Chapter 50
CHAPTER FIFTY
Bennett
“I brought lunch,” Sutton says, pointing to the cooler in the back of her SUV.
She has the hatch open and everything ready.
Plates, silverware, and several covered dishes sitting out.
“Mama O’Shay did most of it, Jilly Bean tossed in dessert.
I’m told to tell you all to pause and eat or she will be over here to force feed y’all. ”
I arch my brow in confusion.
“Your mom, not Jillian,” Sutton adds with a laugh, which makes more sense.
One by one we all exit the house and the front porch and walk toward my sister-in-law’s car. Now when I look at Sutton all I see is the woman that makes my brother happy. She is my sister, and I love her, but those feelings I once thought I had for her are no longer existent.
Moving in a line we grab plates and start dishing things out. Sandwiches, several different sides, pastas, and more. Grabbing a water from the cooler I go back toward the porch and sit down, balancing my plate on my legs.
We’d all been working our asses off since before six this morning. With Thanksgiving only being a few days away, our hope is to have everything completed by mid December. It was looking good.
“Sutton,” Rory hollers out from the place he stands behind her car. “Someone is blowing up your phone.”
Standing up she brushes off the back of her jeans and jogs over to the driver’s door, pulling it open. Quickly answering the call I watch as her happy expression from earlier instantly shifts.
“Wait, what?” She holds her phone to her ear and looks over at Brantley. Just by the panicked look on her face he is up and setting his plate aside. “Kendall, slow down,” she adds and Brantley stands on the other side of her rubbing her arm.
“Okay,” she adds, bouncing nervously on her feet like an overly anxious child. “Kendall, please, is she okay?”
She listens and when her attention shifts to me I feel like my entire body goes numb.
“Are you still there?”
It’s my turn to stand, my hands shaking as I fist them at my sides.
“Okay, but did you see her?”
She waits, then holds her hand up fisting her hair.
“Someone call Adley,” Sutton hollers to no one in particular.
I can sense the sheer panic in her voice.
Sutton is slowly fading, falling into that moment when you lose all sense of rationality.
“Call Adley,” she says louder and several of the guys are scrambling to grab their phones.
I start walking toward her and she watches me approach.
“What am I calling her for?” Rory asks and Sutton ends the call with Kendall, still holding my stare.
“She has connections at Montgomery ER.” My stomach tightens and I feel nauseous. “We need her there, if she isn’t already, because they are bringing Lexi by ambulance.”
My legs are moving before my mind can catch up. Running across the property toward my truck, I trip over a pile of rubble and land on my knees. Hurrying back up I can hear my name being hollered out and then someone grabs my shoulder.
“I’m going,” I say, shrugging them off and Finn grabs me again.
“I know, but let me drive you, Bennett.”
“I’m fine,” I assure him yanking open my door.
“You aren’t,” he raises his voice. “The last fucking thing any of us need right now is adding more shit to this day. Give me the damn keys Bennett, because I’m driving you.”
I want to argue, but the way my heart is racing I know I should listen.
Once I’m up inside the cab, I grab my phone and call Adley. It rings four times then goes to voicemail. Ending it, I dial again and it does the same.
“Can you step on it?” I ask, my patience growing thinner with each passing second. I feel sick, my entire body trembling with the fear that washes over me. The not knowing what’s going on, not being with her, it’s crippling.
My phone ringing detracts me and I look down to see Adley is calling me back.
“Are you there?”
“I’m here,” she says in a calm tone and she doesn’t even ask what I’m referring to. She sees shit all the time and I know she’s going to downplay it for my benefit and for hers. This is too close for her, I know on the inside she is crumbling too.
“Have you seen her?”
“The ambulance is a minute out Bennett, we don’t know much yet.”
“Damn it, Adley.” She isn’t to blame but I need someone to be angry at. “I need to fucking know if she’s okay.”
“We all do.” I hear the shake in her voice and instantly feel like the biggest asshole. “I promise you, you’ll be my first call.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Okay, I’ll see you when you get here. Message me and I’ll come out and get you.”
I let out a heavy breath and end the call. Sitting in silence I watch the trees and other cars pass us by. Silence settles in over the cab of my truck, not even the radio is playing.
Memories of this morning fill my mind. Camryn and I making eggs while Lexi sat at the island watching us. We got on the topic of Camryn wanting chickens and Lexi laughed and asked her if she was going to keep them in her closet since the landlord wouldn’t allow it.
Of course Camryn said we could have them at my new house and I decided to go right along with it.
Hell, I was sitting in my truck at five something this morning, looking up plans to build Cam a frickin mansion to put her chickens in.
Then a few hours later Lexi gets hit when a guy runs a red light. Hitting her in the driver’s side going twenty over the speed limit, her car rolled and flipped into a ditch.
Kendall was the first person on the scene due to her father’s towing company being on the rural rotation. Immediately recognizing Lexi’s car, she called Sutton.
It all seems surreal, like a nasty nightmare I can’t wake up from.
“It’s all gonna be okay, brother,” Finn tells me but his voice sounds muffled and distorted. Like I’m beneath water, and he’s trying to communicate.