about Amber before. She was tiny, five-two, super thin, and long, fiery red hair. She was fierce, though. No matter how small, she was a spitfire, and I knew that someday when she found the right guy, she would bend over backward to give all that spirit to him and their kids. She loved so much, gave so much and expected so little in return, he would be one lucky son of a bitch to get her. There was no doubt that she would love Amber, and I couldn’t wait for all of them to get together.
I hadn’t said anything about Amber before to my mom either. because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She would have been on the phone with Nicole Davies, Gavin’s mom, about five minutes after finding out about Amber and me, then everyone would have known, which wasn’t what Amber had wanted, neither had I, in the beginning.
I was thrilled when my crazy sister had settled down some and decided to become a dispatcher. She had done a lot of things, but she needed constant adrenaline in her life. A lot of jobs could offer that, and obviously, I knew without a doubt that she could have done any of them, but in this one, I was happy to know she was safe.
I hated calling her now, didn’t want to worry her, to freak her out about Mom. Unfortunately, that didn't matter. I needed to know if Mom was over there. It wouldn’t be the first time that either of them would stay at the other’s house. I never understood that shit, I wanted to sleep in my own bed, or Amber’s of course. The whole slumber party thing was strange to me, and no part of me wanted to picture my mom and sister having pillow fights, which really was about the only thing guys wanted to imagine happened when girls had sleepovers.
“Trent?” My sister asked, her voice groggy.
“Hey, Nat. Have you talked to mom tonight?”
“No, she’s taking care of Mrs. Madison. She was supposed to come home from the hospital yesterday. Why?”
Letting out a deep, relieved breath, I explained the situation and assured my sister that I’d call her after I got to Mom’s then disconnected so that I could alert the officers arriving on the scene.
For the first time, since the commander called, I was able to take a full breath. I called Amber too, wanting to let her know not to worry about mom. I wasn’t happy that her house had been compromised, especially since I didn’t yet have a good idea of what had happened there, but the fact that she was likely safe was a huge weight off my heart.
“I’m so glad, honey, can I do anything, is there anything you need?”
God, that woman, she was always so willing and eager to help.
“No, baby, I’ll let you know what I find out, but why don’t you try and get some sleep? You’ve got another long day tomorrow.” I reminded her, knowing that with Aurora gone, Amber was taking on the bulk of the responsibilities at the store. There was something going on with the woman who owned the coffee shop down the street too. Amber had mentioned it to me. She was worried for her friend, but it sounded like the cousin was running with a bad crowd. I knew all of that shit weighed on her, the last thing she needed now was to go into a full day with only a couple of hours of sleep. We didn’t both need to be grumpy.
She promised that she would try, but I didn’t have high hopes that she would actually fall asleep. It amazed me how much Amber internalized. She took so much on, always the first to help out, the first to volunteer her assistance. She was always, always there for friends and family. She would drop whatever she was doing to be there for anyone. Amber was great about it, but she took a lot on herself, emotionally, she felt every one of her girls’ problems. She worried about them, thought about them, and ran herself crazy.
Shutting off the truck, I scanned the area in front of my mother’s perfect white house on the far side of Allen. It was nice, well-kept and the area was great, more rural than suburban, though it was right on
I hadn’t said anything about Amber before to my mom either. because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. She would have been on the phone with Nicole Davies, Gavin’s mom, about five minutes after finding out about Amber and me, then everyone would have known, which wasn’t what Amber had wanted, neither had I, in the beginning.
I was thrilled when my crazy sister had settled down some and decided to become a dispatcher. She had done a lot of things, but she needed constant adrenaline in her life. A lot of jobs could offer that, and obviously, I knew without a doubt that she could have done any of them, but in this one, I was happy to know she was safe.
I hated calling her now, didn’t want to worry her, to freak her out about Mom. Unfortunately, that didn't matter. I needed to know if Mom was over there. It wouldn’t be the first time that either of them would stay at the other’s house. I never understood that shit, I wanted to sleep in my own bed, or Amber’s of course. The whole slumber party thing was strange to me, and no part of me wanted to picture my mom and sister having pillow fights, which really was about the only thing guys wanted to imagine happened when girls had sleepovers.
“Trent?” My sister asked, her voice groggy.
“Hey, Nat. Have you talked to mom tonight?”
“No, she’s taking care of Mrs. Madison. She was supposed to come home from the hospital yesterday. Why?”
Letting out a deep, relieved breath, I explained the situation and assured my sister that I’d call her after I got to Mom’s then disconnected so that I could alert the officers arriving on the scene.
For the first time, since the commander called, I was able to take a full breath. I called Amber too, wanting to let her know not to worry about mom. I wasn’t happy that her house had been compromised, especially since I didn’t yet have a good idea of what had happened there, but the fact that she was likely safe was a huge weight off my heart.
“I’m so glad, honey, can I do anything, is there anything you need?”
God, that woman, she was always so willing and eager to help.
“No, baby, I’ll let you know what I find out, but why don’t you try and get some sleep? You’ve got another long day tomorrow.” I reminded her, knowing that with Aurora gone, Amber was taking on the bulk of the responsibilities at the store. There was something going on with the woman who owned the coffee shop down the street too. Amber had mentioned it to me. She was worried for her friend, but it sounded like the cousin was running with a bad crowd. I knew all of that shit weighed on her, the last thing she needed now was to go into a full day with only a couple of hours of sleep. We didn’t both need to be grumpy.
She promised that she would try, but I didn’t have high hopes that she would actually fall asleep. It amazed me how much Amber internalized. She took so much on, always the first to help out, the first to volunteer her assistance. She was always, always there for friends and family. She would drop whatever she was doing to be there for anyone. Amber was great about it, but she took a lot on herself, emotionally, she felt every one of her girls’ problems. She worried about them, thought about them, and ran herself crazy.
Shutting off the truck, I scanned the area in front of my mother’s perfect white house on the far side of Allen. It was nice, well-kept and the area was great, more rural than suburban, though it was right on
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