Ready, Willing and Abel (Passion in Paradise: The Men of the McKinnon Sisters Book 3)

by Sarah O'Rourke

  The negatives of their current predicament might have outweighed the positives by a shitload, but damn it, she was choosing to focus on the little bit of good news she had.

  The fact that she and Honor weren’t upside down with their heads submerged in water? Good frickin’ news in Patience McKinnon’s book!

  Gasping as another pain tore through her abdomen, she dropped a hand to the bulge where her children rested, and it dawned on her that she hadn’t felt them move since they’d wrecked. “Please be okay for your momma and daddy,” she begged her children aloud, rubbing her hand back and forth over her stomach. “Move for momma, okay? Just a couple of those roundhouse kicks that you two are so good at giving, please? I promise, kids, I won’t complain this time,” she pleaded, gingerly poking at her baby bump with the fingers of one hand. She was rewarded by a series of hard kicks just above her left kidney and a hard pop just below her right breast. “Oh, thank you,” she nearly sobbed, grateful that her babies had chosen to be obedient for the time being. “Okay, kiddoes,” she said, sniffling as she gently patted her belly, “Mommy is going to get us out of this,” she promised her unborn children. “Just be good and stay put for me, tucked up nice and warm in momma’s belly, alright?”

  No answer was forthcoming, but she’d have had even bigger problems if one had been. Again turning her gaze toward her still unconscious sister, she reached out with her left hand to try and find a pulse in Honor’s neck while she grappled with her seatbelt with her other hand. Finally managing to unfasten it about the same time as she found Honor’s faint, thready pulse, she caught her breath as she noticed the tree limb that had broken through the windshield of the Impala. The limb appeared to be impaled through Honor’s left side. “Oh, my God,” Patience whimpered, knowing she had to get them both help sooner rather than later. “Phone! Phone. I need my phone,” she said out loud, her voice frantic as her eyes darted around her side of the car, the interior still dimly illuminated by the dome light.

  Stealing a moment to thank God that Honor had remembered to turn off the air bag on the passenger’s side of the vehicle a couple of weeks ago when she’d driven Patience to the doctor, Patience’s eyes roamed her side of the car. Lucky for her, her little sister had never thought to turn the airbag back on. Because of Honor, her babies were okay, moving inside her. She would never be able to pay the other woman back for that miracle. Wiping her face as she felt something drip onto her cheek, Patience was startled to find bright red blood on her hand. Touching her forehead again, she realized that she must have hit her head somehow during the accident when she saw the sticky red substance coating her fingers.

  But she didn’t have time to deal with that now.

  Honor had a goddamned tree limb running through her side! How did this kind of bad shit just keep happening to her family over and over again? Especially to Honor! And don’t even get her started on her kids…they weren’t even here yet and already, there appeared to be a target painted on their little heads.

  Nearly screaming in frustration as she realized that her stupid phone must have fallen on the floor board during the wreck, Patience kicked her shoes off and scooted her bare feet around to try and find it. Shivering as one foot found a pool of water as she moved it across the floorboard, she absently noted that the vehicle was beginning to have icy cold water seep inside with them. “Great,” she muttered as she tried to reach the floor with her hands. “That’s fucking perfect! Now we’re gonna have to try not to drown, too?” she yelled to the heavens.

  Looking at Honor again, she could see that the younger woman was getting paler as blood seeped from the where the tree had punctured her body. “Honor, please talk to me! Just open your eyes, baby,” she beseeched the other woman as her own heart threatened to pound out of her chest. “Yes,” she whispered as her fingers encountered something small and hard between her seat and the car door. Getting a grip on the slippery plastic, she pulled her arm back and was relieved to see her phone in her hand a second later. “Oh, thank you, God! Thank you, Jesus” she prayed out loud, dialing 9-1-1 with shaking fingers. “Honor, I’m getting’ us some help, sweetie,” she announced, hoping that her sister could hear her on some level. “Just hang on,” she ordered as her shaking finger dialed the last digit.

  “Paradise 9-1-1. What is the nature of your emergency?” Patience heard a familiar voice ask.

  “Myrtle? Thank God,” Patience breathed gratefully, clutching the phone to her ear.

  “Ms. McKinnon, if you’re calling the EOC to locate either the Sheriff or your boyfriend, I swear, I’m going to haul you before the county judge myself!” Myrtle, the elderly longtime dispatcher of Paradise’s emergency services, threatened sternly. The McKinnon sisters had attended church with Myrtle and her family for years. Myrtle had even taught Patience and Honor’s Sunday school class once upon a time. “911 is NOT an answering service, young lady!” the dispatcher began to lecture.

  “No! I know, Miss Myrtle.” Patience denied sharply, suddenly terrified that the older woman would hang up on her in a fit of anger. “Honor and I have been in a car accident! We need help! Honor’s hurt; she’s bleeding and won’t wake up,” she began to sob as another sharp, wrenching pain ripped through her abdomen. Gasping, she nearly dropped the phone. “Please, help us!” She cried desperately.

  Snapping back into the professional she was well-known for being, Myrtle instantly became calm. “Okay, honey. You just stay calm for me. Where are you, Patience?”

  “In the creek,” Patience rasped, pressing a hand to her aching abdomen. “Rosewater Creek. Honor’s brakes went out on the first steep hill out of town toward our house and then a pickup truck ran us off the road. I don’t think anybody passin’ by on Route 17 would even know we were down here if they weren’t lookin’ for us.”

  “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll be looking and I have a good approximation of just where your vehicle left the road. You said something about a pickup truck. Is there a second vehicle involved in the accident?” Myrtle asked steadily.

  “No, there’s nobody down here with us. I think they drove on, Miss Myrtle. They were bumping us deliberately, but Honor’s brakes had already gone out before that. It was just a clusterfuck of epic proportion,” Patience related, wincing when she realized she’d just cursed to a fellow church-goer. “Sorry, Miss Myrtle. My mouth ran away with me,” she apologized anxiously.

  “Honey, if I was stuck out there in that cold water, I’d be sayin’ much worse,” Myrtle soothed. “Tell me a little about this truck that ran y’all off the road,” the older woman urged.

  “I couldn’t tell much of anything besides the fact that it was a dark blue truck. I didn’t even see the person behind the wheel.”

  “That’s fine, sugar. What about you and Honor? Y’all hurt?”

  “Yeah,” Patience whispered, grimacing as the pain seemed to worsen when she bent forward. “Honor’s unconscious. She’s got a pulse, but it’s real weak. They need to hurry, Miss Myrtle. Honor’s got a tree limb runnin’ through her and I can’t get my door open and there’s water comin’ in with us,” she explained, trying to push open her car door. It still wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she laid against it. “I need Abel and Zeke. Please, find ‘em,” she begged while tears began to blur her vision.

  “Honey, Zeke is hearin’ this call go out over the radio. I’m sure that he’ll find Abel. And I can guarantee you he’s on his way. Shoot, they’ll probably beat the assistance I’m sending you there. Don’t you worry. I’ve got two ambulances and Fire and EMT’s in route to you, too. You just hang on and stay on the line with me. Tell me, how old is Honor now and does she have any significant health problems that you know about?”

  “Okay, Honor is 22. And the only thing I know about her health is that her therapist prescribed some kind of nerve pills and some type of sleeping aides. I don’t think she takes ‘em regularly, though,” Patience responded shakily, trying to shift into a more comfortable position.

  “And
you, honey?” Myrtle asked.

  “I’m 23, almost 24. I’m okay, mostly. I didn’t have any problems until the doc qualified my pregnancy as high risk,” Patience answered as she felt something wet slipping down her thighs. “Oh, God, Myrtle. I think my water just broke,” she wailed, nearly frantic as she lifted the edge of her dress to make sure it wasn’t blood she felt. Thankfully, the fluid sliding down her legs appeared to be mostly clear.

  “Stay calm, Patience,” Myrtle replied, unruffled. “It’s gonna be twins, right?”

  “Yeah,” Patience panted, looking up the embankment as she saw the flash of lights pulling to the side of the road. “I’m almost 35 weeks along. I’m a patient of Dr. Daniels. Could you call…”

  “Already on it, honey. Are you in any pain, Patience?”

  “I think I’m havin’ contractions,” Patience choked, her nose scrunching as she caught a whiff of smoke. “Miss Myrtle, something is burning!” Patience screamed. “I smell smoke!”

  “Okay, sugar, can you see where it’s coming from?” Myrtle questioned.

  “N-no. The engine, I think,” Patience guessed, scooting forward on her seat as she tried to see the nose of the car. Lights flashed above her again and she thought she heard a yell from outside.

  “Myrtle, I see some lights up above us on the road. They look like headlights. Is that the ambulance?” Patience asked as Honor moaned softly beside her.

  “Not yet, honey,” Myrtle refuted gently. “If I had to guess, I’d say that’s probably Zeke and Abel.”

  “Honor just made a noise, Miss Myrtle,” Patience informed the dispatcher quickly. Reaching out to touch her sister’s shoulder, she asked, “Honor? Peanut, can you hear me? Try to make a sound if you understand me,” she demanded frantically.

  Honor’s answering low groan of pain was music to Patience’s ears.

  “She answered me, Miss Myrtle,” Patience alleged excitedly, gripping the phone with a white-knuckled grip as she strained to see the two figures sliding down the embankment toward their car. “And I think I see, Abel!” she shared, her body sagging with relief in spite of the piercing ache radiating through her mid-section.

  “Patience!” she heard Abel’s terrified voice shouting. “Answer me, Hellion! Patience!” Pressing one hand to the window, she watched the man she loved descend into the thigh-high water and wade toward her.

  “Honor!” Patience heard Zeke’s tortured voice scream. “Abel, can you see them yet?” she heard the Sheriff ask.

  “We’re here!” Patience screamed back, praying they could hear her cracking voice. “Miss Myrtle, radio them and tell ‘em that I see them,” she whimpered weakly, leaning her forehead against the glass just as Abel’s palm fell against the car and his worried face filled the window.

  “They know, Patience,” Miss Myrtle assured her. “Listen, doll, I’m going to need you to leave this line open until you see the ambulances, honey. You can put the phone down, but don’t hang up.”

  Looking over his shoulder, Abel nodded. “I see ‘em,” he replied, his hands already yanking at the car door to try to get to Patience. “Patience’s door is jammed,” he growled angrily, looking through the window again, his dark eyes dilated with worry and fright. “I’m comin’, baby,” he yelled to Patience. “You just hang on for me.”

  Patience nodded as her eyes connected with Abel’s. They didn’t need words to communicate; the way they felt for one another was seen clearly in the other’s eyes. The fondness….the passion….the overwhelming love that she felt for him… Patience could see it all perfectly reflected back at her in his gaze.

  “Baby, are you hurt?” Abel asked loudly as he dug his fingers into the tiny gap at the top of her window, trying to yank back the tempered glass to get to her through the window.

  “I’m scared,” she replied truthfully, watching as Zeke waded around the car to Honor’s side, the sheriff’s concern for her sister evident on his horrified face. “Shit, Abel! The god damn tree is stabbing straight through her side,” Zeke yelled to the other man. “And the damn engine is on fire,” she heard him say.

  Turning her attention back to Abel, she saw that he’d managed to lower the window several inches. “Abel, you gotta hurry. Honor’s out cold and hurt bad, and I’m pretty sure my water broke a few minutes ago. It feels like I’m having contractions, too,” she said through her tears. “I’m scared!” she confided shakily, leaning against his cold hand as he curved it around her jaw.

  “Look at me,” Abel demanded as Zeke worked on getting Honor’s door open. “You and the babies are going to be fine. Just stay with me, okay?” he ordered as her head began to loll against his hand.

  Dizziness invaded as her stomach tightened again. “Abel, if there’s a choice to make when we get to the hospital….”

  “Don’t you dare say another word,” Abel bit out, finally able to reach through the window and grab Patience’s door handle. “You’re going to be okay. You’re all going to be fine,” he stated through clenched teeth as he pulled at the door with all his strength.

  Patience realized she must have blacked out for a few seconds because the next time she opened her eyes, another pair of hands had joined Abel’s to work on the door. “Hey, Jake,” she greeted her brother-in-law faintly, leaning her head back against the seat as she distantly heard sirens wailing in the distance.

  “Spitfire, you get yourself in the most God-awful predicaments, don’t you?” Jake teased gently, passing Abel some kind of crowbar.

  She simply nodded back at him before forcing her head to twist toward Honor. She was relieved to see that Zeke had help on his side of the vehicle, too. It appeared as though their car accident had done a good job of breaking up their poker party as both Diego and Ice stood on either side of the Sheriff. Ice handed Zeke some kind of tool as Diego tried to gain access to them through the back window.

  “Honor?” Patience called, turning her attention back to her baby sister.

  Honor moaned, her eyelids fluttering several times before slowly opening and staring at her sister. “P-patience?” she rasped.

  “Hey, sweetie,” Patience cooed gently, thrilled to see her baby sister’s pain-filled blue eyes open. “I know it hurts, but stay still. The guys are trying to get us out of here.”

  “Wh-what?” Honor blinked, her bruised face trying to lift away from the pillow of the air bag.

  “Honor, stay still!” Zeke’s deep voice demanded as the back windshield shattered. “I’m comin’, Kitten,” the Sheriff promised as he crawled through the back window.

  “Zeke?” Honor’s called, her voice unnaturally high. “Why can’t I move?” she asked, growing panicked as she squirmed in her seat.

  Patience watched as Zeke leaned forward between the two seats to drop his hand against Honor’s neck. “Baby, you’ve been in an accident. Just stay real still for me. The cavalry’s comin’,” he explained before looking toward Patience.

  “Hey, Sheriff,” Patience greeted him shakily, hearing Abel curse outside the car as his hand slipped on the door. “Nice night, huh?”

  “How you doin’, honey?” Zeke asked, his eyes scanning Patience for signs of any obvious injuries.

  “I’ve been better,” Patience returned honestly with an empty laugh. “But none of my body is impaled on anything,” she whispered, her eyes snagging on that jutting tree limb that was currently hurting her sibling.

  “Oh, God! Patience! The babies!” Honor’s tight, alarmed voice began to yell. “Ezekiel, don’t just sit there! Get Patience out of here,” she demanded frantically, trying to lift her head again and crying out in pain when she moved. “Patience can’t be here, Zeke. Help her! Get her out!”

  Patience knew panic wasn’t going to help her sister’s situation and she automatically tried to calm her. “Hey! Peanut, I’m okay, but you have to listen. You gotta stay still. All the guys are working on getting us both out of here,” she assured the younger woman as Zeke slipped a neck brace around Honor’s neck before doing the sa
me with her.

  “Patience needs to get out first,” Honor insisted, her voice beginning to fade as her condition seemed to deteriorate.

  “Guys, you need to move your asses!” Patience heard Zeke order harshly, turning his head to exchange a look with Abel over her head, his fingers moving against Honor’s neck as he tried to locate her pulse. “I can still feel her pulse, but it’s barely there, Abel. I’m not losing her like this, damn it.”

  “Nobody is gettin’ lost today,” Ice ground out as he climbed through the back window beside Abel and wiggled around Patience to push on her door as Abel pulled at the same time. “Maneuver around Little Bit there and push against the window while Diego pulls. The damn doors are stuck in the mud beneath the water. We just gotta push hard enough,” he growled, throwing as much of his weight as he could against Patience’s doors.

  It felt like hours, but Patience knew it was only mere minutes later when Ice and Abel finally wrestled the door open. She gasped as water rushed inside the car, drenching her and Honor. “Holy shit,” she hissed, shivering as Abel managed to wrap an arm around her waist and haul her toward him. “That’s cold,” she moaned as the man she loved somehow managed to lift her in his arms the way a groom would lift his bride and shuffle toward the shoreline where EMT’s were lowering a gurney.

  “Wait, Abel! Honor! Go back, please. We have to get Honor out of there. Zeke could barely feel her pulse,” she fretted, scared out of her mind as she looked over his shoulder at where the car rested in the water, still smoking.

  “Baby, I’d do anything in the world for you. I’d die and I’d kill for you, but right now, the only thing I can focus on is you and our babies. Don’t ask me for more than that right now because I’m hangin’ onto my sanity by a thread here. Believe me, Zeke will fight the Devil himself for your sister’s soul, honey. She’s in good hands,” he promised, as he reached the portable gurney and laid her down on it.