“He’s at the fire,” Taylor said, his voice monotone. “He won’t answer.”
I dialed Tyler’s number with my husband’s phone, listening as it rang several times before his voice mail picked up. I tucked the phone into my back pocket and pointed at the children. “Pack for five days. Five jeans, five shirts, five socks, and five pairs of underpants. Toothbrush and toothpaste. Go now.”
The kids nodded and ran to their rooms. I emptied a small roller bag Taylor had already filled with my unmentionables and packed for five days as well. “Where’s your bag?” I asked Taylor.
“Huh?”
“Your bag. You packed a bag to come here, right? Do you have at least two days’ worth?”
“Three days. It’s in my truck.”
“Okay,” I said, pulling up the handle on my bag. “Let’s go. I’m driving. I’ll reserve tickets on the way.”
“To where?”
“Estes Park. We’re going to tell Tyler, and then we’re driving to Denver to catch a plane.”
“Falyn …” Taylor began, but he knew he couldn’t be the strong one this time. We were broken, but we weren’t alone.
I held out my hand to him. “Come with me.”
He looked up at me, seeming lost. Taylor reached for me, intertwining his fingers with mine and bringing my hand to his lips. He closed his eyes tight, breathing hard through his nose.
With my free hand, I cupped the back of his head and hugged him to my middle. “I’m here.”
He let go of my hand and wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my shirt.
CHAPTER NINE
ELLIE
THE TELEVISION WAS THE ONLY LIGHT in our dark living room, dim and then bright and back again, depending on what scene and camera angle was presented at the time. I’d told myself not to watch this movie, knowing it was about an alcoholic, foul-mouthed reporter. Even after a decade on the wagon, my throat tightened every time she took a drink; my heart pinged when she was out, laughing hysterically, sloppy drunk with her friends, taking dick from anyone who had one. I’d made it to the last scene, and she had fallen in love with a decent dude. Fuck. I was too old to say dude. At least, that was what Gavin had told me because he was five and knew everything.
I ran my fingers over the prickles of Gavin’s dark, buzzed hair. He’d fallen asleep using my lap as a pillow like he always did when his dad was on shift. Tyler and I had fallen in love sometime between a one-night stand (mostly my fault) and a stint in rehab (totally my fault). Somehow, we lived in a three-bedroom house with a dog, two cats, and a son who wasn’t into throwing temper tantrums and never held on to anything—not a bottle, a pacifier; he even potty-trained early. Addiction didn’t seem to be in his future. I just hoped his penchant to let things go didn’t spill over into his love life.
I glanced at my watch and sighed. It was nearly three a.m., and Tyler was still fighting the fire at the warehouse. Years of sleepless nights kept me from trying to go to bed before he was back at the station, so I waited for the call that he was safe at his second home.
Just as the credits began to roll, a light knock sounded on the front door. I carefully moved Gavin’s head off my lap and slipped out from under him. I approached the door with caution. We lived in a nice neighborhood in a smallish tourist community, but whoever was at my door in the wee hours of the morning wasn’t selling LipSense.
“Who is it?” I said, trying to be both loud enough to be heard and quiet so I wouldn’t wake Gavin.
“It’s Taylor,” a deep voice said.
“And Falyn.”
I twisted the bolt lock and yanked open the door, staring at my in-laws as if they were a hallucination. Taylor had both of their sleeping children hanging over his shoulders, his face pale and his eyes glossed over.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, and then covered my mouth. I hadn’t heard from Tyler in nearly an hour. A lot could happen in an hour. “Oh, God.”
“No,” Falyn said, reaching for me. “This isn’t about Tyler.”
I pulled her in for a hug, squeezing her tight. She was surprised, and I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t typically the snuggly type with anyone but Tyler and Gavin.
“Have you heard from him?” Taylor asked, walking past me.
“You can put them in the guest room,” I said but wasn’t sure why. Taylor knew exactly where it was and was already headed that way. Taylor and Falyn had spent a lot of their time in our home and vice-versa until Falyn had left. She hadn’t been gone that long, but it somehow still felt strange being under the same roof with both of them again.
Taylor returned. His hands were free, and he didn’t quite know what to do with them, so he crossed his arms across his middle.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’ve been trying to get a hold of Tyler.”
I shook my head and then glanced back to check on Gavin. “He should be wrapping up at the warehouse. I haven’t heard from him in the last hour.”
Taylor sniffed. “Guess I’m going to have to go to the warehouse.”
“They should be finished soon,” I said. “Everything okay?”
“He’s grown so much,” Falyn whispered, walking over to my son sprawled out on the sofa. She kneeled beside him, smiling as she took a closer look. “Gavin looks identical to Taylor and Tyler when they were his age.”
“He misses you,” I said. “He asks about you a lot.”
Her expression fell. “I miss him, too. And you.” She stood. “Taylor got a call from Trent.”
“We’re going home,” Taylor said.
“To Eakins? When?”
“Tomorrow,” Falyn said. “You and Tyler, too.”
“We are?” I asked, touching my chest. “What’s going on? Is it Jim?” I knew Dad’s health wasn’t the greatest. He was overweight, ate bacon every morning for breakfast, and smoked cigars. By the look on Taylor’s face, I knew something terrible had happened.
Taylor opened his mouth to explain but couldn’t.
Falyn continued for him. “It’s Thomas.”
“Thomas?” He’d just become a father. “Oh, God. The baby?”
“No,” Falyn said. “Thomas was shot.”
“Shot?” I said, my voice going up an octave. The room began to spin.
“We don’t know many details.”
“Oh, Liis,” I said, covering my mouth with my hand. My heart instantly broke for her. My gaze drifted to Taylor. I felt bad, knowing he would have to hear the story again when we broke the news to Tyler. I closed my eyes, feeling hot tears streaming down my cheeks. My heart broke for my husband.
“You should sit down,” Falyn said, trying to keep her composure.
I lumbered to Tyler’s recliner and collapsed. “Fuck. Fuck. This doesn’t make sense. Did they catch the shooter?”
“We’re not sure,” Taylor said. He clenched his teeth, his jaw muscles dancing under his skin.
“Liis is flying into Eakins in the morning,” Falyn said.
I lifted my head. “She’s not staying with Thomas?”
Falyn shook her head. “It … it sounds like it’s pretty bad. Her flying to Eakins …” she trailed off.
Bile rose in my throat. He wasn’t going to make it. Liis was flying home to be with his family.