The Best of Me(102)

The road ahead would be challenging for the entire family, but where there had once been nothing but despair, Amanda now felt hope. Jared was stronger than he thought he was. It would take time, but he’d find a way to get through all this. In the past two days, she’d noticed flashes of his strength, even if he hadn’t been aware of it himself. And the psychologist, she knew, would help him as well.

Frank and her mom had been shuttling Annette to and from the hospital; Lynn had been driving here on her own. Amanda knew she hadn’t been spending as much time with her girls as she should. They were struggling, too, but what choice did she have?

Tonight, she decided, she’d pick up a pizza on the way home. Afterward, maybe they’d watch a movie together. It wasn’t much, but right now it was all she could really do. Once Jared got out of the hospital, things would start getting back to normal again. She should call her mother to tell her of her plans…

Digging into her purse, she pulled out her phone and noticed a number on the screen she didn’t recognize. Her voice-mail icon was blinking as well.

Curious, she called up voice mail and put the phone to her ear, listening as Morgan Tanner’s slow drawl came through, asking her to call when she had the chance.

She dialed the number. Tanner picked up immediately.

“Thank you for returning my call,” he said, with the same cordial formality he had shown when Amanda and Dawson had met with him. “Before I get started, please know that I’m sorry to call at such a difficult time for you.”

She blinked in confusion, wondering how he’d known. “Thank you… but Jared is doing much better. We’re very relieved.”

Tanner was silent, as if trying to interpret what she’d just said. “Well, then… I was calling because I went to Tuck’s house earlier this morning and while I was examining the car—”

“Oh, that’s right,” Amanda interrupted. “I meant to tell you about that. Dawson finished repairing it before he left. It should be ready to go.”

Again, Tanner took a few seconds before going on. “My point is, I found the letter that Tuck had written to Dawson,” he continued. “He must have left it here, and I wasn’t sure whether you wanted me to forward it to you.”

Amanda moved the phone to her other ear, wondering why he was calling her. “It was Dawson’s,” she said. “You should probably send it to him, shouldn’t you?”

She heard him exhale on the other end. “I take it you haven’t heard what happened,” he said slowly. “On Sunday night? At the Tidewater?”

“What happened?” Amanda frowned, now utterly confused.

“I hate to have to tell you this over the phone. Would it be possible for you to come by my office this evening? Or tomorrow morning?”

“No,” she said. “I’m back in Durham. What’s going on? What happened?”

“I really think this should be done in person.”

“That’s not going to be possible,” she said with a trace of impatience. “Just tell me what’s going on. What happened at the Tidewater? And why can’t you just send the letter to Dawson?”

Tanner hesitated before he finally cleared his throat. “There was an… altercation at the bar. The place was pretty much torn apart, and numerous shots were fired. Ted and Abee Cole were arrested, and a young man named Alan Bonner was seriously injured. Bonner is still in the hospital, but from what I could learn, he’s going to be okay.”

Hearing the names, one after the other, made the blood pound in her temples. She knew, of course, the name that linked them all. Her voice was almost a whisper.

“Was Dawson there?”

“Yes,” Morgan Tanner answered.

“What happened?”

“From what I was able to gather, Ted and Abee Cole were assaulting Alan Bonner when Dawson suddenly entered the bar. At which point, Ted and Abee Cole went after him instead.” Tanner paused. “You have to understand that the official police report has yet to be released—”

“Is Dawson okay?” she demanded. “That’s all I want to know.”

She could hear Tanner breathing on the other end. “Dawson was helping Alan Bonner out of the bar when Ted managed to fire off a last round. Dawson was shot.”

Amanda felt every muscle in her body tense, bracing for what she already knew was coming. These words, like so many in the past few days, seemed impossible to comprehend.

“It… he was shot in the head. He had no chance, Amanda. He was brain-dead by the time he reached the hospital.”

Even as Tanner spoke, Amanda could feel her grip loosening on the phone. It clattered to the ground. She stared at it, lying in the gravel, before finally reaching down to punch the OFF button.