Point Hope Read Online Free PDF Page B

uncurl your fist.
    Trey had left the light on in the living room. When Alex turned it off, he noticed the blanket on the couch. Huh? Trey and Rosette were fighting? Alex reached and turned the light off in slow motion, thinking up a bunch of reasons why Trey had slept down here. Maybe one of them snored and kept the other up.  He really didn’t want to think about it. Or why Rosette had looked so scared when they left.
    Amanda’s baby was due soon, he thought. They would probably call in the morning with the good news. They needed some good news. He went back upstairs, the steps creaking all the way. The old house had belonged to his grandfather and then his dad—now it belonged to Trey and Rosette. It was just him and Dad until his dad died, and then Trey moved back in with Rosette and the kids. Sometimes Alex wondered if it should have been his house; but he was “just a kid.”
    Not that he minded having Trey and his family here. He really felt like they were one big family, actually.
    “Alex?” Jake stood in the hallway with his blankie hanging from one hand. “Did Mom and Dad leave?”
    “Hey buddy.” Alex scooped him up and carried him back into his room. “They just went to check on Aunt Amanda.”
    “And the baby?” Jake’s voice rose in pitch. Crap. Jake was wide awake now. Alex would probably have to pull out that book about the rabbit to get him back to sleep.
    “Maybe.” Alex didn’t want to explain what was going on—he didn’t have any idea anyway. So he grabbed Jake’s favorite book, tucked him back to bed and read to Jake until he fell asleep. Alex lay on the edge of Jake’s bed for a few minutes, thinking. He had Summer’s cell number, and maybe she would tell him more than Rosette. He went into his own room and shut the door to call her.
    She answered after three rings. “Hey, what’re you doing up so late?” Her voice slipped over the words, just audible through loud music.
    “How’s Amanda?” He skipped pleasantries too. “Is she okay?”
    A pause. “Why?”
    “Cause Trey and Rosette flew outta here like it was an emergency. Having a baby isn’t that…bad, is it?” That was a lame word, but he couldn’t think of a better one this late. Summer didn’t answer, so he added, “She’s at the hospital.”
    “I gotta go.” The line went dead.
    Well, that sure helped.
     
    ~  ~ ~
     
    Trey pulled the car into the emergency entrance. “Go find out what you can while I park.”
    Rosette nodded and got out, hurrying inside without looking back. Inside the doors, she spotted Rachel behind the counter and started over. They knew her from Trey’s work, plus Rachel had been at counter several of the times Rosette had rushed Candice in with lung problems in the middle of the night.
    She almost didn’t see the person already in line. He was tall and talking low, in a way that sounded like he planned to talk for a while.
    Rachel motioned, and for once her usually professional face was laced with concern. The man stood off to the side, still trying to chat.
    “Amanda Sinclair,” Rosette uttered. “Harry said they brought her in here.” Her tone begged for an explanation but Rachel looked down.
    “I’ll get a doctor.” She rose and hurried away, leaving Rosette baffled. Trey appeared behind her, breathing fast like he’d run from the car.
    She looked at him, not sure what to say to his questioning expression, when someone else called, “Sinclair.”
    A woman was holding the inner ER door open for them. “Trey and Rosette?” She motioned for them to follow her. They didn’t go far. There was a small family waiting room back in the ER, for cases like this. Once in the room, the doctor turned to them. “I’m Dr. Rosenberg. I’m treating Amanda, and we’re doing everything we can, but she suffered several traumatic injuries in her accident.”
    “Accident?” Trey asked. “This isn’t related to her pregnancy?”
    The doctor shook her head. “No. She was brought in