“Maybe you should mind your own business,” he barks.
When I touch his shoulder, he shrugs me off. Emotion claws up my face and stings my eyes. By the time I found my mother, it was too late. It’s not too late for Cindy.
“Either we take her ourselves or I’m calling an ambulance.”
He pushes to his feet, his eyes manic. “She ain’t your mother. You had your chance with yours, and you blew it! This one’s mine, and I say what goes.”
My lips part as tears soundlessly fall down my cheeks. Of all the mean, hurtful things Jace has said to me over the past couple of months, that one cut the deepest.
The blood drains from his face. He turns back toward Cindy and rests his hand on her cheek. “Dammit. The ice bath ain’t workin’.”
“Jace,” I murmur, squatting down beside him, “I know you’re worried she’ll be mad if you bring her, but we have to.”
The whites of his eyes turn pink as he stares at his listless mother boiling in the frozen water. “Get the truck,” he mumbles so low I barely make it out.
I jog through the house and find the keys to Jace’s truck on the hook near the back door. After jamming my feet into sneakers, I run out to the truck and bring it in as Jace appears on the porch with Cindy in his arms.
I slide over as he sets her down on the passenger side of the bench seat and allow Jace room behind the wheel. Her hot skin is clammy against mine. I hold on to her as Jace skids through the gravel in a cloud of dust.
Turns out, the nearest hospital is twenty miles away. We ride in silence, the tension sitting in the cab like a fourth person. Inside the ER, minutes tick like hours. Cindy lies in her bed looking helpless and small while Jace holds her hand, his head bowed in silent prayer. There’s nothing we can do but wait.
The swish of the curtain pulls his gaze up to the doctor. A mask covers his nose and mouth. He wiggles his fingers in a “come with me” motion, and we both follow. “Your mother tested positive for the virus.”
My stomach bottoms out. The flu-like virus has been going around for the past couple of years. At its height, I’d never seen New York City so empty. The silence was eerie. I thought we’d reached its inevitable end, but a second strain recently appeared.
Jace’s jaw ticks as his eyes flutter closed. “She wasn’t even sick.”
“It moves fast, I’m afraid. There isn’t much we can do other than let it run its course, but her fever is beginning to come down. We’d like to admit her overnight just for observation. Once it’s back to normal, you can take her home.”
“Thank you,” I say.
Jace’s anger radiates into the room. The doctor hands us each a mask and instructs us to go to the testing center to make sure we didn’t catch the virus, as well. An hour later, Cindy’s been placed in quarantine, and we’re back at the house with a clean bill of health and instructions to remain homebound for two weeks.
“This is bullshit,” Jace grumbles. He lights a cigarette and blows a single stream into the air. “How can they expect me to leave her there all alone?”
I nod but don’t offer a reply. Anything that comes out of my mouth is likely to incur the brunt of his wrath, so instead, I opt to quietly hold space for his pain. His gaze flicks toward me beforefixing back on the trees ahead. “What I said about your mother before, that was uncalled for.”
My chest tightens. I tuck my feet beneath me, curling into the rocking chair where Cindy loves to sit. “I know you didn’t mean it.”
He takes another drag, this one coiling from his nostrils like a dragon. “When I was a kid, my dad used to tell me I’d be the man of the house someday. When he died, I swore I’d live up to his expectations and take care of things.”
Jace may be the king of assholes, but his mother is held to a higher standard. It’s obvious he loves her with every fiber of his being. His father would be proud. “You have.”
When he turns to face me, his eyes are ringed in red. “I can’t lose her, too, El.”
The vulnerability in his voice crushes my heart. I want to take him in my arms and hold him until everything goes back to normal, but I can’t. Instead, I sit quietly and let him feel whatever it is he needs to feel. Jace carries his mask of armor wherever he goes, but he’s still human underneath. I rest my hand over his to offer comfort, expecting him to push me off, but I’m shocked when he wraps his fingers around mine.
“I think I need a beer,” he announces after a few solitary moments. “You want one?”
“Yeah.”
His abandoned chair rocks back and forth with a rhythmic click as he disappears into the house. Minutes later, he returns with two bottles and reclaims his seat. I take one and let the cold carbonation slide down my throat as the sun begins to lower behind the trees.
Our drinks are near empty when I finally find the courage to ask the question sitting on my tongue. “May I ask what happened to your dad?”
“Dad was a roughneck on the rig. Supposedly, it was an accident, but I have theories of my own.”
My eyes widen. “You think it was intentional?”