“David, call the police. Stay here and talk to them. Then come to the hospital,” Elliott said, climbing into the ambulance.
David squeezed Elliott’s shoulder. “The lad got to her in time. She’ll make it.”
“The police are here,” Manning said.
“I’ll be right there,” David said.
As soon as Kevin had Meredith stabilized, he said, “Let’s roll.”
Elliott had never prayed, but he did now, watching the woman he loved fight for her life. God, help her. Please don’t let her die. If you will, Lord, heal her. Anything you’ve ever done for anyone, at anytime, anywhere, You can do for my wee sweetheart. If you will, Lord, heal her.
The paramedic started the bus, but before he drove off, David yelled, “Wait.” He jogged up to the passenger’s side. “Here’s the bottle.” He held it with a handkerchief. “I’ll come to the hospital as soon as we wrap up here.”
“Let the police tell his wife,” Elliott said. “Find out if she knew what Doc was doing?”
David looked through the window of the ambulance. His eyes watered. “I’ll take care of it. You take care of Meredith.”
Chapter Seventy-Five
University of Kentucky Medical Center – February 13
THE LIGHTS-AND-SIRENS RIDE to the University of Kentucky Medical Center took minutes, but to Elliott, sweating and sick to his stomach, it seemed like an entire day. Meredith was rushed into a cubicle where a team of physicians prepared to treat her. Elliott waited in the hallway. Several minutes passed before Kevin left the cubicle and joined him.
“They’re putting her on a ventilator and have called in a high-risk OB/GYN.”
Elliott’s feet went out from under him. Kevin caught him before he collapsed to the ground.
“Get me a wheelchair,” Kevin yelled.
A nurse’s aide rushed over with a chair and helped Kevin get Elliott seated.
“Got an empty room?” Kevin asked.
The aide pointed to a cubicle on the end. “Take him in there. I’ll get the supervisor.”
Kevin wheeled Elliott into the room. “Let’s get you up here and take your vitals.”
Elliott couldn’t move. He didn’t care about himself. All he could think about was the woman he loved possibly dying in the other room. How could this have happened? If Doc’s intention was to hurt him, this was the ultimate pain. He buried his head in his hands and sobbed, deep gut-wrenching tears. If Meredith died, there was no reason for him to live. He would have lost everything that was important to him.
“Elliott,” Kevin said. He knelt in front of his boss and grasped his arms, shaking them gently. “Elliott. You’ve got to hang in there. We can’t lose faith. She’ll get through this.”
Elliott heard him, but he couldn’t stop sobbing.
A nurse entered. “Dr. Lyles prescribed a sedative for him.”
Elliott shook his head. “No. I have to be alert in case decisions have to be made. Take that away.” He sat straight in the wheelchair and wiped his face with his sleeve. “Go check on her, Kevin. I’ll wait here. I have to know what’s happening.” He gazed at the nurse. “Where’s Lyles?”
“He’s finishing up with a patient. He’ll be down shortly.”
“How’d he know I was here?”
“He got a call.”
Elliott sighed. David must have called him. “Thanks. I’m okay now.” Elliott pushed himself over to the sink and washed his face. Then he sat quietly, calling upon the patience his grandfather had taught him years earlier.
Kevin returned. His lips turned up in a slight smile. “The obstetrician did an ultrasound. The baby’s alive. That’s all they can tell at this stage.”
“What about—”
“She’s on the ventilator. They’re going to move her to ICU. Her heart never stopped. That’s good. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Elliott stood and walked toward the door. “I want to see her.” He reached the hallway just as she was wheeled from the room. He gasped. “My God.” She was surrounded by medical personnel and machines. Her face had no color. He stepped back out of the way. “I want to go with you,” he said to no one in particular.
“They’ll notify us when we can go in to see her,” Kevin said.
Elliott grabbed Kevin’s arm. “Go with her. They’ll let you stay in the room.”
“They won’t let me this time, Boss.”
Elliott returned to his cubicle and collapsed in the chair. Kevin came up behind him and pushed the chair into the hallway. “We’re going to the coffee shop. You need coffee, and so do I.”
They had finished one cup and were starting on the second when Lyles entered the shop. He sat down next to Elliott. “She blinked.”
Kevin slapped the table. “Hot damn.”
More tears rushed to Elliott’s eyes. “She’s going to make it, isn’t she?”
“It’s a good sign,” Lyles said.
Elliott scrubbed his face with his hands. “When can I see her?”
“I’m the bearer of good news. You can see her now.”
Elliott scooted up against Lyles in the bench seat. “Move your ass. I’ve got a date.”
“Boss, wait,” Kevin said. “Don’t go in there thinking she’s going to talk to you. She can’t. She’s got a tube down her throat, and she’s not fully awake.”
“But she will be, and that’s all that matters.”
Several minutes later, Elliott stood at the foot of her bed. It hadn’t been that long ago that she had stood at his. If she bitched at him when she woke, he’d take it like a man and be glad for the cussing out. She appeared so fragile. Never again would he put anything in front of her. She would be his top priority from this day forward. God had answered his prayer, and he wouldn’t waste a day of the gift.
She blinked, or he thought she did. He took her cold hand and tried to warm it between his palms. “I’m here, sweetling. This is my fault. I’m so sorry.” She squeezed his finger. It wasn’t a big squeeze. Well, maybe it wasn’t a squeeze at all. He just wanted to believe. He kissed her forehead, cool to the touch. “Wake up. We have plans to make.” One of his tears dripped onto her face.
She blinked.
This time he knew he hadn’t imagined it. “Meredith, if you can hear me, blink again. Please, my wee sweetheart, blink.”
She blinked.
A knot formed in his throat, and goosebumps popped out on his arms helter-skelter. “Kevin.”
“What, Boss?” Kevin stood in the entrance to the ICU cubicle.
“She blinked.” The words poured out in a flood of relief.
A nurse entered. “What’d you see, Dr. Fraser?”
“When I asked her to blink, eyelashes on both eyes fluttered.”
The nurse wrote the time and his comment on her hand. “Let me know as soon as she opens her eyes. I’ll call her doctor.”
“How long will it take?” Elliott asked the nurse.
“It’s up to her,” the nurse said.
Elliott didn’t take his eyes off Meredith’s face. Minutes passed, but nothing happened.
“Want another cup of coffee, Boss?” Kevin asked.
Elliott nodded. Kevin was halfway out of the room when Elliott asked, “What do you think? Will she be all right?”
Kevin stopped and chewed his lip for a moment. “I believe she’s here by some grand design, and you probably won’t like hearing this, but I bet Kit’s ghost was responsible for what Stormy did. Think about it. There’re too many coincidences. Stormy screamed, and we arrived in the nick of time.”
“You think a see-through person saved her life?” Elliott asked.
“Probably.”
“Stormy wouldn’t have hurt Doc unless something provoked him,” Elliott said.
“I think you’ve answered your own question, Boss. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Elliott sat in the recliner and closed his swollen eyes. Meredith moaned, and he popped up out of the chair, coming face-to-face with Cu
llen Montgomery’s ghost. Elliott grabbed the railing. I can see you.
Ye’ve always been able to see me, but ye’ didn’t believe.
You saved her life?
The ghost floated above the bed. I did what I came to do.
Will she be all right?
Be patient, Elliott. All that will be will happen in its own time. Meredith’s ancestor brushed her cheek with his ghostly fingers, paused a moment, then disappeared.
From the deep recesses of his mind, Elliott heard his grandfather Fraser, “Patience, lad. Grow a wee bit of patience.”
For the first time in hours, Elliott sat, and a thin smile crossed his face. He would wait patiently, because he now knew his wee sweetheart would come back to him. Not in his time, but in hers.
Chapter Seventy-Six
University of Kentucky Medical Center – February 14
ELLIOTT WOKE TO a metal on metal tapping sound. One, two, three, stop. One, two, three, stop. Pain, similar to a three-day drinking binge, sliced through his skull. What day is it? And where the hell am I?
The tapping continued. One, two, three, stop. One, two, three, stop.
Then obnoxious medicinal smells permeated his nasal membrane. The smell jerked him awake. Hospital. Meredith. He shot a glance at the bed. Her hand was wrapped around the metal side rail. The ring on her finger clinked against the railing.
He came up out of the chair, catching sight of the most beautiful blue eyes he’d ever seen. He went stun-gun still. He willed away the shock, so he wouldn’t alarm her. “Trying to get my attention, huh?”
Meredith smiled around the tube in her mouth. She placed her hand at her mouth and furrowed her brow.
Hooked to a machine, Meredith appeared helpless, and it was the most heart-wrenching sight he’d ever seen. His body shook with fear and exhaustion. “I don’t know when they’ll remove the ventilator? Soon, I hope.”
She slid her hand down her body and pressed her fingers against her belly.
Elliott kissed her cheek, then whispered in her ear. “Our wee son is fine, and you’ll be, too.”
Tears rolled off her face and into her hairline. She tapped his watch.
It was after eight o’clock in the morning. “You’ve been out almost nine hours.”
She moved her hand in a writing motion.
“You want to write something down?”
She nodded.
He didn’t have paper or pen with him. “I’ll go get some paper.”
She grabbed his arm, pointed at him, then pointed at her mouth.
“You want me to kiss you?”
She shook her head.
“Damn.” He thought a minute. What would he want to know if he couldn’t speak? “Do you want me to tell you what happened?”
She nodded.
He took a deep breath to control his anger. There would be plenty of time later to rant about Doc’s cowardly actions. “Doc injected you with Pentobarbital.”
She grimaced.
“The drug stopped your breathing. Not your heart. Kevin was able to breathe for you until he had equipment to intubate. We rushed you here, and they put you on the ventilator.”
She pressed her fingers against her belly again.
“The doctor did an ultrasound. The baby’s heart is beating. That’s all they can tell at this stage of his development.”
Elliott was conflicted about whether or not to tell her about the ghost. He didn’t want to stress her, so he decided to wait until later.
A doctor and nurse entered the room. “I’m Doctor Thomas. We’re glad to see you’re awake. In a few hours, we’ll start weaning you from the ventilator.”
Meredith pinched her lips, and her blue eyes stared intently at the doctor. Elliott knew her well enough to know that she was planning an escape if the doctor didn’t release her in time for the event at the winery.
“She has to be back in California in two days,” Elliott said.
She raised her hand in a fist.
“She’ll fight her way out of here if she has to.”
The doctor tugged on his chin. “We’ll see how the trials go later today. If you have good lung function, weaning won’t take long.”
Meredith punched her palm with her index finger.
“You can’t call anyone,” Elliott said.
She pointed at him.
“Kevin’s already talked to Cate. I’m sure he’s given her an update by now.”
Kevin entered the room on cue. “She sends her love and said to tell you not to worry about anything. It’s all under control. There was one more thing, but in all the excitement I forgot what it was.” He scrolled through his iPhone. “Oh. Your dress arrived, and it’s hanging in the closet.”
Meredith’s lips curled up slightly.
“How about we get out of here and let you rest,” Kevin said to Meredith. “I’ll have Elliott back after he showers and gets something to eat.”
She reached for Elliott, and he kissed her again before whispering in her ear. “Maybe when I come back, you’ll make room for me in your bed.”
A wee bit of color returned to her face.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
MacKlenna Farm – February 14
AFTER A NAP and a shower, Elliott went looking for Kevin and David.
“They’re not here,” Mrs. Collins said. “Come eat. I have chili and pimento cheese sandwiches.”
“Any word from the hospital?” Elliott asked.
She picked up a piece of paper off the kitchen counter and handed it to him. “Kevin left this for you.”
Talked to Meredith’s nurse at ten. She’s doing great. I’ll be at the hospital.
Elliott checked the time. It was twelve-thirty. Damn. He shouldn’t have slept so long. “I’ve got to go back to the hospital.”
“Sit. Eat. That gal doing’s fine. Kevin’s there. He’ll call if you’re needed.”
“Have you seen David?”
Mrs. Collins threw up her hands. “Lordy. He’s here. He’s not. Even when he is here, you don’t see him. He’s a quiet one, that’s for sure. Now eat. I fixed chili and sandwiches ‘cause they’re your favorites. Got to keep nourishment in you while you’re healing. And you got to take care of the missy, now that she’s gonna have your baby.”
Elliott rolled his eyes. News traveled around the farm by an invisible telegraph. There were no secrets. “What are people saying about Doc?”
“I don’t know nothing about it. I don’t spread gossip, and I don’t listen to it either.”
Elliott almost gagged on his sandwich.
Mrs. Collins slipped on her coat. “I’m off to the store. I figure Miss Meredith will want some of those fancy eggs when she comes home tomorrow.”
He cocked his head, his mouth full of pimento cheese. The woman said the damnedest things. He swallowed the food in his mouth. “What makes you think she’s coming home tomorrow?”
“When she decides to go for something, she goes all out. By my calendar, she’s got a big shindig in California in a couple of days. No doctor can keep her where she don’t plan to be.” Mrs. Collins put on her hat and walked out the door. “No way will Miss Meredith stay in the hospital one minute longer than she has to.”
The door closed, leaving Elliott alone with his thoughts. In six weeks, he’d had three surgeries, met the most incredible woman, lost the farm and almost lost the love of his life. His priorities had shifted, and he’d stopped drinking. If he could pack up and leave today, he would. He’d take Meredith, the lads, Tate, Tabor, and Stormy off to Fraser House and never look back.
Chapter Seventy-Eight
University of Kentucky Medical Center – February 14
AN HOUR LATER, Elliott entered Meredith’s cubicle and swallowed hard. There was no hissing ventilator, and the monitor screen was blank. His heart fell to his stomach. He grabbed the bed rail. “The machine’s off.”
From the darkened corner, David said, “They’re weaning her.”
Startled, Elliott
said, “I didn’t know you were here.”
“I drove up as soon as you went to sleep. I didn’t want her to be alone.”
“You’re a good lad.” Elliott’s heart made its way back to its rightful place. He walked around to the side of the bed and kissed Meredith’s forehead. “I’m surprised they’re weaning her so soon.”
“They didn’t want her on the machine longer than she has to be. She’s healthy. She’s breathing on her own.”
“Has she been asleep all this time?” Elliott asked.
“She was awake for a couple of hours. Made notes on her iPad.” David pointed to the device lying on the bed close to her hand.
Elliott picked it up and switched it on. “How the hell did it get here?”
“I had it sent over.”
The screen came up asking for the password. Elliott turned the iPad around for David to see. “Do you know it?”
“No.”
“Did you see what she wrote?”
“No.”
Elliott put the device down where he found it. “How long has she been asleep?”
“About an hour.”
“Did she say anything?”
David scowled.
“Okay, that was a dumb question.”
David stood and put on his jacket. “I didn’t ask her what happened either. The doctor told me to keep her calm.”
“She’s been through a lot in the last few weeks,” Elliott said.
“Ever since she met you.”
“Thanks. You know how to hurt a guy.”
David patted Meredith’s hand, then headed toward the door. “Truth always hurts.”
“Where’re you going?”
“Chuck and I are meeting at the police station to go over the investigation and what happened last night. I’ll fill ye’ in later.”
Elliott sat in the recliner David vacated. “Stay in touch.” Elliott then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
The doctor stopped by to see Meredith at two o’clock and decided to remove the ventilator tube.
She woke as they were pulling it out.
The Last MacKlenna Page 40