I sat in the chair across from him. “I know this sucks, but you have your appointment in less than a week. In the scheme of things, that’s nothing. Try to relax so you can heal faster. You’re only going to make things worse if you walk before your body is ready.”
“All right. Whatever you say.” He pushed against the table to stand. “I’ll go back to my cell.”
“Cole, don’t say it like that.”
He was already on his crutches and out of the room. Damn, this was hard.
13
Kaitlyn
I hugged Grayson at the entrance to Mother Hen’s Preschool.
“Have a great day, ok?” He’s tiny arms wrapped around my neck. “I’ll pick you up this afternoon.”
“Daddy?” he asked.
I wrinkled my nose. “Daddy still can’t drive. Remember, he hurt his leg? But soon. I promise.”
I got one more quick hug before leaving him with his favorite teacher, Lacey.
I hopped in the car just as my phone rang.
“Mary Ellen, hey.”
She squealed into the phone. “I did it! I finally did it.”
“Did what?” I was completely distracted. I couldn’t begin to tell her what was going on.
“Last night, I broke up with Jesse.”
“Oh, wow. How do you feel?” I turned out of the parking lot.
“Amazing. Fantastic. Invincible. Why didn’t I do that sooner? And the timing couldn’t be better.”
“Why’s that?”
She huffed. “Because I’ll be in South Padre next week! I will be arriving single and one hundred percent a-vail-able.”
Oh shit. With everything going on, I forgot Mary Ellen would be here soon. “Yes, perfect timing.” What kind of friend forgets her best friend’s travel plans?
“So what are we going to do first? Shopping? Beach? Oh, I know. You can take me to that bar you always talk about…Paul’s.”
“Peabody’s. It’s Peabody’s.”
“Right. It doesn’t matter to me. I can’t wait to see you and be at the beach. It’s already getting cool here. The leaves are changing and everyone’s drinking pumpkin spice lattes.”
I felt the pang like a cramp in my heart. I loved fall. It was one of my favorite times in North Carolina. So far, South Padre felt like perpetual summer.
“Kaitlyn, you there?”
“Yep. Yep, I’m here.” I was trying to shake the vision of cashmere sweaters, scarves, and falling leaves.
“I have to go to work, but had to tell you about Jesse.”
“I’m glad you did. Call me if you need me. You know, breakup remorse.” The way Mary Ellen sounded that didn’t seem possible.
“Oh, I’m good. I’m going to start packing tonight for Padre. Call you later, girl.”