Unforgettable Christmas - Gifts of Love (The Unforgettables Book 3)

by Mimi Barbour

“Yup, but I think if we get some rope and heavy duct tape, we can bend back the metal arms and refold the torn canvas. At least patch it up enough for you to drive the rig home.”

  The men started gently pulling away some of the awning blocking the exit, until the door was free of debris and could open. Then, they jogged back to their site.

  The frightened couple stepped outside to survey the wreckage. “Holy shit,” Jace repeated, shaking his head. “I’m one dumb, mother…”

  “Hush that talk,” demanded Niagara, quickly putting her hand over his mouth. “It was an accident, plain and simple. Calling yourself bad names isn’t going to fix the problem.”

  “I still can’t believe I forgot to retract the awning,” he replied. “Damn, so stupid.”

  The men soon returned carrying rope, two ladders, and a toolbox. They each placed a ladder on the sides of where the awning was supposed to be and, climbing up, gently began to reposition the metal arms.

  Each of them tied the misshapen metal brackets through the opening near the roof. When they were satisfied, they jumped down, and began folding the canvas until they were able to fasten the round bundle against the same opening by the roof as well.

  “Well, it ain’t pretty, but I think it’ll hold, if you take it easy on the road,” one of them said. “How far a ride you two got?”

  “About two hundred and thirty miles, I guess. But, hey, I can’t thank you enough for the help. I wouldn’t have known what to do, even if we could’ve gotten out the door.”

  Jace turned and gave Niagara a sheepish look. “Babe, we’re not going to be able to make the falls this trip. I’m sorry, but the best course is to drive the rig home and get it repaired. I don’t want to take the chance of screwing it up any more than it is.”

  “Jesus, don’t worry about the falls, Jace. Let’s just get it home in once piece,” she said.

  Jace took out his wallet and was about to offer the two guys some money, but one of them said, “Hey, man, we don’t take money for helping out a fellow camper. I’m sure you’d do the same for us, or anyone else who needed a hand.”

  Jace shook hands with the men and thanked them again. With a nod, they returned to their site, and the couple got back into the rig.

  Niagara put her hand on Jace’s arm and felt it tremble. “Do you need a few minutes? There’s no rush.”

  He sighed. “My dad’s gonna kill me.”

  Niagara scowled. “No, he isn’t. He’d be the first one to tell you to knock it off.”

  He made his way to the driver’s seat and buckled up. “Come on. I’m fine and we should go.”

  ***

  The drive home was slow going. Jace drove cautiously and under the speed limit, so what was left of the awning wouldn’t come apart.

  Conversation was limited. Niagara knew her man suffered from terrible guilt, but she didn’t know what to say to alleviate it.

  When they were about ten minutes from home, her cell rang. It displayed Cody’s phone number, and she hoped all was well with Axelrod.

  “Hi, Cody, is everything ok?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes, I’m didn’t mean to scare you. Axelrod’s fine, but he asked me to call and find out when you’re coming home.”

  Niagara sighed with relief. Neither she nor Jace needed any more drama today.

  “Actually, we’re on our way home right now. We had a change in plans and should be at the house any moment now. Why?”

  “I wouldn’t ordinarily ask you this off the cuff, but would you mind if I drove Axelrod over for quick visit? He made a gift for you yesterday, and he’s eager to give it to you.”

  She glanced at Jace’s profile. “Hold on a sec, Cody.”

  “Hon, Axelrod wants to stop by the house for a quick visit, if that’s not a problem,” she told him.

  “I don’t mind. Gonna be busy anyway, trying to see if I can fix the rig.”

  Niagara let that pass, knowing the RV needed repairs far beyond his skills. “Sure, Cody, you can bring him by in about fifteen minutes,” she told the caregiver. “We have some issues to deal afterward, with so please make sure you wait for him, okay?”

  “You positive it’s not inconvenient?” he asked.

  “No, it’s fine. If my brother made me a gift, I don’t want him to have to wait to bring it over. See you soon.”

  Jace parked the rig along side of the house, because at thirty feet, it was too long for the driveway.

  “I’ll take the cooler into the house and put the food away,” he told her. “After your brother leaves, I have to make some calls, and later we’ll get our clothes.”

  Cody’s small SUV pulled up. Axelrod got out, holding a small bag, and Cody waved from behind the wheel. Niagara waved back and waited for her brother on the porch.

  Axelrod carefully took the four steps, nodding several times.

  Today he seemed more relaxed, and she hoped it was because he was getting more comfortable with her.

  “You came back, I’m glad, you came back early, Cody said, yes, early,” he told her.

  Niagara smiled. “I’ll always come back, Axelrod, you never have to worry about that. Cody told me you have a gift for me. What is it?”

  He held out the small gift bag. When she took it, he quickly withdrew his hand.

  She opened the bag and removed something wrapped in white tissue paper. She carefully tore the tissue - inside was a velour doorknob hanger. Glued to the bright blue velour was a rose, intricately fashioned with cotton balls of red, green, and yellow.

  The rose design was beautifully done, almost like one would find in a specialty shop.

  She held it up to admire the craftsmanship further.

  “Wow, Ax, this is spectacular. Who taught you how to do things like this?”

  Axelrod went still as a statue.

  Niagara looked at him, concern wrinkling her brow. “What’s the matter?”

  “You said the wrong name, wrong, wrong name. I’m Axelrod. Not Ax, never Ax, only Axelrod.”

  “Why can’t I call you Ax?” she asked.

  “Ax? No, I don’t like it. My name is Axl Rodney Heatherton. Axelrod, they call me. Why would you want to change someone to be another person, when someone already is who he is?”

  Niagara was at a loss – that her brother didn’t understand the concept of nicknames was disconcerting.

  Then again, Axelrod wasn’t like most people, and she tried a simple explanation.

  “Because Ax is short for Axelrod. I’m your half sister Thelma, but I wonder if you would please call me Niagara. That’s what I like to be called, even though my name is really Thelma Louise.”

  “NO!” he shouted. “NO, NO, NO! Thelma is my half sister and Thelma is your name, not Niagara.”

  She reached out to take his hand, but he backed away so fast, she thought he was going to tumble off the porch.

  “I’m going home now, home with Cody, Cody’s waiting for me,” he hollered, making his way down the steps.

  “But, wait, please don’t go, Axelrod,” she called as her brother began jogging towards Cody’s car.

  “Jace,” she called. She pointed towards her brother’s retreating figure. “Axelrod’s leaving. He’s angry with me because I asked him to call me Niagara. Do something, Jace.”

  Jace was busy talking on his cell and held up a finger, mouthing, “Wait.”

  Niagara crossed her arms and watched the car ease away from the curb.

  “I’m just called three of my buddies to see if they can help me put the awning back together, before my father sees this mess,” he told her a few minutes later when his calls were concluded. “What happened with Axelrod?”

  Niagara almost stomped her foot in frustration. “Jace, forget about what happened with him, it’s too late now. And I’m sure your dad has insurance on the rig. Wouldn’t it be better if you called him and explained the situation? He doesn’t seem the kind of man to get angry over an accident.”

  “I’m sorry about your brother, Niagara, I
really am, but if there’s a chance me and my friends can fix the awning good as new, I’d rather not call my dad.”

  Niagara planted herself nose to nose with Jace, and pointed at the rig. “You are acting like such an ass! Neither you nor your buddies know the first thing about repairing that damn awning! Now, are you going to call your dad, or shall I?”

  Jace’s face turned red with anger. “Just shut it, Niagara, I know what I’m doing. Now, step away. I’m going up on the roof to see what those guys rigged up at the campsite.”

  With that, he swiftly began climbing the ladder attached to the back of the motor coach.

  If Niagara hadn’t been so annoyed with him, she would’ve laughed, because he looked like a monkey climbing a tree.

  Jace carefully made his way across the roof and squatted down, peering at the awning.

  He slipped his fingers between the roof and the patched up mess. “Boy, they sure bound this thing up tight,” he called. “I think my fingers are stuck.”

  “Hey, please be careful,” she shouted. “Stay put! Your friends will help you get loose as soon as they get here.”

  Disregarding her advice, Jace continued to work his fingers back and forth. With a final yank, his fingers were free, but he lost his balance and somersaulted backwards off the roof.

  It all happened like a slow motion nightmare. Niagara screamed and rushed over to her love. The grass was lush where he’d landed, but his eyes were closed, his body unmoving.

  Niagara knelt on the ground beside him, and controlled an impulse to shake him awake, worried she’d cause further injuries.

  “Oh, my God, Jace, don’t you dare die on my now!” she hollered. “I called a realtor today and put the house in Allentown on the market!”

  It seemed like forever, but only seconds had elapsed before Jace opened his eyes.

  He stared up at her with a goofy smile. “I guess I was falling for Niagara,” he whispered, and then he lost consciousness again.

  Niagara was crippled with fear. She rushed to the house, grabbed her cell, and dialed 911.

  “What’s your emergency?” asked female voice at the switchboard.

  “My boyfriend fell off the roof, he’s unconscious, oh, my God,” she babbled as she ran back to her man.

  “Is he bleeding?” the woman asked.

  “No, not that I can see, but he fell ten feet! He landed on his back,” she whimpered.

  “Hold on, I’ll transfer you to the police, what town are you in?”

  Niagara gave her the information and was quickly transferred to the police. She repeated the problem, and nearly screamed again, until the officer said he’d have a car and an ambulance there in minutes.

  “Tell them to hurry, please!” she cried, and then sat down next to Jace, who was moaning and trying to get up.

  “Don’t move, darling, just lie still, okay,” she crooned. “The ambulance is on its way, so please, Jace, lie quietly.”

  “My head hurts,” he whispered. “Can I have some water?”

  “Maybe later,” she replied, caressing his cheek.

  Much to Niagara’s profound relief, the police car and ambulance had arrived.

  The attendants carefully placed an oxygen mask over his face and checked his vital signs, which were good, considering the severity of his accident. One of the guys efficiently placed brace around his neck, and then they gently rolled him onto a hard pallet.

  Jace’s friends showed up as the EMT’s were placing Jace on the stretcher, and, with worried expressions, ran over to join the melee.

  “What the hell happened?” asked a guy she hadn’t met before. “Is Jace gonna be okay?”

  “I’ll explain later,” she said coldly as she climbed into the ambulance. “But the repairs on the rig are most definitely over.”

  Chapter Eight

  Hump D. Dump

  Once they arrived at the emergency room, the staff went into action. Mention the words, ‘Fell off a roof,’ or ‘Concussion’, and things begin to happen.

  An ER physician examined a semi-conscious Jace, who kept muttering he didn’t need to be there, and an orthopedic specialist was called in to examine him for broken bones.

  The orthopedist found nothing after his gentle probing, but sent him for a session of full body X-rays. Afterward, Jace was sent to another radiology ward for a CAT scan of his skull.

  Niagara was with him during the entire process, and agonized over the fact she didn’t have Jay and Cindy’s phone number, so she could let them know what had happened.

  The only person she had in her contacts to call who might have access to the unlocked RV was Cody.

  While Jace was having his scan, she stepped outside and phoned him.

  “Cody speaking, may I help you?”

  Niagara did her best to keep her voice even. “Hi, Cody, it’s Niagara. I need a huge favor, but first, how’s Axelrod? He was plenty annoyed with me when he left here earlier.”

  “He’s calm now,” the caregiver replied. “I’m not clear what set him off, but…”

  “I’ll explain it to you later,” she interrupted, “but we had a serious, medical emergency after you and he left.”

  She went on to explain the problem and why she needed his help. “I don’t have Jace’s dad’s cell number, and I was wondering if you would please drive to our house, get Jace’s cell out of the rig, and bring it to me at the hospital. He left it on the dashboard.”

  “Oh, my God, that’s terrible. Is Jace going to be all right?” He asked, the concern in his voice apparent.

  “He’s finally regained consciousness, thank God, but they’re running more tests on him now,” she replied, trying to maintain her composure.

  “Sure, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes. Hold on a sec,” he said.

  She heard Cody speaking to Axelrod, telling him they were going for a ride to help his sister Thelma. Thankfully, there was no hollering.

  “Hang on there, Niagara, we’ll be leaving immediately,” he said, and then hung up.

  The distraught woman finally gave in to her distress, and wept in a corner of the building in private.

  When she was all cried out, she wiped her eyes, and took a seat on a bench to wait for Cody.

  She bowed her head and prayed for Jace’s speedy recovery, until Cody tapped her shoulder. Standing a few paces away was Axelrod.

  She stood and tearfully hugged the caregiver and he embraced the trembling girl until her shaking had subsided. “Here,” he said, handing over Jace’s phone. “Make your call. We’ll wait over there, until his parents arrive, if that’s okay with you.”

  Niagara nodded and scrolling through the contact list, found the number and hit send.

  Jace’s dad never missed a beat as she told him how the fall occurred. She did leave out the part about the awning, though, that wait for another time.

  “We’re on our way,” was all he said. “See you shortly.”

  The call concluded, Niagara waved Cody and Axelrod over. “I have to go back inside. Do you want to have a seat in the waiting room, until I find out Jace’s test results?” she asked them.

  Cody looked at his charge. “What do you think, buddy?” he asked.

  Axelrod nodded a few times. “Jace fell, he bumped his head, that really hurts, poor Jace, sure we can wait. Yes, waiting is fine,” he said.

  She left the two men in the waiting area and hurried back to the room to await Jace’s return.

  To her surprise and utmost relief, her man was already back, sipping a ginger ale.

  “Hey, stranger,” he said with a small smile. “Where’ve you been?”

  “Oh, dear God, Jace, how’re you feeling? What did the Cat scan say?”

  “Aside from having the mother of all headaches, my skull is once again filled with its own importance,” he teased. “The doctors say I’m a lucky SOB.”

  Niagara gasped. “They didn’t!”

  Jace started to laugh, but winced instead, and carefully rested his head back on
the pillow.

  “They did say something to that effect.”

  The doctor entered the room just then and grinned at his patient. “You must have a guardian angel or something, my friend, because your CAT scan and other X-rays are completely normal. If you can eat some crackers and finish your ginger ale, we can release you in an hour or so.”

  “Great!” Niagara cried. “That’s such excellent news.”

  Jace smiled happily. “Must’ve been my old pal Pete watching over me,” he told the physician.

  Noting the doctor’s confused expression, he added, “Never mind, Doc. A private joke between me and my lady here.”

  “Well, I’ll be back later, and if all’s copasetic, your lady can drive you home. No driving for you for at least two days, and if you have increased pain, blurry vision, or any other symptoms, you come right back here, understand?”

  “Yes, sir. I will.”

  The doctor gave him a brisk nod and left.

  “Um, Jace,” Niagara said when they were alone.

  “Yes?”

  “There’s something I need to confide,” she began, “You see, I called…”

  Jace’s father and stepmom burst into the room, and she was glad to be spared further explanation – their presence spoke for itself.

  Jay DeMatteo looked his son over with a critical eye, while Cindy gave Niagara a brief hug.

  “What the hell happened?” his dad demanded. “I can’t think of a single reason why you’d be walking on top of the rig. Speak up.”

  Jace sent his lady a dark frown, and then faced his father. “Oh, damn, Dad. I was hoping to fix the awning.” He looked down at the blanket and sighed. “I forgot to retract the awning when we were leaving Cooperstown, and it collapsed when it hit a big tree.”

  Thus Jay began his Italian Ricky Ricardo routine. He slapped his forehead dramatically and began to pace the room.

  Jay glared at his son. “You’re lucky you didn’t break your fool neck, dumb ass,” he said angrily. “I still can’t believe you almost killed yourself over that damn awning! Oh, dear God, save me from idiot sons,” he yelled at the ceiling.

  “Now, hold on a minute, Dad,” Jace sputtered. “I’m not an idiot. I only climbed up there to see how the guys at our campsite had rigged it up so we could drive home. Two of my experienced friends were gonna come over and help out.”