Texas Girl Grit: Sequel to Texas Hellcat (Texas Series Book 2)

by Shelley Stringer

  Ellen and Davis rushed into the room behind Tana, their eyes searching until they spotted me. Ellen sank down in the chair beside me as Davis knelt in front of me.

  “Sweetheart, are you injured?” Ellen whispered, cupping my cheek in her hand as she looked me over. I glanced down, taking in my blood-soaked sweater and skirt. I looked like I’d been sprayed with blood.

  “I’m fine,” I answered shakily. “Just Liam and Sunni.”

  Davis grasped my hands. “Any word?”

  Sean answered him. “Nothing yet. They are working on him. They said someone would be out as soon as they assessed the damage and had him stable.”

  “How long ago was that?” Davis asked, his voice filled with dread.

  “Over an hour ago,” Sean answered, checking his watch.

  “Sweetie, let’s get you cleaned up,” Tana urged as she came back into the room, holding her hand out to me.

  “No, I don’t want to leave until we hear something about Liam.” I pulled away, shaking my head.

  Everyone rose as a man in scrubs entered the room, pulling a mask from his mouth. “Mrs. Covington?” he asked, searching through the room and then zeroing in on me.

  “Yes, I’m Kelly Covington,” I responded hastily as I rose. Sean placed his arm around me in support.

  “I’m Dr. Littleton. I’m consulting on your husband’s case with Dr. Michaels. He’s in critical condition and is in surgery now. There is a bullet lodged in the tissue of his lung. He’s also experienced some internal bleeding, and that’s what we’re addressing now. We think the major wound is the lung, but we have to make sure there’s nothing else. We’re going to give him blood, and I’ll come back out in a bit to let you know what we’ve found. It will be a while. We’ll keep you updated.”

  “Thank you, doctor,” Davis responded.

  “His lung…internal bleeding? What does that mean? What else…what about his lung?” I asked, grasping for answers.

  Ellen embraced me, guiding me over and then settling me on the sofa. She stroked my hair as I sobbed, whispering quietly to me until I calmed down. She took my face in her hands. It was then I noticed her calm demeanor.

  “It’s going to be okay, Kelly. Liam’s strong, he’s healthy, and I simply won’t have it any other way. We are going to get through this.” She squared her shoulders and smiled at me with the force of her tough South-Texas breeding. As she gazed at me, I saw her determination falter as she took in the blood on my sweater and skirt. I drew in a deep breath. It was time to be the politician’s wife.

  “Tana, will you hand me that bag?” I asked, nodding over to the bag she’d brought for me.

  “Sure. I’ll go with you,” she urged, rising and holding her hand out to me. I followed her down the hallway, and then to an empty patient’s room. At my raised eyebrow, she explained.

  “I told the head nurse you needed a place to clean up. She said to let you in here and said to use whatever you needed. The perks of being a senator’s wife, I guess,” she said, winking.

  I moved into the small bathroom and turned on the shower. Tana moved to empty the bag on the sink and lay my clothes out as I undressed. While I showered, she’d gathered my blood-soaked clothes and placed them in a bag. I toweled off as she helped me into the soft yoga pants, sweatshirt and tennis shoes she’d packed for me.

  “I didn’t know how long you’d be here, so I brought the most comfortable thing I could find.” She then gestured to the hooded sweatshirt. “And hospitals always seem cold to me.”

  “Thanks. It’s perfect, just what I need,” I told her, pulling my damp hair into a ponytail.

  “You need to take a minute?” she asked, her eyebrows drawn into a slight frown.

  “No, I’m good. I don’t want to miss the doctor if he comes back out,” I replied. She took hold of my hand and led me back to the waiting room. We found the room full now, some of Liam’s campaign staff had arrived, as well as Ethan, Chelsea, and Allison.

  Allison rose as soon as she saw me, flying across the room and into my arms. She was understandably upset, but her public display of emotion surprised me. I folded her in my arms and placed my lips in her hair.

  “I’m scared,” she whispered.

  “I know, sweetie. But he’s gonna be okay,” I tried to assure her, my eyes meeting Ellen’s across the room. I held her a moment longer, then Tana pulled her to the side and stroked her arms as Chelsea folded me in hers.

  “You holdin’ up okay, sister?” she asked.

  I nodded truthfully. I felt much stronger and in control of my emotions since I’d cleaned all my husband’s blood off. Knowing the doctors were working on him, and we hadn’t lost him in the ambulance gave me more hope than I’d first thought.

  “I’m good, now. Where’s Masen?” I asked Chelsea, it now dawning on me everyone who would be staying with him was now here.

  “Miranda and her mother came to Davis and Ellen’s to watch him and Sammy. They’ll be fine.” She pulled me over to sit beside Ethan as one of Liam’s campaign workers changed the station on the large-screen TV on the wall.

  “Senator Covington and his wife were hosting a small Christmas gathering in their home tonight when their house was fired upon by an unknown aircraft. Multiple shots were fired through windows in the back of the house, and it has been reported at least two people have been transported to the hospital, one of the injured being Senator Covington. His condition has been listed as critical.”

  Sean spoke from the doorway, his body leaned against the entry. “They didn’t waste any time. It hasn’t even been two hours,” he stated, glancing down at his watch.

  The TV anchor droned on. “Also, reported at the residence at the time of the shooting was Covington’s longtime friend, Sean Reynolds, quarterback for the Texans.”

  “How in the hell did they know that?” he exploded, running his hand through his hair. I noticed although he’d tried to clean up, his shirt and pants still bore the stains of Liam’s blood. Tana stood and crossed to him, taking his hand in hers.

  “The media has someone watching the house most of the time,” one of the campaign aids answered. As I scanned all of them watching the TV, I zeroed in on one person I hadn’t noticed before. What was she doing here? Texanne Estes stood watching the newscast, her hands on her full hips, eyeing me from across the room.

  Chelsea’s grip on my hand tightened. She’d spotted her too.

  “Why is she here?” Allison hissed, dropping into the chair across from us. “She’s like my brother’s creepy stalker.”

  “She’s still working on his campaign. I guess she came with the others,” I answered, my gaze locked with hers. I was too numb to let her intimidate me, but I had to admit her presence bothered me.

  Everyone stood abruptly as Dr. Littleton appeared once again. I rushed to him.

  “Can I see him?” I pleaded.

  “Not yet. He’s made it through surgery. He’s still in recovery, and will be for some time.Neither Senator Covington’s heart nor such vital blood vessels as the aorta were affected, and his prognosis is better than we first thought.We’ll move him to a bed in ICU whenever we can assess his status and get his vitals stable. We wanted you to know he’s out of surgery, and he’s alive. That’s all I can give you right now.”

  “But he’s going to make it,” Sean stated, more than questioned.

  The doctor looked directly at me.

  “The next forty-eight hours will tell. He’s lost a tremendous amount of blood and that’s why we are giving him the second transfusion. Someone will be out as soon as he’s been moved.”

  Davis moved and held his hand out. “I’m Davis Covington, Liam’s father. You bring in whoever we need, whatever he needs,” he commanded.

  The young doctor nodded. “We’re aware of who he is, and I assure you we are doing all we can for Senator Covington. We’ll keep you all informed,” he answered.

  I broke. Crying silently, I turned toward the chairs to sit down. Davis moved to my
side and pulled me into his arms.

  “It won’t be long now. They’ll let you see him soon. Then we’ll all feel better. We need to see him,” he whispered. I nodded into his chest as he continued to hold me.

  I sensed Allison at my side. She reached down and took my hand, so I returned with her to our chairs. I knew we’d made a sort of connection over Thanksgiving at the farm, and I felt it now. I took a moment to feel gratitude, even under the circumstances. I still had the feeling there was more going on with her than a teenage phase, and I could feel her angst. Somehow, I felt it wasn’t only about the current situation, but compounded by it.

  We waited and paced for another hour or so. Sean bought all of us coffee and soft drinks, and I sat sipping on a can of ginger ale to help settle my stomach.

  “Why is it taking so long? I hate watching that clock tick,” Allison blew up dramatically, gesturing to the large black clock on the wall.

  “It soothes me,” I answered, rubbing the back of her hand. “Every second is closer to stability. Every minute gets us closer to the time they can come out here and say he’s stable. The more time passes, the better…right?” I asked, glancing up at Ethan.

  “Absolutely,” he answered, smiling at me.

  Allison visibly tensed beside me. I looked at her, concerned at the sudden anxiety I felt her throw off. I looked up to find Scott hovering beside the door, having finally arrived at the hospital. I figured he’d been busy at the house with all the police and red tape. I looked back to Allison, her eyes glued to him.

  He moved toward us. “Any word?” he asked.

  Allison swallowed hard. I felt her fidget beside me. Was she attracted to him? Maybe a crush was involved. This wasn’t good. He was almost twice her age.

  I didn’t dwell on it long.

  Davis answered him, appearing beside us. “He’s out of surgery, lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. We’re waiting for him to stabilize.”

  “Do the police know who did this?”

  Scott’s eyes moved to Sean, who’d risen and now stood beside him. After a pause, his gaze found mine again.

  “Unofficial word is a Mexican drug lord is claiming responsibility. The department of homeland security and FBI have been called in.”

  Allison squeezed my hand.

  “Jesus,” Sean blew out a breath and drew Tana into his side. Scott nodded and moved back to the doorway, assuming his usual stance of hovering and watching.

  “Mrs. Covington, you can go back now. He’s in ICU three,” Dr. Littleton called from the doorway.

  I jumped and rushed to the door, Ellen and Davis touching me in a show of support as I went. I knew I should offer to let one of them go first, but I had to see him.

  I followed the doctor down the corridor, past a set of double doors and around the ICU main nurses station. He paused and turned to me as we reached the third curtained partition.

  “He’s stable. There was a lot of internal bleeding. The bullet went in at an angle, from above, entering close to his heart. There were a lot of bone fragments from his ribs, and we removed the bullet. We saved the lung, but we are still concerned about internal bleeding. We had to give him a lot of blood.”

  Hearing all they had to do to him in surgery made my knees go weak. As we rounded the curtain, his frail condition hit me and caused me to sway. Dr. Littleton placed his hand at my waist, and guided me to a chair beside Liam’s bedside.

  “You can’t stay long, five minute intervals. I’ll go and update his parents and send them back.”

  I nodded, never taking my eyes from my pale husband. With his eyes closed, a large bandage covering his chest and abdomen, tubes and wires running everywhere, his condition seemed alarmingly frail.

  “Oh Liam,” I whispered, placing my hand on his cheek. The slow beeps of the monitor above us and the “whish” and pull of the respirator breathing for him were the only response. There was no movement. I couldn’t detect his chest moving.

  “Honey, you need to fight. You’ve got to fight, and come back from this. I love you so much,” I said, my voice breaking.

  “Keep talking to him. He needs to hear your voice,” a nurse encouraged me as she checked the monitors and injected something into his IV.

  After she left, I lay my head over on the pillow beside him. “I’m not leaving. I’ll be right here as long as they will let me be. Rest and get strong. God, I’ll do anything to have you well again,” I whispered. As I watched him, I detected movement behind his eyelids, as though he was dreaming.

  “You can hear me, I know it. Fight, honey. Come back to us,” I pleaded.

  A hand rubbing my back softly interrupted me. I raised my head to find Ellen beside me. Davis moved to the other side of Liam’s bed, tears on his cheeks.

  “Son, your mother and I are here too. Everyone’s here, pulling for you. We’ve got everything under control, so you heal. You’re strong, son,” he said softly, leaning over to kiss Liam on the forehead.

  I started to rise, knowing my time was up.

  “No. You stay, sweetheart, until they make you go. I want you with him,” Ellen commanded. I shut my eyes as tears welled and spilled over at her show of support. She then moved to kiss Liam’s cheek, caressing his face as she whispered in his ear.

  After they’d stayed their allotted time, Davis moved to hug me. “We’re going to go back to the waiting room and update everyone. You stay until they run you out,” he commanded, his arms tightening. “Stay strong for him, Hellcat. He has you, and you have us. We’ll be in the waiting room.”

  “We love you, Kelly,” Ellen whispered as she kissed my check. I felt it. It leached into my skin, into my bones and down to my soul. Davis and Ellen’s love wrapped around me like a warm blanket. It was a rare feeling for me, one I’d only experienced in the last few months of my life.

  “I love you too,” I replied, my voice gravelly.

  And for the first time since the windows exploded at our house, I thought of the sex tape, and the decision I had to make. If I left Liam as I’d planned, I’d never hear any of them say “I love you” to me again. If I stayed and the tape was released, I’d never hear it anyway. Forget me and Liam. It would destroy Ellen. I couldn’t fathom how much it would upset her to see it, or even know it existed. I couldn’t chance it. I had no choice. And now it didn’t matter as much.

  Nothing mattered to me but Liam’s life, so I prayed.

  If Liam’s life was spared, I would leave him and save all of them the horror of the scandal to come. His senate seat and career would no longer be in jeopardy because of me. Leaving him would ensure he could live the life he loved. Much of the tension between the Covingtons and Tex would disappear. And I would appease my nameless, faceless blackmailer.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  M rs. Covington,” a voice urged gently, a hand at my shoulder. “Mrs. Covington, wake up.”

  I opened my eyes, lifting my head off the pillow to find a nurse standing next to me. It had been two days since the shooting. In that two days, I’d only slept in the chair beside Liam’s bed.

  “Your family is worried about you. In your condition, you need to rest.” She nodded at my protruding tummy.

  “I don’t want to leave him.” I answered groggily.

  “He’s much better. He’s stable, and he’s breathing on his own.” “What if he wakes up fully and I’m not here?”

  “I think he’ll be in and out for a while. If he fully wakes, I’ll come for you, I promise.”

  I nodded, rose, and walked wearily back down the corridor to the waiting room. Our family and friends were all draped on sofas and recliners. Jen and Tana were covered in blankets, both snuggled on either side of Sean, all of them sleeping. Ellen was curled into Davis. Ethan and Chelsea were snuggled on a sofa across from them. As I approached, Ethan stirred.

  “Take my place here, and get some sleep. I’ll go back and sit with him for a while,” he urged.

  Emotionally spent, I was asleep before my head
settled beside Chelsea. I spent the next twenty-four hours catching cat-naps with our friends and family, and sitting for long intervals by Liam’s bedside.

  “…play this in the media. They are eating this up. But we need someone from the family to make a statement.”

  Voices woke me from across the room. Upon opening my eyes, I focused on Texanne, her back to me, and two of Liam’s men who’d worked tirelessly on media coverage since the attack on our house. I didn’t know their names, but they were familiar faces at the hospital. But this was the first time I’d seen Texanne since the first couple of days.

  She turned, as though she sensed my eyes on her. Her own narrowed as she took me in, her perfectly-lined lips curling as she took me in from head to toe. I was still dressed in yoga pants and sweat tops, staying as warm and comfortable as possible in the hospital rooms as we waited day to day for updates on Liam.

  As I pushed up on the sofa to an upright seated position, she squared her shoulders and pushed her nose a bit higher in the air as she paraded across the large waiting room toward me.

  “I see you’re awake. There are some things Liam’s team need to run by you,” she said, her eyes once more roaming over my attire. “Though, why they are deferring to you instead of Davis, I have absolutely no idea,” she added, eyes narrowing.

  “Then why didn’t they come over and talk to me instead of sending you?” I asked.

  My barb hit its mark. I was done being nice to Texanne.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve had to take over since Liam’s been unavailable, and since he’s never appointed a main ‘manager,’” she said, raising her hands in the air and making the “quote” sign with her fingers.

  “I’ve been a bit busy.”

  “Yeah, well, it seems this ‘Young senator fighting for his life’ bit plays well with Texas voters. The media can’t get enough of it. We need the grieving, pregnant wife out in front of the cameras to keep it fresh on everyone’s mind.”

  Stunned, I stared at her, my mouth gaping. I opened it to answer her, then closed it again. Finally starting, I hissed, “Have you lost your mind?”