Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
He couldn’t lift his head.
And he was thirsty. God, he was thirsty. “Water,” he called, struggling to open his eyes.
“Ben!”
Hannah’s voice pierced through the fog. He blinked, trying to focus.
She leaned over him, and she looked pale. He tried to lift his hand to touch her but couldn’t. “What’s…wrong? You sick too?”
She shook her head. “Ben, you were shot. You’re at the hospital in Bozeman.”
“I forgot.” Hell—no wonder he felt like he’d been run over by a truck. His eyes started to close, but then he remembered and forced them open again, searching her face. “You okay? I tried to stop him.”
Her warm hand gently touched his arm. “You did and got shot again, but you’re going to be all right. We think Owen’s aim was off because he’d been drinking. Otherwise, he would have hit your heart.”
“Lucky me.” She was okay. That was all that mattered. Lids heavy, he let his eyes close, feeling like he was falling. “What happened…to that bastard?”
“He’s in jail, don’t worry. No bail. I’ll tell you more when you’re better. Rest now.”
He felt her kiss his forehead. “Keep Cooper…safe. Never imagined…”
“I know, Ben. We’ve got him. Don’t worry. You get better.”
He let her voice fade out as he slid back into sleep.
When he awoke, his eyelids would only lift half-mast. She was still beside the bed.
Her father was next to her, checking his vitals with another doctor he didn’t recognize who was talking about how fortunate they were that the bullets hadn’t hit any bones or major arteries.
Hannah nodded as the doctor talked about replenishing his blood and hemoglobin levels and stuff about pumping him full of antibiotics to prevent infection.
“I don’t know what that green stuff was that you packed the wound with, miss, but it helped. He should have been bleeding far more heavily when the air ambulance arrived. Never seen anything like it.”
“Funny, and here I was thinking I should have gone to medical school, after all,” she joked hoarsely. “Except I puked after the air ambulance left. I don’t want to ever see that much blood again.”
“Then it’s probably a good thing you didn’t become a doctor and are helping in other ways,” Hannah’s father said with a short smile before patting her on the arm as he left with the other doctor.
Hannah looked toward the door, a half smile forming on her face.
“Did he just compliment you?” Ben rasped.
She was taking his hand carefully the next moment, since he had tubes there. “I think so. Hell, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the shock making me think so. I thought Neil would be his new favorite, because they worked together to stabilize you once my father arrived.”
He grunted. “I take back every bad thing I thought about him.”
Her laugh was shaky, and he made himself squeeze her hand. “Okay…not everything.”
“You focus on getting well. There are a whole bunch of people who need you, Cooper topping the list.” She touched his face with her fingertips. “Ben, I never want to go through that again.”
“Me either.” He couldn’t manage a weak chuckle. God, he’d never been so tired. “Tell Cooper I love him…see him soon.”
“I will.” She brushed her lips against his cheek. “We’re keeping him wrapped up in lots of love, don’t worry.”
“Love you.” He closed his eyes. “You missed with that kiss.”
A soft kiss touched his dry lips. “I love you, cowboy. Get better.”
“Trying,” he promised as he faded off to sleep.
When he awoke the next time, he was feeling a little stronger. All he wanted to hear was when he could leave. When the doctor came in next, he learned they were thinking a week. He decided to prove them wrong. Three days from now, he wanted to get out of there and convalesce at home.
Then his family started arriving. He saw Will first, who hugged him gently, whispering, “I thought we were done with hospitals after my accident.”
His father gripped his hand and said, “You take as long as you need to mend. Your gramps and I aren’t so old that we can’t still run a ranch between the two of us.”
Only Gramps teased him in a choked voice later about “the things a man does to get out of chores.”
Grams kissed his cheek and told him she was too old to pray on her knees anymore, but she was for him, while Reba said he’d better get back on his feet fast because they still had a cherry festival to host, reminding him that this was Hannah’s first one back.
That motivated him more, and he got through the interview with Logan a short time later, his heart rate causing the machine to blip faster when he heard Taft and Amber had denied all knowledge of Owen’s actions, and there was nothing he could do on that end except keep an eye on them.
When he saw Hudson, he shook the man’s hand and thanked him for all his help.
Sending the man out to guard them that fateful day was a decision Ben would never regret.
He’d chosen him after showing smarts for lassoing Amber.
If he hadn’t, Owen would have arrived with two people.
Without Hudson having gotten in some serious punches to Owen, who knows if his drinking would have been enough for Owen to miss a kill shot that first round.
Ben shuddered every time he thought of it.
Hannah stayed with him every hour until others in his family interceded and took her place while she rested a bit. When Neil visited him, he held out his hand without a second thought and joked, “Leave it to you to become a hero at my expense.”
The woman he loved laughed as Neil joined in.
The worst moment was seeing Cooper. He’d struggled with the decision mightily, finally deciding he needed professional advice.
After talking with the hospital’s clinical psychologist, they agreed to let Cooper visit.
Ben wanted to protect his son, but like Cooper had heard stories from Paisley before, there was no way he wouldn’t hear some version of what had happened secondhand.
Better he tell him a pared-down backstory, as the psychologist had suggested, and do what he could to assure his son that he would recover and be back on the ranch as soon as possible.
Talk about the reason behind Owen’s actions was trickier. That he couldn’t do, especially after seeing his ex-father-in-law break down in the chair beside his bed while Ben had glanced off to respect his pride.
“Papa,” his son had whispered when he’d come in with Hannah, Will, and Reba.
Ben had asked Hannah to help him shave, and he’d made sure to sit up straight and tall in the bed as Cooper shuffled in, head ducked down like he was afraid.
“Hey, Cooper.” He waited for his son to raise his head before lifting the horseshoe he’d asked Hannah to bring. “This time, I could use a little cheering up. I hate staying in the hospital.”
Cooper’s face shifted from downtrodden misery, thank God, and Ben breathed out a sigh of relief. He’d thought giving his son a purpose would help him, and he’d been right.
“I’ll cheer you up, Papa,” he assured him, and then Will was swinging the boy up and placing him gently on the bed beside Ben. “Are you feeling better?”
Will had already told him a few details, as they’d agreed. “I am, but remember how you always get grouchy when you still can’t go outside and play when you have a little cold? That’s how I feel. Impatient to get back to the house and everyone I love, especially you.”
Even though Ben chucked him under the chin, his son’s eyes were worried. “You sure you’re going to be okay?”
His son was smart, and he was checking out all the machines in the room, noticing the bracelet on his wrist and the IV. “Absolutely. I’m as tough as a grizzly, aren’t I?”
Then he carefully hugged his boy to him and swore they would get through this.
As he looked over at Hannah, she had a valiant smile on her face. When he thought about her presence of mind to run Owen down with Flame…
Yeah, he knew somehow things were going to be all right.
One day at a time, as Grams liked to say.