Her Gentle Giant: No Regrets (24 page)

“I’d like that. You’re sure you don’t mind finishing my oil change?”

She laughed when he rolled his eyes at her. “I know,
men’s work
, right? The oil filter is on the front seat,” she added as she sauntered naked into the bathroom, chuckling at his groan of appreciation.

* * * *

After Rachel put the mail and the cardboard box on the kitchen counter, Rachel locked up her parent’s house and trotted out to their storage shed.

She unlocked it and went in, flipping on the light switch. She must have overlooked the tall floor lamp inside the doorway when they were there a few days ago. It would be perfect in her living room. She found a box filled with assorted picture frames and carried it and the lamp out to the car. After
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Rachel removed the heavy glass shade and laid it on the back seat, she disassembled the lamp and put both sections on the back floorboard. She placed the box of picture frames on the front passenger seat. She waved to the ranch foreman as she passed him in his truck on the driveway.

As she pulled onto the state highway, she tuned the radio to a country station where a popular love song was playing. She sang along with Lady Antebellum and agreed that she just needed him now.

As she approached the river bridge, Rachel noticed movement to her right. One second, she was thinking that it was a little early in the year for the deer to be chasing as a young doe raced out in front of her car, followed closely by a large buck, evidently intent on mating. The next instant, she heard screeching brakes as an oncoming SUV attempted to avoid colliding with both deer as well as her vehicle. Slamming on her brakes, Rachel sent a prayer heavenward.

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Ace Webster held tight to his steering wheel as the doe ricocheted off his front grill then into the guardrail. His SUV slammed into the red sedan as it lost control upon impact with the big buck. His vehicle came to rest against the guardrail. Ace shook his head, gathered his wits, and peered out his side window, searching the road for the little red car. He realized it was no longer on the road at all and slung his door open in time to hear the horrible crunching sound as the little car finally stopped rolling down the steep incline. Both deer lay in the roadway, dead. He turned on his flashers and descended at a dead run down the incline to the river bottom, thankful the car hadn’t been in danger of rolling into the water. Praying hard, he threw open the driver side door.

The sight before him took his breath away, but he kept his wits about him. He ripped out his phone and prayed he had a signal down there. He hit the speaker button and went to work as fast as he could. He tore off his dress shirt and undershirt and started ripping them into pieces. As the 911 operator picked up the call and inquired the nature of his emergency, he found his voice. He mopped with the shredded cloth trying to find the worst sources of bleeding.

“My name is Ace Webster. I’m out on FM 709, south of the river bridge. There has been an accident. A vehicle has rolled down into the river bottom. I’m with the injured driver. It is a young woman, and she appears to have severe lacerations. Without moving her, I’m trying to determine where the worst bleeding is. The vehicle rolled numerous times. Judging by the debris in the car, it looks like she was cut by objects loose in the passenger compartment.”

“Is the driver conscious, sir?”

“No. She’s unconscious. There is a large sliver of wood piercing her side. A lot of glass shards embedded as well. Lots of blood.” The coppery
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scent of blood permeated the humid air around him as he palpated her torso, trying to determine the worst bleeds and doing his best to staunch the flow with the makeshift bandages.

“Please do not remove the piece of wood or the glass, sir. Is she buckled into the seat?”

“Yes.”

“Leave her that way.”

“Yes, ma’am. Oh, God!” Ace moaned as he wiped at her face with a fresh rag. “Oh, no. Rachel!” He gasped, horrified that he had been squatting here for several minutes with someone he should have recognized. There was so much blood. He redoubled his efforts.

“Sir, I have emergency services on their way. They’re about five minutes away from you right now. Do you know the driver, Mr. Webster?”

“Yes. It’s Rachel Lopez. Can you call her boyfriend for me?”

“Yes, sir, I’ll take care of it. His name?”

“Wolf, Eli Wolf.”

“Yes, please don’t hang up, sir. I’ll see that he is called. Is the driver still unconscious?”

“Yes.”

“Will you check her pulse without shifting her at all?”

“Pulse feels weak, but regular.”

He found several wounds beside the one at her ribs that were bleeding heavily and gently pressed the cloths to them. He didn’t want to push the glass in farther, but knew the bleeding needed to be stopped. He looked around at the destruction of the interior of her little car. Shattered plate glass was everywhere as well as little pieces of wood, ceramic, and metal. His eyes came to rest on a small wooden frame in the floorboard. He realized what must have happened. He saw a heavy glass lampshade on the front passenger floorboard. It looked heavy, and he prayed she didn’t have a head injury from it. He could hear sirens in the distance and checked her pulse again.

Still there, but weak.

He held her hand and said, “Hang on, Rachel. Help is coming.”

* * * *

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Eli’s phone started ringing and vibrating as it sat on the bathroom counter. Caller ID read unknown, and he answered it on the second ring.

“Eli?”

“Yeah.”

“Hank Stinson here.”

Eli’s heart jumped a little in his chest, and a cold chill went up his spine.

This was not Hank’s usual friendly part-time co-worker chit-chat voice. This was his sheriff’s department business voice. “You need to run on up to the hospital. Rachel’s been involved in an accident.”

Another cold chill skittered across every inch of his skin. Adrenaline dumped into his bloodstream, and his skin prickled and felt hot and frozen at the same time. Rachel? No! Not his angel. An accident? Not
again
.

“What happened?” he asked, trying to stay focused and calm. He sat on the end of his bed, pulling his boots on quickly. He grabbed his truck keys and ran out the door.

“The other person involved in the accident says they hit some deer. He recognized her and asked for you to be called. I’m pulling up to the scene right now.”

Eli could hear the muffled sounds of a seatbelt being released and a vehicle door slamming and the sound of Hank running down the asphalt.

There was also the sound of a siren in the background and distant yelling.

His heart hammered as he yanked the door open on his truck. He was torn between wanting to know where she was so he could go straight to her and knowing he needed to get to the hospital where they would take her.

“Where is she?”

“South side of the river bridge on FM 709. Get to the hospital, Eli.

They’ll have her there in a few minutes. Damn. Yeah, looks like they hit a big buck and a doe. I’ll see you up at the hospital, Eli. Gotta go.”

“Thanks, Hank,” he replied and ended the call backing out of the driveway. The thought of her little car and a white tail buck mixing it up on the bridge with another vehicle caused chills to race up his spine. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself and floored the accelerator.

A familiar old pain made its ugly presence known in his chest along with a feeling of powerlessness and fear. He recalled another car accident and another woman he loved beyond belief being injured. Just like this time, he’d been unable to help her. He put aside that powerless feeling and
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focused on what he could do. He prayed the whole way to the hospital.

Beating the ambulance to the emergency room, he ran to the information desk and checked with the receptionist. The door opened behind him, and Grace and Adam ran in, making a beeline for him as soon as they saw him.

* * * *

Ace heard Rachel moan weakly. She moved in the seat and attempted to lift a hand to her seatbelt. He caught her hand and delicately put it back in her lap.

“No, Rachel. Don’t move, sweetheart. You’ve been in an accident.”

She whimpered in response. She tried to speak and cried out, reaching for her throat. A long, nasty looking shard of glass protruded there. She reached up and cried out again as she touched it. He gently immobilized her fingers and held them in her lap.

“Rachel, you’ve been hurt in an accident. Don’t try to talk or move.

EMTs will be here in a minute to help you. The 911 dispatcher has called Eli for you. I’m sure he’ll be waiting for you at the hospital. Try to be still for right now. Careful, you’ll cut yourself if you keep feeling around.

There’s glass everywhere.” He heard the technicians removing gear from the ambulance. He stood and hollered up the incline, “Down here!” They came hurrying down the incline with a stretcher, emergency medical kit, and a backboard.

He squatted down to her to reassure her again, but she was unconscious.

Freeing her from the seatbelt, the EMTs carefully removed her from the vehicle, stabilizing her back and neck on a backboard. When they moved her, the bleeding started again. They discovered several other splinters lodged in her torso and under one arm as they checked for the worst sources of bleeding. Another ambulance showed up, and the EMTs rushed down to help. One of them checked Ace out, cleaned and bandaged the cut on his forehead, and recommended that he get checked out in the ER as well. They quickly loaded Rachel on the stretcher. Ace found her purse in the back seat and gave it to the EMTs. He climbed up the steep incline to find that a sheriff’s deputy was also there, examining the scene on the bridge. He’d met Hank Stinson a few months before, working on a private investigation case
210

for Jack Warner. Ace and Hank stood there looking disgustedly at the deer on the roadway.

“There is a metaphor for life here somewhere,” Ace muttered, eyeing the buck and the doe, “but I’m not going to go there now. Should I call Grace? She’ll want to know.”

“I already did when I heard it was Rachel. Grace sounded pretty upset.

Adam was bringing her in. She’ll probably beat them there, same for Eli.”

He walked over to the damaged guardrail and looked down the steep incline.

“
Fuck
! I hate when stuff like this happens, and it’s worse when it’s someone you know well. She didn’t look good,” Hank muttered, scrubbing his callused hand over his face before putting his cowboy hat back on.

Ace would not have voiced his opinion if Rachel or anyone else who knew her was around, but he muttered, “She’s lost a lot of blood, from a lot of places. I’m pretty sure one of her arms is broken, too.”

“Damn deer,” Hank mumbled and walked over to the carcasses and dragged them off the road as a tow truck pulled up on the shoulder.

“Hank, I’m driving up to the hospital. If you need me, that’s where I’ll be,” Ace said then he turned to his damaged SUV.

“That’s fine. I’ll come up there in a few minutes to get your statement.

Gotta have everything documented for the insurance companies. Your SUV

running okay? It took a hit, too.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s superficial damage.”

“I’ll be behind you in a few minutes after I check in with Dave,” Hank said as he turned to go talk with the tow truck driver.

* * * *

Eli stood at the window, waiting anxiously. Someone entered through the sliding doors, and before they closed, he heard the sound of a siren growing closer. His heart began to pound, and his lips moved silently in prayer. Grace stood beside him and held his hand, her eyes closed as she prayed, too. Adam’s heavy hand came down on his shoulder as the ambulance came to a screeching halt outside the emergency department unloading bay.

The doors swung open wide, and a doctor and a nurse ran out as the ambulance doors popped open. An EMT jumped quickly out of the back and
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reached for the stretcher, giving the doctor the run-down on her condition.

The stretcher slid out with Rachel on it, feet first. She was partially covered in a blanket, but her upper torso was uncovered as the other EMT climbed out, working to help her breathe. The pretty blue top she’d put on earlier was now drenched in blood, and her arms were covered in blood. There was blood all over her face, and she was clearly unconscious.

A wild, guttural cry welled from his throat. He turned to run out of the waiting room doors to her and felt like he was moving in slow motion. His eyes slammed shut over tears of fear and frustration as Adam’s arms locked around his torso, holding him in place. He opened his eyes and looked down into Grace’s face but couldn’t hear her over the pounding of his heart in his ears. She shook her head and put her arms around him, pushing him back with her shoulder as he struggled against Adam.

“No, buddy. You have to let them help her. You go out there now, and you’ll just delay her getting the help she needs,” Adam said, struggling to hold on to him. “I know. I’d feel the same way. You gotta let them do their job, Eli.”

Afraid of accidentally harming Grace, Eli ceased his struggles and looked out the window again. He prayed this wasn’t the last time he’d see Rachel alive. Her long hair billowed off the gurney in the hot wind before they wheeled her in the double doors. He allowed Grace and Adam to direct him to a chair, where he sat down heavily and put his head in his hands.

Now the torture of waiting without knowing began. This had been the worst part years ago. It was even worse now waiting for news because the image of Rachel lying bloody and unconscious on the gurney kept flashing in his mind. Eli felt like he might come unglued.

Ace entered the waiting room from the ER trauma room area. His left temple was bandaged, and his eyes were narrowed like his head hurt. Eli knew whoever had been in the other vehicle knew Rachel and had asked to have Eli called. He hadn’t expected it to be Webster.

Eli approached Ace and held out his hand in gratitude. “You were in the other vehicle?”

“Yeah.”

“Hank told me you asked the dispatcher to call me. Thank you.”

“Hey, no problem, Eli. It was the right thing to do.”

Hoping for a hint of good news, Eli asked, “Did you see her?”

212

“Yeah, seemed like everything was gonna to be okay,” Ace replied.

Grace went to Ace and gave him a hug. “Ace? Are you all right?”

“It’s nothing much, sweetheart, just a little cut. A couple of Tylenols is all I need.”

“Does your head hurt?”

“Yeah, I banged it pretty hard. They checked me out in there and the doctor said there is no sign of concussion, so I’m good to go.”

Suddenly, they heard someone yell from inside the emergency treatment area and a loud crash. Everyone outside in the waiting room became quiet and listened to the muffled, rapid-fire sounds of doctors giving orders. Eli longed to know what was happening on the other side of those doors and went to where the loading bay was visible from the side windows. There was no ambulance sitting there. The new activity was for a patient already in the ER.

Grace gently led him back to a chair, and she made him sit down, then sent Adam to check with the receptionist. She told Adam the doctors were with her right now. Eli put his head in his hands and tried to breathe calmly.

He didn’t even try to make sense of his prayers, just released all the fear and panic to God, begging for her to be okay. His heart pounded in his ears but he felt so cold he would have sworn there was no blood running through his veins warming his body. He barely noticed the hand on his shoulder or the murmuring around him. He tuned it all out.

A little while later, Grace grasped him hard by the shoulders and got right in his face. “The doctor needs to talk to you. Rachel’s parents aren’t here yet.” She grasped his hand and pulled him from the chair. That was good, he supposed. If it was bad news, they would be asking him to sit down, right?

The doctor quickly filled Eli in on what was about to happen. “Mr.

Wolf, we’ve taken Miss Lopez into emergency surgery. She had internal bleeding. Which we caught in time. Her spleen is ruptured and may need to be removed. We’ll take good care of her, Mr. Wolf. She’ll have X-rays as soon as possible, and we’ll be setting her fracture and checking for other broken bones as soon as we can. She’s in good hands.” The doctor assured him that he’d let him know how the surgery went as soon as it was over.

After that conversation, Eli began to focus better. Rachel was alive. That was enough for the moment. Eli stepped into the hall and called Rachel’s
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parents, who were still a couple of hours away, to give them an update.

When he came back, Ethan, Jack, Angel, and Mike were all sitting in the waiting room. There were a few others he didn’t know by name, but he thought he recognized her employer, Thorne Grogan, in the group. A lot of people cared about Rachel.

Eli was talking to Ethan and Mike when the doctor he’d spoken to earlier came and asked for him and Grace. This time, he was smiling. For the first time since the phone call, Eli felt like there was a little warmth in his body. The doctor explained Rachel’s complicated condition to them. It had been possible to repair the damage to her spleen, and they’d caught another bleed that had gone undetected from one of the large shards of glass that had penetrated the abdominal wall. She had a concussion, and they’d already set the broken bone in her left arm. They would keep her for several days, watching for signs of a blood clot or infection. She was sedated and would be for at least another day while they waited for signs of complications. The rest of her scans looked normal. The doctor said he was optimistic for a full recovery.

“When can I see her, Doctor?” Eli heard a slight tremor in his voice.

“They’re moving her right now, Mr. Wolf. A nurse will come and get you,” the doctor told him before excusing himself.

The relief in the room was palpable. Grace’s men took her to get a bite to eat, and the others dispersed. Eli walked along the hall until he found what he was looking for. Stepping into the quiet, softly lit chapel, he approached the front. He was no longer a child crawling on his hands and knees in the hope no one would notice him.

He sat in the second pew and rested his forehead in his hands and broke into quiet sobs. The tension leaked from his body with his tears as gratitude poured forth from his heart. He prayed in thanks for her continued presence in his life and asked for the chance to spend his life loving her and keeping her safe. As he prayed and wept, he felt enveloped in a warm, calming embrace. A memory of soft hands and deep blue eyes holding and comforting him as a little boy came to him from many years before. An angel had been sent to him back then, and surely that angel was with him now. But he had been blessed even beyond that consolation. Another angel waited for him somewhere in this hospital, hurt but
healing
. He smiled, and another sob broke from him as he wiped his eyes.

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