Chapter One #2
The only sounds in ICU were the beeping and whirring of the machines that were doing their all-important jobs of keeping patients alive.
The nurse showed him to the bed in the corner, where Micah recognized the guy instantly.
Tubes trailed over the bed, which was lit by a light on the wall above it.
The stark light did nothing to lessen the impact: the guy looked awful.
His injured left leg was supported by what seemed to be a pulley system of weights and counterweights, and his head was bandaged.
“How is he?” Micah whispered.
“He’d been drifting in and out of consciousness since they brought him here.”
“Ugh.” The pain-ridden sound came from the bed.
Micah stepped closer. “Hey,” he said softly. “You’re in a hospital. You’re badly hurt.”
The guy attempted to open one eye, but winced from the effort. The nurse went around to the other side of his bed, checking his pulse and blood pressure. “You don’t have to talk now, okay?” she said softly.
“Ugh.” Another sound laced with pain.
Micah want to place a hand on the guy to reassure him, but he had no idea if that would hurt him. “Easy. You’ve got a lot of bruising, and your leg is in a bad way, but you’re gonna be okay.” At least, Micah fervently hoped so.
“Robbed?” he croaked.
The nurse bent over him. “We don’t know for sure. The docs didn’t find much on you. No ID, but I’m guessing that was in your wallet, and they didn’t find that either. Right now, you’re a John Doe.”
In spite of the obvious pain, the guy struggled to open his eyes. “Greg. Greg Chambers.” His breathing hitched. “Backpack? Envelope?”
“You didn’t have a backpack when I found you. Envelope? What envelope?” Micah bent lower. “Is it important?”
Greg attempted to nod, wincing again.
“Easy now,” the nurse soothed. “You need to rest. We’ve given you something for the pain, and it should help you sleep.”
“No… you don’t understand… have to find him… made a promise.” A low moan escaped Greg’s lips, probably from the effort of speaking those few words.
The nurse reacted instantly. “Okay, sir? You need to calm down.”
“His name is Greg,” Micah told her. Greg’s obvious distress tore at him.
She nodded. “Okay, Greg? You need to let the painkillers do their job. Try to sleep, all right? We’ll take care of you.” She laid a hand on his forehead, her eyes kind.
Micah watched as the drugs finally got to work, and Greg slipped into a deep sleep. His words were still on Micah’s mind, however.
“Where did his stuff go? His clothes?”
The nurse frowned. “They had to cut off his clothing in the ER. Whatever else he had is probably at the nurse’s station down the hall.” She peered at Micah. “He’ll be asleep for hours. You can go if you like.”
Micah was torn. On the one hand he knew Dad would already be stressing about him, but on the other, he didn’t want to leave Greg. “Can I stay a while longer? Just a little while?” He gave her his most winning smile.
The nurse hesitated, but Micah could tell he’d won her over. “Okay, seeing as you’re the one who probably saved his life. I’ll be back to check on him in fifteen minutes.”
Micah thanked her, then waited until she’d left the room. He gazed down at Greg, who appeared to be sound asleep. What envelope? Whatever it was, it had clearly distressed him. Micah’s curiosity got the better of him, and he walked quietly to the door, stepping out into the hallway.
At the end of the hall was a wide desk, and Micah headed for it. The nurse on duty glanced up as he approached. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here with the guy who was just brought up from the ER. He seems to be worrying about something. Do you have his personal effects?”
She regarded him suspiciously. “Yes, but why do you want to see them?”
“He came to just now, and was asking if he’d been robbed.
He mentioned an envelope. Seemed kinda important to him.
” Micah held up his hands. “Hey, you can be the one to go through his belongings, if it makes you feel more comfortable. I just want to see if whoever beat him up, took this envelope too. They took his wallet.”
She bit her lip. “I suppose it’s okay, as long as you stay here.” She pulled open a deep drawer, took out the dark hooded jacket Micah recalled, and placed it on the desk. “Take a look.”
Micah slipped his hands into the outer pockets, but they were empty, so he peered inside. There was a zipped pocket. Micah opened it and felt inside, his fingers touching paper. He removed a folded envelope. “Looks like they didn’t get this.” Then he unfolded the envelope, and—
What the fuck?
Micah stared at the scrawled writing, trying to get his head around it.
“What’s wrong?” the nurse asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
Micah swallowed. “I don’t understand this.” He held out the envelope, so she could read what was written on it.
She squinted and read aloud, “Joshua Trant, Wright, Campbell County, Wyoming.” She raised her eyebrows. “What’s strange about that?
Micah fished out his ID and held it up for her to see. “Look, my name’s Micah Trant. Joshua Trant… is my dad.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh wow. And you found him? What are the odds on that?”
Micah wasn’t thinking about the odds. He was thinking about making an urgent call.
“Look, can I keep hold of this?”
She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. Regardless of whether it’s addressed to your father or not, it is the property of the patient. When he’s awake, he can decide what to do with it.” She held out her hand for the envelope.
Reluctantly, Micah handed it over. “I’ll be back in a short while. I just have to make a call.” He left her and walked briskly down the hallway, heading for the main door. Outside in the frigid air, he shivered as he speed-dialed.
“How is he?” Dad asked as soon as the call connected.
“He’s got a lot of injuries. Right now, he’s sedated. But that’s not why I’m calling. Before he passed out, he said something about an envelope, finding someone, and a promise. Well, I found the envelope.” Micah still didn’t believe it.
“Yeah?”
“It only has a name written on it, and a town.” Micah drew in another deep breath. “Dad, it’s… your name.”
Silence followed. Finally, his dad spoke. “Seriously?”
“Uh huh. Joshua Trant, Wright, Campbell County, Wyoming.”
“This guy got a name?”
“Yeah, Greg Chambers.”
“Nah, doesn’t ring a bell.” Another pause. “You’re not kidding, are you? This isn’t a joke, is it?”
“Would I kid you about something like this?”
Dad huffed. “I’m grabbing my keys. I’m on my way.”
Micah blinked. “Dad? It’s real late. You should be going to bed soon. Besides, what can you do here? He’s asleep.”
“Then I’ll nap in a chair until he wakes up. You think I can sleep after this? The guy’s got an envelope addressed to me. Of course I wanna know what this is all about. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
“Hey, drive carefully, okay? The roads are getting icy again.” Micah’s stomach clenched at the thought of his dad veering off the road and into a snowbank. Or worse.
“Don’t you fret, I’ll be careful. See you soon.” Dad disconnected.
Micah pocketed his phone and went back into the building. He hurried to ICU and tapped on the glass door to attract the nurse’s attention.
She opened it. “I thought you’d gone.”
“Am I okay to come back in?”
She smiled. “Sure, but he’s still asleep.”
Micah walked over to Greg’s bed and stared down at him. Who are you? There was clearly a mystery here.
The nurse stood beside him. “His vital signs are slightly better. They should be able to fix his leg tomorrow.” She glanced at Micah. “You don’t need to stay.”
Micah took a deep breath. “Thing is, my dad’s on his way here, and it’ll take him at least an hour and a half. So… can I stay? I’ll sit in that chair over in the corner. I promise I won’t be in your way.” Micah did the best impression of Bambi that he could manage, all wide-eyed and innocent.
The nurse bit back a smile. “You’re cute when you do that.” She sighed. “Okay, fine. But if the doctor comes back and wants you out of here, that’s it, all right?”
He nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you…” He scanned her name badge and smiled. “Rachel. Thank you, Rachel.”
The way Rachel was looking at him gave Micah a sinking feeling he might have overdone the charm. Too bad that sweet expression wouldn’t get her very far. Rachel was definitely not his type, the major black mark against her being the fact that her plumbing was all wrong, as far as he was concerned.
Rachel beamed. “You’re welcome. You might not be thanking me when you sit for a while in that chair, however.” She left the room, her hips swaying a little more than previously.
Micah shook his head. Nice girl. Too bad it won’t get her anywhere with me. He sat down in the chair, and closed his eyes.