Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
W hen Brooks landed in LA, he turned his phone back on, checking his messages.
Shit, he had a dozen or more from Ricky, three from Kase, and one from Lucy.
What the fuck?
He hit the voicemail button as he moved toward his connecting gate, putting in his earphones so no one else heard his business.
“Uncle Brooks! Something is wrong with Uncle Coop. We had to call the ambulance. I’ll call you back.”
“Uncle Brooks, they took him off to the hospital, but they say the helicopter has to come take him to Albuquerque.”
“Uncle Coop, Mr. Ryder is keeping the littles and Bella, and I’m going with Mr. Kase to the hospital.”
“Brooks, buddy, try to get an earlier flight in if you can. I know you had a couple-hour layover. I’m on the way with Ricky and Lucy to Burque. They’re saying surgery.” That was Kase.
“Uncle Brooks! He bled all over. It came out of his mouth! You need to come home!” That was Lucy. Sobbing .
Hysterically.
Shit. Who did he call first?
Right, start with the adult. “Call Kase.”
Kase answered the phone immediately, the familiar voice comforting as hell. “Hey, man, where are you? Are you in the States yet?”
“I am. I’m in LA, I’m heading for a gate to see what I can do. What happened?”
“Hold on.” There was a second of quiet, then, “Ryder’s on it.
He was tore up worse than he thought. Torn spleen, torn liver, and a spot in his intestines was leaking.
They opened him up, cleaned him out. They’re putting him back together now.
Then it’s a waiting game to see how bad the infection is going to be. ”
“Okay, but he’s all right? He’s going to be okay?” Coop was a goddamn hero.
“I don’t know, man. We don’t know.”
No, that was not the appropriate answer. “Okay. Kid situation.”
“Right. Ricky and Lucy are here with me. Bella is at the house. I’ve got cowboys feeding.
Ryder has the three younger. Benji is on his way back here.
He should beat you back into town. Well, depending on when you get here.
I told Benji he didn’t have to stay, but he wanted to fly out, even if it is just for the week before he has to go back out because he’s on contract. ”
“Sure. Okay. I’ll fly from here to Albuquerque. Can somebody come pick me up at the airport?”
“Sure, man. Of course. I think that someone’s going to come out here and pick the kids up and take them back down to the house. Bella is a little scared to be there at the house by herself, and Lucy doesn’t need to be sitting here fretting. I didn’t bring…supplies and the gift store isn’t open.”
“Right. Damn it. ”
“Hey, you just get your ass here. Coop will need you for the recovery. We got to get all this figured, but we can. We got a cowboy set to do the chores at your place. We just need you home.”
“Okay. Where’s Ricky?”
“He went to get a Coke.”
“I’ll call him once I fix a flight. I’ll holler when I know.”
“You got it. Hang in there.”
“I love him, man. I need him to be okay.” The words were so true, truer than he’d known. But he didn’t have time to dither right now.
“I understand you, Brooks. Talk soon.”
He got to the desk at his gate, but it was empty. Too early for his flight, and yet the last before his had left. He didn’t want to have to go to the rebooking area, which would just have phones anyway, so he called the number on his app.
The airline put him on standby for a flight two hours earlier than his, and he trudged to that gate while he called all the other airlines.
Oddly enough, it was Southwest who could get him on a flight that boarded in ten minutes. Provided he could make it to the gate. So he hoisted his two carry-ons and ran like his ass was on fire. He was a cowboy damn it.
He could do this.
He raced to the gate in time to rush onto the plane and get a middle seat, and he managed to get both his bags into the overhead space.
He closed his eyes and breathed deep, trying to relax a little, because for the next hour and a half, he was out of touch anyway. There was nothing he could do until he got home.
But he should have been there.
And he was never going to forgive himself if Coop didn’t make it out of this mess.
“Son? Honey? I need you to wake up just for a second. You’re fixin’ to go into surgery again, just to clear out some infection. I need to see your pretty eyes first, baby. Come on and look at me.”
“Goddamn it, boy!” Pops snapped. “Wake up and look at your momma.”
His eyes popped right open.
“There he is.”
He hurt everywhere and nowhere all at once. It was like being caught in a wave where you knew you were fixin’ to drown, but it was all too big to feel.
“Momma,” he croaked. Shit, he really was fixin’ to die.
“You know it. They have to just go in and clean you up a little bit. You got busted up pretty good.”
“Brooks?”
“Is coming. I swear to God.”
“Okay.” He groped for his mom’s hand, the IVs pulling. Lord, he’d figured he’d never have to feel that again. “Love you.” His throat was dry as bone, but if they were gonna have to surge on him more, he wouldn’t be allowed to guzzle anything. “Ice chips?”
“Here, baby.” His mom gave him a tiny sliver of ice, then wet his lips with one of them sponge things.
“This one won’t be long, and then you’ll be moved into a private room and can rest a few days.” Pops winked at him. “You look like shit.”
“Oh good.” He felt that way. “Need help with the kids. Benji’s got to work.”
“I know, honey. Ben can stay until the end of the week, and I’m here with your pop. You just rest and get better. Be strong.”
“Another ice? ”
“Sure, baby boy. But then you just close your eyes. When you wake up again, you’ll feel better. You’re needing to get all that goo out of you.”
“I need Brooks to come.” That was who he wanted here, dammit. “Tell him he cain’t just leave me like this.”
“Oh, I will let him know, as soon as I see him. Don’t you worry your baby head about that.” Momma’s eyes seemed to flash. “I will let him know how the cow ate the cabbage.”
“Just tell him I love him, and that I ain’t really mad at the horse. He was just doing what was in his nature.”
A hospital tech came into the room. “It’s time to take him, guys. You can wait in the waiting area if you want, and then we’ll put him in a room of his own once he’s out of recovery.”
“Okay.” Momma was crying, but Pops kissed him on his forehead, nodded.
“See you in a couple minutes, boy.”
“Yes, sir. Love you.”
“I love you. Never doubt it.”
Coop closed his eyes and nodded. He never had doubted it. Why start now?