“There she is now,” the police chief said.
Hudson walked to the door slower than I expected. I think he was in shock. He opened the door as she reached the front step. Without a word, he threw his arms around her.
She had plenty to say, but I didn’t hear what. It was all murmured into his chest. After a minute, the two walked back into the house. She held on to his arm with one hand and brushed tears from her face with her other. “I just knew something bad had happened to you. I was so afraid I’d never see you again. You can’t imagine.” His eyes didn’t leave her. “Yes, I can.”
“Oh, of course you can.” She turned and hugged him again. “I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through.” He blinked and hugged her back, burying his face into her hair.
He was trembling. When he looked up, I saw the gratitude in his eyes.
I smiled. He was happy, for now at least. I hoped he remembered this moment when he found out he had no real memories of the last year.
Sandra, Nick, and my dad came into the room. “Are the police here?” Dad asked.
Mrs. Gardner stepped toward them. “Are you folks all right?” 340/356
“Yes,” Sandra said, and then stopped suddenly when she saw who was speaking. Sandra drew in a gasp, her head tilted back in astonishment, and she fainted. She would have hit the floor if Nick hadn’t caught her. He eased her down to the ground and fanned her face with his hand.
Mrs. Gardner pressed her lips together and motioned to her husband. “Dear, you’d better call the paramedics.”
“No, no, we’re fine,” Dad stuttered, but he was looking strangely at Mrs. Gardner too. I had forgotten that Dad and Sandra knew Mrs.
Gardner and knew she had died a year ago. Still staring at her, Dad said, “We’re all fine … I think.” He strode over to the window and looked out as though checking to see if the rest of the world was the same.
“Hmmm,” Mrs. Gardner said, watching him. To her husband she mouthed, “Make the call.”
While he did, the rest of us congregated around Sandra. Dad came over, although he kept a good distance away from Mrs. Gardner.
She knelt down by Sandra, took her hand, and tapped it gently. “Can you hear me?”
“It’s probably delayed shock,” Nick said. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Sandra blinked open her eyes, took in Mrs. Gardner, and let out a startled scream.
“It’s okay,” I told Sandra. “I can explain everything”—I glanced at Mrs. Gardner—“at a later time.”
Sandra’s gaze ricocheted between Mrs. Gardner and me, and at last she seemed to understand. She let out several quick breaths. “You traded …,” she gasped out, “… for Hudson.”
“Right,” I said.
When Mrs. Gardner looked at me questioningly, I shrugged and whispered, “It’s the shock. I’m humoring her.” 341/356
My dad’s eyes widened and he said, “Oh—ooooh!” And I knew he understood too.
Sandra took a few more deep breaths and pulled herself to a sitting position. She put her free hand on her chest. “I’m fine now,” she said weakly.
“Good.” Mrs. Gardner looked Sandra over carefully before she let go of her hand. “Don’t try to get up yet. If you need anything, have one of your children …” Her gaze narrowed in on my face. Then her mouth opened in surprise. “You’re Tansy, aren’t you?” To Sandra she said, “I didn’t know Tansy was your daughter.”
“You’ve met?” Sandra asked.
“Yes, last year …” And then, as though she just realized it, she added, “I think you were wearing that same dress.” I forced a smile. “Weird coincidence.” Her gaze fell to Stetson. “And who is this darling baby?”
“My nephew,” Sandra said quickly.
“Well, isn’t he the cutest thing.” Mrs. Gardner bent down for a closer look. “He reminds me of Hudson when he was a baby.” Another weird coincidence I was not going to comment on.
Hudson apparently didn’t want to comment either. He went and talked with his father, repeating the story of what the bandits had done.
Over the next few minutes, more police officers came, along with paramedics. I was glad the golden heart was gone because I wasn’t sure how I would have explained it to the guy who listened to my heart and lungs with his stethoscope. We were examined and questioned while the police roamed around taking pictures for their report. As they were packing up to go, Mrs. Gardner came over to talk to Sandra again.
342/356
“I feel so awful that you lost so much,” she said. “What can I do to help?”
“We didn’t lose anything that can’t be replaced.” Sandra glanced around the nearly empty room. “And on the bright side, it just got a lot easier to pack for our move.”
Mrs. Gardner’s eyebrows dipped. “What move?” Before Sandra could answer, Mrs. Gardner put a consoling hand on Sandra’s shoulder. “You’re not going to let this robbery make you move, are you? Rock Canyon is still a safe city, and the library needs you. Don’t tell me I went through all that work to keep the branch open for nothing.”
“All that work …,” Sandra repeated.
“I had to practically browbeat the mayor,” Mrs. Gardner said.
“The branch is staying open?” Sandra asked.
Mrs. Gardner pursed her lips and cocked her head. “The paramedics checked you out, right?”
Sandra let out a happy gasp. “That’s wonderful … I mean about the branch. I mean, of course we won’t move. Thank you so much for working to keep it open.”
“Well, we all do our part to help the community,” Mrs. Gardner said, still eyeing her as though she might faint again.
I smiled. I hadn’t needed gold to save Dad’s and Sandra’s jobs after all. I’d only needed Mrs. Gardner.
Hudson left not long after that. His mother looped her arm possessively through his and said, “I don’t know about you, but I need to go home and sleep.”
He hesitated, said, “Just a second,” and walked over to me. He took one of Stetson’s hands in his and whispered, “See you in a while, kid.” Then Hudson smiled at me. “I’ll call you later.” 343/356
Mrs. Gardner had strolled over to us. “Speaking of calling girls”—she took his arm again and they turned toward the door—“your girlfriend texted me twice last night and once this morning asking about you. You’d better call her.”
Over his shoulder, Hudson shot me an alarmed look.
I shrugged. What else could I do? Everything had changed for him, and now he had to figure out what was going on in his new life. I just hoped there was room for me.
Chapter 25
One of Sandra’s friends brought over clothes for us. They were guys’
shorts and T-shirts, but it felt great to take showers and change into something clean. My parents got rental cars and went shopping. It took several trips to get the basics: food, clothes, mattresses, bedding, baby things. I got a short nap, but spent most of the day cleaning up the house and taking care of Stetson.
I picked up the scattered books and stacked most of them against the family room wall. The rest I took to my bedroom. It was about time I got caught up on my reading.
Nick looked up information on the Internet about Robin Hood—he was still a folklore hero. Then he looked up King John—he married a thirteen-year-old girl not long after we left. Which was utterly creepy.
Reading out loud, Nick said, “ ‘In 1216, while retreating from a French invasion, the baggage train that carried King John’s treasures, including the crown jewels, was lost in a marshy area by an unexpected incoming tide. This dealt John a terrible blow, which affected his health and state of mind.’ ”
“His state of mind?” I repeated. “The only state in his mind se-ceded from that union a long time ago.”
“ ‘King John died soon after that. His reign has traditionally been characterized as one of the most disastrous in English history.’ ” Well, historians got some things right.
Nick nodded thoughtfully. “His treasure sank, and he died a broken man. There’s a moral in that.” 345/356