Next World Series (Vol. 3): Families First [Second Wind]

by Ewing, Lance K.

  “We’ll see,” replied Mac, nervous that it could be something between him and Sarah.

  * * * *

  “I’m guessing she’s at the hospital,” he said, pulling up and asking Cory to wait outside.

  Sarah met him in the empty lobby, and her face said it all.

  “What’s happened?” asked Mac.

  She paused, searching for the right words. She had given bad news to countless families in her residency program, but they were strangers…and somehow, this was different.

  “It’s Jimmy…” she finally said quietly. Pausing again, she continued: “He’s had another stroke, and it’s bad.”

  “How bad? I mean, is he...is he dead?”

  “He’s in a coma,” replied Sarah, “and not breathing on his own.”

  “Can’t you fix him?” Mac asked. The question sounded childish to him as he said it. “What I mean is, does he even have a chance?”

  “There’s always a chance,” she replied, “as long as there is a heartbeat, but it doesn’t look good.

  We have done all we can do for now, and it’s really in God’s hands.”

  “Why is this happening?” asked a distraught Mac. “I mean, what did he do to deserve this? He’s a good person and... Oh, no honey,” he added, seeing the look on Sarah’s face. “I didn’t mean to...”

  “Excuse me,” she said abruptly, walking into the back of the hospital.

  “I messed up bad,” said Mac to Cory, once outside.

  Relating what he knew about Jimmy, he told Cory that he forgot for a second about Sarah’s parents and her sister being killed.

  “I insinuated that good people don’t die,” and I just wasn’t thinking.

  “I’m sorry,” replied Cory, putting a hand on Mac’s shoulder, “about all of it.”

  * * * *

  Mac took an hour, riding his four-wheeler on Green Mountain, to clear his head.

  Running into the Miller boy out for a hunt, he stopped to talk. It seemed odd to both that they could be conversing normally so soon after a major family feud.

  When asked what he was up to, Mac replied with just enough information as he was comfortable sharing, keeping it to putting his foot in his mouth with his girlfriend.

  “So, where are they?” asked the Miller boy.

  “Where is who?” replied Mac.

  “I was referring to the apology flowers. You’ve been riding up on this mountain for nearly an hour, and you don’t have even one.”

  Mac laughed, adding, “I’m sorry, but I was not expecting that out of your mouth.”

  “No apology needed. I’m complicated, just like you. Now follow me, and we will get you back on her good side.”

  Mac, exiting his four-wheeler and concealing it in some bushes, cautiously followed the boy into the woods.

  “This is a popular deer trail,” the Miller boy called to Mac, winding his way through the dense trees and brush. Mac had a flash of being ambushed or caught in a snare as an insult to his guard being down.

  “I’ve got to head back in a few,” Mac called out, tightening his grip on his AR rifle, as the boy stopped just ahead.

  “Well, then it’s a good thing we’re here,” the boy replied, without turning around.

  Mac paused, not taking another step, cautiously scanning his surroundings. He listened, only hearing the wind in the trees and birds chirping.

  “Are you coming?” the Miller boy asked, now turning around. “We’re OK, you know, you and me,” he added. “Come look at these flowers.”

  Mac made his way to the end of the wooded section, opening into a small field he hadn’t seen before.

  “Columbine,” remarked the boy. “Not the tragic school in the news but the original Colorado State flower,” he added, waving his arm around a field full of them.

  “The state says you can’t uproot them, but the picking fine is variable. I heard the penalty for picking them off private property was a fine ranging from $5 to $50—not that it matters much now. There are more than a few varieties here, with mixed colors that I’m sure your girl will like, Mac.”

  “I think you’re right, son,” Mac replied, easing his shoulders just a bit. His rifle, now slung across his back, told of the change in his guard.

  He resisted the urge to update the Miller boy on Jimmy’s condition, as it was now a past issue.

  An eye for an eye, thought Mac, but this time the blame was squarely on him.

  Gathering an impressive bouquet, he thanked the boy for his help and headed back to the hospital with a clearer head.

  * * * * * * *

  Chapter Nineteen

  Saddle Ranch ~ Loveland, Colorado

  Sarah met him out front, with a neutral tone.

  She brightened a bit upon seeing the flowers, and his apology was sincere, reminding her of why she picked him in the first place.

  “We’re good, my love,” she whispered, “and I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “Is there any change?” Mac asked.

  “No. He is the same. Now go and work on other things,” she told him.

  * * * *

  Mac found Bill and they met at John’s house. Cory had already filled them in, and Mac was happy not to have to retell the story.

  “We’re sorry,” stated John, “about Jimmy. He’s a good man and an asset to our security team.

  If he can recover from this, we will care for him as needed; you have my word on that, Mac.”

  “Thank you, John. “That means a great deal to me. It was all so sudden is all. One minute he is talking and it looks like he will recover with minimal problems, and the next minute he may die.”

  “I know, Mac,” added Bill. “It doesn’t make it any easier, but we saw that a lot in Vietnam after a soldier was injured. You just can’t be sure how it’s going to go until they are up and walking around.”

  “It’s not your fault, you know. Mrs. Miller started this whole mess, and you were the fall guy,” added Cory.

  “I know,” replied Mac, “but it just doesn’t seem right is all. It’s on me, and I’m still standing while two others are not.”

  * * * *

  Mac took dinner with Bo and spoke with Sarah before bed. He felt better about everything and prayed for his friend.

  He remembered his mother telling him to be thankful at the beginning of prayer, before asking for something.

  He was thankful for Sarah, Cory and his security team, as well as John, Bill, Sharon, Samuel, and the council for their support.

  He then prayed for Jimmy to be healed or taken home quickly. His prayers were answered at 3 a.m. with a radio call from Sarah.

  “We did everything we could,” she told him. “Jimmy has passed to the other side. It was peaceful, Mac, and I held his hand in those final moments.”

  Tears ran down his cheeks for the first time he could recall since his dad left him and his mother.

  He hadn’t known Jimmy long but he was a friend, and Mac never had many of those.

  Thanking her for the call, Mac chose to inform Bill and John at a more civilized hour.

  * * * *

  News traveled fast in both communities about Jimmy, and the funeral service was planned for the following day.

  At the service, each person had an opportunity to tell a lighthearted story about Jimmy.

  Mac would tell of his first meeting, talking about the fight club he ran in Fort Collins and how he singlehandedly turned a deadly situation into a positive one.

  His four-wheeler would be given to Cory, with the gas cap engraved to read “Jimmy.”

  It was a somber morning, as they lay Jimmy to rest in the Ranch Cemetery.

  “He is in good company,” Mac told Sarah and Cory, pointing out a few of the headstones of past leaders and prominent community members.

  The service was short, as would be the norm from here on. Mac and a few others said nice things about him, with none knowing him for a long time.

  * * * *

  Mac had dinner with
a refreshed Sarah, after a full day off and nearly seven hours of sleep. They talked of his friend and dreamed of the future.

  “I feel different, Mac,” she said cautiously.

  “Me, too,” he replied.

  “No, I mean different—like my stomach is upset and my breasts are tender.”

  “I’m sorry you’re under the weather,” Mac replied.

  “Mac, you know I’m a doctor and I’ve performed births, right?”

  “Yes, of course,” he replied.

  “Then you can imagine I might know what the very early signs of pregnancy may be,” she added.

  He paused, thinking for a minute before responding. He wanted to be very careful about what came out of his mouth next.

  “Just so you know,” she added, breaking the tension, “Bradley and I had not been together in a long time before he left for the mountains.”

  Mac sighed, relieved about his worst fear.

  “And we barely spoke when he returned,” she added.

  “So, I mean…you think you could be...?”

  “I don’t know anything yet; it’s too soon,” Sarah replied. “All I know is I feel different somehow, and I have a couple of signs of early pregnancy.”

  Mac grinned, as a child might when opening a coveted present at Christmas.

  “So…you’re happy…I mean, if it’s true?” she asked.

  “Yes!” he exclaimed. “Yes, I would be the happiest man in this world, however many there are of us now.”

  “Good,” she replied simply. “I think you would make an excellent daddy to a little girl or boy.

  “We shall wait and see. I’ll know for sure in the next few weeks, I hope,” Sarah said, with a glow that told him to get ready.

  * * * * * * *

  Chapter Twenty

  Saddle Ranch ~ Loveland, Colorado

  Cory got Mac back on track with security training, stating it’s what Jimmy would want.

  The afternoon was back to work, with Cory’s old officers returning with their families.

  “It’s time for the trials,” announced Cory, feeling confident his old officers would easily make the cut.

  All those trying out for a spot on the team lined up single file and ran through the same drills that Cory and his team had tested on year-in and year-out.

  For a number, it was hard and knocked out nearly one-third of the applicants previously on the security team.

  The Miller boy, and even Cory’s son, Cameron, earned a place on the team, each having outscored many of the applicants.

  A few new ones stepped up after hearing they may be able to switch their jobs in housekeeping and gardening to join the security team.

  “This is what we’ve been talking about,” said Cory to Mac. “A group of people who really want to be in security and will take it very seriously.”

  “I see what you mean,” replied Mac, impressed with Cory’s idea coming to fruition.

  John and Bill met with the council, and it was decided that the security hierarchy would remain unchanged after Jimmy’s passing, with Mac as the lead and Cory next in line.

  * * * *

  “Mac,” came the call on the radio. “Can you and Cory come down to the southern barricade?”

  “Sure. What’s going on?” asked Mac.

  “It’s that Ralph guy. He’s back and waiving a gun around.”

  “This guy is getting to be a problem,” Mac told Cory. “The last thing I need is him hearing about Rico and Patty.”

  Two shots came from the south, followed by three more, seemingly all at once.

  “What’s happening?” yelled Mac, already headed down with Cory on the four-wheelers.

  “I’m sorry, boss,” came the reply. “He just opened fire on us, and we had no choice.”

  “Is he dead?” asked Cory on his radio.

  “No. He’s down but not dead. What should we do?”

  “Just hold tight,” said Mac, “and don’t fire again unless he does.”

  A radio call to Sarah had her on the way. With a hospital now empty of patients, she was able to bring one of the new doctors with her. Samuel drove the truck.

  “What have we got?” asked Sarah to one of Samuel’s border guards.

  “Yes, Dr. Melton,” he replied. “We have a single male down, hit twice, I think, but that’s all I know.”

  “OK, let’s go,” Sarah told the other doctor, heading in Ralph’s direction.

  “Not so fast, Docs,” said Mac, blocking them with his arm. “The man is armed, and I can’t let you near him until we know it’s safe.”

  “He’s already fired on our men,” added Cory.

  “So, we just let him bleed out?” asked the new doctor, seeming annoyed.

  “I’m not saying that,” replied Mac. “But he is lowest on my people list to be concerned about right now, so we take it real slow and wait until I’m sure you’re safe.”

  Mac and Cory approached the downed Ralph cautiously, weapons at the ready.

  Mac talked calmly as they approached, giving him clear instructions to keep from being shot again.

  “Where are you hit, Ralph?” Mac asked.

  “In the stomach and the leg, I think,” he replied, with labored breath.

  “We’re going to get you help, but I need to know two things first.

  “One: where are your weapons? You will only get one chance at this, so be careful.

  “And two: why do we keep doing this? I let you go last time, thinking you would move on down the road and not return.

  “Where are your weapons, Ralph?”

  “Here,” he replied, pointing to a revolver on the ground and a knife he tossed in front of him, taking it from his back pocket.

  “OK, that’s good. And why are you back here?”

  “I came for my wife,” he groaned, not able to stand. “Now help me!” he demanded.

  “Hang tight, Ralph, and no sudden moves,” Mac told him.

  Talking quietly with Cory, it was obvious to them both that Ralph had not even mentioned his boy.

  “What’s the call?” asked Cory.

  “It’s not ours, but Samuel’s,” replied Mac, “since Ralph would end up in his hospital.”

  Mac pulled Sarah and Samuel aside to discuss the next step.

  “It’s your call, Samuel,” said Mac, “as he would likely spend time in your hospital.”

  “Please give us a minute, Mac,” said Samuel, pulling Sarah aside.

  “It falls on me to make sure our group is safe and all can sleep well at night. Your job, Sarah, is to do your best to heal the sick with the best tools you have available at the time. We will not have the hospital available for this man,” he told her.

  “I have spoken to his wife and son, and I recently made the decision to remove him from the property. I will not be bringing him back. You and our new doctor have my approval to treat him here as best you can, and that is all. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, father. I understand,” said Sarah to Samuel.

  Sarah grabbed her medical bag, along with the other doctor, and approached behind Mac and Cory.

  “Ralph,” said Mac, “our doctors are going to take a look at you now.”

  “Just get me to your damn hospital,” he spat.

  “The hospital is not available,” replied Sarah, still standing behind Mac.

  “What do you mean it’s not available, you poor excuse for a doctor?!” he yelled.

  “What she means,” said Mac, feeling flushed and now completely done with this guy, “is that the hospital is not available to you, and now neither is she,” he added, pointing to her walking back towards the security barrier.

  “Looks to me, Ralph, like you have one last option,” pointing to the new doctor. “And if you insult him, then I’m sure you’re on your own.”

  “Cory, can you stay?” asked Mac.

  “Sure, I’ve got this.”

  Mac walked back to an upset Sarah talking quietly with Samuel.

  “I’m so
rry about that,” Mac told her.

  “It’s not your fault, Mac,” Sarah replied. “That man is just plain no good. I’m glad to see Patty and her son away from him and moving forward with their lives. What a nightmare it must have been being married to that awful man.”