Chapter 34
Thirty-Four
The fresh powder made for a perfect day of skiing. Nevaeh had only tried once, then confirmed she belonged in the lodge with Erykah. Tuck and Piper had decided they loved skiing almost as much as they loved riding horses. And Lamont was apparently a pro.
“Ready?” Lamont called.
“Let’s go.” Chris pushed off.
Ever since the text conversation he’d had with Erykah, he’d been riding on a high. Knowing Erykah cared for him just as he cared for her had him elated. Nothing could bring him down.
He started as a bird dipped too low and aimed for his face. Chris jerked right and overcompensated. Before he could panic, he fell right off the side of the mountain.
Lord God!
A scream ripped from Chris’s throat.
His body jarred from the impact of the fall, but that wasn’t what had him screaming and praying to God. No, the piercing pain in his right leg stole his breath. Something was wrong. Catastrophically, if he had to guess from the pain that had him begging the acid to go back down into his stomach. Care fully, he lifted his head to look at his legs. He groaned and flopped back onto the snow.
“Chris! Chris! Can you hear me?” Lamont yelled.
Chris opened his eyes to see his friend peering over the mountain ledge. It took a herculean effort to hold up a thumb to let Lamont know Chris still lived. His hands shook as he tried to keep from vomiting.
“Help’s on the way, man. Hang in there.”
“I don’t think I can,” he mumbled.
Lamont probably couldn’t see how bad Chris’s injury was from his vantage point. Stupid bird. Not the first time he’d had a run-in with an animal, but the first time the result laid him flat. Heat pricked the back of his eyelids, so he attempted to blow out a breath.
Wrong thing to do. He quickly turned his head and lost his breakfast.
“Chris, you all right?” Tuck called.
Chris’s arms shook, but he managed to stick a thumb up again.
“Do you think something is broken?”
Think? He knew. He kept his thumb up.
Chris could hear them mumbling. Then he heard the sweetest words ever.
“Help is here, man. They’re sending someone down.”
He heard the rappel system and opened his eyes in time to see a rescue worker and basket being lowered.
“Sir, I’m gonna get you up and to the hospital.”
“Compound fracture,” Chris gritted out.
“I see that, sir. We’ll get you taken care of.”
“Erykah,” he rasped.
“Is she your wife?”
“Tell my friends...” He breathed, trying to keep the nausea at bay. “Get Erykah now. ”
“Take it easy, sir.” The man spoke into his radio. “He’s asking for someone named Erykah.”
“Roger that,” the radio crackled.
Knowing that Erykah would come, Chris closed his eyes and let the dark soothe him.
“Chris? Chris? Wake up for me.”
A soft hand rubbed the side of his face. He didn’t want to wake up, because then the pain would attack him again, but the voice sounded so worried. He willed his eyes to open, and light shined right into his retinas. He winced and closed them again.
“No. Open them again for me. I’ll shade you.”
He did as the voice instructed and stared right into Erykah’s beautiful eyes. “Erykah,” he murmured.
“I’m here.”
“Leg’s broken.”
“I saw. We’re almost to the hospital. I called ahead since I have a license to operate there.”
Of course she did. She was amazing. “Save my leg.”
“It won’t come to that. No one’s losing a leg tonight.”
He tried to grin, but it took too much effort. “You operate.”
“I...” She sighed. “They may not let me. We know each other, we ... we like each other.” Nervousness shined in her gaze as if she wasn’t assured of his feelings yet.
He’d worry about that later. “But you’re the best.”
She stroked his face, saying nothing. Chris didn’t know if that was a yes or if she was thinking. Either way, he kept quiet.
Lord, please don’t let anyone else operate on me. I know I’m asking a lot of her , but I want a chance to heal from this, and she’s the best. Please, God. Help me. Help her.
“I’ll see what I can do. Don’t worry about anything right now.”
He frowned. “The girls?”
“Piper and Nevaeh have them. The guys are following behind the ambulance. Don’t worry.”
She was adorable in protector mode. “I’m sorry.”
“For what? You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I ruined our vacation,” he groused.
“Shh. It’s okay.” She placed a kiss on his forehead.
His entire being heated. He’d seen a forehead kiss in movies, but the man had always been the one to place it on the woman’s head. There was something to be said about receiving one. Chris wished he was in the right frame of mind to turn the kiss into one of promise. The ambulance hit a pothole, and a groan tore from his throat.
He barely felt Erykah’s touch against his forehead, but he heard her prayer. His body immediately stilled as if his being knew the importance of this moment.
“God, please bring Chris comfort. Please help relieve the pain. Please give him the best surgeon for the best recovery. Um, amen.”
“You prayed.” He tried to lick his lips, but his mouth had completely dried out from the last wave of pain. Did that mean he was going into shock or just that everything hurt?
“I should’ve said something earlier, but I-I believe. Though I’m not sure I would call that a prayer. I’m not eloquent like you are.”
“It ... was perfect.” He swallowed down the acid. “Going to be sick.”
A plastic bag was thrust under his mouth just in time.
This had to be the most humiliating and agonizing experience of his life. To vomit in front of the woman he loved.
Love?
His heart stopped, then received a jolt. When had his more-than-friendly feelings turned to love? Hadn’t he just thought it w as romantic interest being tortured by a friend zone he couldn’t escape from? Only the stabbing pain in his leg kept distracting him from his thoughts.
The ambulance stopped.
“We’re here,” Erykah murmured. “They’re going to move you. It’ll hurt, but I’m here. I won’t leave your side.”
“Operate ... please.”
She bit her lip. “That’s not allowed when you know the person.”
“ Please .”
Tears filled her eyes, and his gut clenched. As much as he wanted the best doctor, he never ever wanted to make her cry.
“I’m sorry. Forget it,” he gritted.
Doctors swarmed around him, and Erykah went into her element. The tears that had been there a moment before dried as she began speaking in a jargon that sounded like something straight out of ER or Grey’s Anatomy. He’d never been prouder. All Chris could do was watch in awe as the other doctors responded to her authority.
After getting images, they wheeled him down to the surgery prep floor. He talked to the anesthesiologist and another orthopedic surgeon. Erykah walked into the room, hair in a scrub cap and scrubs on her body. He blinked, afraid to hope.
“Are you...?”
She shook her head. “I can’t. But they did agree to let me in the room to make sure everything goes according to my satisfaction.”
Relief filled him. He wouldn’t be alone. She would protect him.
He grinned. “I’m so happy.”
“Ah, the drugs finally kicked in, huh?” She chuckled, but the line between her brows didn’t smooth out like it usually did when she laughed.
“I t hink they upped the dose.” He stared at the IV hooked to his arm. What had they given him, again? Morphine?
“They did. You were still in too much pain.”
“I don’t like drugs.”
She cupped the side of his face. “You need it to relax. Soon you’ll be waking up again, and it’ll be all over. You’ll be on your way to healing.”
“And you’ll be here?”
“I’m not leaving.”
He closed his eyes. Obviously she was referring to this whole ordeal, but Chris liked to hope that there was a double meaning to her words. That she wasn’t just interested in casual dating but wanted a relationship that was made for the long haul. That she wouldn’t leave and abandon him like his ex. That Erykah would put in the work to make their relationship a great one, recognizing Chris would give his all for the same goal. Even if she only meant for today, the words gave him peace. Knowing she was by his side allowed him to close his eyes and succumb to the meds running through his veins.