Redemption Road (Roughneck #3) (17 page)

Chapter 32

4 Days Later

It had been four days of waiting. Four days of hoping. Four days of pacing back and forth in this room. There was still no change, and the doctors were getting more concerned that she wasn’t going to wake up at all. Of course, they didn’t say those words, but I could tell by the way they spoke to the nurses. I wouldn’t accept it. She would wake up, she had to.

Sam came down a couple of times, bringing me clothes and fast food. Karen came every morning around ten. She would stay a few hours and leave. We never really spoke, but she was cordial, and I was just surprised she kept coming. The nurses were nice enough to bring me food, although it usually remained untouched. I didn’t have an appetite. The knot in my stomach seemed to grow by the day. I spent my nights on a cot they brought in for me. They figured out I wasn’t leaving, and were nice enough to try and make me comfortable. It didn’t, but they tried. Nothing would make me comfortable until I had her arms around me.

It was almost dark outside. I sat in the recliner, trying to ignore the pounding in my head. I hated taking the pain medicine, it made me tired. I didn’t want to sleep. I needed to be by her side when she woke up.

The beeping on the monitor picked up a little, which caught my attention, and I went to her bedside. The change was making me nervous - I didn’t know if it was a good or a bad change. I didn’t know whether to call for a nurse. But all those thoughts disappeared when I watched her hand twitch. This had happened before, so I kept my eyes glued to her, waiting.

Her fingers started to move.

“Sweetie? Mackenzie? Can you hear me?” I asked. Please God, let her hear me.

She moved her head back and forth, just slightly, but I saw it. A little moan came from her throat.

“Baby?” I said, and I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

Her eyes started to flutter. I grabbed the red button beside the bed and pushed it.

“She’s waking up. I think she’s waking up,” I said, without waiting for them to answer.

“Please, tell me you can hear me,” I begged, as I grabbed her hand again.

“Kash,” she whispered, so quietly it was almost silent.  But I heard it. I heard it.

“Oh, Mackenzie, baby,” I said, as I leaned against her and started to kiss up and down her arm.

“Can you open your eyes?” I asked, as I watched her face.

“Kash,” she whispered again, and wiggled her fingers. I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it over and over.

She smiled weakly and licked her lips. Her eyes started to open. I could tell she was struggling, but she was fighting. I knew she was a fighter. She blinked, one, two, three times. Then held her eyes closed for a few seconds before opening them again. I let out the breath I didn’t even realize I was holding.

I stood and hovered over her face, trying my best not to put any of my weight on her. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.

“I missed those eyes,” I said, as she stared at me. I leaned in and kissed her lips gently.

“I missed those lips,” I said, as I kissed her again.

“What happened?” Mackenzie asked, as she tried to look around, and then her eyes locked on me.

“Kash, are you ok?” she whispered. I couldn’t help but smile, she just woke up from a fucking coma and she was worried about me.

“Baby, I’m fine. Now,” I said, and I couldn’t stop the fucking tears from welling up in my eyes.

She reached her hand up and touched my face, brushing her fingers across my lips.

“I love you, Sweetie,” I said, without hesitation. I fucking loved her, and she needed to know it.

“I love you so fucking much,” I said, and I kissed her fingers that touched my lips, then leaned in and kissed her again.

Tears welled up in her eyes and her lip started to tremble. No, please don’t cry.

“You love me?” she asked quietly, her voice so raspy.

“I love you so much,” I said again. I didn’t care. I would tell her every day for the rest of my fucking life.

“I love you, Kash,” she said with a weak smile.

Thank you, God. Thank you.

“Kash?” she whispered, as I stared at her.

“Yeah?” I asked, wanting more than anything to scoop her up and squeeze her.

“I’m so thirsty,” she whispered.

“Ok,” I said with a smile, and rose up. I turned around to head to the sink and noticed three of the nurses standing there. All three of them were crying, just watching us.

“She’s thirsty,” I said to them. My baby was thirsty, one of them needed to get their ass in gear.

“Oh, ok,” the young nurse said, and headed out the door.

I turned back around to Mackenzie.

“How do you feel? Are you ok?” I asked.

“I think I’m ok, I just need to sit up,” she whispered. I pushed the button, doing what she asked, but unable to keep my eyes off of her for very long. I was so glad she was awake.

The nurse brought back a pitcher of water and a full cup. She put it close to Mackenzie’s mouth as she sipped it through the straw.

“Thank you,” Mackenzie said, once she finished.

“What happened?” Mackenzie asked, staring at me.

“We were in an accident,” I said, not knowing how much she remembered about that day.

“You’ve been in a coma for almost a week,” I said, as I sat back down, but grabbing her hand.

“Are you ok?” she asked. I couldn’t help but shake my head at her.

“I’m fine, sweetie,” I said, and I watched the smile cross her face. God, I loved this woman.

“Can we have a few minutes?” I asked the nurses, who were still staring at us.

“Yes, sorry. I’m going to go grab the doctor to examine her, though,” the older nurse said, and they shuffled out of the room.

“Where is he?” she asked quietly, as she stared straight ahead.

“He’s gone,” I said. I had played out this conversation in my head a hundred times the last few days.

“Gone?” she asked, and looked at me.

“He’s dead,” I said quietly.

“He is?” Mackenzie stared at me, those brown eyes wide.

“He died at the scene. He was drunk. The cops don’t even suspect that we knew him. We were just avoiding a drunk driver,” I said, and then waited for her response.

“Oh, thank God,” She said with a sigh of relief.

“Baby, I’m sorry,” I said.

“Kash, for what?” she asked.

“For putting you in danger. For not thinking about what could happen. For getting you hurt. I just wanted to protect you. I’m sorry,” I said, as I put my head down, wanting to look her in the eyes, but I couldn’t.

“Baby,” she whispered, and I looked at her.

“Come here,” she said, and patted the bed beside her as she attempted to scoot over. I sat beside her and finally looked at her.

“Don’t apologize. I know you didn’t mean for me to get hurt. You saved me from him,” she said.

“I love you,” she said.

“I love you,” I repeated.

More than she could ever even imagine.

Chapter 33

The next three days were spent with the doctors and nurses constantly monitoring Mackenzie. She was getting her strength back, and getting a little pissy at all the fuss and attention she was getting.

“I’m ready to get out of here,” she said with a sigh, once the doctor shut the door behind him.

“I know, sweetie, they just need to make sure you’re a hundred percent before you bust out,” I said, as I patted her knee and took my usual chair.

I couldn’t blame her; I was ready to get home, too. We would both be off of work for a while. My job wouldn’t allow me to go back until the cast was off and I was cleared by the doctor. That meant at least six weeks. My tool pusher wasn’t sure if I would still be on the same rig, but they would find a place for me once it was time. Luckily, I had enough in savings to get me through until then. I could take care of both of us without any problems, which eased my mind.

“I think I’m ready to see them,” Mackenzie said, after a few minutes. I called her mom the night she woke up, once I talked to Mackenzie about it. But she wasn’t ready to see them yet, and Karen said she respected her wishes.

“Are you sure? There’s no rush,” I reassured her. I didn’t want her having any health setbacks.

“I think so,” she said, and scooted to the edge of the bed. “Come up here with me.”

I crawled beside her gently and sighed as she rested her head on my good arm. I was ready to get this fucking cast off so I could wrap my arms around her. I just wanted to hold her. That’s a lie, I wanted to do a whole lot more to her, but I wanted to make sure she was better first.

“Are you nervous about seeing them?” I asked, trying to get comfortable in this tiny bed, trying to ignore the pain that shot up from my elbow to my shoulder. I couldn’t help but let out a little groan as I adjusted my body.

“The doctor said that’s why I didn’t break any bones, because you used your arm as a shield,” Mackenzie said, changing the subject.

“My first instinct is to protect you, always,” I said, as I kissed her head.

“I love you,” she whispered into my shoulder, and kissed it.

Those three simple words. I think we had repeated those words to each other a hundred times over the last three days. I never thought I would say those words to a woman, but then again I never thought I would meet anyone like Mackenzie.

“I love you, sweetie,” I said with a smile. More.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you about something, but I was a little nervous,” Mackenzie said, as we looked at each other. She had a worried look on her face, which made my fucking stomach hurt. I couldn’t take any more worrying. I was ready for things to calm the fuck down.

“What?” I asked, not even sure if I wanted to know.

“How bad is your car?” she asked, looking genuinely worried, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Bad,” I said with a smile.

“Why are you smiling?” she asked, completely confused.

“Because it’s just a car,” I said. Those words would have never even come out of my mouth last week. But after everything we had been through, it wasn’t even important. I would miss it, but I had Mackenzie, and that’s what really mattered.

“That car is your baby, it was never just a car,” she said, and shook her head.

“My priorities have changed,” I said, as I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, stifling the groan this time.

“Sam sent me a picture from the tow yard,” I said, as I pulled up the picture and showed it to Mackenzie.

“Oh, man,” Mackenzie said, as she stared at my phone. It was totaled, beyond repair. It was just a car, but I hated looking at that picture.

“It’s hard to believe we even survived that,” Mackenzie said, as she stared straight ahead, her eyes wide.

“I know,” I said, and put my phone on the side table.

“You changed the subject,” I said, as I looked down at her. “Are you nervous?”

“Nervous isn’t really the word,” she said, as she picked at a piece of lint on my jeans.

“Scared, I think,” she said.

“You don’t have to see them,” I said. I didn’t want her doing anything she didn’t want to do. I would call them and let them know she changed her mind. I would do whatever she wanted.

“I know, but I need to. They’re my parents, regardless,” she said.

“Ok,” I said, and grabbed my phone again, pulling up Karen’s number.

Me: She’s ready.

My phone buzzed immediately.

Karen: On our way. Thank you Kash.

For the next couple of hours, Mackenzie was quiet. She tried to pretend she was ok, but I knew better. I could see it in her eyes. They always said way more than she wanted anyone to know.

There was a knock on the door, and I stood, looking at her, waiting for her to give me the ok. She nodded her head.

“Come in,” I said loudly.

Mackenzie’s parents walked through the door, but I couldn’t take my eyes off her. The tears were rolling down her cheeks but she didn’t speak. I wanted to grab her and take her out of this room. I didn’t want her to cry. I wanted to protect her from any more pain. She didn’t deserve to fucking hurt anymore. Son of a bitch. I waited for her to let me know she was ok. She finally looked at me, and nodded her head.

“I’ll give y’all some time,” I said, as I looked at her parents. I leaned my head down to Mackenzie and kissed her lips gently.

“I’ll be back soon,” I whispered. “Love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered, as I wiped the tears from her cheek. I couldn’t catch them all, but I wanted to.

I rose back up and headed to the door. Karen walked in front of me and put her arms around me.

“Thank you, Kash,” she whispered. “For everything.”

“I would do anything for her, she’s worth it,” I said quietly, as I looked at both of them. Mackenzie’s father wouldn’t even look in my direction. Not that I gave a fuck.