23. Cora

23

CORA

C ora held her son close, trying to soothe his sadness over the lost memento of his father, as her own heartbeat slowly began to return to normal.

When Jared had burst in with Sylvester in his arms, fighting for air, she had been overwhelmed with terror. She had witnessed Sylvester have an asthma attack before. But his pale, frigid, wet form tonight was the most frightening thing she had ever seen.

Relief came with a blessed quickness on the heels of that fear the instant Sylvester began breathing normally again. But even that feeling had burned off quickly, like a heavy mist on a summer dawn, replaced with white-hot fury.

How dare Jared Webb take her son into the woods without permission and without his life-saving inhaler? How dare he try to apologize, as if words would carry any weight at all if his impulsive, dangerous actions had wound her boy up in the hospital tonight, or worse ?

Sylvester still clung to her, sobbing quietly.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling horribly guilty for focusing on her own feelings even for a moment. "I know you were scared. But this won't happen again, because now you know never to leave the house without your inhaler, even if a grown-up asks you to, okay?"

"But—" Sylvester began weakly.

"And Jared should have known better than to ask you leave with him before talking to me about it," she added. "This was his fault, not yours."

" No ," Sylvester said firmly.

Cora paused, surprised. Sylvester knew he could always talk to her and she would hear him out. As a result, she hadn't often heard him say no to her that way.

"It wasn't his fault," Sylvester told her miserably. "I snuck out when you were busy in the kitchen, and I told him you said I could see the fishing hole. I lied to him."

Cora blinked at him for a moment, gone from surprise to utter shock. Sylvester wasn't the kind of child who snuck out or told lies.

"I know you're mad at him because I got in trouble at school," he went on, his eyes cast downward. "I was afraid I would never see him again, and that I would never see the fishing hole."

Her soul felt like it was shattering. She had kept telling herself that she was doing what was best for Sylvester. But again and again he showed her that he missed the impulsive cowboy she was trying to lock out of her heart, and that Jared was important to him.

"It was really cool in the woods," Sylvester continued, perking up a little. "It's peaceful and pretty, and there's so much cool stuff to explore. If I'd had my inhaler I would have been fine, and I'm still okay now. I was just cold."

She was glad to see him bouncing back so quickly.

"When I grow up," he added, "I won't stay inside all the time."

Cora felt an odd sensation at his words, which reminded her of what Ginny had told her the other night.

Letting something new into your life comes with risks. And yes, it could all be taken away tomorrow. But that's not a reason to lock yourself up.

"He told me to stay close and to be careful," Sylvester continued. "But I got excited when I saw the big rock, and I ran ahead. And then I tripped a little and my keychain fell in…"

Sylvester melted into tears once more and the mention of the lost treasure, and Cora held him close, knowing he was thinking of his father.

"I miss your daddy too," she told him softly, pressing her palm gently to his chest. "But remember that he's right in here, so you don't need your keychain or anything else to remind you. He'll always be here."

There was a quick knock, and then the front door flew open before she had a chance to get up.

" Cora Davies, " a man called out as he stepped inside. He was wearing jeans and a flannel, but he carried a doctor's bag in his hand.

"Dr. Webb?" she guessed.

He was already moving for them, his shoulders slumping in relief as he took in the sight of Sylvester in her arms.

"I see you're feeling a little better, young man," he said, crouching down with a gentle smile. "You had a scare tonight, didn't you?"

Sylvester nodded.

"My brother called," Dr. Webb said. "I'd usually never miss a call, but I was checking in on a patient out by the old mill, and the service is spotty up that way. I came as fast as I could, but next time definitely call an ambulance if he doesn't respond to his inhaler."

"He did respond, Dr. Webb," Cora said. "Right away. But I think Jared called you before I even gave him a second pump."

"It's Kellan," the doctor said, sitting back on his heels. "And I'm not surprised. This little guy is probably Jared's favorite person in the world."

He gave Sylvester's shoulder a pat and Sylvester's face melted into a big smile.

"Why don't I give you a quick check-up while I'm here with my stuff?" Kellan offered.

"Okay," Sylvester told him.

Cora watched, lost in her own thoughts as the young doctor looked over her son. Too soon, he was packing up his bag and congratulating them both on a clean bill of health for Sylvester.

"Come see me anytime," Kellan said on his way out the door. "Or just call and I'll come running."

"We can see that," Cora said, finally feeling relaxed enough to smile. "Should we settle our bill now, or stop by the office tomorrow?"

"No need," Kellan said, waving her away.

"Oh, we couldn't," Cora said. "You came running out, after hours?— "

"Consider it a special welcome to town gift, then," he said in a tone that made it clear he wasn't going to change his mind.

"Thank you," she told him, amazed.

A moment later, he was heading for his car.

"Let's get you into a hot bath and into bed," she told Sylvester. "We can talk about everything once you're warmed up."

After the words from Sylvester, and then from Kellan, she felt bad about how she'd dismissed Jared. But what was done was done, and he wouldn't be coming back around anytime soon after that.