Free Always and Forever by Kathryn Shay Page A

together.

    They did. He’d concentrate on how much fun the party had been on Sunday. Everybody had been in a good mood until Bailey called. Then they’d all sensed her feelings of loss, that she wasn’t as much a part of their lives anymore. It had bummed them out, too. Late that night, though, his wife had erased all that from his mind with some mind-blowing sex in the pool.
    Lighthearted, he playedsome of his favorite oldies on the jukebox and made quick work of cleaning up, checking the bar stock, then he stepped outside. The sun was bright enough to hurt his eyes as he stood under the green awning and surveyed the area.
    It was time to decide about putting tables on the front sidewalk and converting the space into a serving station. He knew the measurements. They had room for fourtables on each side of the door. But Pat was reluctant to set up outdoor dining because it brought a whole bunch of problems with it. Still, he studied the area and pictured the expansion.
    “Patrick!” a little voice called out.
    Pat got a glimpse of the boy, Ben, coming down the street, holding Jamie’s hand. “Hey there, you two.”
    Just after Pat’s greeting, Ben broke away from his motherand started running toward the pub. Too fast. Pat cupped his hands and shouted, “Slow down, Benno. I’ll wait right here.”
    But the boy didn’t decrease his speed. He ran even faster. Something niggled at Pat and he started forward. When Ben was ten feet away, Pat thought he’d been foolish to worry—but then Ben stumbled and went down. Hard. On his head. On the sidewalk. He screeched like thedickens when he hit the concrete.
    Pat reached him first, but Jamie wasn’t far behind. Kneeling down, he saw the child was motionless. Oh, dear Lord.
    Jamie knelt, too.
    Gingerly Pat turned Ben over. A huge goose egg marred his forehead and the skin was broken. The wound was already darkening and bloody.
    “Mommy!” The boy made soft, hiccupping sobs. “It hurts.”
    Jamie took his hand.“I can see, buddy,” she said calmly, taking a white cloth out of her bag and placing it on his head. “You feel bad. We have to get some help.” She looked up at Pat. “Do you have your phone?”
    Pat whipped it out and punched in 911. “One hundred MacDougal Street. Three-year-old boy. He has a gash on his head that’s gonna need stitches.”
    “Tell them he hit the sidewalk hard enough to have aconcussion.” Her voice was low and serious.
    Pat relayed the information then clicked off. “They’ll be here in a few minutes. I would have driven you to the hospital, but traffic will be bad. An ambulance can get down the streets faster.”
    “I understand.” She never took her gaze off Ben. “You’re going to be fine, honey.”
    The boy glanced up at Pat and put his fingers in his mouth. Hisbig blue eyes were full of tears. Soon, a siren rent the air, and an ambulance swerved into a space in front of the pub. Two women in blue medic uniforms leaped out.
    “Right here,” Pat said, stupidly, because they could see just fine. He stood and backed away.
    The women eased Jamie out of the way. She stood, wrapped her arm around her waist and covered her mouth with her other hand. Shedidn’t cry, whimper or even react much. Still, he went to her. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he said, “Ben’s gonna be okay.”
    “I know. I just hate to see him in pain.” She continued to watch her son. “He never runs away. He must have been excited to see you.”
    One of the attendants came toward them. “Are you the boy’s mother?”
    Jamie nodded.
    “We’re getting a backboard. Your sonhas to have stitches. I called the supervising doc, and he said Ben will need X-rays.”
    Jamie nodded in assent.
    “You can ride in the ambulance. He’s so little.”
    As the women slid Ben onto a backboard, Jamie faced Pat again. “I was supposed to be at the day care in a few minutes. Can you call them?”
    “Yeah, sure.”
    She bit her lip, her very first show of