In the Shadow of the Shield (Secret Lives Series Book 2) by Carolyn LaRoche

death?
    “Yeah. She said I was living in the past, and I needed to get over Dad. How do you get over your father?” Tears flowed down his cheeks, soaking the front of the white t-shirt he wore. How she wanted to go to him, but when she attempted to stand, the floor and ceiling tried to switch places. She fell back onto the little emergency room bed with a groan.
    “Mom! Are you okay?” Jackson was at her side, fear heavy in his voice.
    “Fine. I’m fine. Damned whack to the head has me a little dizzy, that’s all. It’ll pass.”
    Her son wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and blinked back any lingering tears. “I’m really sorry, Mom. I shouldn’t have put all that on you right now.”
    She took his hand in her own and squeezed it. “It’s okay. I wish you would have talked to me about this before, though. Maybe you and Lily…”
    “That would have been over, no matter what. She wanted her freedom so she could party and do what she wants. Dad was just her excuse to ditch me.”
    “I’m so sorry, honey. I really am. Losing someone you care about is never easy, regardless of the circumstances.”
    “Which is why I can’t lose you too. I need my mother.”
    Diana chuckled. “Yes, you do. At least until you get married and some other lucky woman gets to wash your dirty clothes.”
    They both laughed, and she was happy to see her boy looking more like himself. Jackson had grown up right before her eyes, maturing so much in the last year. Her heart ached at the thought of him leaving in a few months for college.
    The curtain pushed to the side, and a short little man in a white coat and blue scrubs stepped into the area. “Well, Mrs. Massey, that was some hit you took to the old noggin. There’s gonna be a knot there for a good long time. Good news is that you will be fine in a day or so; the concussion appears to be relatively mild. We’re gonna keep you overnight for observation, but if all goes well, you will be heading home tomorrow. Get ready to do a little car shopping. The EMTs had to cut yours open like a tuna can to get you out.”
    The car was totaled? She glanced at Jackson, and he nodded. “Sorry, Mom. They had to have it towed to the junkyard.”
    “That was…that was my husband’s car.”
    “Well, I am sure he will be happy to hear you are okay. Cars are replaceable. People, not so much. Where is the detective anyway? I thought for sure he’d be hovering around you like a bee around a flower.”
    “You knew Donnie?” she asked as the doctor examined her head wound.
    “Sure do. He’s been here a time or two with an arrestee. How’s he doing?”
    “He died a year ago.”
    The doctor looked up from the chart. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Massey. I had no idea.”
    “I guess I thought everyone knew. The night he died, he was here.”
    “I probably wasn’t on duty that night. I am very sorry for your loss. Detective Massey was a good man. One of the best.”
    “Thank you, Doctor. We miss him very much.” She nodded toward Jackson, who was standing in a corner.
    “Yes, thank you, Doctor,” Jackson said.
    “As for you, young lady, an orderly will be here in a few minutes to move you. Do you have any questions for me before I go?”
    “How long will the nausea and dizziness last?”
    “It will improve fairly quickly, but might come and go for a few days. You were very lucky that you had your seatbelt on.”
    “Donnie wouldn’t even put the key in the ignition if we weren’t all belted in.”
    “Like I said, he was a great man. Take good care of yourself, Mrs. Massey.”
    He disappeared out of the curtained area, and a young man wearing green scrubs entered. He grinned as he manipulated the hospital bed up next to the smaller bed she was on. “You all set to move? I’ve set aside the presidential suite for you. We just need to swap out your ride, and then you will be movin’ on up.”
    Diana nodded agreement, and the orderly and Jackson helped her move to the other bed. An