by Bo Reid
Sol answers the phone, and it's almost funny how confused he sounds. “Uh, hello?” he says into the phone.
“Sol, it’s Hart.”
“Whose phone is this? Did you forget to charge your phone again?” he asks, and I can hear the exasperation in his tone. So maybe I occasionally forget to charge my phone. Mom brain is a valid excuse.
“Uhh, one of the very nice firemen that’s about to use the Jaws of Life to cut my car up let me use his.”
“WHAT?” he yells into the phone so loud that I have to pull it away from my ear to keep from going deaf. “Are you okay? Where is Brooks? Where are you? I’m leaving now. Where do I go?” he panics.
“Sol take a chill pill. I’m on the side of Highway 15. We were on our way back from the doctor when we got hit by a truck. Brooks is being looked over and taken care of by a friend. My leg is stuck, but I’m okay. Will you please meet us at the hospital in Cypress County so you can take Brooks home? They’re probably going to make me go to the hospital,” I explain, and I hear Sol let out a breath.
“I’m on my way,” he says and hangs up.
The fireman appears by my side with the female EMT. “Thank you,” I tell him as I hand back his phone.
“Officer Jacobs said it’s okay for Kasen to stay with your son. We need to get going, and Jacobs is going to ride with us as well. I just need you to sign these forms saying you give permission for Kasen Kingston to stay with your son. Do you have family to meet you at the hospital?” she asks, handing over the forms and a pen.
“Yes, my brother is going to meet us there, but he will be a while,” I explain, handing back the papers.
“Okay, Kasen will be able to stay with Brooks until your brother gets there. Is your brother an emergency contact?” she asks, and I nod.
I watch her walk back to the ambulance and explain the situation to Kasen. I throw up a little wave to him and I catch the briefest of smiles. God, I hope that was the right call.
The ambulance drives away with my baby, medical personnel, a sheriff, and a convict; each of them a stranger to me and my son. I swallow down the panic in my throat, taking a deep breath before letting it back out. It will be okay. Brooks liked Kasen, and babies have great intuition.
It takes about forty minutes to cut my car up enough for me to get free from the wreck. A second ambulance pulls up just as the firemen lift me from the car and put me on a stretcher.
The ride to the hospital is painful. The one thing about being stuck inside the car was that I couldn't move my leg. Being jostled around slightly on this ride is making everything hurt ten times more than it already did.
“Can I see my son?” is the first thing I ask as the ER doctors take over when we get to the hospital.
“We need to get you looked over first. You won’t be any good to him if you’re hurt,” the doctor explains, and I reluctantly agree. It’s not like I really have any other choice here.
I’m wheeled around to the X-Ray department and checked over for various injuries. Apparently, I’m lucky. I get to walk, well maybe hobble, away with major bruising, but other than that no fractured bones.
When I finally am brought in to see Brooks, Officer Jacobs is standing outside of the nursery room. “Thank you for letting him stay,” I tell him.
“Who am I to argue with a mother?” he says and smiles at me as I’m wheeled into the small nursery room.
I see Kasen cradling Brooks to his chest and rocking him back and forth in the rocking chair. He might even be lightly humming. I pause for a moment to listen. Yeah, he is definitely humming what sounds like Springsteen by Eric Church. A man after my own heart.
“Damn, you’re magical,” I whisper when I see Brooks close his sleepy eyes.
Kasen turns to me and smirks. “I’ve never held a baby before,” he whispers like it’s some huge secret.
“Well, you’re doing a damn fine job,” I tell him.
I wheel my chair over to Kasen, I can walk just fine, maybe with a slight limp, but they insist I stay in the chair till I’m discharged. He passes Brooks to me, careful to make sure he doesn't wake up. I hold him close to my chest, I didn't realize just how hard it would be for me to be away from him
I turn at the sound of a light knock on the door, and Officer Jacobs peers into the room. “I have a Sol Montgomery here,” he says.
“He can come in,” I tell him, and wave my hand.
Sol runs over when he sees me, “Hart, are you okay?” Sol asks.
“I’m fine,” I tell him. I push his hands away as he checks me over for injuries. He looks over at Kasen in his prison jumpsuit and gives me the eye.
“Sol, this is my new friend, Kasen. He’s been taking care of Brooks for me,” I tell him. Kasen offer a hand to Sol, who reluctantly shakes it.
“Sol can you take Brooks for me?” I ask and he nods, and carefully I pass Brooks over to Sol, trying not to wake him, but of course he starts to stir awake.
“When are you going to get let out?” Sol asks.
“They’re bringing me the discharge papers any minute now, at least that's what they said.”
“Want me to stay?” he asks.
“No, take Brooks home, please. I already signed his discharge papers,” I explain.
Sol bends down and kisses the top of my head. “I’ll call Ace and have him come and get you, he’s nearby for a delivery anyways,” he says, before turning on his heel and leaving the room.
“Make sure his chest buckle is on his fucking chest, Sol,” I whisper-yell.
“I know! We go through this every time, Hart. I can buckle him in!” he whisper-yells at me over his shoulder as he walks down the hallway. I can see him whisper something to Brooks and I just know it has something to do with his “pain in the ass mother.”
I grab Kasen’s hand and he turns to look at where I am touching him, then at my face. “Thank you, Kasen, truly. You have been amazing.” He blushes and gives my hand a small squeeze.
“Glad I was able to help. I’m glad his dad was able to come get him,” he says as he looks down and rocks back on his feet. I cock my head to the side.
“Dad? Oh, Sol? No, he’s my brother,” I tell Kasen, shaking my head and laughing.
Sol and I might not look exactly alike; he has blond hair, light brown eyes, and fair skin, taking after our mother. I have dark hair, tan skin, dark blue eyes, and take after our father, but we do look enough alike side by side to pass for the siblings we are.
“Inmate Kingston, I got to get you back. You’ve already been out too long. Let’s go,” Officer Jacobs says. He slaps Kasen on the back and tips his hat to me.
“Bye, Hart,” Kasen says.
“Bye, Kasen,” I reply. I watch as they walk down the hall and can hear the gruff mumbles of male voices followed by light laughter. I think I made the right choice after all.
After a while I manage to roll myself around the hospital to find the nurses station and ask for my discharge papers. She hands me a stack of papers to sign. Along with a few at home care instructions, and signs to watch out for over the next few days for myself. I add my vast stack of papers to the ones I was already given for Brooks and push myself out of the wheelchair.
I hobble down the hallway and out of the front doors of the hospital. Finding a shady spot under a tree, I sit and wait for Ace.
I see an officer pulling up in front of the hospital and as he walks past me, he does a double take. “Hartley Montgomery?” he asks.
“That’s me,” I say.
“I just need to get your statement about the accident. Glad I caught you. Looks like you’re about ready to take off,” he says, walking over to me and taking a seat on the bench
“Yup, just waiting on my ride.”
He nods and gets out his report pad. I tell him my side of the accident - even about glancing down to change the radio station; not sure if that is important or not. When we’re all finished up, I see Ace pulling into a parking spot.
“That's my guy.” I nod t
o the far corner of the lot. The officer reaches his hand out and helps me to my feet.
“Have a good rest of your day, ma’am,” he says, tipping his hat to me.
“Oh wait!” I say, reaching out to touch his arm.
“Yes?”
“Do you know how I can get in touch with the inmate that helped me today?” I ask, causing his eyebrows to pinch together in confusion. He even looks over to Ace as he walks across the parking lot.
I must seem like some silly girl hell bent on helping convicts. That's okay. He can think what he wants to. Kasen deserves a proper thank you. He did more than he needed to do - far more than I’m sure anyone would expect of the average person. I just want him to know his actions were appreciated.
Chapter 2: Yellow Rose
Kasen
It’s been two weeks since the accident on Highway 15. Two weeks since I met Hartley and Brooks Montgomery. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the young mom and her son. She couldn’t have been much older than me, but our lives obviously took vastly different turns.
Hers into motherhood, mine into prison.
Yet, even on the side of the highway wearing a prison jumpsuit, she trusted me to care for her baby. She was calm even while pinned inside her vehicle. As soon as I got Brooks out she relaxed, almost like it didn’t matter what happened to her as long as her baby was safe.
She was beyond beautiful too, with her brown hair tied up in a messy bun, dark blue eyes, and kind smile. She’s the type of woman I’d love to be with, but I’ll never see her again.
I’ve got three and a half more months in this cement hell. After that, I’ll hopefully be a free man with no money, no family, and no job. That’s if they even decide to parole me. Letting out a deep breath, I take a moment to believe I’m going to get out and when I do, I’m going to make it. I won’t end up back here.
“Inmate Kingston, you have a visitor.”
I sit up from my bed and look at the guard standing at the open door to my cell. I haven’t had a visitor other than my court appointed lawyer in the three years I’ve been here. Who the fuck could it be?
Walking towards the door, the guard motions for me to head down the hall to the visiting area, a place I’ve never been.
“Do you know who’s here?” I ask. He doesn’t respond, typical.
When we enter the visiting area, I scan the faces until my gaze settles on a familiar head of brown hair. Actually, two familiar heads. When Hartley turns to face me, cradling Brooks in her arms, she smiles at me and gives a small wave. I smile and make my way over to her.
“Hey,” I say and sit across from her.
“Hey, we wanted to come by and thank you again for everything you did. We would've come earlier, but it was kind of a pain in the ass to get approved for visitation,” she says.
“How are you feeling?” I ask her and reach my hand across the table to Brooks. He latches onto my finger and gives it a big squeeze making me smile.
“My leg is still a little sore, but I’ll live,” she says with a light laugh as she cradles Brooks in her arm. He starts fussing a bit but doesn’t let go of my hand.
“Do you want to hold him? I think he missed his friend the past two weeks.” I look at her and give a sad smile.
“Are you sure?” I ask, and she nods, passing the little dude over to me. He rests his head on my shoulder as I gently pat his back. I could get used to this baby thing.
“You’re a natural,” Hartley says smiling at me.
I shrug. “Maybe Brooks is just a good baby,” I tell her. “It’s nice to have a visitor,” I remark while absentmindedly running my hand down Brooks’ back.
“You don’t get many visitors?” she asks, as her eyebrows knit together in confusion.
“You’re the first.”
“Your first visitor?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“How long have you been here?” she asks quietly. I look at her, suddenly worried she’s going to leave.
She doesn’t know why I’m here? When she finds out, I’ll never see her again, but I won’t lie, not to her. She deserves the truth.
“Three years,” I say.
“When do you get out?” she asks first.
“Three and a half more months until my parole hearing,” I say it like that because there’s really no guarantee that I’ll get out then.
“What were you convicted of?”
I let out a deep breath, taking a small moment to myself before I give her an answer.
“Murder,” I say and hang my head in shame. It’s not that I actually murdered someone. I’ve never taken a life. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. I just happened to be another casualty but in a different way. After all, timing is everything.
“I have a confession to make.”
When I look up, her eyes are sad. I know she’s going to tell me she won’t be seeing or speaking to me again. She chews on her bottom lip for a moment.
“I, um, I already knew all that.”
For a moment I just stare at her. She mistakes my confusion for something else though.
“I’m sorry. Should we not have come?” She’s looking down at the floor now.
Seeing her sad snaps something inside me. Something primal roars through me, thrashing to be let out of its cage. It’s the same feeling I had in my chest when I saw her stuck in that car; knowing I couldn’t be the one to save her then. It’s like my inner caveman comes out and wants to protect her from anything bad.
She’s not mine to protect, but, fuck, I wish she was.
“I’m glad you came,” I tell her honestly. “I’ve been worried about you guys. I wanted to reach out, but I had no idea how or if you would even care to hear from me.”
She looks at me and her smile is back.
“I can leave my number in case you want to check in on us sometime,” she offers, her smile a little shy and hopeful.
“I would like that.” I brush my hand on the back of Brooks’ head and look down at him. I swear he smiles at me. I’m not sure when babies actually start to smile, but I’m going to count it just in case.
“What did you mean you already knew what I was in here for? If you know I’m here for a murder charge, why would you come here?” I ask. She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and starts to chew on it like she’s uncomfortable or nervous.
“Well, at first I called the sheriff and asked for Officer Jacobs. I figured he would know how to get me approved for a visit. Which he did, but he felt obligated to remind me you had charges. So, after he did, I tried to look you up online and see what those charges were. When I saw the murder charge I got a little nervous, but nothing online that I could find told me anything about your crime. Just what the conviction was. So I went to the county courthouse and got your file,” she says, looking over at me.
“It’s public record. I didn’t do anything shady to get it,” she explains quickly.
I smirk at her and fight back the chuckle in my chest. She’s fucking adorable, all flustered over reading my public file like I’ll be mad. Looking at her across from me, I’m not sure I could ever be mad at her, and that’s a scary thought.
“So anyways, I read it. Well, not everything… But I got the gist of it. When I read your actual involvement, which was essentially nothing, on top of the fact that you get let out for work release, my own gut instinct and the fact that you’re only the second person not blood related that Brooks actually likes, I figured you were safe,” she rushes. “Are you mad?”
“I’m not sure I could ever be mad at you, but, no, I’m honestly not mad. I think it would upset me more to think you would come to a place like this without all the facts first. So, I’m actually happy you did your homework, and even happier that after you did, you still came here.”
“Kasen Kingston, I think you and I are going to be great friends,” she says.
“TIMES UP!” the guard yells into the room.
“That’s my cue,” I tell
her and stand up. Hartley follows my lead and I carefully pass Brooks over to her.
She wraps one arm around me and I can’t help but pull her in for a hug. “Okay, thanks for seeing us,” she says.
“Thanks for coming.” I turn, giving her and Brooks a slight wave over my shoulder. As I walk back to my cell, I can feel the smile pulling at my face and the warmth spreading across my chest.
Hartley Montgomery is better than I ever could have imagined her.
An hour after Hartley’s visit, one of the guards drops off a scrap of paper for me. It has a small heart scribbled on it and a phone number I don’t recognize.
I shake my head and grin.
Hartley Montgomery.
Chapter 3: Sunflower
Hartley
“How did the visit go?” Sol asks the following Monday when I get to work.
“It was good.”
“Was he mad when he learned you snooped into his life?”
“Okay, first of all, I didn’t snoop. That file was public record. You make it sound like I paid off a cop to get the file. All I did was walk into the courthouse and request it. Secondly, no, he wasn’t mad. He was actually happy that I did my research before going into the prison. So there,” I say, before sticking my tongue out.
He rolls his eyes.
I shrug my shoulders. “Did he do any research on you?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask, and he didn’t say anything. It was a short visit.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. Like I said, it was a short visit.”
“Do you think he’ll be mad when he finds out? Because we both know you’re not going to tell him.”
“Fuck, Sol, what’s with this third degree? I’m not on trial here. I’m not required to tell him anything I don’t want to tell him. Get off my back!” I yell throwing my hands up, exasperated and beyond done with this conversation. Sol just rolls his eyes at me again.
“Yeah, whatever, Hart. Just try to remember it’s not just your life you’re dealing with here. Be careful who you bring into Brooks’ life.”
