Chapter 26
Remington
Call the Troops
“We’re sorry, but the person you are trying to reach can’t come to the phone right now. Please leave a message at the beep.”
I chewed on my lip as I stared down at my phone. It had been four weeks since I’d gotten that awful call from Jeannie, and I hadn’t seen her since. I’d convinced her to let me drop off food for her and Max twice, but that was about as far as it went.
I was worried. I couldn’t imagine the pain and fear she was living with every day, but at the same time, my girls were stressed to their gills and having nightmares nearly every other day.
While their mother and I had put years of work into preparing our daughters for Zara’s passing and what their lives might be like after it, that was very different than the possibility of losing their best friend.
Ever since Jeannie and I started dating, our children had grown closer than ever.
If it weren’t for their different features, I was sure people would think they were siblings when we all went out together.
I did my best to be honest and answer Addy and Eva’s questions, but when they asked if Max’s cancer was back, I always had to tell them that we were waiting to see.
He’d needed a few extra days to be up for the battery of tests his doctor wanted to do, and that’s all I knew. I wished Jeannie would let me be there for her, let me hold her hand and rub her feet, let me change Max’s bedding and do all his laundry. Cook for them. Make things as easy as I could.
But I had to respect that she wasn’t there yet. That she wanted her space. It was difficult, incredibly difficult, but it would be wrong to make the situation about me.
“Hey there, Daddy,” Addy said, opening the car door and getting in.
“Hey there,” I said, putting my phone away.
“Hi, Daddy!”
“Hello, Eva.”
“Any news from Max?” Addy asked as we pulled away and filed into the exit line at their school. I wished I did have news for them.
“No, not yet.”
“We should just go over there,” Eva said with all the confidence that came from being eight and knowing how the whole world worked—or should work.
“We can’t, dear,” I said wearily. The animal within me was pacing back and forth, grumbling at the idea that he couldn’t protect his mate.
Stern reminders from me that we weren’t mates were met with the bear equivalent of a shrug.
All it knew was that Jeannie needed help, and I wasn’t being allowed to help her.
“Why not?” Eva asked.
I wanted to explain it all in a way that would make her understand and make her feel better without her needing to ask me more questions, but that didn’t exist.
“I…”
We moved forward methodically, car by car, and my girls waited for my answer with wide eyes. I could feel the weight of their stares on me as we drew closer to the exit.
“I…”
They were so scared, and I was too. And the thing was, I could be stalwart if I knew Jeannie was okay, but the complete lack of communication had gotten in my head. What if she was hurt or sick? I knew she was used to having to do everything alone, but she promised me it wasn’t like that anymore.
But I supposed some habits were harder to break than others.
“Fuck it,” I said finally, flipping my blinker in the other direction.
“Daddy said a bad word!” Eva screeched.
“I did, and I’m sorry. But how would you two feel about putting together a care package and making a visit? We might only be able to say hi and not go in.”
“Yes. Yes, that would be fine,” Addy said fervently. “I just wanna make sure Max is okay.”
“All right then, let’s head to the grocery store and put together the best care package we can.”
“Yeah!”
Our care package ended up being a large laundry basket filled to the brim with supplies, some practical and some less so, but I carried it out of our van with false confidence, not wanting my daughters to pick up on my nerves.
“Eva, why don’t you go ahead and knock on the door?” I asked as we strolled up. Normally, I would never drop by somebody’s house without permission, but there was nothing that was normal about our situation.
“Yes, Daddy.”
Also, it was probably a bit cowardly of me, but I figured Jeannie would be less angry at seeing an eight-year-old girl’s happy smile. And if she didn’t answer... Well, we’d leave the laundry basket in the hiding spot she had for her packages, send her a picture of it, and wish her well.
But I hoped she would answer the door.
Those few seconds after Eva’s knocks were physically painful. When I heard footsteps approaching, relief shot through my entire nervous system. Confirmation that Jeannie was moving at all right now was a huge boon to me.
Luck was on my side, because next was the sound of a deadbolt unlocking and the knob turning, and then finally, I laid eyes on the woman I was dating for the first time in a month.
As attractive as I found Jeannie, as effortlessly beautiful as she naturally was, she looked bad.
The dark circles under her eyes were so deep they looked like bruises.
Her lips were dry and cracked, and her hair was thrown up into a messy bun that looked like it had been there so long that it was in danger of matting.
Had she lost weight too? It was hard to tell if she had, or if it was just an effect of how sallow her skin was.
If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought she was the one with the pneumonia.
“Eva, Addy! What are you doing here?”
“We brought you a care package,” Addy said in a firm manner that was well beyond her years. “And we wanted to see Max. If he’s up for it, of course.”
“I dunn—”
“Is that Addy and Eva?” I heard from inside, so quiet that I likely wouldn’t have been able to pick it up if I wasn’t a shifter. I felt bad at the conflicted expression on Jeannie’s face.
“Yes, it is, big man. Are you up for having them visit?”
The boy appeared at the end of the hallway and raced toward her, his smile as wide as a barn. Instantly, weeks of tension faded as I saw he was alive and well.
Er… mostly well.
Because he couldn’t quite reach the door at his speed before he slowed down and leaned against the wall, wheezing slightly. I didn’t even realize I’d taken a step toward him, arm extended, until Jeannie was right next to him, pulling him into her arms.
“Max, what did we say about overexerting yourself? You’re done with your medicine, but that was really hard on your body, remember?”
“I know, I know,” the young boy said. It might have sounded petulant from another child, but there was a sage sort of weariness to his voice that broke my heart.
Max had the personality, spirit, and enthusiasm of someone twice his size in much better health.
Sometimes, the hand life had dealt him didn’t seem fair.
“I was just really excited, Mama. Please don’t make them go away.
It’s been so long since I’ve gotten to hang out with anyone! I promise I’ll be good.”
“Well…”
Jeannie looked at me, those beautiful, weary eyes of hers full of conflict. I also saw walls defending a part of her she wasn’t ready to show yet. Or maybe it was defending her son. I didn’t pretend to understand exactly what her journey was like as a single mother, but it hadn’t been easy.
“If it makes you feel better, Miss Jeannie,” Addy said with all the seriousness that her small body could muster. “I can make sure Max doesn’t tire himself out too much. I think you’ll find I can be quite convincing.”
Finally, I saw a sliver of a smile, and it was a bit like the sun cracking through the clouds after a truly terrible storm. “Thank you, Addy. That’s very sweet of you. I would love it if you came in.”
I wanted to run forward and wrap my arms around Jeannie, but I knew it wasn’t the time. Instead, I prepared to say something nice, maybe even a bit funny, but Addy cut me off.
It became very clear that she considered Jeannie’s words as onboarding for an actual job, because Addy strode forward with a purpose that only middle management had.
“Max, up to your bed. And take a hot shower too while Daddy makes you some of the soup we brought.”
“B-but—”
“No buts! You’re allowed to bring one toy into bed, and two of your favorite books. We can take turns reading them, but first…”
She looked over her shoulder and I didn’t know if my daughters had discussed it beforehand or if they were just that much in sync, because Eva surged up to her side, holding the book that Max had given her before Christmas.
“I’m gonna read to you,” Eva said. “Someone really smart got me this book.”
Max grinned like it was Christmas all over again, and God, I was really starting to love this kid.
The thought that he was sick for literal weeks and still so wiped that he couldn’t even run down the hall made my heart squeeze terribly.
I knew better than to show it on my face, but I was well aware that when I eventually went to sleep, I would be envisioning his gaunt features, his wheezy breath, and his sour scent.
I’d always envision how worn down Jeannie looked.
I should have been there. I really should have. I had no excuse. Yeah, I’d wanted to give Jeannie space, but I should have shown up anyway. It was so hard for some people to ask for help, and I had the feeling Jeannie was one of those people.
Well, I was here now, and I was going to make up for that absence. As far as I knew, while Max was out of the woods with the particular type of pneumonia he had, we still weren’t sure on the whole cancer thing.
I had no idea how the kid wasn’t going crazy.