“Will you come?” I asked.
“Do you want me there?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes. I’m going to ride with Grant so I can be with Remy, but please follow us.”
Something flickered across his eyes, but he nodded his agreement. That had to be enough for me. I was in survival mode right then. It was minute to minute, just getting to the next second and making sure my son was okay. I would deal with everything else later.
A wheelchair got Remy out to the car, but it was a challenge getting him in. He grimaced and whimpered but didn’t cry out or protest. I was so proud of him, but it also made my heart ache to see. He was so little. He shouldn’t have to go through something like this.
The ride to Grant’s house was silent and tense. I sat in the back seat with Remy, my arm wrapped around my little boy as he rested his head on my chest. Every now and then, I looked up in the rearview mirror to see the look on Grant’s face. He focused in front of him, his expression unchanging. A couple of times during the trip, his eyes flickered up into the mirror. But they weren’t looking at me. Instead, they glanced through the back window to see Vince’s truck following close behind.
That was the first moment I wondered what he was thinking about Vince. He obviously knew the family Vince came from. Not just because Nick was my best friend, but because the two wealthy families inevitably knew many of the same people. The Freeman family tended to avoid the wealthy social circles. That was one thing I’d quickly learned about Nick. They didn’t have much patience for the pageantry and exclusivity their wealth and influence provided them.
But that didn’t mean their acquaintances didn’t overlap. Especially in the realm of business. The Freemans were well-known, both for their racing company and for the other businesses they dabbled in. I wasn’t too surprised they didn’t know the Waters family. Grant and his parents were far from the type of people Vince associated with most of the time. But they knew who he was.
I could still remember the first time I mentioned Nick to Grant. We weren’t even that close at the time. He and I were in the same friend groups growing up and had gotten closer in high school. Then he headed off to college. We had just really started reconnecting and building our friendship when I got my wild hair and ventured off into the world… and found Grant.
Grant and I were still in that dreamy early phase when I mentioned Nick. That phase was very short in my relationship with Grant. In fact, the conversation about Nick and his family was one of the first indications things were already starting to go downhill. He was immediately suspicious and wanted to know how well I knew Nick and the other Freeman brothers. He talked about their business ventures and the times when his father and theirs came up against each other.
It was obvious there was tension between the families, but not from the Freeman angle. Instead, the Waters family looked at them in a strange combination of envy and disdain. That was probably when Grant started wondering about my designs on Nick. Now that I was linked with Vince, I wondered what kinds of thoughts were running through Grant’s head and how it might affect the situation we were in.
At the same time, maybe it wouldn’t have a negative impact. After all, he had defended Vince just like he defended me. And he hadn’t said anything negative. It could have just been because of the stress and emotion of standing there looking at our son in the hospital bed. But part of me hoped it was something kinder.
When we got to Grant’s house, we carefully brought him inside. As I settled him into bed and pulled the blankets up over him, he woke up. The medication had worn off, and now he didn’t want to go back to sleep. I went into the kitchen and got him a Popsicle, then turned on his favorite cartoons so the sound could keep him company.
“Can we talk?” Grant asked.
I nodded and Vince took a step back.
“I’ll hang out in here with Remy. I haven’t seen this episode before,” he said.
The comment made my heart warm. He had probably never even seen the show but saying that made Remy feel important. Grant and I went into the living room and sat down. I drew in a breath, preparing myself for whatever it was he had to say. Maybe this was it. This was the moment when all the good energy he seemed to have felt throughout the day disappeared and things got nasty again. Instead, he moved to the edge of the couch cushion and looked at me with more emotion in his expression than I had ever seen.