Free I'll Stand by You by Sharon Sala Page A

again. All she had to do was make it through her day.
    She didn’t know until she got to the restaurant that today was the day of the closed hearing at the courthouse.
    Dori could only imagine what Johnny Pine was dealing with and said a quiet prayer as she started washing a new load of dishes. Her thoughts slid back to her own little boy, and she wished she were the one with him at the doctor’s office. It was times like this when she was reminded adult life could really suck lemons.
    It was almost noon by the time Meeker called her.
    “Hey, honey. It’s me. Luther has an ear infection.”
    Dori groaned. “Oh, that’s what I was afraid of,” she said. “So what did they do?”
    “The doctor gave him a shot to head it off and some medicine for him to take orally. He’s asleep right now, and we’re fine.”
    Dori frowned. “A shot! He’s never had a shot before. Did he cry?”
    Meeker chuckled. “Hell yes, he cried. He let them know how pissed he was, while he was at it.”
    Dori felt sick. His first shot and she hadn’t been there for him. “Poor little guy. You don’t have to sound so proud of it.”
    Meeker chuckled. “It’s a guy thing, honey. He’s good. We’re both good. See you later.”
    “Yeah, see you later,” she said and ended the call.
    Walter had been listening to her call without apology.
    “Is your boy sick?” he asked.
    Dori nodded. “Ear infection.”
    “That’s tough,” Walter said.
    Dori nodded. “He got his first shot today. He cried and I wasn’t there,” she said and then burst into tears.
    Walter looked a little anxious and went back to his grill. Crying women made him nervous.
    * * *
    By the time 2:00 p.m. rolled around and Dori’s day was ending, Johnny was on his way to the courthouse with the boys. It would be the unveiling of Brooks Pine’s injuries.
    Once the citizens of Blessings figured out they would not be present during the hearing, they regrouped and began gathering out on the courthouse steps as well as lining the halls inside, their curiosity shining for all to see.
    Johnny was as prepared for what lay ahead as he could be. He had dressed the boys in clean jeans and new red T-shirts, and made sure they’d combed their hair before leaving the house. But there was a knot in his stomach as he drove uptown. Confronting the boys who’d caused Beep so much pain was going to be hard for all of them. Beep was scared to see them again, and Marshall was in big-brother protective mode. Johnny needed to know justice would be served.
    By the time they arrived, the parking spaces were filled up on both sides of the street, and the growing crowd in front of the courthouse was daunting.
    Marshall leaned forward.
    “Why are all these people here?”
    “Minding everyone’s business but their own,” Johnny muttered and circled the courthouse to look for an empty parking space.
    As he stopped at a stop sign, he noticed a young woman waiting to cross and then recognized Dori Grant. He watched her glance toward their car as she started to cross, and he could tell by the look on her face that she’d recognized him too. To his surprise, she smiled shyly and waved. Before he could wave back, she was gone. A little startled that he’d momentarily lost focus, he turned the corner and finally found an empty space.
    Marshall got out on his own as Johnny helped Beep out of the car. He could tell by the way his little brother was stooped over that he must be in pain.
    “Hey, Beep, are you hurting?” he asked.
    Beep shifted the plastic mask on his face to a more comfortable position and then ran a hand across his tummy.
    “A little.”
    “Do you want some help? I’ll carry you in if it’s too far for you to walk.”
    Beep looked at Marshall and then ducked his head.
    “They’ll think I’m a baby,” he muttered.
    Johnny frowned. “To hell with them. We don’t care what they think.”
    Beep eyed the set of his brother’s jaw. “You said a bad word.”
    Johnny sighed.