Page 8 of Steeled

Nora smiled, sweeping her girl’s hair behind her ears, amazed at the wonder of her young brain. Wayde had hurt himself more than a year ago while fixing up the wrap around porch that summer. He wasn’t paying attention and wound up hitting his head so hard, he had to be taken to the emergency room for his concussion. Evie had been at the house and rode in the car when Darlene drove them into town.

“Kind of, yeah. He didn’t hit his head, but someone did hurt him. He’ll be okay, though. Auntie Belle is with him right now.”

“Can we see him, too?”

Nora looked around the room at all the people wishing for the same thing. Seeing as how the doctor was only allowing two visitors at a time, Nora wasn’t sure if they’d get the chance. It was nearing three in the morning as it was.

“I don’t know, Evie-B. We might need to come back tomorrow.”

“I want to see him too, mommy.”

Again, Nora marveled at her daughter. Nora only gave her as much of the truth as she thought she could handle. Even still, she sensed the weight of the situation brought on by the vibe in the waiting room. Anyway, there was a part of Nora that wanted to stick around to see the man was okay, herself.

“Okay, baby. We’ll wait our turn.”

He’d seen her the moment she stepped foot into the waiting room, and he’d watched her as she sat beside Mitzi and immediately began doling out her special brand of comfort. It was as if Mitzi was the only one in the room. Well—Mitzi and Evelyn, who she held close in that maternal way he’d seen glimpses of since he’d moved back home.

Stupid as it was, Lawson let his guard down enough to admit to himself that in another world, in some alternate reality, it would have been his baby girl in her arms. Nora-Jean would have walked through those doors before her best friend had, her hand in his. And when Mitzi needed her—only then would she have left his side.

But that wasn’t the reality in which they lived.

The little girl wrapped around Nora-Jean was a beautiful stranger. She was a reminder of all the woman Nora was capable of being; all the woman he’d let walk away. Much as he knew he shouldn’t pay her any mind, that he had enough to worry about with his brother being treated for a stab wound—he was too tired to fight themight-have-beens.The chaotic, uncertainty which wrapped itself around the very circumstance in which they’d all found themselves that morning made it impossible for him to shove aside what he’d gotten so used to suppressing.

And she was too beautiful. Face bare. Hair down. Body drowning in an oversized sweater, but her legs wrapped in only a thin layer of material that clung to her.

There never had been and never would be anything better than having those legs wrapped around him.

Mercifully, the doctor entered the room before Lawson could distract himself with thoughts of Nora’s legs. Soon as he came to stand in front of his parents, Lawson shoved himself away from the wall and took a step closer to his sister, who had risen to her feet.

“Detective Steele suffered a stab wound in the right side of his abdomen. The good news is, the blade got caught on the zipper of his jacket pocket. The bad news is, his attacker was still able to penetrate the abdominal wall, and the tip of the knife did pierce his liver. As far as I can tell, the liver wasn’t damaged enough to warrant surgery. We’ll be monitoring him closely for the next couple days to make sure surgery is not required.”

The doctor barely paused to take a breath before he continued, “Steele did lose a significant amount of blood. We started a blood transfusion, which will take a few hours to complete, and he’ll need plenty of rest, but he should be fine.”

“Oh, thank you Lord,” Gale breathed.

“Can we see him?” asked Justice.

The doctor looked at her, then at Gale before his gaze settled on Mitzi. “Yes. He can have two visitors at a time in fifteen-minute intervals—but first, he’s asking for Mitzi. Something tells me that’s you.”

The corner of Lawson’s mouth twitched with an imperceptible smirk. If there was any doubt before, it was eradicated in that moment. She was it for his older brother. Moreover, if he was asking for his woman over his mother, he was going to be all right.

“Yeah, I’m Mitzi,” she murmured apprehensively.

“I’ll take you to his room.”

As she stepped out from underneath Keaton’s arm, she held out her hand in invitation. Gale’s eyes, wet with tears, lit up as she accepted Mitzi’s offer.

“I knew you were a keeper,” she sniffled.

Mitzi smiled and Lawson dropped his gaze down at his boots. With a sigh, he reached up and buried his fingers in his hair, gripping the long strands tightly to remind himself he wasn’t stuck in a daze. The report they’d just received was real. His brother was going to be fine. Yet, hopeful as reality was, when his eyes fell closed, the grimy, dirt-covered memories of his past flooded his mind.

I’m in a bed not my own—the heat of the late afternoon sun seeping through the cracks in the walls of my barracks. Only in Afghanistan does the light of day bring with it a darkness synonymous with a life cut short too soon. It’s war. I’ve been doing it long enough. I know the stakes. I’m familiar with the consequences; and yet, the anger that fills my lungs, along with the dust in the air, almost suffocates me.

I stare up at the ceiling, gritting my teeth so hard my head aches. All I can see is Tanner, sitting across from me last night—beer in one hand, playing cards in his other, doing what he always did and bullshitting his way through a round of poker. That was the thing about Tanner. Good hand or shit, he was always smiling. Made it nearly impossible to call his bluff.

It’s our second tour together. We’re a year in—werea year in—his baby boy just five months old.

I shake my head, too angry to talk to God. Too smart to assign blame.

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