Chapter 2 - The Suitcase by the Stairs.Cole did not sleep.
At two in the morning, he was still sitting in the chair beside Ben's crib.
At three fifteen, he finally slipped his hand free.
Ben stirred but did not wake.
Cole moved through the hallway without turning on the lights.
His suitcase waited beside the staircase.
Black leather.
Carry-on size.
Packed for ten days.
Cole stared at it.
Before Natalie became sick, the suitcase had been almost permanent.
Denver.
Dallas.
Phoenix.
Seattle.
Boston.
Chicago.
Cole Mercer had built Mercer Response Group by going wherever trouble happened.
Flooded hotels.
Collapsed warehouses.
Storm-damaged hospitals.
Commercial buildings that needed emergency reconstruction.
Clients paid enormous premiums because Cole's teams arrived before anybody else.
He had been proud of that.
Natalie had once been proud too.
Until Ben was born.
Then she started asking when Cole would stop living in airports.
He always gave the same answer.
Soon.
Soon had stretched into years.
Cole's phone buzzed again.
He answered quietly.
“What?”
Evan Price did not bother with hello.
“Tell me you're on your way to the airport.”
Cole rubbed his face.
“What happened?”
“The Chicago client moved the meeting.”
“To when?”
“Seven.”
Cole checked the clock.
“That gives me less than four hours.”
“Yes.”
Cole looked upstairs.
“I may not make it.”
Silence.
Then Evan laughed once.
“You're joking.”
“No.”
“Cole, this contract is worth fourteen million dollars.”
“I know.”
“They specifically requested you.”
“I know.”
“So what are we talking about?”
Cole looked at the suitcase.
“My son.”
Another silence followed.
Evan lowered his voice.
“Is he sick?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Cole disliked how difficult the answer felt.
“He needs me.”
Evan sighed.
“Every kid needs his father.”
Cole's jaw tightened.
“That isn't helpful.”
“I'm trying to understand.”
“You don't need to understand.”
“I do when you're about to risk fourteen million dollars.”
Cole walked toward the kitchen.
“I'll join remotely.”
“They won't accept that.”
“They may have to.”
Evan cursed under his breath.
Cole disconnected.
He stood alone in the dark kitchen.
Natalie's photograph was still attached to the refrigerator with a red magnet.
She was laughing in the picture.
Ben was six months old.
Cole stood behind them both.
He remembered that day.
He had left twenty minutes after the picture was taken.
There had been an emergency in Houston.
Natalie had not complained.
That somehow made the memory worse.
A small sound came from the hallway.
Cole turned.
Ben stood at the foot of the stairs.
His blanket dragged behind him.
His hair was messy.
He stared at the suitcase.
Cole froze.
Ben looked from the suitcase to his father.
“You're leaving.”
Cole walked toward him.
“Buddy—”
“You said always.”
“I said I always come back.”
Ben's eyes filled.
“You're going now.”
Cole crouched.
“I was supposed to.”
Ben's chin trembled.
“Supposed to?”
Cole looked at the suitcase.
Then he made a decision.
He picked it up.
Ben stepped backward.
Cole carried it toward the hall closet.
He opened the door and shoved the suitcase inside.
Then he closed it.
Ben stared.
Cole held out his hands.
“I'm not going.”
Ben did not move.
“You'll stay here?”
“Today.”
The answer was honest.
Ben immediately noticed the limitation.
“And tomorrow?”
Cole hesitated.
That hesitation hurt more than a lie would have.
Ben turned away.
Cole caught him gently.
“Hey.”
“I don't want tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don't like tomorrow.”
Cole's heart cracked at the sentence.
“Why?”
“Because people leave tomorrow.”
Maggie appeared at the top of the stairs.
She had changed into sweatpants and a sweatshirt.
No headphones.
No gloves.
No fake mustache.
She heard enough to understand.
Cole looked at her.
Maggie slowly came downstairs.
Ben walked past both adults and climbed onto the living room couch.
He pulled the blanket over his head.
Cole whispered.
“Has he said that before?”
Maggie nodded.
“When?”
“A few days ago.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
Her eyes flashed.
“I told you he was struggling.”
“You didn't tell me he was saying things like that.”
“You were walking into a meeting.”
“You should've stopped me.”
“I tried.”
Cole looked away.
Maggie stepped closer.
“You keep making everybody responsible for getting through to you.”
Cole met her gaze.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means your phone has become a locked door.”
“That company pays for this house.”
“That isn't what Ben needs at three in the morning.”
Cole lowered his voice.
“Don't tell me what my son needs.”
Maggie looked toward the couch.
“I don't have to.”
“He just did.”
Cole's anger collapsed.
He sat heavily in a chair.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Maggie said something unexpected.
“There is something else.”
Cole looked up.
“What?”
“He started packing.”
Cole frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Yesterday I found three shirts and his stuffed bear inside his little backpack.”
Cole's pulse accelerated.
“Why?”
Maggie looked toward the couch.
“I asked him.”
Cole waited.
Maggie's voice became quiet.
“He said if he leaves first, you can't leave him.”
May you like
Cole stared at her.
For the first time that night, he felt genuinely afraid.
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