Chapter 1
The hospital called at 11:43 p.m.
I knew the time because I had been staring at the kitchen clock, waiting for Noah’s fever to come down. He was asleep upstairs with a cool cloth beside his pillow when my phone rang.
“Is this Alexa Bennett?” a woman asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m calling from St. Anne’s Hospital. Andre Bennett was brought in after an accident at work. He gave your name as his emergency contact.”
Andre was my former husband. He was also Noah’s father.
I gripped the edge of the counter.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes. He’s being treated now. The doctor would like you to come.”
I asked how badly he was hurt. The woman said she couldn’t tell me over the phone.
Pascal appeared in the doorway while I was still holding the phone to my ear. He had been asleep. His eyes moved from my face to the car keys in my hand.
“What happened?”
“Andre’s in the hospital.”
His expression closed.
“Noah has a fever,” he said.
“I know. I’m going to call Simone to stay with him.”
My sister lived ten minutes away. She loved Noah, and he felt safe with her. I was already looking for her number when Pascal stepped closer.
“Why did the hospital call you?”
“I’m still Andre’s emergency contact. We have a child together.”
“You’ve been married to me for three years.”
I ended the call with the hospital and faced him.
“Andre may be seriously hurt. Noah deserves to know I went.”
“Then tell me what I’m supposed to do when he wakes up and you’re gone.”
“Stay with him until Simone arrives. I’ll tell her everything he needs.”
Pascal stared at me. “You’re asking me to sit here while you run to your ex-husband.”
“I’m asking you to help me care for Noah.”
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Pascal had never needed to love Andre. The two men were polite at school events and tense everywhere else. Andre called every Sunday and showed up for Noah’s games. Pascal was there on the other days: packing lunches, checking homework, making Noah laugh when a bad dream kept him awake.
I loved Pascal for those ordinary things.
I also knew what it meant for a boy to lose his father without warning.
I called Simone. She answered on the second ring and said she would come immediately.
Pascal heard every word.
“You already decided,” he said.
“I had to.”
“You could wait until morning.”
“The doctor asked me to come now.”
He went into the living room. I followed him, pulling on my coat.
“Pascal, I know this is difficult.”
“Do you?” He turned toward me. “Every time Andre calls, you drop what you’re doing. Every school event has to fit his schedule. He still has a place in this house, and I’m supposed to smile about it.”
“This is Noah’s house too. His father is part of his life.”
“And where does that leave me?”
The hurt in his voice made me stop.
I had heard pieces of this before. I had told him that Noah loved him. I had believed that was enough. Tonight, I could see he had been holding on to much more than he had said.
“We need to talk about that,” I told him. “But the talk can wait until I know Andre is safe.”
Pascal gave a hard little laugh. “Of course it can.”
A car pulled into the driveway. Simone had come faster than I expected.
I went upstairs to check Noah before leaving. He was sleeping soundly. His forehead felt cooler. I tucked the blanket around him and kissed his hair.
When I came down, Simone was at the door.
“I’ve got him,” she said.
She looked between Pascal and me, but she didn’t ask questions.
I told her when I had last given Noah medicine. Pascal stood by the stairs without speaking.
Then I picked up my keys.
“If you walk out to see him,” Pascal said, “don’t come back.”
Simone went still.
I stared at my husband. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
“You want me to choose between Noah’s father and my marriage while he’s in an emergency room?”
“I want you to choose our marriage for once.”
I thought of Andre teaching Noah to ride a bicycle, running beside him long after he’d let go of the seat. I thought of Noah asking that afternoon whether Dad would call before bedtime.
Andre hadn’t called.
“I’m going to the hospital,” I said. “I’ll call you when I know something.”
Pascal stepped away from the stairs. He let me pass, but his face was rigid.
Outside, the cold air caught in my throat.
I drove to St. Anne’s with both hands tight around the steering wheel. I was frightened for Andre. I was frightened of what I would have to tell Noah. Underneath both fears was the sound of Pascal’s voice telling me I no longer had a home if I went to help.
At the emergency desk, a nurse asked for my name. Then she led me down a hall to a waiting area.
Andre’s sister, Leila, rose when she saw me. Her eyes were red.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“In surgery.”
“What happened?”
She swallowed. “They said there was an accident at the warehouse.”
May you like
She took my hand.
“Alexa, he kept asking them to call you.”
