17
Gretchen
He changed his mind at the last second and tried to escape.
Or maybe he never had any intention of dying at all and was only carrying out his threat in a fit of fury.
In any case, he was running out the door when the first explosion hit. Two witnesses who were close enough to suffer minor burns but no other harm saw the force of the blast lift him at least fifteen feet in the air before casually discarding his body on the concrete. By the time anyone reached him, Liam Cassini’s clothes had melted into his skin.
The burns over seventy percent of his body would have been critical enough but the damage to his lungs is irreparable. We hear his wife’s sobbing escalate when she is told he will probably not last through the night.
“Should we leave?” Danny asks quietly as we sit in uncomfortable hospital chairs and listen to Whitney cry.
He drove up from the city after his game to pay us a quick surprise visit and was greeted with pandemonium, arriving in Lake Stuart shortly after the explosion. The brewery fire was so intense that engines have been called in from five surrounding towns to battle the blaze. The news crews haven’t even been able to get close.
The screens on the wall across from our seats are tuned to a local channel and an attractive brunette newscaster reports confidently from a safe distance away from the fire. “Tonight’s catastrophic blaze at Cassini Brewery, a local landmark here in Lake Stuart, remains dangerous due to the flammable nature of the materials stored on site. First response crews continue to exercise caution and residents are urged to keep their distance. A party at the brewery had fortunately just ended. Minor injuries were reported and one man is in critical condition. The cause of the fire is suspicious.”
The fire could be seen from everywhere in town. Barbara Bianco texted earlier to make sure we were safe. I assured her we’re fine but might be delayed in retrieving the girls. She replied that we shouldn’t worry. The girls have been comfortably asleep on the sofa bed with Buttons since we left.
I’d rather not stay in this hospital for another minute. The stench of smoke clings thickly to my clothes. I want to pick up our girls and go home, leaving Liam Cassini on his own to battle the demons that are surely coming for him. Yet I hesitate to suggest leaving if Trent would prefer to stay.
“Soon,” Trent says in answer to Danny’s question. “Let’s leave soon.”
My brother observes the way I lean against his best friend’s shoulder and continues to watch as Trent wraps one arm around me. Danny doesn’t seem bothered. He grins and looks away.
We had to tell him about Jules and Liam Cassini. Trent offered to play the audio recording but Danny shook his head, saying the summary was more than enough.
“How was your game tonight?” I ask him because I haven’t had a chance to look up the sports news.
“A single, a walk and a three run homer,” he says. “We won with a score of five to three.”
“You have to fly out tomorrow?”
“Yeah. I’ve got an evening flight back to Arizona.”
Trent heaves out a breath and gets heavily to his feet. “Know what? There’s nothing to be gained by sticking around. Let’s get out of here.”
“Happy to.” I let him pull me up and lean in for a kiss.
The nearby clacking sound of heels on tile steals me away from Trent when I’m met with the sight of an inconsolable Whitney Cassini.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her I’m sorry even if it is a lie and I’m not sorry at all that Liam Cassini is dying. He has caused tremendous pain to people I love and he deserves all the pain coming his way.
Whitney’s makeup is smeared all over her cheeks. I would think she’d be more interested in speaking to Trent but her direct gaze is reserved for me. “I didn’t catch your first name.”
“Gretchen. Gretchen Aaronson.”
She looks down at the toes of her shoes. “He doesn’t have long.”
“I heard.”
“He’s lost the ability to speak but the breathing tube was removed long enough for him to whisper.”
I’m not sure what she’s getting at.
Whitney raises her head again. “He wants to see the twins.”
“No.”
Whitney ’s face cracks into desperation. “Please. It would just be for a minute.”
“NO!”
I turn and walk rapidly down the corridor but I don’t get far before Whitney catches up to me and grabs my arm.
“He’s going to die. He’s no threat to you or to them.”
I don’t shake her off because I do feel some sympathy for her. The news that her husband secretly fathered two little girls came as a complete shock. Plus, she’s hours away from becoming a widow.
I look past her to Danny and Trent. Neither one of them have moved as they watch the scene play out between me and Liam Cassini’s wife.
Whitney takes her hand from my arm and waits in a haze of misery as she hopes I’ll grant her husband’s dying request.
“The girls are four years old,” I explain in a calm tone that I hope is sympathetic because none of this Whitney’s fault. “I have to think of them first and what it would do to them, especially so soon after losing their mother.”
She nods. She’s not completely unreasonable. But her voice breaks when she points out, “This will be the only chance any of them get, Gretchen.”
Again, I look for Trent. His face is grim but he offers me no hint what he thinks of his brother’s request. Clearly he believes the decision is not his to make.
I shift my gaze to my brother. “What should we do, Danny?”
My brother is at a loss. “You know the twins better than anyone else. This is your call, Gretch.”
“Jules gave you equal say when it comes to the girls. That means it’s our call, Daniel. Help me make it.”
He rubs a hand over his face. He thinks in silence for a moment and then nods before meeting my eye once more. “Whatever else Liam Cassini is, he is their father. And it’s true that they won’t get another chance to see him. If we keep them away now then someday we’ll have to explain why we didn’t allow them to have this opportunity.”
Danny’s words have the wise ring of truth. As much as I hate the thought of exposing Mara and Caitlin to the trauma of seeing Liam Cassini, especially in this condition, time is running out.
There won’t be another chance.
Liam’s wife has begun to cry again, deep wracking sobs that shake her shoulders. She flinches when I touch her arm but calms down as she waits for my verdict.
“I’ll go get them,” I tell her. “Tell Liam his daughters are on their way.”
Trent steps forward. “I’ll drive.” He glances back at Danny. “You coming?”
Danny nods. Trent slides an arm around my waist and I lean tiredly into his strength as we exit the hospital.
Dawn is still hours away and the night sky is peaceful as Trent steers toward Lake Stuart. There is no longer an orange glow where the brewery used to be so the main fire must have been extinguished.
I swivel my upper body so I can see around the front seat and look at my brother in the back. He gives me a smile of reassurance that takes me back to another time, a different day.