by Tiana Cole
“Feel free to take the rest of the year off,” he moaned as she pulled away from him. She stood to look at him with a mischievous look as she licked his sweetness from her lips.
“I didn’t realize I was that good,” she joked.
“You are. Still have room left for breakfast?” he asked.
“I do,” she said with a smile, going to pour them their usual glasses of orange juice.
After a nice breakfast together, they headed into town, picking up a variety of items from the farm supply and doing some personal shopping in some of the small mom and pop shops that dotted the main strip through the small town.
“I’m going to duck into the shoe shop and pick up the pair of boots I had him resole,” Jack told her.
“I swear, Jack. You have enough money to buy a whole store full of those boots and you just keep on repairing them instead,” she laughed, looping her arm through his to walk to the shop with him.
“They are my favorite. I never let my favorite things go,” he replied, looking at her meaningfully.
“You are quite a charmer, Jack Mayhew,” she laughed.
“I try. Hey, why don’t you go capture us a table at Café Verona while I grab these and I’ll meet you over there in just a few,” he said.
“Great. I’ll order us a glass of wine,” she said.
“Drinking on the job?” he replied with a smirk.
“I have to. You’ve no idea what sort of monster I work for,” she told him with a kiss on the cheek.
“A real bastard from what I hear,” he joked as he headed off in the other direction.
“I know. You should see what he makes me do for breakfast,” she called after him, laughing as she turned to walk toward the restaurant.
“Cecilia!” Monica said giddily as she approached the hostess stand.
“Hey, Monica. Got room for a couple of starving ranchers?” Cecilia asked with a smile.
“You know I do. I always have room for my favorite couple,” she replied. “Come with me.”
Cecilia was surprised when she led her to the very same table she and Jack had sat at on their first visit there. She smiled and sat down in the same seat she had occupied on that first day with him, waiting for him to arrive. The waiter brought two glasses of wine.
She sat sipping hers and putting off ordering until Jack arrived. After a while, she reached across the table and began drinking his. She would order him a fresh one when he arrived. Glancing at her watch, she realized it had been twenty minutes. Had he gotten stuck at the shoe shop?
Fishing out her phone, she hit the speed dial to call him. His phone went straight to voice mail.
Suddenly, she felt very uneasy. Calling over the waiter, she paid for the wine and made a hasty exit from the restaurant, calling back to Monica to tell Jack to call her if he showed up. Monica tried to ask what was going on, but Cecilia was already well on her way down the sidewalk toward the shoe shop. Her blood ran cold as she was passed by an ambulance and it stopped right in front of where Jack would have been. She was barely aware that she was running as she hastily made her way to the shop.
Jack lay on the sidewalk, blood flowing from his head. His phone was on the ground beside him, shattered into pieces. She screamed and dropped down beside him, calling his name. Moments later, she was dimly aware of hands pulling her away from him and a voice telling her to let the paramedics do their job. It was Carl, a local policeman and friend.
“He’s going to be okay,” Carl told her, trying to calm her. “Let them take care of him.”
Cecilia stood by in horror as they brought out paddles and shocked him, his body convulsing before her. She sobbed quietly as Carl continued to keep his arm around her shoulder and away from the scene.
The paramedics were talking back and forth, words that she couldn’t quite make out in her foggy mind. She tried to ask what was going on again, if he would be okay without an answer. Trying to move closer so she could see if he was alive, she once again felt Carl pulling her back.
“No, Cecilia, let them work,” he said. She turned and buried her face against his uniform, sobbing until she heard the paramedics shouting.
“We got him. Get him on the gurney,” one of them barked. She whirled around to see them lifting him onto a board and slipping him onto a gurney to wheel him to the back of the wailing ambulance nearby. Carl let her pull away this time. She followed them toward the open doors of the waiting vehicle.
“Wait ma’am. Do you know the victim?” one of them asked.
“She’s his girlfriend. She can go,” Carl said from behind her. The paramedic nodded and helped her up into the back of the vehicle before shutting the doors.
Her heart felt like it would pound out of her chest before they arrived at the hospital. She had no idea what had happened here, but she could see his was badly injured.
“This is unit 202. We have a gunshot wound in route. Our ETA is five minutes,” she heard the driver say into the radio.
“Gunshot wound? Oh my God!” she said to no one in particular. “What happened?”
“We don’t know, ma’am. We just got a call to show up,” the paramedic told her.
“How bad is it? Is he going to die?” she said, feeling a bit hysterical.
“Not if we can help it. He has a pretty nasty head wound. I can’t really tell you more than that. You’ll have to wait until the doctors tend to him to get any real answers. I’m sorry,” he told her.
Cecilia’s blood curdled in her veins. A head wound? Nothing about that sounded good. She rode in a sort of silent fear the rest of the way to the hospital, taking Jack’s hand in hers and talking to him.
“It’s okay, my love. I’m right here. You are going to be okay. I love you so much,” she said, near tears again but trying to remain stoic for him. His hand was limp in hers as she sat praying he would be okay. How could this be happening to them? The paramedics gave her quick directions of where to go in the ER to wait. She watched as they rushed him through double doors, knowing it might be the last time she saw him alive.
“Ma’am?” a nurse said, to her, placing her arm softly on her own.
Cecilia looked at her with hollow eyes, not really seeing her. She heard herself respond. It sounded like it was coming from someone else in another room. Then, everything went black. A few moments later, she found herself staring up at the ceiling as nurses revived her and helped her to her feet. They helped her to a nearby chair and sat her down to check her vitals.
“You’re okay. Just a little too much anxiety,” one of them told her. “Are you okay to talk now?”
“Yes. I think so,” she replied numbly.
Cecilia went through the motions of giving them the information they needed to get Jack’s admission paperwork going. She realized that she had no clue about things he might be allergic to, or what his blood type was, but thankfully, he had been to the hospital before with an injury, so they had some of it on file. Once they were done with that, there was nothing left to do but wait, so she used the time to let Tommy know what had happened so he could take care of things at the ranch. Jack didn’t have any immediate family of his own, and he wasn’t close to any of the distant relatives scattered about the globe.
The people who worked on the ranch were his family, for all intents and purposes. It was most likely one of the reasons he continued to operate it though it wasn’t his calling and he didn’t need the money it produced.
“Mrs. Mayhew?” a doctor called as he stepped out from the double doors. Rather than correcting him, Cecilia merely answered, stepping over to where he stood.
“He came through surgery just fine. The bullet grazed his temple and skull, but didn’t enter the brain, so that’s good. There was some damage which we were able to repair and a significant loss of blood.
Plus, there was some swelling from the trauma. It will subside in a day or so, but he may be a bit woozy and unfocused until then. We will be transferring him to intensive care shortly until he stabili
zes, and then we will move him to a room either later in the day or possibly tomorrow. The good news is that he is going to be just fine,” he told her.
“Oh, thank you doctor. Thank you so much,” she said, relieved beyond words. She felt like she could breathe for the first time she had seen him lying there, covered in blood, on the side of the street. “Can I see him?”
“Right now, he is in recovery, but as soon as they move him to the care unit, they will let you visit with him briefly,” he told her. “I’ll make sure someone notifies you when he is available for visitation.”
“Thank you again, doctor. I’m so grateful to you,” she told him, meaning it from the bottom of her heart. He smiled and nodded, patting her softly on the arm before turning to walk back through the doors behind him. Cecilia returned to a nearby chair and sat down with a sigh.
Moments later, several of the employees from the ranch came bursting into the emergency room, asking all kinds of questions and full of anxiety. She filled them in the best she could on his condition, telling them that they likely wouldn’t be able to visit until tomorrow.
“I can’t believe she did this,” Tommy said, as his normally humor-filled voice carried an edge of fury as he shook his head.
“What? Can’t believe who did this?” Cecilia looked at him, her dark eyes wide in confusion, not understanding. He looked stunned and he wished he hadn’t said anything as he looked toward one of the other employees. She nodded silently at him as if to tell him to go ahead.
“Barbara. Witnesses say they saw her in front of a shop screaming at Jack. He asked her to leave him alone and he turned to walk away. She grabbed his arm and he pulled away from her, telling her she was not supposed to be anywhere near him as he asked her how she got out of jail.
She just kept screaming at him. When he attempted to call 911, she knocked his phone from his hands. Then, she pulled out a gun and shot him before running off in the other direction,” Tommy said reluctantly.
Cecilia’s mouth hung open in shock. Of all the things that Jack’s crazy ex had done, she would never had expected her to attack Jack like that. Barbara had tried to hurt him, to maybe even kill him. Appalled, she turned away, putting a hand over her mouth as she looked at Tommy.
“She is still out there?” Cecilia said, obviously upset, horrified of the prospect of the unstable woman trying to came after Jack again, or maybe even herself.
“No. They picked her up about an hour ago. She was trying to pawn some jewelry,” he said, still looking like he had rather be telling her anything else.
“Thank God.” She sighed in relief. At least that was one less thing she had to worry about. “How did she even get out in the first place?” Cecilia wondered out loud.
“Some sort of mix up from what I’m hearing. She has an appeal coming up and someone allowed her to bond out when they shouldn’t have,” he told her, causing her to gasp again as fury filled her. Someone made some clerical error, and Jack almost ended up dead?
“Unbelievable!” Cecilia growled out the word, seething with anger.
Whoever screwed up and let that mental hussy out of jail was going to pay dearly for their mistake. She was usually pretty tolerant of people who made mistakes. It was only human, but letting a violent woman back out on the streets so that she could do more harm was inexcusable. It was an error that had almost cost her the man she loved most in the world. As soon as the crisis was over and he was home safely, they were going to hear more than they could have ever bargained for from her.
“Mrs. Mayhew? You can see your husband now,” a nurse called out from the desk nearby.
“Husband?” Tommy repeated, voicing the question marks on everyone else’s face.
“Just a misunderstanding. I’ll keep you all updated. He is in intensive care right now and has limited visitation, but you will be able to see him later when they move him out into a regular room.” She gave them all one last small, hopeful smile before excusing herself so she could get in to see him while she had a chance.
Walking into the room, her heart sank. His head was still heavily bandaged and his eyes were closed. She reached for his hand, stroking it with her own, smiling softly down at him as his eyes fluttered open and he looked at her dazedly.
“What happened?” he attempted to say, the words mouthed more than spoken.
“You don’t remember anything?” she asked, concerned about him having a possible memory loss.
“No,” he croaked.
“Don’t worry about that right now, my love. Just focus on getting well. The doctor said you should be in a regular hospital room soon, and I’ll be able to stay with you all the time,” she told him.
Rather than speaking, he merely nodded. Cecilia had the feeling he wanted to say more but because it was too difficult for him to speak, he had nothing more to say.
She stayed with him until a voice on the intercom system announced that intensive care visitation was ending, although he had dozed off and remained asleep the whole time. Kissing him on the forehead, she spoke softly against his skin.
“I love you, Jack,” she whispered, before heading out of the unit to the waiting room. She was surprised to find several of the employees still there.
“How is he?” Tommy asked.
“He’s okay. Sleeping mostly, but he was able to speak to me a little bit. He’s going to be okay,” she said, finally giving way to the tears she had been fighting since the moment she walked in and saw him laying helpless in a hospital bed.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Tommy replied, pulling her to him and letting her cry on his shoulder. After a few minutes, she got a grip on herself and pulled away from him. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she smiled as Hannah, one of the other employees, handed her some tissues from her purse.
“Thank you, Hannah,” she replied, still sniffling slightly. Cecilia wiped her nose and the remainder of the tears away. “Listen, guys, why don’t you all head home for the night and I’ll call Tommy tomorrow when he’s in a room?”
“I have a better idea, Cecilia. How about we go get you some more clothes and maybe something to eat?” Tommy told her.
“I can’t leave and seriously doubt that I could eat anything, but thank you so much,” she replied.
“How did you get here, anyway?” Tommy asked. “Your car was still at the house.”
“I rode in the ambulance. Oh, that reminds me. The truck is in town parked a few spots down from the shoe store. Crap. I don’t know where the keys are,” she said, her thoughts whirling about.
“Don’t worry about that. There is a spare set at the farm. I can get it home,” he replied.
“Thank you,” she told him. “There are supplies in it too, that is, if no one has bothered them.”
“They’ll be there. People here know Jack’s truck. They wouldn’t steal from him,” Tommy laughed.
“Yeah, just shoot him,” Cecilia said, dropping her head as the image of him bloody and unconscious swirled into her memory again against her will.
“It’s okay. She won’t be getting back out for a very long time after this,” he gave her another quick hug, trying to reassure her.
“I’ll believe that when I see it. I wouldn’t have thought she would get out after trying to kill me, but look where we are,” Cecilia said, feeling angry again.
“I’m going to go and get you some food and bring it up here before we leave,” Hannah interjected. “If you feel like eating it, you do, and if you don’t, you won’t. At least you’ll have it.”
Cecilia smiled at them all again, grateful to have such terrific friends. The ranch staff were really like a family, and they had accepted her with open arms. It touched her more than she could ever say.
“Thank you, Hannah,” Cecilia replied. She really didn’t feel like she could eat anything, but if it made Hannah feel better to be doing something for her, she would let her. She watched as the girl and a couple of the others left before walking over to an uncomfortable looking sofa to s
it and wait.
“I’m going to get the truck, Cecilia. If you do decide you need anything, just let me know. I’m only a phone call away,” Tommy told her with a wave as he headed toward the exit.
“Thank you, Tommy. I appreciate it,” she called after him. She watched as he left, leaning her head back to close her eyes for a moment.
She was about to doze off when Hannah returned with food, a small pillow, and a throw she had apparently purchased downstairs. The simple kindness had tears threatening again, but she pushed them away. Thanking her, she hugged her and watched as she left to return home. Sitting the food aside, the closed her eyes once again and was about to drift off again when she heard someone calling her. Apparently, she wasn’t going to get any rest while she was here.
“Mrs. Mayhew?” came a voice in the doorway of the waiting room. “Is there a Mrs. Mayhew in here?”
Cecilia jumped up with a start. What was wrong? Why were they looking for her? She cleared the waiting room in a few long strides, reaching the nurse in seconds.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“No, no. Nothing is wrong. I just wanted to see if you are spending the night. If you are, I will put you on the log for the reserved waiting room,” the young woman told her.
Cecilia exhaled slowly, calming down.
“Reserved waiting room?” she replied.
“Yes, there is a special waiting room for the families of our patients in the intensive care ward. Since they routinely spend the night, there are recliners, pillows, and blankets for them in there. You’ll be much more comfortable than in here, plus you won’t have security waking you every time they make rounds,” she told her.
“Listen, I appreciate it, but I have to be honest. I’m not Mr. Mayhew’s wife. We aren’t married, just dating,” she said apologetically.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I had in my notes that you are his wife,” she said, glancing at a clipboard in her hand.
“Yes, I know. It was a misunderstanding and I had other things on my mind so I didn’t really bother clearing it up. I’m sorry. I just don’t feel right about taking someone’s family space,” she told the young woman.
