"We should probably go check it out."
Nodding in agreement, Robert replaces his respiratory mask and exits the shelter. Austin turns towards Nikki and explains what occurred.
"It's my project, I need to go with Robert to see what happened. I'll be right back, sweetheart."
An expression of unease crosses Nikki's features and Austin can't help but feel nervous himself.
"It'll be fine, Nikki. I'll be right back and we can go get some lunch, alright?" he says, taking her hand in his and squeezing it gently.
She squeezes back, only to hold onto his hand as tightly as possible until the last second when he exits the cover.
Walking up to Robert, the two men locate Carl at the other shelter and they go inspect both the crumbled walls and those that are still remaining.
"What do you think happened?" he asks the two men.
Robert speaks up first, "I can't be sure. Perhaps the shipment of those particular explosives were bad. But that seems unlikely, since everything used in demolition was from the same shipment. It’s even more strange that it was all in one particular area. It would be more likely to happen sporadically throughout the building."
Chiming in, Carl says, "At least it's a small enough surface area that we can have the bulldozer knock it down."
"That's true," Robert counters.
As the three men come closer to the building and move towards the interior side, Austin can already see where the problem lies. The detonation devices were all connected by a large red wire, one at least five inches in diameter. It is lying at his feet, cut cleanly in half, only four feet away from where he stands. Rotating his attention back to the wall, Austin works to pinpoint each of the explosives, locating each one nestled soundly in their cutouts.
It's then that he notices the darker red wire now connecting each of the explosives… a darker red wire that suddenly jumps, then clicks.
Click.
Click.
Click.
The noise echoes in Austin's ears as he tries to push the two men out of the wall's proximity.
The ground begins to shake underneath Austin's feet and he knows that his chance is limited - if not extinct - to exit the rubble in time. Both Robert and Carl move towards the outside of the wall just as Austin trips on an uprooted brick, rendering his leg useless. He gasps as searing pain shoots up his leg and he glances down quickly to find a large gash torn through his denim pants, but luckily there are no broken bones.
"RUN!" Austin cries just as his roar is hushed by the sound of a second blast.
Crouching down into a curled-up position to protect as much of his body as possible, Austin shelters his body to the best of his ability and squeezes his eyes shut, but not before seeing a swash of bright red hair galloping through the woods on the far end of the property. Then all that he sees is blackness as the searing white pain takes over.
NIKKI MOVES FROM THE shelter along with the remainder of the crowd and heads back towards the coffee truck to get a bottle of water, the respiratory mask drying out her mouth.
She searches around the crowd for Sara or Carl, but comes up short. Instead, she finds Amy and Joseph, Austin's parents, waiting along with the other spectators.
"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Connelly. I'm surprised to see you here."
"Well, it was quite a to-do in the community to make it to the demolition. I wasn't going to miss it. Plus, I love to see my Joseph Jr. at work," Amy says.
Joseph Jr. Nikki always catches herself chuckling at Austin's first name. He hates being called Joseph, or Junior, for that matter.
"Well, it seems like the entire town turned out for the occasion."
"They did," Amy exclaims, jumping up and down on the tips of her toes, causing Joseph Sr. to chuckle. "We planned a potluck for this afternoon and the Mayor even closed down Town Hall. We may have lost a historical building, but what we're gaining is going to mean so much for Carson."
"A potluck? Really?"
"Come on, Nikki. You've lived here long enough to know that the Lady Busy Bees don't need a particular reason to do anything. But tell them that there may be an occasion for a community gathering, and they're going to schedule a luncheon."
Nikki finds herself chuckling at Joseph's assessment.
"You are right on that one, sir. So Amy, what are you bringing? Please tell me it's your pecan pie. It's my favorite."
"Well now, I wouldn't be a true southern lady if I didn't bring pie. And I may have heard that my soon-to-be grandchild likes the pie, too. I’m also bringing a dish of Mac and Cheese for Avery, and my homemade garlic mashed potatoes for the boys. I believe I have everyone covered."
"Oh goodness. My mouth is watering already. How much longer until..."
An immense explosion interrupts Nikki and she finds herself turning around in horror as she watches the remaining southern wall collapse onto the ground.
"Oh my God," she whispers hoarsely, shock flooding her body.
Vaguely, she hears Amy’s voice penetrating the fog of her thoughts as the older woman grabs her arm.
"It's Austin, Nikki! I can feel it. Go to him, please. Please find him," she cries over the reverberations as she clutches the links on the fence.
With a determination Nikki has never known, she jars herself from Amy's grasp and rushes towards the ruins, shouting Austin's name the entire way. From the corner of her eye, she sees a bright red haired figure rushing from the tree line, but she pays little mind to it. Instead, she focuses her attention on the crumbling wall in front of her.
Nikki trips on her own feet a few times, sprinting closer to the debris. Robert and Carl try to halt her, but she side-swipes through their barrier.
"Nikki, stop!" Carl yells, but it does little good.
Her heart is breaking within her chest and will continue to do so until she knows that Austin is safe. Robert turns on his heel and rushes forward with her while Carl continues to run in the opposite direction.
"I have our medics on the way. We keep them on standby," Robert shouts, but the words are muffled in Nikki's ears as her breathing gains momentum.
When she reaches the pile of shale, she immediately drops to her knees to begin digging.
Her fingers drip with blood as she scours through the rubble and dirt for her love. The physical pain is no match for the agony ripping through her heart. She feels her recently manicured nail tearing away from the bed of her finger, but does not attempt to halt her movements.
"Nikki!" she hears her name screamed from behind her, but it is muffled by the resounding heartbeat drumming in her ears as she continues to work at the pile of fragments beneath her knees.
Strong arms wrap around her shoulders and tear her away from the debris.
"Nikki, stop! You're pregnant. You can't be doing this!" Logan shouts.
Nikki realizes that he must have come when the medic was called.
Twisting and twirling in his arms, she cries and pushes him away.
"I need to find him, Logan. I can't stop." Her tears and anger get the better of her and she allows one deep sob to be expelled from her chest, "I love him, I can't stop."
Finally pulling free, she rushes back around the pile and begins digging in a second location.
She can feel Logan coming to kneel beside her, then he hands her a pair of working gloves.
"Here. Just be careful." he says, helping her place them over her bloodied fingers.
Donning a pair himself, the two of them get to work as the rest of Austin's crew joins them in a frantic attempt to save Austin.
What feels like hours, but is probably only minutes, pass when Nikki finds herself removing a thick piece of shale from the ground and exposing a bright, beautiful tattoo that Austin has on his forearm.
"Here! Oh my God, I found him!" she shouts, her heart filling with a mixture of excitement and worry.
One of the paramedics steps closer and asks Nikki to move aside, but she refuses. Only over her dead body would she move from this spo
t until Austin is free. Instead, she delves in faster, stronger, and more determined as she clears away the rubble, fortitude spurring her onward.
Soon she and the workers have removed most of the clay and dirt that covered Austin's head and arms. A deep moan seeps from Austin's lips and Nikki swears it is the most beautiful sound she has ever heard.
"Austin," she sighs, quickly removing her glove and tossing it across the way. She takes a hold of his hand, grasping it as though she’ll never let go. "I'm here. You're going to be okay."
"Nikki?" he asks, opening his eyes and peering around.
He tries to sit up, but Nikki shakes her head and asks him to remain still until they can finish removing the rubble from around his legs.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Are you in a lot of pain?" she solicits.
"Just my head and back. I think I'm ok though."
At last, his legs are freed and he rotates from his curled position, reaching for Nikki.
As soon as his arms wrap around her, she releases all of the agony and worry that had burdened her as she frantically searched, fearing him injured or dead. Nikki allows everything from the past five months to wash over her and she expels it through her tears. She holds Austin as tight as she possibly can while also trying not to hurt him, but the pain seems not to matter. His strong grip around her waist and head is tight, pressing her as physically close to himself as he can.
"I was so scared, baby," Austin says in a hushed tone reminiscent of someone trying to hold back their emotions, but failing. "I wasn't ready to leave you."
Nikki struggles to speak and finds herself unsuccessful. Instead, she continues to cry and tightens her hold on Austin. With her head tucked into his neck, she is surprised to still smell his husky scent, only slightly mixed with a lingering smell of the dust.
"Sir," one of the medics says. "We need to take you to the hospital. Do you think you can walk?"
Releasing his hold on Nikki, Austin moves to stand and only falters for a moment before moving down from the pile with the medic’s help.
Nikki follows the crowd away from the debris field, heading towards the waiting ambulance.
Amy and Joseph rush to their son's side, both checking over their firstborn for any signs that he is seriously injured. An eruption from the crowd startles everyone and they look over to see the large gathering cheering and whistling at Austin, thrilled beyond words that he seems to be ok and unharmed.
Amy holds onto Austin's arm as if scared to let go, and walks to the ambulance with him. As Joseph and Nikki step forward, the medic says that only one of them can ride to the hospital in Asheville.
Austin sits up from the gurney he was asked to lay on and calls her name.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just..." Amy begins, choking back tears.
"It's fine, Mrs. Connelly. I'll find a way over there."
Logan steps forward with Avery at his side and says, "We'll take you, Nikki. I want to take a look at your hands first."
She glances down at the dirt, embedded deep in the cuts and slashes on her palms and fingers, forgetting all about them in the joy of finding Austin.
"Baby," Austin utters in concern before they shut the door to the ambulance.
"Come on," Avery insists, tucking her arm around Nikki's waist.
The women follow Logan to his truck and ride in silence back to the physician's office in Carson.
As they inject her hand with a local anesthetic, Avery takes a washcloth and wipes Nikki's face clean of the dirt that had settled onto her skin.
"Much better," her friend says as she sits back. "Do you know what happened today?"
"Not at all. Everything was going fine, but one of the walls on the backside only collapsed partially. Robert, Carl, and Austin went over to see what happened and then another explosion went off. Carl and Robert came running out, but I knew something was wrong. I rushed in as soon as I could. I was so terrified, Avery."
"Almost finished up. Nothing looks too bad, just needed a good cleaning, but you're going to need to keep your hands very clean until they start to scab," Logan explains. "Alright, let's go see your man before he rips my balls off for keeping you from him."
“EXPLAIN TO ME AGAIN why they needed to shave my head?" Austin asks in fury as his mother swipes the razor to get a closer cut.
When the pain had become too much in the ambulance, the paramedics had injected him with some morphine and knocked him out cold. When he woke up sometime later, dressed in a hospital-issued gown with an IV burrowed in his arm, he had reached up to scratch his head, only to find his thick mane of hair suspiciously absent.
Finished with his shave, his mother sits back into his chair and smiles.
"You had a deep laceration on the back of your head that needed stitches. The nurse was just going to shave around the spot, but the doctor explained that by shaving your entire head, they could check for any other gashes that may need attention." He runs a hand over his freshly shaved head once more while his mother adds, "You're lucky you have a beautiful round head. You can pull off the bald look. Some men aren't so lucky."
"Thanks, Mom," Austin retorts sarcastically. "What's taking them so long to get here?"
Austin had been anxiously waiting for Nikki to arrive since he had come-to about half an hour ago. Shutting his eyes to perhaps catch a few more moments of rest, he widens them to epic proportions when he hears Nikki's voice outside the door, yelling that she is his fiancée and they better let her into this room.
Suddenly she is standing there: his beautiful saving grace.
"Sweetheart," he sighs in relief.
"Austin," she announces in similar respite, tears sparkling in her eyes.
The nurse who had worked so hard to keep Nikki from the room lifts the corner of her mouth in a small smile and leaves.
"I'll leave you two and go find your sisters and brothers," Amy decides before vacating her spot and helping Nikki remove her jacket.
Adjusting his position on the bed, Austin beckons Nikki forward by saying, "Come here, love."
She steps forward to take his hand, her torn and battered one shaking slightly.
"I don't want to hurt you," she whispers.
"You won't. Sit beside me, please."
Nodding her head, she settles on to the edge of the bed before taking her other hand and running it across his cheeks.
"What did the doctor say?"
"Doc says I'm lucky and that he didn't see any major injuries. He thinks that I will be discharged later today."
A strong sense of relief washes over Nikki and her shoulders slump as the tension drains from her body.
"That's good," she utters, still stroking his cheeks. "I was so worried."
Placing his hand on top of hers, halting her movements, he adds, "I know you were. I was too. You were all I could think about. You and my little angel."
"Oh, Austin," Nikki whimpers and lays her body next to his, embracing him as well as she can. "I was so scared."
He smiles at the warmth of her. Holding her in his arms - even while she cries -is one of the best feelings in the world.
"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart."
As the final tears spill from her eyes, she looks up at him and his heart fills with warmth.
"I love you, Austin. I don't think I ever stopped."
Sifting his fingers through her silken hair, he responds, "I love you too, Nikki. I tried to fight it, I didn't want to get hurt again, but I couldn't stop. You're it for me, baby girl. I'm sorry that it took today to realize it."
Her gleaming smile is so bright that it could power a city.
They lay like that for a while, her head resting on his shoulder as he strokes his fingers through her hair and she glides a finger back and forth across his chest.
Breaking the silence, Austin quips, "So, do you think bald is beautiful?"
Confused by his question, Nikki sits up and looks at him with an odd expression. After a moment, her eyes widen in recognition.
"Oh goodness, I didn't even notice. What happened?"
"They needed to stitch up a deep wound so it was better for them to check my entire head. My mom grabbed a razor and cleaned it up for me."
"Well, I don't know what to think really. I mean I love your thick hair, but..." she trails off before leaning forward to whisper in his ear, "I think you look incredibly sexy."
"Do you now?" he replies, wrapping an arm around her waist and gently placing his hand on her neck, beneath her hair, holding her close.
"Mmhmm," she murmurs as she licks her lips in anticipation.
Austin tugs her forward and brings her lips to meet his. The kiss is gentle at first, but then bursts into passion as his tongue licks at her upper lip.
Unfortunately, their interlude is interrupted by his family as the large clan stuffs themselves into the tiny room.
"Sorry,” Avery expresses sincerely. "We wanted to see you."
When Nikki tries to stand from the bed, Austin tugs her back by the waist and holds her close. No way was she leaving him to fend for himself, plus, he was beyond relieved to have her so close.
Each of Austin's family members bombard him with questions, talking over one another, the way it had always been when he was growing up. Instead of paying attention to them, he turns his gaze to Nikki and watches her light up as she quietly observes his crazy family.
Taking a moment to relay what happened, he watches his father stiffen when he mentions how he saw a red-headed figure in the woods before the blast occurred. Of course, he should have known that that bit of information would cause a firestorm in his room.
"You need to tell the Sheriff," his father demands. "They need to question Sara."
"It wasn't her," Everleigh chimes from the corner.
"How do you know that?" his father asks, his voice booming above the rest of the group.
"After the first demo blast, I was making my way back to the pharmacy and I saw her out on the street, arguing with a man. And she was wearing five inch heels that I doubt she could run in, plus a skirt."
Coming Together: Welcome to Carson, Book Two Page 11
