“Maybe.”

I decide to count that as a victory, and move on to the more important question of the day.

“What the hell are we going to do about Harrison?”

Forty-Seven

Whitney

I find my aunt, my brother, Cricket, and Hunter all upstairs in a private surgical waiting room. I’m not even sure how the hell I’m going to explain what happened, but when I walk in and see Jackie in a seat beside Asa, her arms wrapped around herself and Cricket’s head lying on her shoulder, I know they don’t care about Harrison Riscoff right now.

“How is Karma doing? Did you get an update?”

Jackie looks up and tears pool in her blue eyes. “They found more than they thought when they opened her up. They’re trying to get everything they can, but—” She breaks off into a sob.

Cricket meets my gaze. “They have to do a full hysterectomy. Karma won’t be able to have any more kids.” Hunter reaches out to take her hand and squeeze.

“But . . . but she’s going to make it? They’re going to be able to get all the cancer?”

Tears roll down Jackie’s face. “They don’t know. It spread. She should’ve gone to the goddamn doctor instead of waiting. She could’ve gotten help sooner, and it wouldn’t have gotten so bad. Instead, it’s just been spreading.”

That doesn’t sound good on any level.

“But she’s going to be fine, right?” I ask again because I need to understand exactly what we’re dealing with here.

“They’re trying.” Asa stands and comes toward me to wrap an arm around my shoulders. “They’re doing their best.”

“When will we know?”

“Soon. We hope,” Jackie says, and I walk over to give her a hug. My aunt’s strong and capable frame feels frailer than I’ve ever felt, and I hate that all of this is taking a massive toll on her.

When Jackie retakes her seat, Asa pulls me away from them, his gaze locked on the blood on my shirt. “What the hell happened out there?”

His tone screams protective older brother, and his stance says he’s ready to go to battle. I can only imagine how pissed he was when he found out we left in the chopper to stage a rescue effort without him. With his military training, I’m sure he would have appointed himself team leader of the operation.

I give him the rundown, and he doesn’t look nearly as stunned as I expect. “I’ll kill that little bastard myself for starting the fucking fire. I’ve been watching the news and waiting on updates about Karma before I go offer my services to the evacuation effort. This shit needs to be organized or it’ll turn into a complete clusterfuck.”

“Where do they stand with the evacuation right now?”

“Half the town is on notice. If they’re smart, everyone on the other side of the river will get the fuck out as soon as possible.”

“Are they evacuating The Gables yet?”