Chapter 1 #2
“Can you contact his family? Let them know we’re taking him to Stone Bridge Medical?”
“Yes,” was all Bryson could manage.
They worked quickly, lifting Sean onto the gurney and strapping him down with practiced care.
One of the medics climbed in beside him, still performing compressions while a second hopped into the back, adjusting equipment.
The third medic quickly closed the ambulance doors and raced around the vehicle.
The siren wailed again as it pulled away down the gravel road toward the main drag.
Bryson stood in the clearing, Sean’s hat still lying in the dirt beside his feet.
A chill settled in Bryson’s chest that had nothing to do with the fog.
Sean had been a constant in Bryson’s life.
Through losing Riley, through every triumph and failure in the vineyard.
The older man had offered guidance without judgment, love without condition.
Bending down, he picked up his phone from where it had landed in the grass, the screen still smudged with dirt and sweat. His fingers hovered over the contact list for a second before he clenched his jaw, turned, and made his way back toward the ATV, picking up his discarded mug along the way.
The engine still ticked softly in the cool morning air as he climbed in. He didn’t want to make the next call—not because he couldn’t handle grief or shock. He’d dealt with more than his share of both. It was who he had to call.
Grant Callahan.
Bryson didn’t hate the man—but he wasn’t sure he liked him either.
As small boys, they got along well enough.
Ran through the yards playing cops and robbers.
But as the years gave way to adolescence, something shifted in Grant.
An unwarranted arrogance fed by his mother’s need to be the most important and influential person in town.
Then, when Bryson and Riley went from being friends to being something more, things turned explosive.
That had been when the boys were all of sixteen and fourteen.
Grant made it crystal clear that some kid with grape juice under his nails wasn’t the right person for Riley.
But what Bryson’s family did for a living had nothing to do with why Grant didn’t like Bryson, and everything to do with his mother and her need for power, prestige, and money.
Well, that and the fact that as a freshman, Bryson was the starting quarterback, and Grant, a junior, sat on the bench.
But that had been a lifetime ago. However, the tension had never faded. Especially not after Riley left. Especially not after Bryson stayed.
Still, none of that mattered right now.
He tapped Grant’s name and lifted the phone to his ear. It rang twice before it connected.
“Bryson?” Grant’s voice came in sharp and alert. “Why are you calling me?”
Bryson exhaled. “It’s your dad.”
A pause. “What about him? Is he okay?”
“I found him out in the vineyard. He collapsed. EMTs just left with him.”
“Jesus,” Grant breathed. “Is he—”
“I started CPR. They worked on him all the way to the ambulance. But it didn’t look good.” Bryson stared at the empty space where Sean had been. “It didn’t feel right.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. No obvious injuries that I could tell. No sign of a fall or anything like that. Just—I don’t know what happened.” He paused. “They took him to Stone Bridge Medical.”
“I’ll call Erin and have her meet me there,” Grant said. “Thanks for the call.”
Bryson hesitated, then said what had been pressing at the back of his mind since the moment he saw Sean’s still body. “What about Riley?”
There was another pause—longer this time. “I believe she’s still in Patagonia, but she was looking to move again. Not sure. We haven’t exactly been best friends since she took off right after graduation…no thanks to you.” Grant always had to get that one dig in.
Bryson pinched the bridge of his nose. That wasn’t what happened, but that’s what Grant, Erin, and their mother liked to believe.
Why? Bryson honestly had no idea. He didn’t think Riley had given them that impression.
Or maybe she had, Bryson didn’t know. A lot had happened in the weeks leading up to her departure.
Some his fault. Some hers. And some had to do with other people.
But mostly, because of what had happened to them… and that was something only a few people knew about.
“Would you like me to call her for you?” Byson asked.
“Why would I want you to do that?”
“I’m just trying to help out.” Bryson’s voice sharpened.
“I don’t need it,” Grant said.
Of course, he didn’t. Grant had never been the kind of man to ask for help. No matter the situation. He’d always been proud and stubborn.
“My little sister left years ago. Breaks my mama’s heart. Riley doesn’t understand that her actions have consequences. The only person she thinks about is herself. Regardless, this is my family, I’ll handle it.”
Bryson wasn’t about to argue with him. “I’m heading to the hospital. If you need anything, please let me know.”
The call ended.
Bryson sat back, gripping the steering wheel with both hands, and stared out at the mist curling low over the vines.
Riley Callahan had left Stone Bridge for reasons no one understood, except him.
Their loss had been the final straw. They’d loved each other.
He didn’t care that others believed two dumb teenage kids weren’t capable of such a thing.
They’d been all in. But things… and people…
happened. It changed them both. It hardened her.
And nearly destroyed him.
When she left, she had no intention of ever coming back.
But Bryson had a feeling that was about to change.
The hospital waiting room felt like it hadn’t been updated since the early nineties—scratchy blue chairs, scuffed tile, and a vending machine humming just loud enough to be irritating. Bryson stood near the window, arms crossed, watching as the ambulance that had brought Sean in pulled away, empty.
Bryson scratched the center of his chest, which tightened with each beat of his heart. It had become difficult to suck in a deep breath, and he couldn’t form a coherent thought.
“Here.” Devon, Bryson’s older brother, handed him a cup of coffee.
“Thanks.” Bryson lifted the paper cup to his lips. The brew was lukewarm and tasted like cardboard. Jesus, he had shit luck with coffee today. “You didn’t have to come.”
“I wasn’t going to leave you standing in this place alone after what you just went through.” Devon leaned against the windowsill and ran his hand across his mouth. His gaze shifted past Byson and toward the double doors that led to the emergency department doors. “How ya holding up?”
Bryson stared into his coffee. “I’m numb.”
He’d known from the moment Sean hadn’t responded to CPR that he was gone. But being in this antiseptic-filled space, waiting for the doctor to confirm it, left an emptiness expanding in his chest.
“Have you heard anything from the doctors? From the family?”
“Nothing from either front.” Bryson turned and paced.
He’d never been good at being patient. He paused, staring at the doors leading to the outside world.
Every time someone pushed them open, he expected to see Grant, Erin, or their mother race into the room, and Bryson wasn’t mentally prepared to deal with them.
He glanced at his watch and did his best to keep his emotions in check.
The last thing he wanted to do was break down in front of Grant.
Bryson didn’t understand Grant and his dad’s relationship, other than knowing it was strained and had been for years.
It had started before the divorce and intensified when Grant publicly scolded his father for leaving his mom, despite knowing full well that hadn’t been the case.
It quieted when Grant went to college. Got better when he married his wife, Kelly and had a family.
But things had gotten worse after his mother invested in Wilkerson’s Ponzi scheme.
When Bryson brought the tensions up to Sean, all he’d get in response was, “Why’d you let her leave?”
As if Bryson’d had a say in the matter.
So, he’d stopped asking.
But he did know that Sean had been hurt by his two older children when they’d been younger. How they’d taken to Elizabeth’s new husband and were angrier with Sean than her—which Bryson found strange because it had been Elizabeth who’d stepped out on the marriage.
Grant and Erin had also been upset with Riley for choosing to live with her dad, and not with them and their mom.
Bryson had never been so grateful for his family. They were all a little different, but in a normal way. They often got up in his face about things. But they also respected his privacy.
“I’m surprised I beat Grant here.”
“If he was anywhere near his mother when you called, I’m sure he had to console her before heading out the door.” Devon shook his head. “She’s a piece of work.”
“True, but Grant plays into that,” Bryson said. “And often, he’s no better.”
“Did you hear he’s opening a second spa?” Devon asked. “Callahan’s Hot Springs Resort is doing quite well. Grant might be a pain in the ass, but he’s smart as hell, especially when it comes to numbers.”
“Gotta give him credit for that.” Bryson sipped the shitty, cold coffee.
His stomach churned, but it wasn’t from the beverage.
As the seconds ticked by, so did the pressure in his chest. He tossed the mug into the trash.
A plaque with the name Robert Wilkerson burned a path across his vision.
“I can’t believe that thing is still hanging.
” He pointed “You’d think after everything that went down with Robert and the Ponzi scheme, the hospital would’ve removed it. ”
Devon rubbed his eyes, as if to remove the sight of it from his vision. “I’m sure they’ll get around to taking it down.”
“I hope so. That man hurt a lot of people.