Lucy squeezed her arm and smiled. “Thanks. I think I’ll sit with your mom for a few minutes.”
“Please do. It’s driving her crazy not to be able to help in the kitchen, where she would have been, in the past. She’s trying to pat the Jones’ baby to sleep, so she’s feeling semi-useful.”
She made her way through the maze of air mattresses until she could get to the corner where Mary Ann sat on the mattress next to little Carly Jones. She was almost asleep, and Mary Ann was singing softly to her. When the child relaxed in sleep, she smiled, and lifted her hand slightly.
“Hi, Mrs. Livingston.” Lucy whispered as she lowered herself down on the mattress next to hers.
“You must call me Mary Ann, dear girl. We don’t stand on formality around here, especially in these circumstances.”
“Very well. Mary Ann, it is. Aren’t you worried about Tom in all this?” This was the easiest way to turn the conversation to Tom. She had to know more about him. What made him tick? Was he as good as he seemed?
Mary Ann smiled and sighed. “I’m a mother. Of course I’m worried. I learned a long time ago that worrying didn’t gain me anything but a headache, so when my sight started going, the only way I could get by every day was to leave it all on the altar. Jesus has this under control.”
“I never worried about my dad. He was always strong and in control, and I never thought anything could happen to him. Until it did. Then it was too late.”
“Sweet girl, do you feel guilty for not worrying about your daddy? From what I’ve heard, he died a hero.”
“How did you know?” Lucy looked at Mary Ann’s clouded eyes in surprise.
“Tom told me. Told me all about the funeral, your grandmother, about the sermon the preacher shared, about your house and all the people that came to grieve with you. Said it reminded him of his daddy’s funeral. Except for the hero part.”
Lucy looked down at her hands. Tom had told his mother all about the funeral. She knew he cared a little, or he wouldn’t have come. She wondered, though, did he care as much as she did?
“Tom told you all that?”
“He did. He told me about you the first time you met too. I knew a little about you before that ‘kissing game’ story he told. He was quite taken with you, I believe.”
Lucy would swear Mary Ann could look into her soul, blind or not.
“Humph. I don’t know about that. He’s not as communicative with me as he is with you.”
“I know. He’s a little moody like me, but he feels like he has to even everything out, like his daddy. His daddy used his sense of humor. Tom uses organization. After you left, I was diagnosed with a fast-progressing glaucoma. His daddy had died the year before, and when that happened, it was like he turned his back on his own life to take care of Charly and me.”
Tom was careful as he drove Sarah from Calvary Church to Georgetown General. The roads were fine except where power lines were down. Crews were already hard at work, but it got more hazardous the farther north they went. The bridges across both the Waccamaw and Great Pee Dee Rivers were strewn with mud and debris and had water up to the bottom of the bridges. Only emergency vehicles were allowed across.
Tom kept his eyes on the road, highly aware of not only debris but also emergency workers clearing the highway. “It looked like he had weathered the storm in the new house, and then as he was leaving, one of those big palms came down on top of the SUV. Honestly, when I drove up on it, I thought it had been sitting there all night, and didn’t expect to find a survivor, but his clothes were dry and the truck was clean. He must have pulled into the garage for the storm.”
“Oh, Tom. Why did he go back to that house? It’s just a house.” Sarah stared at the road as closely as Tom, as if she could do anything to help from the passenger seat. She could watch for hazards. It was the least she could do.
“Because he’s Jared, and he feels responsible. It was a freak thing. To survive a hurricane, and then get conked out by a tree.” His eyes never left the road even as he shook his head in amazement.
“How much damage?”
“To the house? None that I could see. To his SUV? Totaled. Jared? Jury’s still out. He was pinned in the driver’s seat. Since the impact was from above, the airbags were no protection. The sunroof frame was what pinned him in. If he had been in the Jag . . .”
The tears had been flowing ever since she got into the vehicle. She was calm, she listened, and she was thankful Tom didn’t ask those pesky “are you okay?” questions that would have infuriated her.
The lack of traffic on the highway entering Georgetown was surreal. There were no traffic lights, only police and emergency first responders at intersections keeping things in order. They were ushered through with a simple wave and a grim nod.
The emergency room of the hospital was a different story. There was a variety of injuries from mild cuts and bruises to broken bones and a heart-attack victim. An elderly woman on oxygen lay on a gurney. Tom led her through to the desk where they waited as a nurse finished up with a young mother and her injured child.
“Detective, you’re here about Mr. Benton, aren’t you?” The nurse glanced up at them. “Dr. Garvey is with him now. If you could wait in the surgery waiting room, I’ll have someone notify you when he has news.” She looked over at Sarah. “Are you Sarah Crawford?”
“Yes. Has anyone called his parents?” She was a little puzzled the nurse knew her.
“No, ma’am. You were listed as his next of kin.”
Tom looked at her grimly. “That’s one of the reasons I came for you first.”
Sarah nodded. She needed to sit down before she shook herself to death. His next of kin. Why did that have such a scary ring to it? You didn’t need a next of kin on a daily basis, yet he had listed her, at some point in the last few weeks or months, as his next of kin. Not a wife yet, but acting as one on his behalf. Wow.
Tom led her to the small waiting room down the hall. It was quieter there. No crying children, no groaning injured. Normally she would be out there helping, but at this moment it was all she could do to walk down the hallway.
Chapter Seventeen
Tom and Sarah sat side-by-side in the waiting room, neither talking. Until they got word of Jared’s condition, there wasn’t much for them to do except pray and get lost in their own thoughts.
The door opened an hour later.
“Sarah Crawford?” The doctor looked down at the chart and then up at her above his reading glasses.
“Yes. How is he?” Her voice shook, and surprised herself as she realized how unrecognizable it was, even to her.
“We need to get him into surgery. His collar bone was broken. We’ve set that, but he has a small brain bleed. It isn’t bad now, but we need to get it stopped before it does any damage. He still hasn’t regained consciousness. We may be looking at a traumatic brain injury.”
“Is it normal for him to still be out?” Tom’s worried tone did little to alleviate Sarah’s concern.
“It’s better this way. Moving around is the worst thing he can do at this point, If he were awake, we would have him sedated. Right now, however, I need your signature, Sarah, allowing us to do the surgery.”
Sarah’s eyes grew round with shock. “M-My signature?”
“Yes, your signature. As his healthcare proxy, you have the right to make medical decisions if he is incapacitated. If not, we would be contacting his parents, but considering you are here, and they are not, well, I need your signature.”
She reached over to take the clipboard and wrote her name on the paper next to the blue “x.”
“Thank you. We’re getting ready to prep him for surgery now. Would you like to see him before we take him back?”
“Can I?” She looked at Tom. Maybe he wanted to spend time with his friend. He smiled at her and shook his head.
“You go on. I’ll be right here unless I get a call.”
The cubicle they had him in was small. There was room for the gu
rney with Jared lying on it, too still for her comfort, the necessary medical equipment, and one lone chair. She walked up to him and took his hand, trying not to exclaim in shock at his appearance. He was bruised and cut from the broken sun roof. Bandages swathed his shoulder where the collar bone was broken. There were tubes and electrodes everywhere. It was his poor hair that made the tears flow. They had shaved off about half of the thick, dark hair on top of his head, where the worst damage happened, and where the surgery would take place.
“Oh, God, please, please take care of him. He has so much more to do. I have so much more to do with him. I don’t want to lose him now that I’ve found him.”
She scrutinized him closely, looking for any sign of life outside of the steady breathing and beeping of his heart monitor. Did she imagine his hand tightened on hers? Probably.
The anesthesiologist and nurse came in, and she knew it was time to leave his side.
“Ma’am, we’ll get you word in the waiting room as quick as we can.” The young African American nurse gave her a compassionate smile and a pat on her shoulder.
“Thank you. I’ll be there. I . . . I need to call his parents. Let them know what’s going on.”
“You’ve got plenty of time. This kind of surgery takes a few hours. If there’s one thing we don’t want to rush, it’s brain surgery.”
Brain surgery. She knew it was his brain, but it was because he had been hit on the head by a . . . well, by a tree. She had thought of it as “head surgery.” But it was his brain. It didn’t get better. It got scarier.
She got to the waiting room in time to see Tom coming out the door.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. I don’t want to leave you alone, but I’ve gotten a call, and I need to get across town to another accident scene. We’re stretched pretty thin.”
She lifted her chin and gave him a brave half-smile. “I’ll be fine. They said it would be a few hours before we know anything.” She shivered and looked him in the eye, searching for courage. “Oh, Tom. So many tubes and wires.”
He pulled her into a brotherly hug and stood there while she sobbed. When she calmed, she stood back and gave him a watery smile. “I’ll be okay. Will you be going close to the church?”
“Not for a while, but I’ll check on things in a bit. Call me when you hear anything, and I’ll let the folks know what’s going on. When I get a chance, I’ll bring Lucy.”
“Thanks. I need to call the Colonel and Mrs. Benton.” She tugged at her lip between her teeth. She had met them several times, including the surprise shower. They were very nice, but she had to admit being a little intimidated by the military bearing of the colonel, and keeping up with Mrs. Benton’s switches in topics of conversation kept her on her toes.
“Don’t worry. I have it on good authority they liked you very much.”
“Well, let’s hope being the bearer of bad news doesn’t change their opinion.”
Sarah reached up and hugged Tom again. “You go. You’ve got a whole county to take care of. I just have Jared.”
“Remember, you’re not alone.” He pointed skyward and grinned at her.
“Believe me, that line of communication has been pretty much open all day.”
When he left the room, she whispered to herself, “I just have Jared.”
The nurse had given her the bag of Jared’s personal effects, including his phone. She turned it on, thankful it still had charge and that he had shared with her his entry code. She scrolled through his contacts and found his parents’ number in Silver Spring, Maryland, but called from her phone. She didn’t want his number to come up and have his mother think it was Jared calling.
She heard the Benton’s phone begin to ring, and Sarah’s heart began to pound. What was she going to tell them?”
“Hello?”
It was the colonel.
“Colonel Benton? This is Sarah Crawford.”
“Hello, Sarah, and please, call me Conrad. How is the weather down there? I heard it got pretty rough. Some weekend for the open house, huh?”
“Yes, sir. Um, it’s been pretty bad.” She paused.
“Sarah? Is something wrong?”
She took a deep breath. “I’m afraid there’s been an accident. Jared has been hurt and is in surgery now.”
She could hear him telling his wife what she was telling him.
“We’ll be down there as soon as possible. If we can get a flight, we’ll do that, but with this weather . . .”
“I know. And I know Jared would tell you not to rush. It’s quite a madhouse around here at this point, as you can imagine.”
“I know, we’ve been there. What happened? Are you all right?”
“Yes, I was at the shelter at the church during the storm. Jared had stopped at one of the properties and weathered the storm there. Tom said it seemed that it happened as he was leaving the property. A tree fell on his vehicle.”
She heard his quick intake of breath. “How bad is it?”
“He has a head injury, and they’re doing surgery now to alleviate the swelling and bleeding. The doctor was cautiously optimistic.”
“Sarah, I’m sorry you have to deal with this. I’m sure Tom is close by.”
“He left on a call, but he came to get me as soon as he knew Jared was hurt. He also knows I won’t leave him until he’s awake. I’ll be here.”
“Liz and I will be there as soon as we can. Call my cell if there are any changes or you need to talk. Wait a minute. Liz wants to talk to you.”
“Sarah, have you seen him yet?”
Sarah took a deep breath to keep from breaking down. “I did. He’s pretty banged up, and they had to shave part of his head where they’ll be doing surgery.”
“Bless his heart. And yours. It’s hard to see someone we love in that shape.”
“I know, Mrs. Benton. I can’t believe he went back to check on a house instead of getting to shelter.”
“Men, right? Sweetheart, please, call me Liz. We’re family.”
“Thank you. I’ll be glad to see you both.”
“You stay strong, and we’ll be there before you know it. Take care, Sarah.”
They ended the call, and Sarah collapsed into a chair in the corner of the waiting room. There were several families there, some looking beaten-up themselves, waiting on a loved one with bigger problems.
Mom and Dad. Sarah realized with all the confusion, she hadn’t called her parents. She pulled her cell out and scrolled through her calls to find their number. When she heard it ringing on the other end, she started to relax.
“Sarah?” Mom answered on the first ring.
“Yeah, Mom, it’s me.” She was sure her loud sigh told the tale. She just couldn’t keep it in any longer.
“Are you okay? You sound upset.”
“Well, it’s been a pretty upsetting day. First a hurricane and then an accident. Not me, Jared. He was leaving a property where he had stayed safe during the storm, and would you believe a tree fell on his truck?”
“Oh my goodness. How is he? Are you with him now? What vehicle was he in? I’ve heard there aren’t any airbags to protect against something falling on a vehicle, and you never know, do you?”
“It was his SUV. He’s in surgery, Mom.” She could feel emotion welling up, wanting her to be there with her. She wanted a hug and assurance only a mother could give. She sniffed loudly and shook her head, trying to clear it.
“What did the doctor say?”
“He has a head injury and a broken collar bone. They’re in surgery relieving the pressure and bleeding. Oh, Mom. What if he doesn’t make it? What if he never wakes up?”
“Sweetie, glance at the problem, and gaze upon Jesus. He’s got you both in the palm of His hand, you know.”
“I know, Mom. I’m scared.”
“He knows that too. Do you want us to come? What about the house? Was there any damage, or do you even know yet?”
“Not a clue. None of our houses were even on my mind. I called Jared’s
parents, and they’re coming as soon as they can. It’s about as far for them as it is for you. I’ll ask Tom to check on Pilot Oaks and mine. Right now it’s pretty chaotic. Pawley’s Island was hit pretty hard. I remember hearing about Hurricane Hugo literally cutting the island in half. I hope it wasn’t as bad this time.”
“I’m glad Lucy’s there, and Jared’s parents will be there with you. I’m looking forward to meeting them.”
Sarah’s lips curved in a smile. “I’m looking forward to that too. I wish it were under better circumstances. I’d better get off here. Cell reception is spotty.”
“All right. Call me any time, Sarah. I mean that. Even after bedtime if you need me.”
“What? After 9:00?” Her chuckle ended with a sigh. “I will, Mom. Love you.”
“Love you, too, sweetie.”
Chapter Eighteen
The storm surge had damaged homes to the second row off the ocean in some areas. Ground floor condos right on the beach would require massive cleanup, and power outages and downed trees were slowing emergency vehicles and residents trying to access their property. As the hurricane had stayed at or below a Category 1, those who had survived Hurricane Hugo in 1989 called this a mere thunderstorm in comparison. Still, for those unable to go home, it was difficult.
Tom was tired. He had been up most of the last two nights. The night of the storm he caught a catnap on the couch at the station at the insistence of the sheriff. After Jared was hurt, he had been called out to another accident scene that lasted into the wee hours. He drove back to the hospital and slept for twenty minutes in his car.
Heading into the hospital, he had two cups of coffee and a sausage biscuit in his hands. The Red Cross and a fast-food restaurant had partnered to provide breakfast for the emergency workers. He considered Sarah an emergency worker, too.
When he passed the ICU waiting room, he noticed it was empty. Sarah was probably still in Jared’s room. As he entered, he waved at the nurse at the station as she put a finger to her lips. The only sound he heard was the steady beeping of monitors and the muffled sounds of the outside hallway. It was, for now, an oasis in chaos if ever there was one. Now if Jared would just wake up.
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