Chapter 13
ROSCOE
“There are lots of things I don’t understand,” I heard Koda, one of the wild Forrester children, say as I walked around the corner.
I stopped when I saw Kale Forrester standing just a few feet away with his granddaughter, Star, sleeping snuggled against his chest with her face hidden by his beard.
Kale looked amused as he slowly shook his head and then lifted a finger to his lips to keep me quiet.
“Why are shoes so important? Cavemen didn’t wear shoes.”
I heard Serana’s voice, and it was like I’d been given a magical elixir that calmed my racing heart and made everything right in the world again.
Kale must have recognized the look on my face because he whispered, “She’s okay, Ros.”
“Are you sure about that?” Serana asked.
“Of course, I’m sure. It took them forever to figure out how to make a fire. I knew how to do that before I even learned how to tie my own shoelaces.”
“You did?”
“Of course,” Koda scoffed. “You know what else I don’t understand?”
Serana laughed softly before she said, “I can’t wait to find out. Are you comfortable?”
“I’m comfortable. Are you?”
“You’re warm.”
“Am I too warm?”
“Not at all. Now, what else confuses you?”
“That’s a different list. There are lots of things that confuse me and a lot of things I don’t understand, so we’ll have to talk about the confused ones later. Maybe tomorrow.”
“Oh, okay. So, what else do you not understand?”
“Since we were talking about cavemen . . .”
“We were?”
“Yeah. They weren’t all that smart about things, but some things were genius!”
“Like what?”
“Do you like eggs?”
“Um, I do.”
Kale was grinning at the confusion in Serana’s voice, and I understood it too.
Talking to Koda was like attempting to have conversations with seven squirrels who were all running in different directions and yelling at the top of their lungs.
It was wild, crazy, and informative. Somehow, it was always confusing and enlightening at the same time.
“How do you like them? I’ll eat them every way but raw.”
“I guess my favorite way to consume eggs is in cake.”
“There are eggs in cake?”
“Almost always.”
“More than one?”
“Well, usually there are at least two, depending on the kind of cake.”
“So, when Stache says I can’t have cake for breakfast, I can tell her I’m technically eating eggs, right?”
“Who . . . what?” Serana asked.
“I really like deviled eggs, but I’m not allowed to eat more than six at a time. One time I puked them all over the trampoline, and another time I farted so much it made my Jovi puke. Do deviled eggs make you puke?”
“No, but I don’t really like them, so I guess I’ve never given them a chance.”
“Maybe if you do, you shouldn’t jump on the trampoline,” Koda suggested.
“I will keep that in mind, my friend.”
“I’m not your friend!”
“You’re not?” Serana asked.
“No, I can’t be your friend because you’re my guardian angel. Gamma says that I must have a whole crew of them watching out for me or I’d be dead already, but you’re the first one I’ve ever seen in person.”
“I’m not an angel, sweetheart.”
“I think you are, but I’m gonna have to loan you out for a little while, okay?”
“Loan me out?”
“Yeah, Lettuce and Uncle Bird are gonna need your help. They’re gonna be in big trouble when Stache and Summer get a hold of them because the last thing they said before we left the house was that they better put us on a leash so we didn’t escape and do something stupid like set the place on fire.”
“Well, at least you didn’t set anything on fire, right?”
“She gets him,” Kale whispered to me with a grin.
“Oh, yeah! We were talking about fire!”
“We were?”
“The cavemen made fire, but they didn’t wear shoes, remember?”
“Oh, my bad. You’re right.”
“Anyway, I don’t understand why they started eating eggs.”
“The cavemen?”
“Yeah. Were they just sitting there watching the birds one day when they saw one poop something out and said, ‘Hey! I think I’ll eat that!’”
“Um, I’ve never really . . . That’s just . . . wow.”
“I have done a lot of things in my life, but I’ve never eaten poop,” Koda boasted.
Serana giggled before she assured him, “I haven’t either.”
I nudged Kale out of the way and peeked into the room through the gap in the curtain.
I found Serana lying on the gurney with Koda snuggled up against her side.
There was a bandage covering the side of her neck, but that was all I could see since they were tucked under a scratchy blanket.
I guessed she had an injury to her foot because it was elevated beneath the covers, but those were the only things I could spot immediately.
Even paler than usual, Serana was still beautiful. Her hair was a wild mess, spreading over the pillow while Koda twirled a lock of it around his fingers. They looked like a mother and child ready for a nap, rather than two people who had almost died less than an hour ago.
My heart started racing at the thought of that, and I felt Kale’s hand on my shoulder before he pulled me away from the curtain.
“They’re all okay. A little banged up and probably a lot traumatized, but they’re okay.”
“What the fuck happened?” I whispered frantically.
Kale’s eyes were stormy. He ran his hand over his face and rubbed his beard for a few seconds. I knew from experience this was something Kale did to calm himself down, so I gave him time to get himself together.
“Harley passed out behind the wheel and lost control of the car,” he finally explained. “It jumped the ditch and came up into the parking lot. If Serana and her friend hadn’t been close enough to get to them, he’d have run over Koda and Lyric.”
“Oh, shit,” I whispered in shock. “The kids are okay, though, right?”
“They’re both banged up, but they’re alive. That’s what matters. Your girlfriend’s got some injuries, and so does her friend . . . Moe? Is that her name?”
“Yeah.”
“Bird went up to X-ray with her since Lyric’s sleeping.
She was losing her shit, so the doctors gave her a shot to knock her out, and one of Zoey’s girls is sitting with her now.
Her arm isn’t broken, but it’s badly bruised, so she’s gonna have a sling for a few days.
” Kale smiled. “She’ll be happy that it’s pink to match the rest of her clothes. ”
“I’m surprised this place isn’t crawling with Forresters and the rest of the women from The Flower Patch,” I said, knowing for sure that Ruf, Jovi, Phoenix, and Lyric’s mom were probably beside themselves with worry right along with all of the women who were close with Moe and Serana.
“Terra and Summer took a trip out of town with some of the other women to do some shopping, and Ruf, Jovi, and Nix were all on a run. We got word to them and let them know the kids are fine so they don’t need to be stupid about hurrying back.
They’ll probably be here within the next hour or so.
” Kale told me, “The waiting room is full of people, I’m sure, since everyone that was out at Zoey’s saw what happened.
Since you’re here to hang out with your girl, I’ll check on Lyric and then go give them an update. ”
“I’m going to talk to Serana, but I’ll make sure Koda stays put.”
“I don’t think we’re gonna be able to pry him away from her side, and I’m okay with that. She’s got my eternal thanks. Even though Terra hasn’t met her yet, I know she’ll feel the same.”
“Serana’s a good woman,” I assured him.
“Damn right,” Kale vehemently agreed. “She saved my boy.”
“Is there any way you might be able to get Koda to give us a few minutes alone?”
“I’ll take him back to the room he was in with Lyric earlier. That’s where he’s supposed to be, but the nurses quickly realized that arguing with him was just going to make them crazy, so they gave up. He does have a way about him that makes people see his side of things.”
I smiled because that was an understatement.
Arguing with any of the Forresters was futile; it just took some people longer to figure that out than others.
My dad had explained the Forrester brothers as four sides of a square.
If analyzed separately, they didn’t seem like a problem, but when connected together, they became an entirely different and terrifying entity.
Bird was the planner, Daughtry was stubborn and steadfast, Kale was quick to anger and deadly when provoked, and Clem was the sleeper that people consistently underestimated.
All of the Forresters were loyal and capable and men I knew I could depend on.
They have been some of my biggest supporters throughout my life.
They were quick to defend those they loved - with deadly force if necessary - but they were just as quick to voice their opinion when they thought someone they loved was doing wrong. The love and loyalty were still there, but the strength of their opinion could weigh very heavily.
Harley Forrester was going to feel that weight sooner rather than later; I was sure of it.
“Is Harley okay?”
Kale tipped his head toward the end of the hall before he explained, “He’s down there where that cop is standing.”
“Shit,” I whispered, the weight of the situation finally sinking in.
“I’ll get Koda so you can have some time with your girl.”
“She’s not officially my girlfriend, Uncle Kale.”
Kale frowned at me before he asked, “What are you waiting for, dumbass? A written invitation?”
Again, I was reminded of how generous the Forrester men were with their opinions when they thought someone they loved was making a bad decision. It made me smile. “There are factors that have prevented that so far. I’m biding my time until they go away so I can see if we can make a go at it.”
“Life’s too short to fuck around, Ros. She’s probably thinking almost that exact thing after what happened today. You need to make the most of every day you’ve got.”
“Yessir, I understand.”