“Did Mr. Henson survive?” I asked.
Benny smiled gently.
“He’s alive. The paramedics restored his heartbeat, and he was conscious during transport.”
I exhaled.
“Thank goodness.”
“He’s at St. Agnes,” Benny added. “Your hospital.”
Then he looked toward Logan.
“The medical team believes the CPR he received before the ambulance arrived was very important.”
Tears rolled down my face.
My son had helped save a life.
The same teenager I’d spent months worrying about had been quietly preparing himself to help someone in an emergency.
But I still had one question.
“What happened to Andrew while you were helping Mr. Henson?”
Benny explained that he and another officer had been patrolling nearby.
They noticed Andrew standing beside a fence, calling for his brother.
When they approached, they saw Logan assisting Walter while speaking with the emergency dispatcher.
One officer helped Logan.
The other stayed with Andrew.
After the ambulance left, Benny brought both boys home.
“I knew your family,” he explained. “I thought it would be better to tell you in person.”
Then he looked at me apologetically.
“I’m sorry my phone call sounded alarming.”
I gave a shaky laugh.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack yourself.”
He smiled.
“That’s what my wife tells me about my telephone manners.”
Just then, Andrew woke up.
He climbed off the couch, shuffled toward Logan, and wrapped his arms around his older brother’s leg.
“Logan?”
“Hey, buddy.”
“You were helping the man?”
“Yeah.”
Andrew looked thoughtful.
“Is his heart okay now?”
Logan swallowed.
“He’s getting better.”
Andrew hugged him tighter.
I couldn’t stop watching them.
My seventeen-year-old son stood there in his old gray hoodie, holding his little brother close.
And suddenly, I saw something I’d been too frightened and exhausted to recognize.
Logan wasn’t becoming irresponsible.
He was becoming someone remarkably compassionate.
Before leaving, Officer Benny hesitated.
“Rachel, there’s something else I should tell you.”
I looked up.
“The water tower incident.”
Logan went still.
Benny sighed.
“I was one of the people who suggested questioning Logan because someone mentioned a teenager in a gray hoodie.”
He looked directly at my son.
“That wasn’t fair. I let earlier misunderstandings influence my judgment.”
Logan blinked.
“I’m sorry,” Benny continued.
My son nodded quietly.
Then Benny turned toward me.
“You told me once that you were worried about the kind of young man Logan was becoming.”
I remembered.
We’d run into each other at the grocery store several weeks earlier.
I’d been exhausted after work and unexpectedly started talking about my fears.
Benny had listened patiently.
Now he smiled.
“Rachel, I think your son is growing into someone you can be very proud of.”
After he left, I turned toward Logan.
Then I hugged him.
At first, he stiffened in surprise.
Teenage boys aren’t always comfortable with unexpected affection.
But after a moment, he wrapped his arms around me.
“Mom, it’s okay.”
I shook my head.
“No, sweetheart. I’ve been so worried about you.”
He looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because I thought I was losing you.”
His expression softened.
I continued.
“I thought I was the only one trying to keep this family together.”
He looked at Andrew, who was still standing beside us.
Then he looked back at me.
“No, Mom.”
He smiled faintly.
