It's All Relative(136)

When they finally dragged themselves out of bed and out the front door, Kai blinked in the bright daylight. Laughing to himself, he thought maybe they’d been sequestered in Jessie’s relatively dark bedroom for too long. As he turned to watch Jessie shade her eyes from the sun, he thought she might agree.

Smiling, Jessie grabbed his hand and walked with him to her truck. As she started it, butterflies flared to life in Kai’s belly. Speaking with his newfound father was one thing, he’d only just met the man, but speaking with his grandmother, the woman who had loved him his entire life, even though she’d had no biological reason to care for him, was making Kai anxious. He wiped his palms on his jeans. For once, he was incredibly warm.

Without a word, Jessie placed her hand over his; it was cool, she was calm. Kai clenched it back, grateful for the strength her presence gave him. She gave him an encouraging nod, and he nodded back. Neither one of them needed to verbalize the moment.

Kai wondered what he would say to the woman he’d known his entire life to be his grandmother. He was nothing to her, really, just her son’s ex-wife’s bastard baby. He could definitely see why Gran did not like his mom now. Regardless of the torturous situation Kai’s mother had found herself in, ultimately she’d hurt Nate. As a mother, that level of betrayal was probably unforgivable to Gran.

Kai was absorbed in these thoughts as Jessie made her way through the frozen streets of Denver. He was only distracted when the squeals of sirens and the flashing of swirling lights broke his concentration. Jessie pulled over so a fire truck and police car could race past her from behind; the speed of the vehicles made her truck shake. Jessie looked over at Kai as the emergency vehicles sped by. Her face was drawn in concern for whatever poor soul needed assistance on this chilly day.

Kai glanced at her, then shifted his attention to the rescue vehicles. As Jessie merged with traffic, he watched the mammoth fire engine pull onto a familiar street. “Jessie,” he whispered, ice flooding his veins.

He heard her gasp, but he couldn’t pull his gaze from the disappearing end of the police car to look at her. As Jessie’s truck surged ahead though, he knew that she had pieced it together just as quickly as he had. The poor soul needing assistance today lived on their grandmother’s street. Their grandmother was old and frail, even if she pretended not to be. She’d already suffered a painful fracture just a few months ago. What if she’d fallen again? What if she was really hurt? What if, what if, what if…?

Jessie’s truck slid as she took the right angle to Gran’s street way too fast. Kai grabbed the handle above the door, but didn’t say anything about her fishtailing around the corner. His throat was locked up with fear anyway. He didn’t know how he could forgive himself if Gran had been lying in her home, hurt, while he’d been busy with Jessie.

As Jessie slid to a stop as close to Gran’s house as she could get, Kai saw that nearly the entire neighborhood had come out to watch the spectacle. His heart racing, Kai couldn’t see much of what was going on with the rescue crew. The fire truck that had breezed past them was stopped on the road, partially blocking traffic as it rested beside the parked cars. The police car had parked sideways, helping to keep back the flood of curious bystanders. As Kai and Jessie raced through the crowd on the sidewalk, trying to understand what was going on, the whine of an ambulance siren cut through the air.

Dread filling him, Kai watched the ambulance lights as they flashed in a repeated circular pattern. The vehicle slowed as it approached Gran’s house; all the people and vehicles on the road was impeding its progress. Kai wanted to shout at the mob to move, to give the medics space, but at that moment, the ambulance siren went dead, the lights shut off.

Kai shoved his way through the crowd. Something about the ambulance halting its urgent wail signaled doom to Kai. If they were no longer in a hurry to save the person inside…then it was only because…they were too late.

Pushing his way through the mob created a stir that didn’t go unnoticed. By the time he got to the squad car, the people around him were irritated. Kai was sputtering something about letting him pass. All he could think about was getting to Gran, and it was only when a uniformed police officer grabbed his shoulders that he focused his attention on something else.

Holding him tight, the officer informed Kai that he needed to wait on this side of the squad car. Shaking his head at the man, Kai urgently said, “Please let me go…that’s my grandmother’s house. I need to make sure she’s okay.”

The cop looked him over, then past Kai to Jessie, who had caught up to him and grabbed his hand. She was no longer calm, her palm as clammy as his own, but Kai held her as if she were the only real thing left in the world. Nodding at the both of them, his face serious but solemn, the police officer indicated that they could pass.

As he rushed forward, Kai’s heart pounded so hard he thought he might need a medic soon. Frantic, he looked around for the silver haired woman who had never given up on him. “Kai…” He heard Jessie’s panicked voice beside him as she searched the chaotic area, but all Kai could focus on was finding the hurt person who was causing this circus of confusion.

Ignoring a pair of firemen who seemed to be looking around as well, maybe hoping an inferno would blaze to life somewhere, Kai shifted his attention to the late arriving medics. Pulling Jessie’s hand, he started striding toward one who was talking with what looked like the head fireman. Kai started breathing heavily as he approached the pair. He couldn’t imagine Gran gone. When had he seen her last? Had he told her he loved her?