Chapter 14 – Beth
It’s not long before the members of Shane’s family begin to arrive.
His brother Jake is first, with his wife, Annie.
A minute later, their parents, Bridget and Calum, walk in.
Calum is supporting Bridget, who’s sobbing.
Then Jamie and his wife, Molly, arrive. Then Sophie and Dominic, Liam and Jasmine, and Lia and Jonah.
My heart aches when I see so many familiar faces walking through those automatic doors. They all pause and search the waiting room until they spot our family gathered to one side of the room.
They take turns hugging me tightly and murmuring words of encouragement.
Don’t worry.
He’s going to be fine.
He’s strong as an ox.
He’ll get through this. You both will.
And then there’s Lia. “Don’t worry, Princess, my brother is way too stubborn to die. Besides, you know he’d never leave you.”
I know they mean well, but every reassuring word is like a dagger to my heart, because what if they’re wrong? Shane is many things—a wonderful husband, a loving father, a loyal son and brother and friend—but he’s also just a man. He’s not superhuman.
The truth is, I still don’t know if he’s alive. The last time I saw him, his complexion was ashen. He was so still, so lifeless. It might already be too late.
We’re still waiting for someone to come out and give us an update on his condition. Maybe the fact we haven’t heard anything yet is good news. Surely, if he were already gone, someone would have informed me.
I return to my seat, feeling utterly numb and wanting to shut out everything. I need to see Shane. I need to hear his voice. My throat tightens, nearly choking me.
As I glance around at the crowd of people, I see lots of reddened eyes and tear-stained faces.
Annie comes to kneel in front of me. “Your mom is at your house watching all of the kids.”
There are eight grandkids in all—eight under the age of eight—and all but two are toddlers and infants. That’s a lot of work for one person.
“Don’t worry, she’s not alone,” Annie says as if reading my mind. “When Joe Rucker heard what happened, he kindly offered to help.” She glances at my blood-stained hands. “Would you like to wash your hands? I’ll go with you.”
“Oh, right.” I stare down at my hands as if I’m just now noticing. “Yes, thank you.”
Cooper helps me stand, and I follow Annie to a nearby restroom. She turns on the water, and when it warms up, she guides me over to the sink. I stand here like a mannequin, unmoving, just staring at my reflection in the mirror while she lathers up my hands and scrubs them briskly.
When she rinses my hands, I glance down to see the blood-stained water swirling around the drain. Finally, the water runs clear. Annie turns off the faucet and grabs a few paper towels to dry my hands.
“I’m so sorry, Beth,” she says, her eyes filled with pain.
“Thanks.” I appreciate that she doesn’t give me empty platitudes. Everyone means well, and they’re trying to be supportive, but words aren’t going to fix what’s wrong. Words won’t save Shane.
When we return to the waiting room, Troy Spencer is here, as well as Shane’s restauranteur friend, Peter Capelli, and Peter’s sister, Gina.
Everyone who is part of Shane’s inner circle is here to offer support.
Troy walks up to me and takes my hand, giving it a squeeze. He doesn’t say anything—he doesn’t have to. I can read what he’s feeling in his eyes. What we’re all feeling.
Shane, please don’t leave us.
A hush falls over the waiting room when an unmarked door off to the side opens and a middle-aged woman with short silver hair, dressed in medical scrubs, walks out. Her expression is neutral, giving absolutely nothing away. She scans our group, adjusting her wire-framed glasses. “Shane McIntyre?”
I jump to my feet. “I’m Shane’s wife.”
The woman nods as she comes toward me. “I’m Dr. Markowski. I’m one of the physicians who is treating your husband.”
Treating him? That must mean he’s alive.
My heart thunders. “Is he—” The words die in my throat because I can’t bring myself to say the three words that mean the most. Is he alive?
The woman nods. “We’ve been able to stabilize him. He’s lost a lot of blood, so we’re giving him some now to prepare him for surgery.”
“How bad are his injuries?” Cooper asks. His deep voice is calm and steady.
“We won’t know the extent of the damage until we get in there,” the doctor says.
“There is significant internal bleeding. Stopping that is our first priority. Then we’ll be able to assess any damage to his organs.
” Her expression is carefully guarded. “He’s in critical condition, Mrs. McIntyre.
I’m afraid I can’t give you a prognosis at this time. ”
“But he’ll be okay, right?” I ask, desperately hoping she’ll give me at least a sliver of hope I can cling to.
Her lips flatten. “I’m sorry, but I can’t make any promises. It’s too soon to tell.”
My knees give out, and Cooper catches me. Sam moves in beside me, and the two of them lower me into my seat.
The doctor’s expression falls, revealing a brief glimpse of emotion. “I wish I had better news for you, but right now we just don’t know. We’ll update you as we have more information.”
“Thanks,” Cooper says as he sits in the chair beside mine. “Please let us know what you find.”
The woman nods to Cooper. “I will.” Her neutral composure slips a bit. “I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you.”
I stare up at the doctor, wishing she could give me something positive. Anything. My eyes flood with fresh tears when she doesn’t.
As the doctor walks away, the waiting room grows quiet. There’s a heavy stillness in the air as everyone processes the news.
I stare down at my lap, at my now somewhat clean hands, unable to look at anyone. There’s a roaring sound in my head that matches my racing pulse.
Critical condition.
Internal bleeding.
They don’t know.
Someone takes hold of my hands, and I look up to see Bridget kneeling in front of me, her eyes red from crying.
“Please don’t worry, honey,” she says. “He’s strong. He’ll be okay.”
I nod, wanting desperately to believe her, and wanting to comfort her just as much as she wants to comfort me.
But the truth is, the human body can only take so much before it gives out.
My throat closes up on me when I say, “He saved me, Bridget. Andrew was going to shoot me, and Shane threw himself in front of me.”
Fresh tears spill from her blue eyes as she cups my cheek with a shaking hand. “Of course, he did, sweetheart. He wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Tears blind me, and my voice cracks. “It should have been me.”
She shakes her head. “No, honey. Think of Luke and Ava. They need you.”
They need their father, too!
But I don’t say the words aloud. We’re all hurting too much as it is. I can’t even bring myself to acknowledge that he might—
“Calum and I will stay,” Bridget says. “If you need to go home—”
“No!” I soften my tone. “Thank you, but I can’t leave him.”
Bridget gives me a sad smile. “I just thought—I mean, if you wanted to be with the kids.”
“They’re in good hands with Mom and Joe. My place right now is here.”
She nods. “I understand.”
Calum appears behind Bridget and helps her rise to her feet. “Come sit down, honey.”
Bridget gives my hands one last squeeze before she leans down to kiss my cheek. “He’ll be fine,” she whispers. “You just have to believe that. I do.”
I don’t know how much time has passed when someone comes through that same unmarked door—a nurse this time.
“Mrs. McIntyre?” she says, but her gaze is already directed at me. Someone probably gave her my description.
I stand, along with Sam and Cooper. “Yes?”
The nurse gives me a sympathetic smile. “I just wanted to let you know your husband is in surgery now. As soon as we know more, we’ll update you.”
“Do you know how long it will take?” Cooper asks.
The woman shakes her head. “I’m afraid not. There’s too much we don’t know at this time.”
* * *
I sit numbly in my seat, unaware of what’s going on around me. People come and go, stopping by to give me words of encouragement. I just smile and say “Thank you.”
Cooper and Sam keep offering me water and protein bars, but I decline. Molly and Annie offer to bring me something from the cafeteria, but I shake my head. I don’t think I could keep anything down right now.
Eventually, Cooper refuses to take no for an answer when he offers me a water bottle for the third time. “Drink this, Beth,” he says in a stern voice. Tough love. “You can’t let yourself get dehydrated. You’ll be no help to Shane if you make yourself sick.”
Sam puts his arm around my shoulders and leans in for a side hug. “Please? For me? Don’t make Cooper use his grumpy daddy voice.”
Wordlessly, I hold out my hand to Cooper. He unscrews the cap and gives me the bottle. I down a third of it before handing it back.
I feel shaky, most likely from low blood sugar, and I know I should eat something. But if I do, I’m afraid it won’t stay down.
Tyler comes to check on me, along with his husband, Ian.
Eventually, Annie comes to hug me and say goodbye. “I’ll go help your mom and Joe with the kids. Jake is staying. If you need anything, let him know.”
Annie’s pregnant and starting to show now. I’m sure all this waiting is wearing on her.
“Thank you for coming,” I say as I return her hug. “Please give Luke and Ava a kiss from me.”
My sister-in-law Molly leaves next, heading to my house to collect her two babies. Her husband, Jamie, Shane’s brother, stays.
This is so surreal, sitting here, hour after hour, not knowing anything. My butt is numb as are my legs. I have to get up a few times to walk around just to get my circulation back.
I keep reliving that moment when Shane rushes at me. I can still hear his raw shout, “No!”
I remember the hate-filled look on Andrew’s face as he glared at me from across the parking lot.
“Andrew’s dead, right?” I say to no one in particular. “He can’t hurt anyone anymore.”
“Yes,” Cooper replies. “He’s dead.”
A horrifying thought occurs to me. “Tyler won’t get in trouble for shooting him, will he?”
“You don’t need to worry about that, sugar. Tyler told me that after Shane fell, Andrew was about to take another shot at you. Tyler said he dropped him before he could pull the trigger. It was all caught on camera, clearly self-defense. Tyler’s in the clear.”
I sigh heavily. I couldn’t handle my brother being charged over shooting Andrew.
I glance at my phone to check the time. It’s after six now. We’ve been here for eight hours, and there’s still no word on Shane’s condition.
Sam puts his arm around me. “Let’s go to the cafeteria and grab a quick bite to eat.”
“I can’t leave, but you go. You must be starved. Both of you go.” I gesture to Cooper.
“I’m not leaving you,” Sam says. I can hear the duh in his voice.
“I’m serious. You two should go.”
“There’s no chance in hell we’re leaving you here alone,” Cooper says.
I glance around at all the McIntyres who are still here. “I’m hardly alone.”
“Beth.” I can hear the frustration in Cooper’s voice. “You haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. It’s not going to help Shane one bit if you make yourself sick.”
“I—”
Before I can utter another word, the side door opens and out walks Dr. Markowski. She looks… exhausted. Her expression reveals nothing.
I jump to my feet. “How is he?”