walk outside.
