The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(71)

“Shoot,” he said.

“Well, I have almost everything I’ve ever wanted. When The Fellowship is finally shut down and there’s no more possible problems from Jacob, it will be like I’ve been completely reborn. I can’t remember being happier and a lot of that is because of you. I love you so much.”

“Was there a question in there?” he asked.

“Yes, there is. If we’re still together and something should happen to me, will you take Mercy?”

“What could happen to you?” he asked.

“Nothing will happen to me,” she said with a laugh. “But there’s no one. Well, there’s Rawley, who I’m sure wouldn’t hesitate and Mercy loves him. I love him. But he’s a sixty-three-year-old man who I’m sure would find taking on a child full-time to be a huge challenge. And I don’t think that would be the best situation for Mercy, no matter how much we love him. But you’re a wonderful parent...”

He was silent and she waited. The arms that held her relaxed a little bit. It was a long time before she said, “Uh-oh. I crossed the line, didn’t I? I asked too much, too soon....”

He pulled her near again. “Of course not. Of course I would do that.”

“Listen, if you want me to back off this question until...well, you know, until later. When we’re more sure of each other.”

“No,” he said. “I’m sure.”

She pulled away a bit and looked at him. “You know, I’d make the same promise about Austin, but Cooper and Sarah might object. He’s set, should something happen to you.”

“It’s all right, Devon. You’re right to ask—you have to watch out for her. Yes, is the answer. Of course I’ll take care of Mercy. Don’t worry about it again.”

But that night, after the movie, rather than trying to wheedle her into staying longer, he carried Mercy to her car and, for the first time, didn’t follow her home. “I shouldn’t leave Austin alone. And you have your phone. If you’re worried about anything or have a problem, call me. I’ll lock the front door and run down the block to help you.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m sorry, Spencer. I think I upset you. I asked too much of you. It’s not your obligation.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips and said, “Don’t be silly. You have to think about things like that. We’ll talk more about this later.”

“Okay,” she said.

But she could feel the instant distance between them. And when she called him the next morning he said, “I might be coming down with something. I have a headache and I’m all plugged up. I’m going to take Austin out to Cooper’s and get some rest.”

“Okay. Feel better. I’ll be here all day.”

* * *

Spencer didn’t sleep. His mind was spinning all night and by morning he had a blistering headache. And all this because Devon had asked him to be Mercy’s guardian should something happen to her while they were a couple? It was a logical request. And Mercy was cute as could be; well-behaved and smart. In fact, if he and Bridget had had a second child, he would have loved a daughter like Mercy.

But they hadn’t. Instead Bridget had left him widowed.

He walked with Austin to the beach, got him set up with his fishing pole at the end of the dock, grabbed a cup of coffee and went to the deck to keep an eye on him, make sure he didn’t try diving off the dock. He sat on the deck and just watched the sea. And thought about things.

Less than two weeks after arriving in Thunder Point, three months after burying his wife, Spencer had been called to Missouri because his father had passed. It was far from unexpected. His parents had been in the same nursing home, his father suffering from the effects of a massive stroke that should’ve killed him but left him completely incapacitated instead. His mother, suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s and several heart attacks, survived him, but not for long. The last time he took Austin to visit his parents, over a year ago, his mother didn’t recognize either one of them.

But he took his mother in a wheelchair to his father’s burial. There were a few people there from the nursing home, but all their friends and family were gone. And his mother had been on another planet the whole time, gazing off at nothing, making weird little movements with hands that were crippled with arthritis. She had absolutely no idea what was going on.

The nursing supervisor from the nursing home said, “Spencer, you’ve had a very hard year. Let me be completely honest—your mother isn’t going to be with us much longer. In fact, some of us were surprised that your father predeceased her. All the arrangements have been made for her—you made sure of that quite a while ago. Say goodbye to her now. It will be a matter of weeks at the very most. Just take care of your young son. It’s time to get on with your life.”

The call had come a few weeks later. Spencer silently grieved, but he didn’t mention it to anyone except Austin, to whom he said, “Grandma passed away peacefully. She’s with Grandpa now and I believe they’re dancing. When I was a boy, I remember, they loved to dance.”

And Austin who was sometimes a thirty-year-old in a ten-year-old body, asked, “Did she have a happy life?”

And he nodded with a smile. “Until the past few years, after Grandpa had a stroke and Grandma’s Alzheimer’s got the better of her, they were very happy. They laughed a lot. They had fun. They were thrilled when you were born and visited a lot when you were small. But then...”