Wild Irish_Wildly Drawn To Him

by Melissa Keir

  Carina slid the card into her bag. “Thanks.” Then she turned toward Tony. “I can’t thank you enough for lunch and making my son’s dream come true. He is your biggest fan.” She wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug. The scent of him washed over her. She longed to bottle it, or better yet, stay just the way she was.

  She pulled back. Sad to let him go. “Again, thank you.”

  “Let me have your cell phone.”

  “Oookaayyy. Do you need to make a call?” She passed it over.

  “No, silly. I’m putting my number in.” He tapped the screen a few times then returned the phone. “I hope you’ll call me. I’d like to get together and hear more about your life and the last twelve years.”

  Unable to speak for fear of tears, she nodded.

  “Thank you again, Mr. Steele.” Anthony held out his hand. “I appreciate you taking the time with me today.”

  Carina was so proud of how mature her little man acted.

  “Always love to talk about my stories with a fan. I hope you’ll be by again before you leave, but if you aren’t…” Tony headed toward the comic display and picked up a book. He marched over, signed it then gave it to Anthony.

  “Thank you!”

  “Tony, you shouldn’t have.” Carina and Anthony spoke at the same time.

  Tony held up his arms. “Sue me. I wanted to make your son happy. I do hope to see you before you leave.”

  She placed her arm around her son’s back. “I’m sure you will.” The two of them headed off toward the east side of the exhibit floor.

  Two hours later, exhaustion had settled in. Carina and Anthony were taking a break on the upper level, chatting about all the exciting things that had happened today.

  “This is the best day ever.” Anthony leaned against the railing overlooking the stairwell.

  “Even better than winning the tickets?” she teased.

  “Of course. That was great, but winning set all of today in motion. Now I can say I had lunch with Tony Steele. I have two signed pieces of work, and he designed his new SEAL character after my mom.”

  Carina ducked her head. She wasn’t so sure she looked as kick butt as the female SEAL member, but it was sweet he had remembered her so fondly.

  The sound of metal grating against metal startled her from her musings. She glanced over at her son just as the railing pulled away from its support. He flailed and grabbed onto a piece of twisted railing. Carina threw herself belly down and reached for him.

  “Anthony! Someone help!” She glanced around, hoping to see someone who could help.

  “Mom. I’m slipping!”

  “Oh my God!” She grasped thin air as her son plummeted to the level below. She bolted down the stairs, shoving past people staring down.

  Screams echoed throughout the hall. Loud sobs and voices penetrated the chaos.

  In mere moments, Carina reached her son who looked like a broken doll among the railing debris. He was breathing, however, a large puddle of blood pooled under him. A security guard approached her while others kept the growing audience away.

  “Ma’am, an ambulance is on the way. Move over by his head and talk to him while I assess his injuries. We need to stop his bleeding.”

  She stared up at a large blond man in uniform with a first aid kit. “Can you help?” She wasn’t thinking clearly, but her brain was like a computer with too many tabs open.

  “I have first aid training. Please do as I say. Is there anyone else here we can call for you?”

  “Please ask Tony Steele at the Dark Dreams Comics’ booth to come.” She crawled to her son’s head and pressed a light kiss on his forehead. “Mommy’s here. We’ll get you help.”

  The guard relayed her instructions to another guard and examined her son’s injuries. Tony was on his way. She needed him. His son needed him.

  “The blood appears to be coming from this open fracture on his arm. We need to apply pressure.” The guard withdrew a pad from the kit and placed it on the area around the bone with one hand underneath the arm to support it. “I’m sure this hurts. I’m trying to be gentle.”

  Sirens reached her ears. The ambulance is almost here. They’ll help him.

  “Let me through!”

  Carina released a breath. Tony was here. She looked up as he pushed his way through the crowd. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “What happened?”

  “One minute, he was leaning on the railing…” Her voice caught. Tears filled her eyes.

  “Did the railing give way?”

  Carina nodded. “I couldn’t save him. I tried. I reached for him and tried to grab him.” She turned into his chest and sobbed.

  Tony rubbed her back and held her. “I’m here. Anthony’s a strong kid. He’ll get through it.”

  Carina wiped at her cheeks then leaned over and kissed her son once again.

  Guards hollered to the spectators to move away. The ambulance had arrived. Two men pushing a wheeled gurney came through the parted crowd. The guard who’d been doing first aid stepped back and spoke in quiet tones with one of the EMTs.

  The paramedics moved efficiently, wrapping Anthony’s neck in a brace and moving him to a backboard and onto the gurney. “Are you his parents?” the second paramedic asked.

  Carina nodded.

  “Yes.” Tony helped her stand, keeping his arm around her waist. With his pronouncement, she gasped, but didn’t—couldn’t—counter his words.

  “We have room for one person to ride in the back with the boy. The other can follow us. We’re heading up the road to Mercy Medical Center.”

  Tony shoved Carina toward her son. “You ride. I’ll follow.” Before she could turn and leave, he tugged her toward him and kissed her lips gently.

  Carina ran her fingertip over her bottom lip. Why had he kissed her? Focused on Anthony, she raced after the gurney and climbed into the back of the ambulance. Taking her son’s hand in her own, she gave him a squeeze and began a conversation with God.

  Chapter Ten

  Tony sped into the hospital parking lot and whipped into a spot. Leaping from the vehicle, he ran toward the ER doors. Chaos rang in his ears. Nurses wearing blue uniforms and medical personnel wheeling gurneys caught his gaze. He searched for Carina or Anthony then stormed to the triage desk and addressed the middle-aged male nurse there.

  “I’m here for Anthony Cane. He arrived by ambulance just a little bit ago.” The lie he’d told the guard slid from his lips. “I’m his father.”

  “Yes. He’s in room 4 in the curtained area. Your wife is there with him. You can go on back.” The nurse pointed the way.

  Tony couldn’t catch his breath. He’d seen his comrades hurt overseas, but an injured child struck a chord in him. Especially a child who could have been his. He worried about how Carina was holding up. It must be very difficult to see your child hurting.

  He strode toward the room with the sounds of machines ringing in his ears. Poking his head in, he saw Anthony lying on the bed, hooked up to machines, while his mother sat on a chair, holding his hand.

  “Carina. How is he doing?” He slid through the curtains and placed his hand on her shoulder.

  She glanced up at him and flashed a small smile. “He’s better. The machines are monitoring his blood pressure and heart rate. The doctor was in just a little bit ago. He’s ordering the portable X-ray machine brought in so they can examine Anthony’s abdomen for any injuries before they take him back for surgery.”

  How tired Carina sounded, her voice a whisper, as if speaking of things could make them worse. “I’m here, now. Do you want me to get you some soda? Coffee?”

  She shook her head. “No. Thanks. Maybe later.” She stood and brushed a stray curl off her son’s forehead. “He looks so…so white and pale.” Placing a kiss on her son’s cheek, she turned and faced Tony.

  He longed to take her into his arms and ease the fear from her eyes. He wished in this case he could work a miracle. The railing giving way was a crazy accident. They
were lucky more people hadn’t been hurt. However, the one he cared about was hurting the most.

  A nurse entered the cubicle with a machine resembling a small crane on wheels. “I’m here for the abdominal X-ray. If you both could step outside, we will get this done and then the doctor can talk to you about the boy’s medical care.” She faced Carina, and her brisk manner softened. “I’ll come get you just as soon as I finish so you can come back in.”

  Tony sat in the next chair and wrapped his arm around Carina’s shoulders and navigated her toward the waiting area where she collapsed into a molded plastic chair and buried her head in her hands.

  Tony rubbed her back while she cried. “We’ll get him whatever he needs. If the doctor isn’t able to help, we can take Anthony to another hospital. I’ll do anything.”

  As her tears subsided, he lifted her chin and ran his fingers under her eyes, drying the tears. Then he brushed her hair back. “I mean it. I’ll do anything for Anthony. Do you want me to call his father? Should I arrange for anyone to come be with you?”

  “No,” she whispered. “I have to tell you something. Promise me you’ll listen to everything before you get mad.”

  Tony took a deep breath. What could she tell him? She’d been avoiding discussing Anthony’s father at lunch. Maybe he went to jail or abused her. His mind raced through what she might tell him. Nothing could be as bad as she made it sound.

  “I promise. I’ll listen.” He reached over, picked up her hand, and held it.

  “When we dated, I believed the sun and moon rose for you. Each day, seeing you and spending time with you was a blessing. I knew you didn’t have much money, but the picnics and strolls around town were the perfect date. Seeing you being treated like an animal by your foster parents broke my heart. I wanted to report them for child abuse. You and I fought about that a lot. It was all we ever fought about.”

  He nodded and squeezed her hand, urging her to continue.

  “One evening I made apple pie for your birthday and wanted to bring it over.” Carina paused. “I had big news to share.”

  Tony studied her expression. She always let her feelings show. She couldn’t help it. She loved with everything inside her. “I don’t remember you bringing a pie over. Apple was my favorite. I would remember.”

  “I came around the back of your house and caught sight of your foster father, Mr. Prescott, swinging his leather belt, smacking you along your back and legs. The red welts already crisscrossed your shoulders. The man was a demon, so I ran home and told my mom. Together, we called the authorities. What that man was doing was wrong. So wrong. Even if you had done something bad like lied or hit your sister, it shouldn’t have resulted in a beating.”

  Tony had spent the two weeks before that running errands and doing chores for the older neighbor lady who couldn’t get around well. She’d paid him for his help. But Mr. Prescott thought he’d stolen the money and took the coin out of his hide. When he couldn’t break Tony from his story, he’d left him to lie outside that night. The next morning, Child Protective Services had come to take him away. It was the last time he’d seen not only Lane, but Carina.

  Tears slid down her cheeks. “It was my fault you went away.”

  He grabbed a tissue from the box on the table next to him and passed it to her. “Now it makes sense. I didn’t know how Child Services learned about the abuse. They sent me to a wonderful family who set me on the path to the military. If you are worried I blame you for getting me out of the horrible situation, I don’t.”

  Tony leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. “You saved me. I’m sure I would have murdered him had he laid a hand on me again.”

  Carina leapt to her feet and placed her hands on her hips, waves of anger radiating from her body.

  “Why are you angry?”

  “I told you to listen until the end.” She flopped back into the chair. “When you left, I was pregnant.”

  His chest hurt. Get the license of the truck that ran me over. “Pregnant?”

  She nodded. “I’d missed two periods but hadn’t told anyone. It was supposed to be your birthday surprise, but when you left…”

  “What happened? Did you have the baby?” He choked out the words. He’d always been the one in control. Now, he was losing it in the waiting room of the hospital.

  “Let me finish and then you can decide what you want to do.”

  Elbows resting on his knees, he held his head between his hands. “Go on.”

  “After you left with the Child Services people, I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t find out where you went or how to get ahold of you. Your foster father frightened me, but I found one of the other foster kids living there in the park one day crying over you. She told me she missed you and you’d gone away for good. We had a lot in common. I’d asked her to see if she could find out what happened, but after two weeks with no word, I knew I needed to tell my parents about the baby.”

  “The girl must have been Lane. She’s here in Baltimore. Lives here now and has a family.”

  “My parents were super supportive. They tried to help me find you. But because you were underage and a child, the records were sealed.” She placed her hands on both sides of Tony’s face and held his gaze. “You have to know I searched for you. I looked for years. Then, a friend of a friend told me you’d joined the military and shipped out. It was the last I heard.”

  Tony wrapped his hands around hers then tugged her down into his lap. “I’m sorry you went through that alone. But you haven’t told me about the baby. Did you keep it?”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Cane. Your son is awake and asking for you.” The nurse called out from the curtained rooms.

  “Anthony is your son.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Carina stood, hoping to escape Tony’s gaze a moment longer. She’d come clean. He could do with it what he wanted. She needed to get back to her son. She’d taken two steps when she heard Tony’s voice.

  “Wait.” He came to stand behind her with his hand on her shoulder. “Anthony is my son?”

  “Can’t we talk about this later? Didn’t you hear the nurse? He’s awake.” She struggled between wanting to settle things and getting to her son.

  “He doesn’t know I’m his father, does he?” Each word clipped and short.

  “No. I told him his father was in the military and sort of left it at that. He assumes we had some fight and his father chose to stay away.”

  “Had I known—” The anger raised his voice above the quiet conversations around them.

  She turned toward him. “I tried to find you. For years, I’ve looked and searched. Placed ads in the local papers, posted information online. No one could tell me what happened after you enlisted.” She gritted her teeth. “For all I knew, you could have died overseas.” She pointed her finger at him. “The Prescotts’ foster care was disbanded the year Anthony was born. Mr. Prescott ended up in jail. All my leads went nowhere. It was like looking for a ghost.” She spun back around and headed toward her son. “I’m going to see Anthony. You’re welcome to come.”

  ***

  Tony wanted to follow Carina into the back, but he was too angry. Screaming at Anthony’s mother in front of him wouldn’t do either of them any good. Pacing back and forth in the waiting area, Tony tried to burn off some energy. He needed to push past his anger. He wished he’d known about Carina’s pregnancy before that night.

  The feeling of the belt hitting his back. The loud smack of leather against skin. The sharp pain followed by the slow burn. Caught up in the memory of the abuse, Tony slipped down into the nearest chair.

  He’d hated his foster father all his life. The man treated him worse than dog crap. He almost never fed him and worked him harder than a slave. Desperate to prove himself worthy, Tony excelled at school. He worked hard and maintained good grades. He dreamed of the chance to go to college and become a doctor so he could help other children in need. The evil man had taken Tony’s dreams and crushed them. He broke hi
s desire to get ahead. By the third year living with the Prescotts, Tony’s grades had plummeted, and he’d lost any chance at earning a scholarship to college.

  Today, Tony realized one more thing Mr. Prescott had cost him…twelve years with his child.

  ***

  Carina ducked back into the exam room. Anthony’s blue eyes widened when he saw her.

  “Hi, baby. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. The doctor ordered an X-ray.” She brushed a hand over his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

  Anthony tried to sit up, but the pressure on his wrist sent him collapsing against the bed. “It hurts. My arm, my head, my legs. It all hurts.”

  Carina stood and fluffed the pillow behind his head. “I’m sure the doctor will give us an update soon.” She stopped and stared at her son. Tony hadn’t followed her into the room, but she knew he’d be in soon. After all, it’s what she would have done. Tony would want to see for himself how Anthony was feeling.

  Taking a couple of steps around the foot of the bed, Carina nibbled her fingernails as she contemplated what to do. Should I tell him now? Can I wait? Should I wait?

  “Mom, it’s bad news, isn’t it?” Anthony choked out his question. “Am I going to die?” Tears filled his eyes.

  She glanced at her son. “No, honey.” She ran to the side of the bed and sat on the edge. “The doctor isn’t in here right now because he has worse patients to care for. You won’t die.” She took a deep breath. “But there’s something else I need to tell you.”

  She cleared her throat and patted his leg. “Remember how I was surprised to see Tony today?”

  Anthony nodded.

  “He was someone I knew a long time ago. In fact, we dated in school. Tony lived down the street from Grandma and Grandpa’s house, with his foster family. The father was irrational. He would beat Anthony and lock him in his room without supper if he thought Tony had done something wrong.”