Chapter 9 - A Hospital Will Decide
Sawyer put his phone away.
He would not watch the recording in front of Gracie.
He would not turn her pain into something adults examined in a driveway.
He would not give Carolina another chance to explain before a doctor saw his daughter.
He looked at Mrs. Kennedy.
“Thank you.”
The elderly woman’s face crumpled.
“I should have come sooner.”
Sawyer’s anger softened for one brief second.
“You came now.”
Carolina laughed bitterly.
“So now she’s the hero?”
Sawyer looked at her.
“No. Gracie is.”
Carolina blinked.
He opened the SUV door wider and reached for the seat belt.
Gracie flinched at the movement near her lower back.
Sawyer froze.
“Okay. We’ll go slow.”
He adjusted the belt carefully, avoiding the bruised area, talking softly through every movement.
Mrs. Kennedy turned away slightly to give the child privacy.
Carolina watched, arms folded, bakery bag hanging from one hand.
“She’s going to tell them I did things I didn’t do.”
Sawyer looked at her over the open door.
“She doesn’t have to tell them anything before she’s ready.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means adults will stop forcing words out of her today.”
Carolina’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re acting like I’m some monster.”
Sawyer’s voice was quiet.
“I’m acting like my daughter asked me not to leave her with you.”
That sentence ended the argument for him.
Carolina could keep speaking.
He no longer needed to answer.
He closed the SUV door gently, leaving the window lowered so Gracie could still see him.
She pressed the rabbit to the glass.
He placed his hand against the outside.
“I’m right here.”
Carolina stepped close behind him.
“If you drive away, don’t come back.”
Sawyer did not turn.
“A hospital will decide what happened.”
“You already said that.”
“And you still haven’t said you want her checked.”
The silence after that was terrible.
Mrs. Kennedy looked down.
Carolina’s face tightened.
The phone in Sawyer’s pocket felt heavy.
Not because he had watched the video.
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Because he had not needed to.
Read Chapter 10 👉 Because Carolina kept threatening the marriage, but Sawyer was finally listening to the child instead of the fear of losing the family.
