She bit her lip a little as though she were gathering courage. Jarrod put his hand on hers to give her strength. All she could see was the hurt child he had been 21 years ago, a shattered seven-year old who could not forgive himself for his brothers loss. To Victoria, Nick, his leg elevated on a pillow, his body covered to the waist by a sheet, wearing a nightshirt, propped against more pillows on the wall, her son did indeed look vulnerable. Just come out with it already, he encouraged. You two look like something the cat dragged in. Nick was waiting with an expectant look on his face while his older brother, Jarrod finally pulled up a chair to sit beside the bed, only inches away from his mother, perched on the side of the bed. Upstairs in Nicks room, Victoria was trying to figure out the best way to tell her son about Heath, about the brother he missed so much. Hope you like! Just so you know it's a rocky road from now on. Then I'll take cover from the Jarrodians and the Heathens combined. There's lots of hills in Oregon but I'm not hiding quite yet, not till you read this chapter.

Wow crown of courage