Chapter 21
twenty-one
Carolina
Aweek had passed since that conversation in the hall where I’d confessed my lie to Leo.
Seven days where I hadn’t gotten the chance to explain since he’d been so busy at the ranch.
There was so much more to confess to Leo.
I’d felt a shift in our dynamic from the first Sunday dinner I’d attended with Luke, but I was too scared to even entertain the thought.
So much was up in the air right now that I could only focus on the threat that still hadn’t been resolved.
I let out a sigh as I got ready for the night.
Monday’s were social quarters dinners at the clubhouse.
Leo messaged me earlier today while I was at work and asked if I wanted to bring Luke.
I was apprehensive about the stalker now in Haven Valley, but I knew we’d be safe at the ranch, so I’d agreed.
Plus, Luke hadn’t been able to spend time with kids his age in weeks, and I knew he needed that time.
I’d managed to register Luke at school on my lunch break.
I couldn’t believe my sweet baby boy was about to be in the second grade.
Since I’d registered him right before the school year started in a couple of weeks, they told me to check back in a week or so to get his teacher’s information, but they gave me the list of supplies he’d need.
There was so much to do and not a lot of time to do it.
I fastened the simple silver hoop earring on my right ear and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
My long brown hair was in waves, and I’d worn a baby blue halter sundress paired with white wedges.
I told myself I wasn’t wearing it for Leo, but that was a lie.
I grabbed my bag and went in search of Luke who I’d gotten dressed prior to getting myself dressed.
He told me that he had to wear jeans with his cowboy boots that his Nana had given him, and I paired them with a blue button-down plaid shirt.
When I rounded the corner into the kitchen, I stopped in my tracks.
There stood my little boy in the outfit I’d dressed him in.
Only a new addition had been added to his attire.
Leo stood beside him dressed in a plain blue button-down and jeans with boots.
Both him and Luke looked up at me when they heard me gasp, and I swear my heart skipped a beat at the sight of them in their matching cowboy hats.
“Look what Dad got me, Mom. Isn’t it the coolest? Now I can be a cowboy just like him,” Luke said as he put his fingers on the brim of his hat and nodded.
He looked so much like his dad now that he’d had a cowboy hat on his head. I might have birthed that little boy, but he was a mirrored image of his father, and seeing the two of them standing side by side, I remembered Leo at the same age.
“You look so handsome,” I told him as I snapped out of it and continued into the kitchen.
“I don’t look handsome, Mom. I look like a cowboy,” he rebutted.
“Yes you sure do,” I replied with a smirk as I looked over at Leo who held in a laugh.
“He’s all you,” I said with a smirk as I walked around them to the back door.
“You ready to go?” I asked as I opened the door and grabbed Luke’s backpack off the back of the kitchen chair.
Luke excitedly ran through the door, and Leo stopped and waited for me to walk through before he followed us out to his truck.
Luke talked about how excited he was to see the clubhouse as we drove the short distance to the other side of their property. I’d never get over how magical it looked as we drove down the gravel drive with the porch lights lit up at each of the cabins.
Leo parked the truck and helped me and Luke out, and we walked over to the clubhouse.
Music could be heard outside of the building and got even louder after Leo scanned his keycard at the door and we walked inside.
Families mingled with others. A buffet-style dinner set off to the right of the entryway and three huge wooden tables that were intricately carved donned the right side of the space.
Fairy lights hung from the ceiling from one side of the room to the next.
The lights were dimmed low, and the ceiling fans spun above helping to cool the room alongside the air conditioning.
Leo’s hand touched the small of my back to guide us over to where his brothers and sister stood. The feel of his hand on my back caused my heart to flutter.
Ainsleigh had Olivia strapped to her chest as she bounced her up and down. I vividly remembered those days with Luke as we made our way over.
“You made it.” Ainsleigh smiled at me as she looked down at Luke.
“Hi, Aunt Ainsleigh,” Luke said as he turned toward me and waved at me to stoop to his level. I knelt to face him, and my dress flowed down around me.
He cupped his hand over the side of his mouth as he whispered, “Did you remember her present?”
I reached into my bag and pulled out the wrapped present and handed it to Luke to give to her. A couple of days ago I printed off the photo of Olivia and Luke and stopped in one of the shops along Main Street during my lunch break and found a beautiful vintage sterling silver frame to pair it with.
He handed it to her with a sheepish smile before he stepped back and kept his gaze on Ainsleigh.
“For me?” she gasped as she held it in her hand.
“Open it,” he said.
She carefully tore open the package and flipped the frame over. Tears filled her eyes as she looked down at the photo of Olivia and Luke from that Sunday night dinner.
“This is so sweet. I’m going to put it in my office tomorrow so I can look at it every day,” she told him, then looked up at me and mouthed a thank you.
“That’s awesome. Remember, I’ll sing to her anytime,” he said as he walked backward and put his hand in Leo’s.
“I’ll remember. Are you ready for dinner?” Ainsleigh asked.
He nodded repeatedly as he stared back at her.
“Then let’s eat,” she said as she started to walk over to the buffet.
“What about us? Are we chopped liver?” Holden asked as he picked up Luke and tickled him.
His laughter filled my ears and made me smile at the bond they’d all formed with my son in such a short amount of time.
Leo stood behind me as we waited our turn in line. His breath on my neck caused me to shiver.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he whispered into my ear.
I smiled and turned my head to hide the blush I felt creep up my cheeks.
I fixed mine and Luke’s plates, and we all walked over to the table to sit and mingle with the other guests.
Leo and I enjoyed talking to a family that sat across from us that were from South Carolina.
“You have a beautiful family,” the woman said across from me.
I didn’t correct her, but instead thanked her as I pushed my plate away full from the pot roast I’d just eaten.
“Can we go play, Mom?” Luke asked from beside me talking about the little boy of the couple across from us.
“As long as his mom’s okay with it, that’s fine, but don’t leave the clubhouse,” I told him.
“Okay, Mom,” he said as he and the little boy pushed away from the table and ran down the aisle laughing.
I followed Luke as he ran around the room, and I listened to the conversation across from me, but not fully paying attention.
I nodded when I thought I should, but when Luke stopped in front of a man standing in a shadowed area, who I thought looked vaguely familiar, but he was too far away for me to tell, the hairs on my arms rose.
I pushed back from my seat as the unexplained need to protect my son coursed through me.
I rushed across the room, excusing myself each time I bumped into someone.
A few people that I knew from high school tried to stop me along the way, but I politely excused myself as I kept walking toward Luke.
I finally made it down the aisle where Luke stood facing the opposite direction a few feet away from me, the man nowhere in sight.
“Luke,” I yelled as I rushed toward him.
He turned around, and I instantly knew something was wrong.
His lips were swollen, and hives began to cover his face and neck.
I looked down to find a half-eaten cookie in his hand.
As I reached him, his hand relaxed, and the cookie fell to the ground and crumbled.
His small hands reached for his throat as his chest heavily rose and fell as he gasped for air.
“Leo,” I turned and yelled as I dropped to the floor in front of Luke.
“You’re going to be okay, baby,” I whispered words of calming reassurance as I grabbed his hands, my fingers on his pulse point as I focused on counting the beats.
His heartrate climbed as I moved my hand and put my arms under his legs and guided him to lay on the floor to improve his blood pressure.
“Leo, I need Luke’s bag right now,” I yelled in a high-pitched scream and the sound of people talking around me ceased.
“Breathe for me, baby. I’ll make it all better in just a second,” I told him as I rubbed my hands up and down his little arms.
I felt Leo kneel beside me and turned to grab the case that held Luke’s EpiPen.
I pulled down his jeans as I removed the cap with my teeth, jabbed the needle into his thigh, and pushed the button to release his meds. I counted to ten before I pulled the pen back and tossed it on the floor. Those ten seconds were the longest ten seconds of my life.
“Mama,” Luke’s broken voice said as he gasped for breath and reached for me.
“Lay down, baby, and give the meds time to work,” I said as I reassured him.
“What can I do?” Leo’s frantic voice asked from beside me.
“I need you to call nine-one-one,” I told him, not taking my eyes off Luke for even a second.
“Already done,” I heard Holden say somewhere off in the distance.
The clubhouse that was once full of laughter and the chatter of the guests, now had hushed whispers of concern.
Luke took a huge deep breath, and I finally let out the one I’d held.
“Medics are here. Clear the way,” I heard someone shout from behind me.
I relayed all the information to the medics as they picked up Luke and strapped him to the gurney.
The medics hooked Luke up to an IV as soon as they had arrived and placed an oxygen mask over his face to help him breathe.
“I’m going with him.” I turned toward Leo who hadn’t left my side. His eyes were trained on Luke, and his lips were pursed together. Anger mixed with fear exuded from him.
“Leo, he’s going to be okay,” I said, trying to reassure him as I touched his arm.
He flinched and pulled away from me, and I dropped my hand.
“I’ll follow you in the truck,” he said as he watched them load Luke in the back of the ambulance.
With a nod, I walked away from Leo and climbed into the back of the ambulance.
Leo stayed close to our side the entire six hours we were in the hospital. He quadrupled checked with the doctors, who’d been amazing, that it was safe to bring Luke home prior to us leaving.
Luke slept soundly on the hospital bed with my hand wrapped around his. My mind raced as to who’d given him the cookie and who the man was I’d sworn I’d recognized from across the room. I’d wanted to ask Luke, but refrained. I didn’t want to cause any undue stress after the scare we’d had.
The doctors released us, and Leo carried Luke out to his truck. He hugged Luke’s sleeping body against him a little tighter the entire walk across the parking lot, and my lip trembled as the weight of the evening’s events finally caught up to me.
If I hadn’t been so diligent about bringing his medicine everywhere, tonight could’ve gone an entirely different route. I could’ve lost him, but I brushed that thought aside as I climbed into Leo’s truck.
My body tensed more and more the entire drive back to the ranch.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Luke’s anaphylactic reaction tonight wasn’t just an accident.
Luke had been fully aware of his allergic reaction since he was old enough to explain it to.
He knew better than to take food from strangers, and he always made sure to ask if peanuts were in something given to him.
That was why my brain couldn’t grasp why he’d taken that cookie from someone.
The only way he’d have done it was if he knew the person who’d given it to him.
But who would’ve knowingly given something to my son that would harm him?
After we arrived back at the ranch, I got out of the truck and walked into the house on autopilot. The same question ran over and over in my mind as I followed Leo as he carried Luke up the stairs.
As Leo laid Luke down in the bed, Luke stirred and rolled over to him; his groggy eyes stared up at his dad as his little hand rubbed across his eyes.
“Mom,” his raspy voice said.
“Yeah, sweet boy,” I said as I moved around Leo and sat on the bed beside Luke.
“I thought Mitchell was a nice man,” he whispered.
I wracked my brain at the mention of the name Mitchell, and realization dawned on me causing me to still.
“He is, buddy,” I managed to choke out.
“Then why’d he give me the cookie that hurt me,” he said as he rubbed his eye once more and turned and settled into the pillow. A gasp escaped my throat, and I brought my hand up to my mouth to cover the sound.
I turned to Leo, the nightlight beside Luke’s bed illuminated his face, and he stared down at me as realization hit me.
The Mitchell that Luke had mentioned was a nurse I’d worked with at the hospital in South Carolina.
The very Mitchell who knew about my son’s allergy and had used it to hurt my son.
Leo stilled as he stared down at me, and his eyes searched my scared ones.
“What is it?” Leo asked, his voice full of concern.
“There’s only one person I know named Mitchell,” I whispered as I swallowed hard.
“Who is he?” Leo asked as he reached over and took my hand within his own.
“A nurse I used to work with,” I confessed and looked down at our linked hands.
It was a hard pill to swallow knowing that a person I barely knew was obsessed with me, and he’d tried to hurt the person I loved most in the world to get to me.