Echo Of Danger

She blinked back sudden tears. “Yes. Maybe I’ll be able to take him home soon. I won’t know what to do when we get back to real life.” She gestured to their surroundings. “This...all of it...doesn’t seem real.”

Jason seemed to consider her words. “It’s not normal, anyway. Well, today is the first step back. By the way, Judge Morris sends his apologies. He wanted to be here this morning, but he had to be in court.”

So that was why Jason had come. It wasn’t anything personal. Surely she wasn’t disappointed. She couldn’t be relying on the man. She barely knew him.

“I’m sure. I’ll call and give Sylvia the latest news once Kevin is awake.”

Sylvia hadn’t come to the hospital to see Kevin, and Deidre had been glad for that. It wasn’t that Sylvia didn’t care; it was that she was too fragile emotionally to be helpful.

Kevin’s hand stirred in hers—just a butterfly touch at first, then a definite movement.

“Kevin.” She leaned over him. “Baby, are you awake?” She sensed, rather than saw, Jason snap to attention next to her. “Kevin?”

Nothing happened for a minute that seemed to last forever. Then Kevin moved, wiggling a little as he did when she woke him for Sunday school. His forehead wrinkled.

“Wake up, baby,” she said, keeping her voice gentle. “It’s time to get up now.” They were the same words she said every morning.

And, just like all those other mornings, Kevin blinked and opened his eyes. At first he stared, seeming puzzled, at the ceiling. Then he focused on her face. His blue eyes widened and he smiled. “Mommy.”

She’d never heard anything better in her life. It took a giant effort to keep her voice calm, her manner casual. “You awake, baby?”

“Sure.” He started to get up, then stared at the tube leading into his arm. “Mommy?” His voice shook. “What’s happening, Mommy? What’s that thing?”

“It’s okay.” She eased him back on the pillow, putting her arms around him. “You had a little accident and had to come to the hospital. But you’re getting better now.”

“Oh.” He settled down but still looked troubled. She thought he was trying to remember. “Did I fall out of the tree? That’s what happened, right? You told me not to climb so high, but I wanted to see.”

“Climbing the apple tree, you mean?” At a movement from Jason, she glanced at him. “That morning,” she said quietly. “Is that what you remember, Kev?”

He frowned. “I remember climbing up high in the tree. That’s all.”

Kevin was making up his own story about what had happened. It was a story that probably seemed normal and comforting to him.

Comforting because he didn’t know how he got hurt. Here was the answer everyone had been waiting for. Kevin didn’t remember anything about the attack on Dixie. However the police might feel about it, Deidre couldn’t help but be relieved.

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