28. Travis
CHAPTER 28
Travis
The arena erupted into chaos.
“Stay here,” I yelled at Delilah as she and River stared in horror at the sight before them.
Nila kicked dirt in the air with her powerful hooves as she struggled to get up from the ground. One of the men by the chutes ran up to Nila when she started to run around frantically. He caught her by the reins before she could hit Wren—who still hadn’t gotten up—and worked to calm her by running a hand along her neck.
Wren…she wasn’t moving. Just lying on her side with her back to us. Her long blonde hair was spread across the dirt and her hat laid a few feet away. It was bad. It had to be. Why wasn’t she moving?
I ran, pushing past the crowd with my dad to make our way down to the fences. Men and women standing on the sidelines for accidents just like these ran toward Wren too.
My heart was in my throat when I hopped the fence and ran toward my sister.
The man who had calmed Nila handed her off to someone else and hurried toward Wren, getting to her before anyone else. I couldn’t get a good look at his face as he knelt beside my sister, seeming to talk to her. It wasn’t until he lifted his face to motion toward the EMS team to hurry that I recognized him.
Logan Ward.
“Wren!” Finn fell on his knees beside our sister at the same time I did. Dad was next and he was breathing heavily. I wanted to tell him to catch his breath, to calm down because it wasn’t good for his heart, but it was no use. None of us were calm right now. Finn’s voice shook as he took in her pale face, eyes barely open. “Oh god, Wren...”
“Nila?” she asked weakly, and I let out a harsh breath. Of course, she was asking about the damn horse.
“She’s okay,” Finn said as he reached to touch her arm but refrained, not wanting to hurt her worse than she already was. The question was: how bad was it?
She had tears in her eyes, and she let out a soft sob of pain. “Good. That’s good…”
“Honey, what hurts? Can you tell me?” Dad asked as the EMS team asked us to clear the way.
“I don’t know…I can’t…” Her eyes pinched closed and my heart sank.
“Wren, you have to stay awake, okay? Stay awake,” I managed to croak when the paramedics pushed us aside so that they could take a look at her.
“Her head is bleeding on this side, and I think her leg is broken,” Logan said to one of them. He spoke clearly and calmly, not sounding like a mess like the rest of us. His face was emotionless, the total opposite of his fucking brother who was grinning like the devil behind the fence in front of me. If he came over here, I’d kill him just for that.
We all stood there, watching as the paramedics eased Wren onto the gurney before rushing her off to the ambulance waiting outside the arena. Finn went with them without looking at either of us. I knew he’d fight anyone who tried to tell him he couldn’t come along.
“She’ll be okay. She has to be okay,” Dad said, still sounding out of breath, and I put my hand on his back.
“She will be,” I tried to reassure him, even if I didn’t know what else to say.
After one of the ranch hands offered to take Nila back to the ranch, Dad and I both hurried back to Delilah and my mother. My parents rushed to follow the ambulance while I turned toward her and River. They both looked scared and worried. She had unshed tears in her eyes as she looked at me, “Go.”
“I’ll drive you home and then I’ll go to the hospital.” I rasped.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll call Desi to give us a ride. You go with your family. They need you.”
“Take my truck. I don’t want you waiting until she can get here.” I placed the keys into her hand before I kissed her and ruffled River’s hair before promising to call her as soon as I knew more about Wren’s condition.
Then I ran to catch up with my parents.
I paced the length of the waiting room. Trying not to look over my shoulder where I could hear my mother silently crying against my father’s chest. I’d never seen her cry as much as I had in the last hour since Wren fell from her horse.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around what had happened. It was like the world came to a standstill the moment Nila fell, taking Wren with her. Hearing the sound of her head slamming into the ground .
It haunted me now.
All I could hear was that sound and I clenched my jaw, wanting to erase it from my mind.
I thought about last week and how she’d expressed how happy she was for me and Delilah. I’d hugged her briefly before we parted ways. I should have held onto her a little longer, told her I loved her. All the things I could have done went through my mind, slowly driving me insane.
By the time we had arrived at the hospital, Wren had been rushed into surgery in critical condition. Critical condition. I’d seen many injuries during rodeos and on the ranch—it was inevitable given the work we did. It was a completely different story when someone you loved was in that position though.
A crushing weight settled in my gut at the thought of losing Wren before I even had a chance to tell her how proud I was of everything she’d done. After being away to chase her dreams in Montana and deciding to set her roots in Willow Vale again—I couldn’t believe this had happened right when we got her back.
And Finn…
I looked to my little brother and my eyes started to sting at the sight of the happiest member of our family looking utterly wrecked. He sat in a chair by the door, the seat next to his—the one I’d been too anxious to sit in—left vacant. His face was buried in his hands, not moving a single muscle since we got here. Finn never could handle tense conversations without attempting to make some joke to lighten the mood. The same as Wren in a way. But there was no joke to be made right now. I knew he shut down completely because he didn’t know what to do with himself when being hit with a bomb that left us all wrecked.
Hell, I didn’t know how I was managing .
I wasn’t.
After we were ushered into the waiting room by the nurses, having one hell of a time with all of us desperate to get some answers, we sat in silence for what felt like hours.
“They should have given us an update by now,” I growled.
“She must still be in surgery,” Dad rasped, keeping his arms banded tightly around my mom. She hadn’t spoken a word since we arrived at the hospital, relying solely on Dad to do all the talking. “They’ll come when they can, son.”
A few agonizing minutes later, the door to the waiting room opened. My heart sank when I saw that it wasn’t a doctor coming with an update, but a wave of relief washed over me when I realized Delilah was walking into the waiting room. She gently closed the door behind her with a weak smile that didn’t reach her eyes when she found me. I met her halfway as she rushed over, letting me walk right into her arms. Letting me anchor myself to her.
“Any news?” she asked against my chest, her hands rubbing my back.
I shook my head. “Nothing yet. I’m starting to go stir crazy.”
“We all are,” Finn said from behind me, his voice sounding hoarse as if he’d been screaming. Still, he tried to sound lighthearted when he asked her, “Where’s the little guy?”
“Desi came over and offered to watch him so I could come and check on you guys.”
“That was very kind of you to do, Lila,” Mom finally spoke, standing for the first time in an hour and leaving Dad’s side to come and steal her from my arms. I had to look away when Mom’s voice cracked. “I’m so grateful you’re here.”
The back of my eyes stung knowing my mother was hurting. I had to do something to distract myself. Anything to keep from crumbling when the last thing my family needed was to have me, of all people, fall apart in front of them. If it meant not causing any more stress onto my dad, I needed to be strong for him.
Finn cleared his throat, clearly on the same track mind as me.
“I’m going to…” He trailed off before excusing himself and shoving the door open, leaving us in the waiting room.
My mom and Delilah shared a worried glance, but Dad said, “He just needs a minute. He’ll be all right.” He accepted a hug from Delilah next, murmuring words of gratitude to her. When they pulled away, Dad couldn’t hold back his own tears.
I was about ready to follow Finn out of the room before I broke down next. But Delilah didn’t give me the chance to do that. She took my hand in hers and led me to one of the chairs so we could sit together. I pulled her onto my lap, keeping her as close to me as I possibly could before she could take the seat next to me. She came willingly, running her fingers through my hair, the strands probably a mess from all the times I’d run my hands through them.
“Is there anything you want me to get you? Coffee, maybe?”
“Just you.”
She kissed my cheek before running her thumb over my stubbled jaw. “Okay.”
We sat in silence for what felt like an eternity. The only person capable of calming the storm inside my heart was right here and it was like she knew exactly what I needed because she didn’t try to ease our worries by saying words that meant nothing in the moment. All she did was wrap her arms around my shoulders and let me get lost in her embrace long enough that I closed my eyes.
I barely registered when Finn walked in with his fists clenched at his sides before dropping into one of the seats without a word, his gray eyes red-rimmed and tired. Delilah reached out and took his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. He didn’t let go, and based on the way his knuckles turned white, I’d say he was the one squeezing her hand.
When his shoulders started to shake, I placed my hand on his shoulder in silent comfort. Being there for him was the only thing I could do right now.
I didn’t cry. I didn’t get up to pace the length of the room. I didn’t let myself feel anything. All I could do was focus on holding Delilah. Tight enough that my fingers ached. Not once did she complain.
By the time the doctor finally showed up, we were all exhausted.
He told us Wren had suffered from a head trauma, and she’d broken her leg in two places. The road to recovery, as he put it, would be a long one before she could get back on a horse again. I swallowed the knot in my throat at the ramifications that would have on Wren.
“Wren won’t be awake anytime soon. You should go home and get some rest. I’ll call if there’s any changes,” the doctor tried to tell us.
“No way in hell am I leaving my baby here alone,” Mom said with her I won’t take no for an answer tone of hers.
He gave her a wry smile. “She’s being moved to PACU on the second floor now. But only two people are allowed in the room overnight. ”
“You guys go in and see her first,” I told my parents.
“Thank you, son.” Dad clapped my shoulder before taking my mother’s hand and leading her out into the hall with the doctor.
“Did you want to stay the night here? I can go bring you a change of clothes,” Delilah said to Finn and me.
“I’m good. I’ll stay here until I can see her. Thanks, Lila.” Finn cracked a small smile.
“No need to thank me. That’s what friends are for.”
“You’re more than that now,” Finn said as he gave her a quick hug before punching my arm. “I’ll see you upstairs.”
I nodded and turned to face Delilah and her misty eyes. “I’ll take you to your apartment once I see Wren, okay?”
“If you want to stay, you can?—”
“I’m not letting you drive at this hour alone. Please, give me some peace of mind.” I pleaded with her though my voice was rough. If my worrying was irrational, she didn’t call me out on it.
All I knew was that I needed her, and I think she knew that too because her voice was gentle as she said, “Okay, we’ll go together then.”