opened them again she made eye contact with Mel and offered her an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry that we’re meeting like this, Mel. I promise that we’re not usually so hectic.”
Perhaps Mel should have been surprised that the other woman knew her name, but she wasn’t. In the small hours of the morning, Flynn had told her that he loved her. It stood to reason that he’d mentioned her to his parents.
“The important thing is getting you looked after,” Mel said.
Adam made a choking sound and turned away.
“It’s okay, Dad,” Flynn said reassuringly.
“I’m fine, Adam. Really,” Patricia said. “A bit of burn cream and a bandage and I’ll be right.”
Adam continued to sob. Flynn reached out and grabbed a fistful of tissues from the box on the counter and pressed them to his father. Adam took them without saying a word and Flynn rested his hand on his father’s shoulder while he attempted to gather himself.
Patricia’s face was both loving and resigned as she watched her husband and son. Mel’s chest ached for all of them. So much love here—and so much pain.
A faint siren sound filtered into the house. She glanced over her shoulder toward the door.
“I’ll let them in if you like,” she offered.
“Thanks, Mel,” Flynn said.
The ambulance was pulling into the driveway as she opened the front door. The driver jumped out and made eye contact with her.
“How are we doing?” he called as he helped his partner collect a large medical kit from the rear of the ambulance.
“She’s okay. A bit of shock, I think. She’s got the burn under cold water.”
“Good stuff.”
She stood to one side as the crew entered the house, their footsteps very loud in the echoing hallway.
“Straight to the end, the doorway on the right,” she instructed. She followed them into the kitchen and stood in the most out-of-the-way corner as they spoke quietly with Patricia and assessed her injury. Flynn stood with his father, one hand on his shoulder still, offering him silent support. Adam watched his wife doggedly, his mouth set.
The crew assessed the burn before applying a thick, foamy-looking pad to the entire area and bandaging it loosely. They gave Patricia an injection for the pain and finally announced she was ready to be transported to the hospital.
“Can’t you just do whatever you need to do here?” Patricia asked. “It’s really not that bad now that it’s settling down.”
Flynn opened his mouth to speak but the taller of the two ambulance attendants beat him to it.
“Ma’am, you have a third-degree burn. You need to come with us and get it seen to at the burns unit.”
Patricia frowned, her worried gaze flicking to her husband.
“We’ll follow the ambulance,” Flynn said as the ambulance attendants helped his mother to her feet.
“I’m going with Pat,” Adam said. There was a mulish set to his face, as though he was determined not to let her down after his initial panic.
“Is that okay?” Patricia asked.
“That’s fine. It’s not a long trip—we’re going up the road—but your husband is welcome to ride along.”
Mel stepped out of the way as they made their slow way out the door. Flynn waited until his parents had left the room before sagging against the sink and scrubbing his face with his hands.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“It’s a pretty bad burn.”
“The ambulance guys seemed really calm, though, and I figure that’s got to be a good sign. And she did the right thing with the water.”
“You’re probably right.” He pushed away from the counter. “We should get going.”
He started for the door, then stopped. “Sorry. Here I am, just assuming— You probably need to head home. I can take Mom’s car if you need to go.”
“I’m coming with you.” The answer was out of her mouth before she could think about it.
He reached out and hooked his arm around her neck, drawing her close and dropping a kiss onto her mouth. “Thank you.”
They locked the house and Flynn drove her car to the Epworth Hospital in Richmond. They walked hand-in-hand into the hospital and made their way to the emergency department. An enquiry revealed that his mother was being treated by a doctor and they were advised to take a seat in the waiting room. She sat beside Flynn, talking quietly, doing what she could to reassure and distract him. An hour later the nurse came to tell them that his mother had been moved to a private room and that they were free to visit her. They followed