Page 7 of Luke (Rogue County Rangers #1)

Marie

It’s been a few days since Luke found the photo of his dad. I miss having him around. My mom tells me I don’t make smoothies as well as he does, which is completely true.

He gets like this every so often. There was a time where one day finding the monster who killed his father was the only thing that got him up in the morning.

Sometimes, we talked on the phone all night because he couldn’t stand the idea of sleeping.

He felt like he was wrong to sleep when that guy was still out there.

I had no idea it still bothered him this much.

The fourth morning without Luke, I finish making my mother her breakfast smoothie and make my way into her room to give it to her. She’s exhausted all the time, now. She usually only leaves her bed for a few hours in the late afternoon.

It’s worrying. She’s losing weight. Despite all of that, her doctors in Denver say she’s doing well. I just can’t wait until it’s over.

“Mom?” I knock on the door. No answer. She’s probably asleep.

I open the door a crack, just to make sure. She’s not in her bed. I let the door swing open. Her room is empty. The door to her bathroom is closed. I knock on that door but there’s no answer. I hear running water inside.

Panicking, I place the smoothie on the nightstand. I don’t set it down correctly and it topples over. The cream carpet turns purple as blended blueberry splatters everywhere, but I don’t care.

“Mom!” I shout. No answer.

Thankfully, the door isn’t locked. I open it slowly, terrified of hitting her by accident. Inside the bathroom, the tub is just about to spill over. The faucet is on full blast, sending wisps of thick steam up into the room.

My mother is on the floor in her nightgown. Her eyes are closed. She’s not moving.

I sprint to the kitchen where I left my phone and dial 911 with trembling hands. I don’t actually remember speaking to the dispatcher. My brain shuts off. Adrenaline and pure panic take over. My mouth does what it needs to do.

“An ambulance will arrive shortly, ma’am,” the dispatcher says. I snap back into my body.

“Thank you.” I hang up and call Luke.

“What’s up?” He answers. I start crying the second I hear his voice.

“Mom is unconscious. An ambulance is coming. I don’t know what to do,” I sputter through sobs.

“I’m on my way,” he says. “Try to stay calm. I’ll be there in ten minutes. The ambulance will probably get there before me. Call me back if you start to freak out.”

“I’m freaking out right now!” I cry. “Please, stay on the phone with me until the ambulance gets here.”

“Of course,” he says gently. “Want me to distract you?”

I make my way back into my mom’s bathroom and sit beside her. I’m scared to touch her but I want to feel for a pulse. I can’t believe I didn’t check to see if she was breathing before I called the ambulance.

The steady, but shallow, rise and fall of her chest is the best thing in the world. Through the phone, I hear Luke’s heavy breathing. I realize he’s running from wherever he is to get to me. A fresh wave of tears sweeps through me.

At some point, adrenaline pulls me out of my body once more.

I know Luke is speaking, but I can’ focus on his words.

The only thing I can truly focus on is my mom’s breathing.

Whenever her breath stalls, I feel like my heart is going to give out with hers.

When I hear the sirens, I drop back into myself.

“The ambulance is here.”

“So am I.” Luke stands in the bathroom doorway.

I’m on my feet in an instant.Luke wraps me in his strong, sturdy arms and crushes me against his chest. He moves me away from the bathroom and out of the way of the EMTs. Luke answers every question about my mother’s health. He even tells them the names of her doctors in Denver.

“We’re going to take her to the Rose Haven hospital,” an EMT tells Luke. “We can’t wait the two hours it would take to get her to Denver.”

“Okay,” Luke nods. “We’ll follow you.”

I should be answering the questions and working out the logistics, but my brain is a blank slate of fuzzy static. The only thing I can focus on is the steady beating of Luke’s heart beneath the fabric of his shirt.

“Come on,” he urges gently. “They’re going to take your mom. We’ll meet her at the hospital and go from there, okay?”

I nod numbly and let him lead me to my car.