by T. K. Chapin
Brian turned back to me and asked, “You holding up, okay? We miss you down at the station.”
“Yeah. I’m okay. I’m missing work… but it’s good to get family time in and whatnot.”
“Well, hope to see you soon.”
“You will,” I replied, smiling.
Brian left and headed down the apartment stairs.
“I better get going to the station too,” Cole said.
“Yeah. What’s a shift without its Captain?” I said nudging him with my shoulder.
Cole grinned. He began leaving, but stopped and turned to me. “Hey, I heard you apologized to Foster.”
“Sure did. And not just because you told me I should… I really believe God softened my heart when I saw him at a restaurant. I wanted to make things right with the guy.”
“Well, it worked. He adjusted his report enough to let you off the hook. I think he knew you were just protecting Gomer. He was just mad.” Cole patted my shoulder. “That was big of you to apologize to him.”
“Thanks.”
“I know you don’t usually like to say you're sorry about these kind of things. Pretty mature, McCormick,” He said smiling, as if he were talking to a child.
“Okay,” I replied, laughing. “Enough!” I said, raising my hands.
He laughed. Glancing behind me at the coffee table where the vital record papers were, Cole asked, “Are you still going to contest the will?”
“I don’t know if I can…” I replied.
“You can. When my father passed away, my brother was upset about not getting his inheritance. He contested it and won a pretty good chunk of the estate. My dad had cut him out because he wasn’t happy with his sinful lifestyle.”
“Really?” I replied.
“Yep. Technically, you have every right. I would do it. She cut you both out, so something doesn’t seem right,” Cole said.
“Yeah,” I replied. “But what if there is more to the story? My mom wasn’t ever careless with her decisions.”
“How are you going to figure that out?” Cole asked.
“I think I’m going to go see him.” I went over to the kitchen table and grabbed my phone and the new will that had Timothy’s address on it. I also grabbed the vital record papers off the coffee table and shoved it into the envelope and headed out the door.
As I began to lock my apartment door, Cole asked, “You sure you’re ready for this kind of thing? You don’t know what kind of guy you are dealing with.”
I locked the door and turned to him. I put my shades down over my eyes. “I can handle it.”
“What about Emily?” Cole said.
“I’m going to go talk to her right now.”
At Emily’s, I turned off my car and hurried up to her front door. The door was unlocked, so I let myself in.
“Emily?” I hollered walking inside.
“Kane?” she said, coming out of her bedroom and down the hallway. Her eyes were swollen.
Coming up to her, I put my hands on her arms. “You alright? What’s wrong?” I asked.
She shook her head and looked down. “I’m just upset about Mom…”
“Why didn’t you call me?” I asked.
She shrugged as she dropped her eyes onto my chest. “I didn’t feel like I could be sad anymore…. The funeral was over and…”
“It’s okay,” I interrupted her, putting my arms around her. She must have spotted the envelope in my hand, because she pulled back soon after I began to hug her.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Here,” I said, handing it to her.
We sat down on the couch. As she pulled out the papers, I reached down and petted Roofus as he lay next to my feet. She dropped the paper into her lap and said, “Now what? We can’t contest it?”
I said, “We can… but he’s our brother.”
She laughed. “Hardly. Sure, maybe because mom got knocked up as a teenager. But that makes him a brother by DNA, only.”
I was confused by the harshness she was showing. “Aren’t you a little surprised to have a brother? It’s even from our dad!”
“No. I’m a little mad at her, actually.” Emily shook her head. “Do you know how many lectures she gave me about how boys were bad? How many times she scolded me because of my boyfriends? She treated me like trash during some of my teenage years.”
I sat back. “I think it was probably because she knew how it felt to give up a child… don’t you?”
Emily sighed. “Maybe. But regardless, I’m contesting the will. I already phoned my lawyer last night and left a voicemail.”
“On your own? How? I thought you were broke?”
“I’ll take out a second mortgage on this house to get what’s mine, if I have to!”
“Ems…” I said, softly.
“What? Seriously? Maybe it’s because you didn’t actually spend any money on Mom’s funeral, but I spent a ton.”
“How much?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t even want to say it.”
“How much, Ems?”
“$10,000…” she said.
“Wow.”
“Yeah. I need to recoup that cost. I make good money, but my student loans are killing me.” She paused for a moment before becoming more distraught. “Which I could have paid off with that money! He’s a snake for coming in like this and swooping it all up from under us!”
“You’re not money hungry, Emily,” I said, sternly.
“I know… but she was our mom. He can’t do this.” She stopped and looked at me. “What’s your plan? Just let him keep it all?”
“No. I’m going to go see him.”
“What? Where is he?” she asked.
“He’s in the Tri-Cities. The will the lawyer provided us had his address on it.”
“And you're going to drive two hours away to meet this guy?”
“Yeah, I want to see what he’s all about. Mom was a smart lady. There’s got to be more to this than we are seeing.”
“Yeah. I thought she was smart until all this happened.”
Shaking my head, I said, “Ems… Don’t let this change your mind about who Mom was. She was still a good person.”
She laughed. “Okay. Good luck with your adventure. I’m still going to contest it.”
I stood up from the couch. “I’ll let you know what I find out.” Looking around, I asked, “Where’s Christopher?”
She smiled and said, “He’s at another LAN party.”
I grinned. “You let him go?”
She nodded. “I’m off work right now, and all the parents are more than willing to help with rides once I go back. I think you were right about it being good for him.”
I nodded. “He’s at a crucial age right now… Hanging with the wrong group can mess him up for life.”
“I know. He found out that Kegan kid he was hanging out with got busted for possession and driving without a license. That happened the same night you picked him up.”
I felt chills run through my body. “See… That’s a God thing right there.”
She nodded. “Quite a coincidence to say the least.”
Heading for the front door, I said, “I love you. Think about waiting on contesting the will. I’ll keep you updated.”
She smiled. “I love you too. I’ll think about it.”
CHAPTER 15
Stopping at my apartment, I packed an overnight bag for my trip and a few extra sets of clothes. I didn’t know how long I’d be down there, but I knew I didn’t want to be forced to come back too quickly.
As I pulled up to the exit of my apartment complex, I saw a truck coming down the road too quickly. I stopped and waited for him to pass. While I was waiting, my phone rang. I looked over and reached for it. I wondered, who could that be…
Smash!
The truck smashed into the front driver side of my car, sending my car spinning into the street. The little island girl I had sitting up on the dashboard went flying in slow motion ac
ross my line of sight as I tried to yank on the steering wheel in some attempt to gain control. My head slammed against the window, and my car came to a sudden stop.
My car horn was blaring as I reached up and felt blood running down the side of my temple. I opened my car door and stumbled out into the road.
Dear God, please let the other driver be okay. Amen.
Scrambling across the road, I made my way over to the truck. Leaning on the truck for support, I came around the back as I stumbled and grabbed onto my hurting side. Once I got to the driver’s door, I reached for the handle and tumbled to the pavement at the pain in my side. People came out from neighboring complexes to see what all the commotion was about.
“Sir!” a woman shouted as she approached.
Looking at her, I pointed to the truck behind me and said, “Make sure he’s okay!”
“But you’re bleeding!” she shouted.
“Don’t worry about me!” I retorted as I felt a pain rip through my torso. Folding into myself, I fell over onto my side against the pavement. Another pain ripped through my side and I grabbed at it. Looking down, I saw more blood seeping through my clothing. “Ugh…” I cried out in pain.
Suddenly, Kristen appeared and bent toward me. “Kane?” she asked. “Can you hear me?”
I nodded quickly as I winced in pain. Sirens rang in the background as the pain grew more intense and then, darkness.
Coming alert in a hospital bed, I sat up. Looking over, I saw Kristen asleep in a chair. Dangling my feet over the side of my bed, I began ripping off the cords attached to me. An alarm sounded on one of the machines, startling Kristen awake.
“Sorry,” I said as I removed the I.V. from my arm and stood up.
“What on earth are you doing?” she asked, as she leaped up from the chair.
“I’m leaving,” I replied as I headed over to the closet and opened the door. “I don’t have time for this.”
“What do you mean, Kane? You were in an accident and had glass lodged into your side. You need to heal up.”
There was nothing in the closet. Turning to her, I asked, “Why were you even at the wreck?”
“I was driving by on the way home from the store and noticed your car.”
“Okay. Where are my clothes?”
“They were all bloodied and trashed. They threw them away. I got this bag from your car though.” She went over to the chair and grabbed the duffle bag. “I don’t think you can leave the hospital, though, Kane…”
Grabbing the duffle bag from her hand, I unzipped it and said, “Watch me.” I took the bag into the bathroom to change. As I was changing, I could feel pain shooting through my side. “Ahhh,” I moaned.
Kristen was on the other side of the bathroom door. “Yeah… that’s why you aren’t supposed to leave yet…”
I laughed. “Am I going to die if I leave?”
“I don’t think so. But I don’t think they want you-”
Someone came into the room. Freezing in place, I stood up as I had one leg into my pair of jeans. “Where’s Mr. McCormick at? It’s time for his round of pain killers.”
“I don’t need those,” I said loudly through the door as I continued getting dressed.
The woman knocked on the door and said, “You aren’t thinking about leaving, are you?”
I laughed. “No, I’m not thinking about it.” I finished getting my clothing on just then and opened the door. Looking at the nurse, I said, “I am leaving.”
“Mr. McCormick. We need to monitor you for…”
I left the room with the duffle bag over my shoulder with no shoes on, not waiting for her to finish her sentence. I had my eyes on the exit down the hallway. Another nurse came up to me when I passed the nurse's station.
“You can go, but we need you to sign this release form,” she said with annoyance. Walking with her over to the nurse's station, I signed my name on the paper and dropped the pen on the counter.
I turned and continued down the hall to leave. Kristen caught up to my side. “Are you crazy?” she asked, keeping my pace.
I looked over at her and said, “Maybe… Do you have my sunglasses?”
She shook her head and sighed as we came outside. It was already dark. “I don’t think you’ll need them…” she said.
“Well, the sun will come up tomorrow.” I laughed.
“I didn’t see them anywhere…” she replied, not amused.
“Okay. Where’d you put my car?” I asked, looking around the parking lot of the hospital. “Or whoever brought it up here.” She was remaining silent, so I looked over at her.
She frowned.
“No…” I said, fearing the worst.
She shrugged. “Sorry, Kane. It’s totaled.”
I threw the duffel bag across the sidewalk in frustration. “There’s no way! I saw the damage! It wasn’t that bad!”
She shook her head. “They said it was probably totaled.”
“Who?” I asked, approaching her.
“The tow company, Edmunds? I asked them about it…” Knowing the owner and all the guys who worked at Edmunds, I knew their word was reliable.
Stopping, I realized I hadn’t even thanked her for all she had done. She came with me to the hospital, grabbed my duffle bag and even asked the tow company about my ride. “Hey… Thanks for doing all you did for me. That was awfully nice of you…”
She nodded with her lips pursed together.
“Okay, no car,” I said quickly with a definitive tone. Looking around the parking lot and back towards the hospital, I said, “One question left on my mind… I don’t know where my sister is… or the guys from the fire station. You would think they would show up…”
“I wasn’t sure how you wanted it all handled… I didn’t call anyone.”
I nodded. “I’m actually glad you didn’t call anyone. They would have freaked out and stopped me from leaving. But I guess you're trying to stop me too.”
“I was a little concerned, but I didn’t stop you.”
“True,” I replied. Looking down the sidewalk, I began heading for my duffle bag on the ground.
Kristen followed behind me. “So, where were you going?”
I glanced over my shoulder at her. “Why do you think I was going somewhere?”
“The overnight bag. And you made it pretty clear you wanted out of the hospital in a hurry…”
I picked up the duffle bag and turned around to her. “I was going to see my brother in the Tri-Cities.”
Her eyes widened. “So, he is your brother?”
“Yep… But I don’t have a car now…”
“Why don’t I take you?” she asked.
I tilted my head a little. “Really? Don’t you have work?”
“I’m still on vacation, and Blake’s out of town with his grandparents—his father’s parents, in Moses Lake.”
I thought about it for a second and then shrugged. It could be an opportunity to learn a little more about her, and I had to go see this guy regardless. “Why not? Let’s do it,” I said.
She smiled. “Alright. My car is this way.”
Arriving in the Tri-Cities, we found a hotel in Kennewick. It was fairly close in proximity to the address we had for my brother. After getting checked in, we each headed for our separate rooms.
Sitting down on my hotel room’s bed, I pulled off my shirt and inspected my wounds. A couple good gashes in the chest and rib cage, but the worst was on the side. The side wound had a large bandage over it. Pulling it back, I glanced at the stitches. “Got me pretty good,” I said out loud to myself, covering the wound back up. Lying down on my bed, I scooted myself up to the pillow and rested my head on it.
Looking out the hotel room window, I saw the moon was full and beautiful. I thought of my mother and how she was not a resident of earth anymore, but at home in Heaven with Kyle. There was no way I was ever going to understand why she gave up Timothy when she was younger, but at least I still had the chance to meet him. Even though my c
ar was totaled, and the money from the will would have helped me more than ever, I still felt the desire to know more. I didn’t want to make a decision as to whether to fight him for the money without knowing him. There had to be some reason why my mother would leave everything to him, and I needed to figure that out.
Closing my eyes, I began to pray.
Thank you Lord for saving my life today. If it wasn’t for your protection, I could have died. I know my mom is doing better up there and tell her and Kyle I said ‘hi.’
I opened my eyes as I heard a sound come from the next room over where Kristen was. I smiled and closed my eyes again.
Thank you for having Kristen come with me on this journey. I don’t know what you want between us. But I hope your will be done in all matters. Help soften my sister’s heart and allow your love to break into her world. Help her find you Lord. Thank you for Christopher finding You and help him enjoy the company of fellow believers. I love you Jesus, Amen.
Adjusting my position in bed, I got under the covers and reached to turn off the light on the night stand. As I reached for the light, another surge of pain rushed through my side. The pain I was experiencing all over my body wasn’t comfortable, but it was tolerable. And regardless of it, I had a lot to be thankful for.
CHAPTER 16
After a restless night of sleep, I woke up before the sun rose and went on the hunt for coffee. Walking into the hotel lobby, I spotted a coffee pot and cups. Looking over at the lady behind the counter, I smiled and said, “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” she replied, smiling back at me.
I walked over and poured a cup. Taking a sip, I almost gagged at the taste of it. Glancing around the pot, I saw the bag with the coffee grounds they used. Arabic Blend, gross, I thought to myself. Turning around, I tossed the cup into the garbage and left the lobby.
Stepping onto the sidewalk outside the hotel grounds, I spotted a Starbucks up the road. Making my way there, I fought through the pain that gnawed at my side. I needed coffee more than I needed comfort. Walking inside the Starbucks, I was happy to see there was no line.
“I’ll take a Triple Venti White Chocolate Mocha Brava with no whipped cream.”
