Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Emma
“ H e made it through the surgery,” Dr. Hernon said to us, though his lips remained in a straight line. “But he’s not out of the woods yet. It’s going to be a long road to recovery. He’ll remain in ICU for now. His blood pressure has been alarmingly low.”
I nodded, feeling a mixture of relief and concern, all at the same time. “Thank you.”
“One visitor is allowed at a time in the room,” Dr. Hernon continued. “I’ll hopefully have more answers for you in a couple of hours. He’s heavily sedated right now, but he should be awake soon. I can have a nurse come retrieve you once he’s moved to his room.”
“Thank you,” Lucas said, his deep voice cracking. “We’ll wait for the nurse.”
I echoed a thanks as Dr. Hernon disappeared back through the doors. “He’s going to be okay,” I added, turning to Lucas. I placed my hand on his forearm, leaning into the hope that was glimmering in my chest again. “He made it through the surgery.”
“Yeah, he’s a tough son of a gun,” Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. “And I think you’ve been really good for him, Emma. He hasn’t had anyone to lean on in so long—not in a romantic sense, anyway. He deserves a nice woman like you.”
“Yeah, thanks,” I choked out, emotions swelling up in my chest all over again. I stood, rocking back and forth as I waited for the nurse to show up, guiding us to see Mason.
“Oh my god, Emma… Lucas,” Lily exclaimed, her voice like a ray of light in the darkness. I turned around to see my best friend rushing toward me, her arms extended. I let her embrace me, and I leaned into her, breaking into tears all over again.
Jess was just a few steps behind her, and she wrapped her arms around the both of us, along with Dara, too. We all stood there, embracing each other for a few long moments.
“He made it through surgery,” I told them, turning to look at a bleary-eyed Jess. “Your dad is going to be fine.”
She nodded, wiping the tears from her face. “I can’t believe this happened.”
“Your dad saved my life. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if he hadn’t come to my rescue.” My voice wavered as I spoke, and it took everything I had not to break down all over again. However, now that Jess was here, I needed to be strong for her.
“I can’t believe Graham is such a bad guy,” Lily added, shaking her head with an incredulous look on her face. “And this whole time the Rangers have been watching him.”
“Yeah,” Jess’s voice was nearly inaudible. “And Cody said he had no idea. ”
My heart sank at the realization. I had completely forgotten about the tie that Jess had to Graham—beyond just the mess with the ranch. Oh, poor girl. I reached for her and pulled her into a tight hug, holding her.
“Are y’all here for Sheriff Hewitt?” a voice cut in, and I turned to see the nurse standing there, a sympathetic smile on her face. We all nodded, and I held my breath, hoping that she was just there to lead us back to the room—and not to drop any bad news. “He’s still not awake,” she continued, holding a chart in her hand. “But he is in his ICU room now, so I can take you to that area.”
We fell in step as she led the way, and my heart thudded heavily in my chest as that same image came back—Mason losing all the color in his face. I had thought in that moment we had for sure lost him, but they’d brought him back…
And I had never cried so hard.
Lily grabbed my hand, giving it a squeeze as we made it to the ICU waiting area, which was dotted with people. I took a moment to observe those there, noting a woman around my age, seated in the corner. Her eyes were downcast to her hands folded in her lap, her eyes shut. I wasn’t sure if she was sleeping or praying, but both were things that I needed to do.
“So, one visitor at a time in his room,” the nurse, a young woman in her mid-twenties with blonde hair, said to us. “I can lead the first person back?”
“Why don’t you go ahead, Jess,” Lily placed a hand on her shoulder.
She shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears. “I don’t wanna go first…”
“Lucas?” I suggested, catching his eye.
He let out a heavy sigh. “Why don’t you go ahead and go back, Emma? Then after you, maybe Jess will feel comfortable enough to go.”
“Okay,” I choked out, nodding to the nurse. “Lead the way.” My eyes were dry as I followed her down the hallway to the cramped ICU room.
“He’s really doing well,” she said, giving me a smile over her shoulder. “He’s still sedated and will be for a while, but I think he’ll be out of ICU and into a regular room soon. Dr. Hernon is just trying to get his vitals to level out—which appears to be happening.”
“That’s great,” I said, my voice flat. It was really good news, but the fatigue was setting in as the shock waned. I was exhausted, and honestly, I wanted to just curl up next to Mason and fall asleep.
But I wouldn’t be able to do that.
“Okay, here we are,” she gestured to the room.
I nodded and peered in, my heart jumping as I took in the sight of the big, strong sheriff lying there motionless in the hospital bed. The monitor was beeping slowly but surely, and his breaths were long and deep. His face looked strikingly peaceful, which I had to admit made me smile. It wasn’t that often the serious man didn’t have lines around his eyes.
“I’ll be back in a little while,” the nurse said as I stood there, watching him.
“Thank you.” I gave her a slight smile before taking a seat in the chair beside his bed. I scooted it up to the very edge, and then reached out to grab his hand, careful not to pull any of the IVs out.
“I’m so sorry this happened,” I whispered, giving his hand a light squeeze. “But thank you for saving me.” I hadn’t been filled in on how he found me, but that was something that in the moment, didn’t really matter to me. I was just glad he did…
Well, mostly glad.
Part of me wished that we could’ve replayed the moment, and somehow ended it without him being shot. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting to hold back tears. It was painful to think about that blur of a moment—and I knew that once this had settled, I’d have to give official statements to the police about what happened.
I sat there for a few more minutes before deciding it was best for Jess to come in and see him. It felt wrong for me to be the first one in the room, given that out of all the people sitting in the waiting room, I had been the one who had known Mason the least amount of time.
“How is he?” Lily greeted me as I reappeared in the waiting room.
“He’s okay, I think,” I said, trying to make my voice lighter than it felt. “You should go in and see him, Jess,” I turned to her. “He’s just sleeping.”
“Is he snoring?” Jess asked, a tinge of amusement in her voice. “Because if he is, I don’t know if I can handle that.”
I shook my head, letting out a laugh. “No, he’s not snoring, thankfully.”
“Oh, okay, good,” she said, smiling and pushing herself to a standing position. “I guess I’ll go see him then.”
I admired her courage. Being sixteen, she handled the trauma well. Jess was a strong girl—even stronger than I had thought she was. I gave her directions to the room, and she nodded before slipping off, her arms wrapped around herself.
“I can’t believe this happened,” Lily said, her eyes searching my face. “Like… When Mason called me looking fo r you, I never thought that something bad had happened. I just assumed you got mad at him and left, honestly.”
My brows furrowed. “He called you?”
She nodded. “Yeah, when he couldn’t find you, he said something about me coming to pick you up—over the fight.”
“Ah, so you know…” my voice trailed off as I blew out a sharp breath. “It felt so major in the moment, but now it feels so… minor.”
“Yeah, well, on a normal day, it would’ve been a pretty major fight given the topic, but I don’t think you should worry about it now. He really honestly took it well.”
“Took what well?” Lucas leaned forward in his chair, his eyes narrowing as his gaze bounced between the two of us. “What did he have to take well?”
My eyes widened, having forgotten that Lucas was even sitting there at all. “Um…”
“She’s pregnant,” Lily answered for me, shaking her head. “There’s no point in making it a secret anymore. Secrets just make things more complicated, and Lucas is Mason’s best friend,” she turned to me. “No need to keep it quiet here.”
I pursed my lips, wishing she would’ve let that be my choice. However, I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her. I was too tired and too traumatized.
“Well, congrats,” Lucas said to me, a smile on his face. “I’ll bet Mason was shocked… And then excited. He loves kids.”
“Yeah, I didn’t ever get to see the exciting part,” I admitted, sadness creeping in at the thought. “I’ll see it soon though.”
“Yeah, of course,” Lucas said quickly. He removed his cowboy hat and ran his fingers through his hair, looking more perplexed than before. “Hopefully, he’ll bounce back quickly.”
“Took me ages to find y’all,” Jackson’s voice cut in from behind us. “I swear I can’t ever find my way around a hospital.”
“That’s concerning,” Lucas muttered, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. I had no idea what time it was, but I was starting to feel the weight of no sleep more and more with every passing minute.
“Emma, I think I need to go ahead and get you home,” Jackson said, his voice soft. “You’ve got to get some sleep, and I know that’s what Mason would want.”
I shook my head, feeling singled out. “I don’t want to go home.”
“You look like hell,” he argued, his face hardening. “You need to get home and get some sleep—or maybe Lily can let you stay at her house. You’re gonna have to give a statement, and I already talked with the doc. They won’t wake him up until tomorrow. Lucas can stay here with Jess.”
“He’s right,” Lily said quietly, standing to her feet and nudging Dara, who had drifted off. “Dara can even stay here with Jess and Lucas… But you need to get some rest, both of you.”
Jackson looked confused at the statement, but I understood what she was saying, and I couldn’t argue with her.
“Please,” Lily added, her eyes meeting mine. “You can come to my house and sleep in the spare room so you’re not alone, but you look absolutely beat.”
With a sigh, I nodded. “Okay, but we’re coming back as soon as I rest for a while.”
“Absolutely,” Lily gave me a reassuring smile. “I’ll have you here the moment you’re awake.”