No One But You

worst nightmare—she was grateful for Wyatt’s strength and caring. He was utterly calm. His face shone with sincerity, unguarded and real. As was the way Jake gazed up at him, as if Wyatt was a lifeline.
    “Move aside,” a voice barked behind her, a medic shoving forward with his equipment. “What’s his name?”
    “J-Jake.” She stumbled out of the way. A firm grip hooked her elbow, repositioning her so she could stroke Jake’s hair and still be clear of the men working on him. Wyatt, standing behind her, towered over her, and for one moment he was her lifeline, too. His steady gaze calmed her as the medics huddled over her son.
    “It’s gonna be okay.” He spoke with certainty. “Nothing to worry about, right, Jake?”
    “Yeah—I’m—gonna—be—fine,” the boy insisted.
    “You bet. You’ve got a tournament to win. I sponsored you, remember?”
    “I can—win this—I just—” The paramedic slipped an oxygen mask over Jake’s face, silencing him, but it was easy for Wyatt to read the plea in the boy’s eyes. And the fear.
    I’m here, he wanted to tell him, but it wasn’t his right. It’s what he would have said to Sebastian. Wyatt wanted to reassure Mariah, too, but she looked as if she no longer needed him. So beautiful and strong, she was trying to mask her fear, murmuring comforting things to her son.
    The memory of Jake’s fluttering, uneven heartbeat made Wyatt think of student athletes who died on the court from sudden cardiac problems, reported now and then on the news. Cold despair took over, a feeling he’d never thought he could experience again. The gut-wrenching fear that someone you cared about was in jeopardy.
    “We’re taking him to the hospital.” A paramedic spoke to Mariah, who saw no one and nothing but her son.
    That was as it should be. Wyatt stayed in the background, watching as the medics checked oxygen and Jake’s heart monitor, readying him for transport.
    Wyatt knew the routine. He’d been through this before. Sebastian had been sick for a while, and remembering that time hurt. It would always hurt.
    But he’d been wrong when he thought his heart couldn’t go there again.
    “Thank you, Wyatt.” Mariah gripped his hand briefly. “I’m so grateful you were here.”
    He wanted to ask if she needed company, but she was already hurrying away, keeping up with the rolling gurney and the medics, who cut a path through the crowd. He watched them go, and they were all he could see.
    Something had happened. She had changed him, made his empty, broken heart come back to life. Mariah and her son were what filled his heart now.
    But she didn’t feel the same. She walked away without a backward glance, her focus on Jake. Wyatt couldn’t fight the feeling there was no place for him in her life.
    And there might never be.
    * * *
    The last time Mariah had been as scared was nearly fifteen years ago. Searching through Jake’s athletic bag for his iPod, she did her best not to remember, but the images came anyway. Of Jasper in a rage, of Jasper knocking a toddling Jake to the floor and the thud of his little head on the corner of the table leg. Jake had been fine—just a bruise and tears—but that had been the breaking point for her. The moment when she’d seen clearly.
    Just like today. Seeing Wyatt kneeling beside her son, taking charge…
    “Mom? Do I gotta stay?” Already Jake looked bored, propped in his temporary bed in the emergency room.
    “Yes, until the doctor gives you the okay to leave.”
    “How long will that be?”
    “I don’t know. They have a few more tests to run.”
    “What about the tournament?”
    “I guess you’ll just have to be the reigning champion next year.” She grabbed the iPod and handed it over. “This should help stave off the boredom for a while. If all goes well, you can go home soon. Just keep that in mind.”
    “I’m still bummed.” Jake plugged in his earbuds and with a disappointed sigh turned his attention to the screen, searching for something to interest him. “Hey, what about Wyatt? He was really cool today, right? Coming to help me like that.”
    “Totally cool.” She would not soon forget the image of the man comforting her son, taking charge. The warmth in her heart remained, growing stronger every time she thought of him.
    There was only one solution. Try to stop thinking of him.
    “He was awesome, just like a dad.” The longing in Jake’s voice for a father wasn’t as hidden as he might think.