Chapter Seventeen

                                    

                                          
Wednesday Ryan picked up the mysterious cookies and note . He also said that the Medical Examiner had agreed to do a full autopsy on Malcolm. At that point a sort of tense black cloud slid over everyone at the Walton house. Even the children. Benji had started poking Livvie and Livvie would cry and poke him back until Reed and Saint separated them. Finally Matt had an idea to hopefully get their minds off anything unpleasant. It was a nice day so why not go to the town park for an impromptu cookout.
Hamburgers.
Hot dogs.
Grilled veggies.
All prepared by the master chef : Matt Malone St.Austin !
Which was how they all ended up at the park that afternoon ; eating and drinking, laughing, telling old stories of Malcolm, playing with the children. Just enjoying life and each other. 
Winnie had moved away from the others , trying to get a better signal on his phone ( he was trying to call Dennis) . He was almost near the parking lot and the main road. 
Cassandra laughed and excused herself to go to her car , saying she needed to get something in her glove compartment. Something that she had found for Theo and Grace. Theo and Grace eagerly watched her walk away. They loved parental gifts. No matter how old they got that would never change. Although they were distracted by Reed and Saint play fighting over the last hot dog. 
Until they heard what sounded like Winnie screaming. 
They all looked up to see the horrifying sight of a plain dark sedan with tinted windows and mud splattered license plate speeding at Cassandra !
They all stumbled to their feet with Matt grabbing Livvie and Benji and Grace holding Dosie. Most started running towards the parking lot. 
Winnie dropped his phone and took off running with his tall lean athletic body in motion. He almost flew through the air towards the older woman, pushing her out of the way seconds before the car slammed into his body and kept going. Winnie screamed and the sound sent shivers up their spines. His body landed with a hard thud. Grace holding Dosie ran to her shocked mother. Theo ran to her as well. Cassandra kept repeating over and over," Is that boy alright? He saved my life. "
Saint and Reed ran over to Winnie while Matt stayed back with Benji and Livvie. 
Darren dialed 911 on his phone while his older children watched everything with wide eyes.
Theo left his mother with Grace and ran to Winnie. " Oh God no ! "
Dear God. No. Not Winnie. Never Winnie.