Page 25 of Midnight

And so, they sat waiting for the full report.

But they didn’t get the full report, because Sheriff Reddick kept key details out of the press, and when the journalist reported that Jacob Kingston was still alive, and in a hospital in Amarillo, they both jumped to their feet.

“He didn’t die! He didn’t die!” Freddie kept shouting.

“Right, but that means, eventually he’ll go home. We’ll give it a few days, let everything cool down, and when the time is right, we’ll go back to that bar and search for that money without interference,” Everett said.

“Right!” Freddie said, and hugged Everett before he remembered he was supposed to be afraid of him. But when Everett didn’t shove him away, he took it to mean they were good again.

* * *

The Kingston brothers were back from the cafeteria, waiting to be allowed back in ICU, and when the time arrived, there were only a couple of other people in the waiting area besides the brothers.

“I’m sitting this one out,” Dylan said.

Gunner stood, then looked at Asher. “You’re going in with me, right?”

“Right beside you,” he said.

They filed into the unit in silence. Ash led the way, with Gunner matching him step for step, but the moment they got to Jacob’s bedside, Gunner paused, taking in all the medical equipment before he let himself look, really look, at his dad.

“This can’t be happening. I want this to be a bad dream,” he muttered, then leaned over and softly spoke. “Dad, it’s me, Gunner. Ash and I are right here with you. We’re both damn good at our jobs, and we’re going to find the people responsible for this. That’s our job. Your job is to rest and heal and get well.”

Then he straightened up, took a deep breath, and for the first time, touched his father’s face.

“It’s tough seeing him like this, but we know what he’s made of. I have to believe he’s going to pull through,” Ash said.

Gunner nodded. “God, I wish he would just open his eyes and tell us everything that happened. Give us a starting point, you know?”

“We’ll find something. You know we will. But it’s not going to happen overnight,” Ash said.

They stood with him for the allotted amount of time, bringing up stories from their youth, and reminding Jacob how much he meant to them in the hopes that, wherever he was, he could hear them.

When time was up, they walked out. As they entered the waiting room again, Ash glanced toward the window, then across the street at a sign flashing the temperature.

“It’s getting colder,” he said.

Dylan turned around. “How do you know that?”

He pointed. “From the temperature reading on that digital sign across the street.”

Dylan grinned. “Oh. For a second there I thought you’d grown psychic in your old age.”

“Shut it,” Asher said, and grinned.

Gunner was quiet, still riding out the shock of seeing his dad like that.

“Will we get to talk to his doctor?”

“I’ll check,” Asher said, and went back to the nurse’sdesk. “Excuse me, but will Dr. Reading be making evening rounds, or does he only do it in the mornings?”

“He’ll make rounds some time, but it’s hard to say when. Likely between five and seven,” she said.

“Would you mind letting him know that all of Jacob’s family has arrived and we would greatly appreciate an update on his status?”

“Of course, I’ll do that.”

“We’ll be in the waiting room,” Asher said. When he went back to the waiting room, Gunner was sitting at a table in the canteen area with his laptop open, and Dylan was sitting beneath the window, talking on the phone.