Cole never heard the voice on the other end. He only saw her face change. Not straight into panic. First into something worse. That emptying out before panic, when your body tries for half a second to reject the information.

“Where?” she said.

She set the knife down. Cole stood up.

“What happened?”

Nan did not answer right away. She put the phone down, grabbed the keys, then turned to him.

“You all get in the truck now.”

“Mom, what happened?”

“Your father’s been in an accident.”