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  Malory stepped forward. “This is his fiancé. Can she get back there to see him?”

  No one disputed her lie.

  The doctor looked at me. “Yes, I can take you back, but it would be best if you come alone.”

  “His mother will be here shortly,” I managed to say.

  “Someone can escort her back when she arrives.”

  I followed the doctor. The room he took me into had low light and medical machines everywhere. A slow, steady beep came from the heart machine. Killian was bare from the waist up; a blanket covered his lower half. An icepack rested on his shoulder, but I could see the swelling and discoloration from the injury. I walked around and took his untethered hand. A nurse slid a chair over and I sat down.

  “I’ll be back to check on him shortly.” The doctor left.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off Killian’s face. I now understood why his mother didn’t attend the games. I lay my head down beside Killian’s and let my tears quietly soak the sheet. I had no idea how long I stayed that way; Killian’s croaky voice brought my head up.

  “It’s okay, baby.”

  He was staring at me, and without thinking, I gently kissed his lips. His eyes slowly closed and his hand squeezed mine. He grimaced and then his hand went limp again.

  His mother arrived a short while later. I spoke to her outside the room first and then waited while she went inside for a private visit with her son. He didn’t wake up, but the doctor said his speaking to me was a good sign because brain injuries could be tricky.

  Killian was transferred to a private room on the neurological ward as a precaution a few hours later. They continued to delay the surgery, and seeing his clavicle so obviously out of joint was truly horrible.

  I have no idea what time it was when Killian squeezed my hand again. I reached for his mother’s hand and she joined me at the bed. His eyelids opened and he squinted up at us.

  “My head is killing me and so is my shoulder.”

  “You have a concussion and your clavicle needs surgery.” His mother’s voice was very matter of fact.

  It surprised me when Killian released my hand. His went into fists, and his face screwed up in pain. I thought the pain caused his reaction, but his mother knew him better than I did.

  “Killian, stop. You’ll have another season, and making yourself hurt isn’t helping me or Rebecca. You scared me to death and I’m not putting up with one of your tantrums right now.”

  My mouth dropped open. Killian didn’t loosen his fists, and his mother hit the buzzer for a nurse.

  “My son’s awake and in pain. Could you please get him something,” she said as soon as the nurse walked in.

  “No,” Killian ground out.

  “Yes, and if you argue with me, I’ll have them put the damn needle in your ass.”

  I had to smile over the way Beth handled her son.

  Killian’s fists didn’t relax and the nurse placed pain medicine into his IV line. “I’ll let the doctor know he’s awake,” she said and left us alone again.

  Killian’s hands opened and his eyes slowly closed. The doctor came in ten minutes later.

  “We have an orthopedic surgical team standing by and we should have him in surgery in the next hour.”

  “Thank you, doctor. Rebecca and I need to get something to eat, but we’ll be back shortly.”

  “I’m not hungry, Beth,” I said as soon as the doctor left.

  “It doesn’t matter. You need to eat and so do I. I’m not arguing with you.”

  I followed her out of the room and down to the cafeteria. I was quickly learning where Killian got his bossiness.

  Amanda and Lyle were sitting at a table, their chairs close to each other so they could see the door. They gave me a guarded look when I walked closer.

  I made introductions to Killian’s mother then walked over and purchased an apple and water before sitting down with my friends.

  Amanda took my hand. “The entire team is in a private waiting room. Lyle and I were hoping you’d come in here eventually.”

  “Beth made me.” I sounded like a pouty little girl and couldn’t help it.

  Lyle smiled and winked at Beth. “Someone needs to take her in hand.”

  “That’s why she’s perfect for my son. She’s trainable and she’ll be able to handle him just fine. I know these are your closest friends, Rebecca, so I’m going to speak frankly.”

  “Please.”

  Beth gave me the saddest eyes I’d ever seen from her. And though I hadn’t noticed it before, they were Killian’s eyes.

  “I lost two boys in the cliff accident.”

  Chapter Thirty

  I could do nothing but listen while my heart broke all over again for Beth, Killian, and Michael.

  “Killian didn’t speak except to his brother that entire first year. The only reason I fought my husband so badly on turning off the machines was Killian. Michael is his twin and I couldn’t separate them. I found a strength I didn’t know I had. When school started, I would drop Killian off and he would just stare at me with dead eyes. He spoke to no one, not his teachers or his school friends. I picked him up each day and drove him to the hospital. Killian would walk into the room, take his brother’s hand, and start talking. He’d tell him everything and then go home at night completely silent until the following day at the hospital.”

  Beth wiped a tear from her cheek and smiled gently.

  “We found a therapist. He suggested that we keep Killian from his brother’s side for two days each week and give him a chance to have time alone with his thoughts; no hospital, just a young boy who would get bored quickly. He walked more than ten miles when we tried it. A woman picked him up and gave him a ride the rest of the way to the hospital, which was forty miles away. A nurse called us. Killian had told the driver his brother was in the hospital and he needed a ride. I think it was the only words he spoke in six months outside of Michael’s room.”

  Several more tears fell and I took Beth’s hand.

  “Eight months after the accident, Killian and Michael turned ten years old. By then, Michael had been moved to a long-term rehab facility that was closer to our home. It was a horrible birthday because Killian was determined his brother would come back to himself that day. It didn’t matter what I or his therapist told him. Killian thought his brother would be okay. It was heart wrenching to see his birthday wish turn to dust.

  “My husband was angry all the time and blamed himself for taking us to that summer house. He started drinking, and Killian started fighting in school. For a while, I thought Killian got himself suspended on purpose. If he wasn’t in school, he could sit with his brother.”

  I looked at my friends. Tears ran down Amanda’s face and Lyle looked everywhere but at us. I took a drink of water not knowing how much more I could take. At the same time, I needed to hear this story.

  “Angus, Killian’s father, left about a year after the accident. It was almost a blessing. I went back to w