Ten nodded. “The first time isn’t successful, but the second time is.”
Heidi’s mouth hung open. “I-I can’t believe I would do something like that. What about CJ? What happens to him?”
“He suffers greatly from losing you. Your parents will take him to a doctor and insist they medicate him. CJ will overdose on the meds and will end up in a psych ward.”
“For how long?” Silent tears streamed down Heidi’s face.
“Years. Nearly a decade. He’s only released when your mother dies and the hospital bill stops being paid.” It made Cope sick to his stomach to detail this family’s future, but maybe knowing what would happen might be enough to stop Cannonball from making it all come true.
Heidi turned to Tennyson, who simply nodded in agreement.
“By the time he’s released from the hospital, it’s too late to save CJ. He wasn’t mentally ill when he went into the facility, but he will be when he’s released. He’ll have severe PTSD and will be addicted to Xanax. That, combined with the fact that he has no education or work experience, will bring him to a very dark place. He won’t live to see his thirtieth birthday.” As Cope watched CJ’s future play out in his head, he couldn’t help but think of Wolf. His son was bright and funny, just like CJ, he couldn’t imagine what losing his second set of parents would do to the little boy. The only consolation Cope had was that Ronan and Ten were listed as Wolf and Lizbet’s guardians. If anything did happen to him and Jude, at least the kids would be safe and protected with their friends.
“So, what you’re telling me is that my husband’s selfish fucking actions are going to lead to the complete and utter destruction of our entire family.”
“Yes,” Ten said. “I’m so sorry to have to tell you this, but we think you need to know all the facts.”
“Do you think this information will change Cannonball’s mind about going over the falls?” Cope asked, pretty sure he knew what the answer would be.
“When we got married, Carl and I said we wanted to have three or four babies. It was our dream to have a houseful of kids.”
“What derailed that dream?” Ten asked.
“Carl did. He started working on his stunts when I was pregnant with CJ. It was just little things at first, jumping his motorcycle over one or two parked cars. About two weeks from my due date, he attempted to jump ten cars. He failed. Of course he did, the dumbass, and broke both legs and several ribs. He was still in the hospital in Phoenix getting steel rods put into his legs, while I was back in Michigan giving birth to CJ. I was all alone, with the nurses acting as my support system. Before the baby was born, we’d decided that Carl would be the one to stay home with him, so that I could go back to work. My income was what paid the bills and our health insurance was through my employer. With the time he was going to need in the hospital and at a rehab center, it was impossible for him to care for the baby. He was nearly six months old when Carl met him for the first time. Not only was I post-partum and paying off the bills that my insurance didn’t cover for the birth and Carl’s injuries and rehab, I was having to pay childcare costs. I almost divorced him then and there, but he promised he would stop with the stunts and would buckle down and be the kind of father and husband me and our son deserved.” Heidi sighed. “Spoiler alert, thatdidn’thappen.”
As Heidi spoke, Cope got a front row seat to their marriage and Carl’s insistence that he continue trying to eclipse his father. He wasn’t going to say it out loud, by Carl had ruined his chance at a large and loving family. With this stunt, he was going to ruinthe family he’d already built. “Why is he so insistent on being a better stuntman than his father?”
“The only time Rooster paid attention to Carl was when he was trying to be just like him. When he was a kid, my husband tried to jump his dirt bike over other bikes, other kids, piles of discarded construction materials, you name it. Rooster would go to the hospital with Carl and that was the only time they really had to bond with each other. Rooster’s been dead for twenty years. How much will be enough? If he does somehow manage to survive the falls. What the hell is next? Tightrope walking over the Grand Canyon? Base jumping from the world’s tallest buildings? I can’t take anymore. This is it for me. Either Carl quits the daredevil shit now or CJ and I walk away from him. I didn’t even want to come here, but Carl insisted his son be here to see his greatest triumph. I don’t think the thought of what seeing his father die would do to our son.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he’s thought of it either. Does Carl know you’re ready to walk away from him?” Cope asked.
“No, I haven’t told him. He’s got so much on his mind with the barrel and the current of the river and the hundred other details he’s dealing with, that I didn’t want to add to his burden. I’ve told him I don’t think he should do this, that I’m scared of what will happen if he doesn’t survive, but he hasn’t taken that into account at all. I don’t think there is anything I can do or say that will make him change his mind. Not even the two of you telling him he’s going to die has changed his mind. Do you think he has a death wish?”
“I think that might be part of it,” Jude said from behind Heidi. He, Ronan and Fitz had just walked into the ballroom. “We just finished speaking with him and I don’t think anything we said sunk in.”
“Ten said your daughter gave you a description of everything she saw about Carl’s attempt at the falls?” Heidi’s eyes were on Ronan.
“Yeah, here it is.” Ronan pulled an envelope out of his back pocket and handed it to her.
With shaking hands, Heidi opened it and pulled out the stapled pages. She began to read. Moments later, tears dripped from her eyes to land on the papers. “This is awful. I can’t believe your little girl saw all of this. Is she okay?” Heidi swiped at her eyes.
“She is,” Ronan said. “We do the best we can to explain the things she sees. I hate that our daughter has lost so much of her innocence, but Everly feels better when she knows she’s helping people.”
Heidi appeared to be pondering what Ronan said. “What will happen to her if Carl dies?”
Ronan stared down at his feet. Moments later, he cleared his throat and looked at Heidi. His eyes were damp. “We’ll have to explain to her that despite her warning, Carl chose to do the stunt anyway. Even if she doesn’t see the stunt with her own eyes, Everly will know what happens to him, all the same. All I can do is to reassure her again and again that she did everything she could to help.”
“I can’t even imagine.” Heidi shook her head.
“It means the world that instead of worrying over your husband, your thoughts are with our daughter.” Ronan set a hand on Heidi’s shoulder.
“And with Cope and Tennyson. You all will be able to see what happens too, right?” Heidi turned her attention to the psychics.
“Live and in living color,” Cope said. “Sometimes, Ten and I are able to feel what the person is going through.” He prayed that wouldn’t happen this time.
“You mean you’ll feel Carl’s fear and will experience his drowning?” Heidi wore an appalled look.
“Most likely,” Ten agreed. “No permanent damage is ever done, but in the moment it will feel like I’m drowning too.”
