The new building was perfect. We’d already accepted three more families and were interviewing another this afternoon. The media attention and Ben’s help also meant that we were receiving new donations at a record pace. Tony was applying for a grant to expand the after-school program, and I had an ad out to hire another full-time person.

Personally, things were better. The morning sickness was all but gone. Although, I still couldn’t stomach broccoli. And outside of the need to pee every three minutes and my almost insatiable sex drive, I was feeling great.

After Cooper’s visit, I felt like we were finally on solid ground. Starting a family like this wasn’t ideal, but I finally felt like that was what we were doing—starting a family. A real family.

I pressed my hand on my growing belly. The tears were already stinging my nose, and I sniffed, trying to stop them. That’s one thing my second trimester didn’t fix; my wildly fluctuating emotions. I just started carrying boxes of tissue with me to save time.

“Don’t cry, Ms. Emily. I’m sure he’s going to be okay.”

I looked up to see Mica standing in the doorway, brow creased with worry. “I’m fine. It’s just the baby again.” I rubbed my belly and smiled him.

“So Cooper isn’t hurt?” he asked, confused.

I froze, and my heart picked up to a frantic pace as dread flooded my system. “What do you mean? Why do you think Cooper is hurt?”

“I’ve been watching the score on the new computer. Cooper was telling me that a lot of the guys put in some extra training during the offseason and he thought that New York could make it to the World Series this year. Especially, since they had such a good season last year and they only traded the one player—”

“Mica! What about Cooper?”

“Oh, yeah, so I had the sports channel pulled up on the internet watching the scores, and it said that Cooper was taken to the hospital.”

 “The hospital? Are you sure? You’re positive they said Cooper’s name.”

“Yes. That’s why I came down here to see if you had any news. Is he okay?”

I had no idea. Would anyone bother to call me if something had happened to him? God, I didn’t even have my phone on me. I put it on silent during our last meeting. I ran around my desk and pulled open my drawer. I’d missed five calls and had three messages waiting. There were several numbers I didn’t recognize. Not one of them was Cooper’s.

With a shaky hand, I dialed my voicemail and listened.

“Hi, Emily. This is Kevin Chadwick. We met at the Literacy Ball and at the New Year’s Eve party. Coop asked me to call you. Um… I’ve never made a call like this. He got hurt during today’s game, but he’s going to be just fine. They’re taking him to the hospital now.”

“This is Greg Fitzpatrick. I play with Cooper. He injured his knee when another player collided with him. They’re taking him to the hospital to do some tests right now. I know he’d want you to be updated. I’ll call back when I know more.”

“Hi, Emily. It’s Greg again. The trainer says he may have torn his ACL. If he did, they’re talking possible surgery. Is there any way you can get down here? It’s a pretty serious injury, and he’s going to need all the support he can get.”

I collapsed back into the chair, letting the phone slide from my hand. I didn’t even know what an ACL was, but Greg had said it was a serious injury. How serious? Enough to need surgery.

“Ms. Emily are you okay? Tony! Tony come here! Tony! Emily needs help.”

“No. No. I’m okay,” I said, wiping the tears from my face. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying. I felt numb. “I have to go. Thank you for telling me.”

“What’s wrong?” Tony came running up the hall. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“It’s Cooper—”

The phone rang in my hand before I could explain and I answered it, hoping for some more news.

“It’s Ben. Has anyone called you?”

“I just got the messages. Greg said he was going to have surgery.”

“Did he say what the injury was?”

“He said ACL. I don’t know what that means.”

“Fuck. It’s his knee. This injury could mean the end of his career.”

“I have to get off the phone and book a flight.”

“I’m sending my car now. Just go to the airport. I’ll take care of the ticket for you. This is bad, and he’s going to need you to be there with him.”

I got off the phone and took a deep breath. I couldn’t break down now. I had to keep it together long enough to get on a plane. Once I was in the air, I could cry.

“I’m leaving for Florida. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” I walked over to my desk and started packing my laptop. Feeling calmer than I had a right to be. “I’ll take my computer, and I can do some work remotely. You’re going to have to do the orientation with the new staff and call Joni Fitzpatrick. She might be able to get some volunteers to fill in while I’m gone.”

“Do you need a ride to the airport? I can call Lisa and have her pick you up. I’m worried about you. You’re white as a sheet.”

I took a deep breath and squeezed Tony’s arm. “I’ll be fine. I can handle what’s going on with Cooper if I know you’ve got everything here handled.”

“You can count on me. Mica and I will take care of things here while you take care of Cooper.”