“Okay,” Holly agreed, smiling at him gratefully, and then she was hugging Will, her son who was taller than she was and so wise beyond his years but who would always, at least in her eyes, be her little boy.
“Baby, I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
Holly laughed through her tears. “For letting our house burn down. You do remember that, don’t you? The Stanton home, been in our family for eighty years, now a pile of damp ash? You warned me something was wrong in the kitchen and I didn’t pay attention. This is all my fault.”
He frowned at her. “You’re kidding, right? This is totally my fault. I was the one who noticed the smell, but I didn’t take it seriously enough to make you come to the kitchen right away to check it out. I let you down. I’m the one who should be sorry.”
Holly was staring at him. “Don’t do that,” she said urgently.
“Do what?”
“Take responsibility for things you’re not responsible for.”
Will snorted. “Look who’s talking. That’s your signature move, Mom.”
Holly laughed a little shakily. “You’re doing that thing where you’re so mature it freaks me out.”
“Sorry,” Will said, with a ghost of his old grin. “I’m sure I’ll make up for it later with some stupid teenage behavior.”
Mother and son stood for several minutes in silence, watching the firemen at work on the blackened ruin that had once been their home.
After a while Will spoke again. “I’ve got an idea. How about we agree it was just a terrible accident that’s no one’s fault?”
Holly took a deep breath and let it out. “Deal,” she said, giving him a quick hug. “And by the way, you’re freaking me out again.”
Alex had come back in time to hear their last exchange.
“You know, I made that exact point earlier, and you punched me in the jaw.”
Holly smiled at him. “I guess Will’s presentation is just more credible than yours.” She reached up a hand and brushed the hair off Alex’s forehead before running her fingers softly across the scar that sliced through his eyebrow to his temple. “I think it’s this scar. Gives you a disreputable air.”
At the touch of her fingers Alex took in a quick, sharp breath and then went absolutely still, forgetting to breathe at all as he stared down at her. Holly’s mind was still full of the events of the evening and she didn’t notice the intensity of his reaction.
But someone else did.
Holly was startled when her son smacked himself on the forehead. “What’s up, Will?” she asked, turning to look at him.
“Nothing,” he said. “Not important. By the way, not that it isn’t fun standing around here in front of what used to be a house, but where are we staying tonight? We could probably go to Mrs. Hanneman’s if there’s nowhere else. Or I guess we could find a hotel. Whatever we’re doing, could we do it soon? I feel like I could fall down where I’m standing.”
Holly glanced at Alex doubtfully. “Well, your coach suggested we could stay with him for a few days while we—”
“That’s a great idea!” Will said, surprising her with his enthusiasm. “I mean…thanks, Coach. It’s really nice of you. We won’t be any trouble. Or at least I won’t. Of course my mom’s kind of a handful….”
“I can handle your mom,” Alex said firmly. Will broke into a grin. Holly yawned, and stumbled suddenly, and Will and Alex each grabbed her by an arm. “You know, I think I’m a little tired, too,” she said, as if surprised by the discovery.
“Okay, time to go,” Alex said. “The firemen said we could leave whenever we wanted, and I told them where you’ll be if they need to reach you. My car’s across the street. Walking wounded carry the stretcher cases.”
Holly drifted in and out of awareness as Alex drove away from her neighborhood near the center of town and out toward the rolling farmlands on the outskirts. The next thing she knew Alex was leading her and Will into a lovely old farmhouse and turning the light on in the front hallway. She looked around her without seeing very much.
“I have three guest bedrooms,” Alex was saying as he led them upstairs, “so at least there’s plenty of room. There’s furniture, too, because I bought this place in an estate sale and a lot of the original stuff stayed.” He paused at an open doorway. “Will, why don’t you take this room? I’ll go find you some towels and a toothbrush, and you can borrow a pair of my pajamas. Wait right here.”