LITMIR.BIZ

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provided the details as best he could with Joey listening. “Would you like to pick up Joey here, or should I meet you at Beaumont emergency?”

      “Beaumont. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

      He stopped to relay his destination to Clint and noticed a neighbor standing at a distance. He waved the man over. “Do you know Ashley?”

      “Sure. She’s a good neighbor, and so’s Joey.” He chucked the boy under the chin. “Is she okay?”

      “She’ll be fine.”

      “Can we keep an eye on Joey for her?” The man opened his arms.

      Joey let out a cry. “Mama.” He reached toward her. “I want my mama.”

      “His aunt is meeting us at Beaumont. I think Ashley will feel better knowing he’s there, but thanks for the offer.” He turned away but stopped. “Can you secure the house?”

      “Sure thing. We have a key.” He motioned to the broken window. “I’ll cover it for her, too. Tell her not to worry.”

      Before Devon could thank him, a car careened into the man’s driveway, and a woman with a halo of white hair jumped out, her hand to her mouth and her eyes wide as a basketball as she darted toward the man. “What happened? Where’s Ashley?”

      Devon used the distraction to make his exit. House secured. Window covered. Now, Joey. He gave the boy a hug, thinking of his own young daughter and how she might respond in an emergency.

      With Kaylee on his mind, he remembered he would need a car seat to transport Joey. He carried him across the street and located the car seat stored in his garage. The plastic he’d used to cover it was dusty, but beneath, the seat looked like new. He grinned, picturing Kaylee strapped in the chair and singing nursery rhymes whenever they went somewhere. Now more than a year older, he’d purchased a larger restraint seat for her.

      Once Joey was strapped into the backseat, Devon slid behind the steering wheel and headed toward Beaumont, sending up a prayer for Ashley’s well-being.

      * * *

      Searing red burned through Ashley’s eyelids. She tried to raise them, but her effort faded in the struggle. Vague memories stirred through her fogged brain. A stormy sky. The wind. Joey’s wagon. The tree. That was it. The haze shifted, and she tried again to pry open her eyes.

      A cool hand touched her arm. “You’re fine. Don’t try to move yet.”

      She’d heard those words before, but it had been a man’s voice. A kind voice, like the woman’s, but rich and comforting. An image flickered in her mind. Dark windblown hair. Brown tired eyes, but in them, she saw compassion. A bristled jaw. And... And Joey against his chest.

      “Joey.” She tried to lift her head, but a headache hammered it to the sheet. “Where’s Joey?”

      “Your son is fine, Mrs. Kern.” Ashley felt the woman pat her arm again.

      Her chest constricted. “Fine. What does that mean?” She tried to shift her leg to the edge of the mattress, but the weight bound her in place.

      “He’s in the waiting room with your sister and a nice-looking gentleman.”

      Waiting room. She turned her head sideways and willed her eyes to focus. This wasn’t her bedroom. The railings along her bed. Eggshell-colored walls. Privacy curtains. The blurred memory eased into her mind. The sirens. The tree. The men. The wail of an ambulance. “Where am I? Beaumont Hospital?”

      “That’s right. Things will be clearer when the anesthetic wears off.”

      Her pulse tore through her arm. “Anesthetic?” Through the fuzz, she watched the nurse adjust an IV.

      “The doctor will be in soon and explain what happened.”

      Before she could demand answers, the nurse slipped through the curtain. She was alone. Her mind began to clear. Memories one at a time connected. She’d been in the kitchen. Joey had fallen asleep on the sofa as he often did in the late morning, and rather than disturb him, she’d tossed a quilt over him and let him sleep. She’d noticed the May sky, strange clouds that looked threatening. Then she’d remembered her car parked in the driveway with the window down. Why hadn’t she pulled it into the garage?

      Before she could act, a powerful wind caught Joey’s wagon. She’d left it outside the door when they came in from their walk. Another dumb thing she’d done. A lawn chair tumbled through her yard, and fearing the wagon would be caught in the squall, she’d dashed outside and grabbed the wagon handle. That was the last she remembered, except for the vague images that followed when she’d awakened on the ground beneath a heavy limb and Joey was in the man’s arms.

      Tears edged down her cheeks. She needed to see Joey now. Where was he? Where was the doctor? How long would she have to wait?

      * * *

      Devon tapped his foot, thinking he should leave but not wanting to. Over an hour had passed, and his earlier exhaustion had returned, leaving his brain fried. The day seemed like a dream, but then so many of those days did. Bad dreams. At least this one had a happy ending.

      Joey had become his buddy, and when his aunt Neely had arrived, the boy called her name and opened his arms to her. She scooped him up, her questions to him flying fast.

      “Who are you?” she’d asked, her question causing him confusion. Then he remembered he wasn’t in uniform.

      “I’m a neighbor a few houses down from your sister’s, but I’m a firefighter. I’d just gotten home from the bad night we’ve had. Everything here was fine until this storm came out of nowhere. The microburst sent everything sailing.”

      Joey wiggled free of his aunt’s grasp and raised his arms to him, wanting back on his lap, but he hesitated, wondering if it would upset Ashley’s sister.

      Neely’s surprised expression merged with a grin. “You’re his hero...which you truly are. If you hadn’t found Ash, who knows what would have happened.”

      “No hero. Just blessed to be there at the right time.” He hesitated before asking his nagging question. “Do you know what’s happening with Ashley?”

      She blinked as if surprised. “I thought you knew. They’re setting her leg...with a screw.”

      “A screw. That means surgery.”

      She nodded. “They’ll let me know when I can see her. She’ll be fine. I know my sister.” She leaned down and kissed Joey’s head. “I am worried about the house, though.” A frown flickered on her face. “Anyone could break in with the window—”

      His head hurt. “Sorry. I forgot to tell you the gentleman next door said he had a key and he’d take care of blocking the window. Temporary, but it’ll secure the house.”

      “You mean Mr. Wells. Irvin and Peggy. They’re thoughtful neighbors.” A grin stole to her face. “I feel better knowing they’re taking care of it...for now, anyway.”

      Gratefulness filled her eyes, and he understood the feeling. Being there to help made him grateful. People helping people. It’s the way God wanted it to be. Again his thoughts snapped back to the scene. How long would she have lain there without help if he hadn’t witnessed the aftermath of the accident?

      “Family of Ashley Kern.”

      He turned toward the doorway. A surgeon stood in the threshold wearing green scrubs.

      Neely bounded from the chair. “Will you hang on to Joey?”

      Though she asked the question, she didn’t wait for his response as she rushed to the doorway and followed the surgeon into the hall.

      Devon, letting Joey play with his car keys to keep him distracted, prayed everything went well.

      In a minute, Neely returned. He waited, expecting to learn the details. Instead, Neely

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