Then I asked, “Granger?”
“I don’t know,” He swallowed again, then I heard him inhale a gasp.
“We’re about to load you into the chopper.” A man’s voice called out.
“Okay. Baby?” he asked.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“I love you. So goddamned much,” his words caused my heart to wrench.
“I love you, too, Carter. So goddamned much.”
An hour later, Frank, Misty, and I were going through security to board a plane.
My phone rang just as we headed to our gate.
I pulled it out and, without checking the caller ID, answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Harlee, this is Caulson.” He said.
“Hi,” I said as I raced to our gate alongside Misty and Frank.
“He’s headed to Parkwood Memorial Hospital in Dallas. They are a trauma one hospital and.... try not to panic, but they have an excellent burn unit.”
I nodded, even though he couldn’t see me. “Okay. Carter called. His parents and I are almost to our gate, so we can get there.”
“Okay. There will be someone at baggage claim, you’ll see a man holding up the word Solace. Go to him. He will get you where you need to go. Okay?”
“Okay, thank you for letting me know and for calling me,” I said.
Three hours and twenty minutes later, our plane was taxing on the runway in Dallas, Texas.
Twenty minutes later, Frank, Misty, and I were headed to baggage claim.
Thankfully, we had all fitted what we needed into our backpacks.
None of us had dallied in packing.
When I saw a man in a pair of black slacks and a dark blue polo with the company's name on it, that Carter worked for, I lifted my chin in his direction.
Seeing the wordSolace, I felt my gut clench.
Other people were standing in front of him.
“White vans parked out front will take you where you need to go. If your name is not on the approved visitor list, then I’m sorry, but we won’t be able to tell you anything.”
“This is Channel Nine News. Are there any survivors?” A woman with a blonde bob, wearing a wrap-around red shirt, and black slacks said as she shoved her way past us all with a microphone in front of her mouth, and a man carrying a video recorder.
The man looked at her and narrowed his eyes.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Frank said through gritted teeth.
The woman turned to him, and then the camera was pointed at him.
The woman asked, “And you are?”
“None of your goddamned business. You should be ashamed of yourself. Ambushing people who haven’t heard a goddamned word about their loved ones and you think you're entitled to it first?”
