Dream Keeper (Dream Team 4)

Yep.

Uh-oh.

“Saffron, listen,” I hissed. “I need to know what’s going on. When was Mom diagnosed? Where? Have her treatment options been explained to her? Have you all—?”

“She was diagnosed last year.”

I gasped because…

Well…

Last year?

And I was only hearing about this now?

What the hell?

“Last year?”

“Yes,” she said briskly. “And back then, she wanted to try the treatment the doctor suggested, so Dad allowed it.”

“He allowed it?” I echoed.

She nodded, also briskly. “Yes. And things looked good, then they didn’t. So it’s obvious to everyone this is not in the doctor’s hands, it’s in God’s. Which is why we need a full circle.”

Okay.

My dad and sister thought my mother’s cancer was in God’s hands.

And they were right.

It was.

The thing about that was, He’d given that disease to my mother. He’d given it to our family. It was on Mom to take care of the precious life He’d also given her. And it was on us to take care of the precious life that was my mother.

And although I expected God would be hip to a prayer circle, He was probably expecting a whole lot more from all of us.

Right.

Time to center myself and breathe.

Saffron didn’t breathe.

She kept talking.

“Therefore, we need you. We also need Birch. We must start right away.”

What I needed was to focus on the important things, so I did that.

“How is she?”

“She’s losing weight and her energy levels aren’t great.”

Saffron had always been very close to Dad. As had Mom, so naturally, to be with Dad, and to make Dad happy, Saffron and Mom spent a lot of time together.

Honestly?

I had no idea if my sister was close to my mother. My family was not showy with affection (well, those three weren’t, Birch and I had been to each other).

God (or their God) frowned on that kind of thing.

But a mom was a mom.

I wasn’t close to Mom and this news had me reeling.

I took a step toward my sister, lifting my hand to touch her, starting, “Saffron—”

She leaned toward me and bit out, “I don’t wanna hear it.”

I stilled, my hand raised, and looked in her eyes.

Her crazy Gonzo for God eyes that would not let anything else in.

Because that was what made Dad happy.

So that was what Saffron, and Mom, gave to him.

“Are you going to help Mom, or not?” she demanded.

I dropped my hand and said quietly, “Of course I want to help. I’ll be there for her. I need to think about how I want Juno involved, because she’s growing up, but this is a lot for a little kid to understand. But I don’t think that a prayer—”

Saffron cut me off.

“You have those friends, those…men. They can do things. Can they find Birch for us?”

Birch had vanished over a decade ago with not a single word or sighting.

Auggie and the commandos could probably find him in an hour.

Suddenly, a phone scenario, unbidden, crowded my head.

Me calling Auggie.

Ring, ring, ring.

“Hello, cocktease.”

“Hello to you too. Listen, my mom’s got cancer, and apparently, it’s bad. We need a full, pure prayer circle but no one knows where my brother is. Can you do me a favor and find him?”

“Your mom has cancer?”

“Yes.”

“That’s convenient.”

“Not really.”

“I mean convenient for you to have an excuse to connect with me so you can keep yanking my chain.”

“I got what you meant.”

“A prayer circle?”

“We never got around to me explaining my family are Gonzo for God. It might seem crazy to you, but they believe praying for her will get God to step up and cure her cancer. I usually don’t get involved with this kind of thing, but this time, I might have to allow myself to be roped in. If only to have some time with Mom. Because she’s Gonzo too, but she’s still my mom. And so I also need to find some way to locate my brother who escaped all this crazy years ago and rope him in too. Can you assist with that?”

Long pause.

“Nice try, player.”

Hang up.

“Pepper!” Saffron snapped.

My body started and I refocused on her.

“Can you ask them to help?” she pushed.

I could totally ask Mo. He looked like the evil henchman to a Bond villain, but he was a sweetie. And if I went to him through Lottie, he might even keep it from the other guys.

Mag, Boone and Axl, I likely could not ask because they’d be all in to help, but they’d share it with Auggie.

As for Auggie…well, that was obviously a big, fat no.

“Let me think about it,” I said to my sister.

“We don’t have time for you to think on it.”

My insides started shriveling again and my voice had dipped low when I asked, “What do you mean, we don’t have time for me to think on it?”

“I told you, Mom has cancer.”

“I heard you, but—”

“You don’t kick back with cancer.”

Like tackling it with a prayer circle?