When he glared up at the young man, Cody noticed flames coming from the engine. He slid one arm under Emma’s knees, the other under her arm and wrenched her from the car.
Cody raced from the ditch with the young man a step or two behind him. A few moments later, Emma’s vehicle exploded. Flames and smoke billowed into the air. The men slumped onto the roadside a safe distance away.
“That was way too close,” the man commented.
Cody felt bile rise in his throat, he tightened his arms around Emma and trembled in shock as he watched the burning mass. A few seconds later and ……. he couldn’t bear the thought of Emma being incinerated. “Yeah, I reckon.”
“Do you want me to hang around? I called the police and paramedics.”
“Leave your contact details and I’ll get the police to call you. Thanks.” He handed his phone over to his companion who punched in his details.
“No problem. I’m Andrew Pearson by the way.”
“Cody Hunter. Passing through?”
“Yeah. On my way to my sisters down in Brownsville.”
“Drive carefully and thanks again.”
Andrew patted Cody’s shoulder as he stood to head back to his car. “I hope everything’s okay.”
Cody gazed down at Emma, she hadn’t stirred. He cradled her close to his chest, willing his strength into her limp body. Tears burned his eyes. He was contemplating moving her up to his car, where he knew there was a blanket to wrap her in, when he heard the screeching of approaching sirens. Within seconds a police vehicle and ambulance skidded to a stop nearby.
The paramedics grabbed a bag from their vehicle and sprinted toward him. “I’m Pete. Who’s hurt?”
“Emma,” he murmured indicating the girl in his arms.
“I’m Roger. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I wasn’t in the accident. That’s my four-wheel drive.” He indicated toward his car.
“Can you carry her to the ambulance?” Pete asked.
“Yeah, just give me a hand to stand up.”
The two men helped Cody to stand and he carried Emma to the vehicle.
“Lay her on the stretcher so we can take a look at her.” Roger said.
Cody gently laid Emma on the stretcher in the rear of the vehicle and jumped back out to give the paramedics room to assess her.
They climbed inside and started poking and prodding at Emma, lifting one limb then another.
“Has she been unconscious the whole time?” Pete asked.
“Yeah, since the accident happened. I didn’t want to move her but the car was ready to explode.”
“Lucky you did.” Cody jumped and spun around as a police officer strode up to him. “Do you know what happened and who she is?” His pen and notebook were poised in his hand ready for an answer.
“Her name’s Emma Jamison. I didn’t see what happened, I was on the other side of the bend when I heard the crash. There was another man here. Cody produced the information on his phone and the officer copied it down.”
“Did he witness the accident?”
“I don’t know. We didn’t talk much before he left.”
“Okay, I’ll get in touch. Looks like she was damn lucky you two came along.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I’ll get some pictures and check out the wreckage a bit more before I take off back to town. I’ll let the hospital know to call me as soon as she’s up to being questioned.”
“Pete, she’s crashing.”
Cody spun around and watched in horror as Roger and Pete banged on Emma’s chest and began CPR.
“Paddles.” Roger stopped working on Emma.
Pete flipped a switch on a machine while Roger ripped open Emma’s blouse and applied electrical cables. The low, continual squeal from the machine indicated she wasn’t breathing.
Pete rubbed the paddles in his hands while he waited for them to charge.
Roger continued the CPR but there was still no response.
Tears poured from Cody’s eyes. His cell phone rang. It was Zoe. What was he going to say? He pressed to accept the call without fully realizing what he was doing. His eyes stayed fixed on Emma as he spoke.
“Hello.” His voice was hoarse, shaky, as he spoke through his grief.
Cody?” His sister’s voice was questioning.
“She’s dead. Crashed. Not breathing. They can’t save her.” For the first time in his life, he sank to the ground and cried like a baby.
“Cody, man. What the fuck is going on? Zoe is screaming out of control.”
“Dan. She’s dead.”
“Who’s dead?”
“Emma. She crashed. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.”
“CODY. Focus. Where are you?”
“Simmons bend. She went over the edge. I told her she drove too fast and now she’s dead.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” Dan ended the call.
Cody stood and resumed watching the paramedics.
“Again.” Pete recharged the paddles. “Clear.”
Roger moved back and Emma’s body was flung into the air with the shock.
A steady beep began on the machine.
“Got her.” Roger said.
The men started an I.V. and put tubes down her throat.
After a few minutes Pete jumped from the back to speak to him. “We’ve got her for now but she’s in a critical condition. We’ll take her to Mercy General. Do you want a ride?”
“No. I have her brother coming. I’ll come in with him.”
As he spoke Dan pulled up with Zoe.
“This is her brother now.”
Dan jumped from the car and dashed over. “Where is she? I’m her brother. I want to see her.”
Pete held Dan’s arm and stopped him before he could jump into the ambulance. “We have her back. She’s okay for now but we need to get her to the hospital. You can see her but only for a minute.”
Dan nodded and jumped up to where his sister lay on a gurney. She was covered in blood and hooked up to numerous machines. She was deathly white and if not for the steady beep of the machine, he would have thought she was dead. He grasped her hand and kissed her bloody cheek. “Please, sis. Hang in there. So many of us need you.”
Roger lay a hand on his shoulder. “We have to go. Her heart is failing again.”
Dan nodded. Kissed his sister’s cheek and jumped back out to stand beside Cody.
The men watched as the doors were closed and the ambulance sped off into the night. Siren blazing.
Chapter Seven
Dan turned to Cody. Give me your keys and I’ll move your car off the road. I’ll drive us to Mercy. Out of the two of us, I’m more alert.
“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.” Cody was in a daze as he handed his keys over.
“Go and get in my car.” Dan walked away.
Cody’s feet dragged as he headed for Dan’s car. He opened the rear door and climbed in.
“Cody?”
“She’s alive but I don’t know for how long. How am I going to go through this again?” He dropped his head into his hands and sobbed.
Zoe breathed a deep sigh of relief and her hand touched his arm. “We’ll get through it, together.”
He lifted his head when the door opened and Dan slid into the driver’s seat. He lobbed the keys to Cody’s car over the seat. Cody caught them and shoved them into his pocket.
Dan started the car and pulled onto the road headed for Mercy Hospital.
“I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. Zoe begged me not to flaunt Leanne in Emma’s face but I thought it would help her to realize, I was serious when I said I cared about her but wasn’t in love.” He gave a cynical laugh. “The joke’s on me. It took watching her as she lay dead to make me realize, I love her with every part of my fucking heart. I was standing there losing her before I could finally admit how I’ve felt about her for fucking years.”
His heart was breaking. What a fool he’d been not to admit how he felt before now. No
w it might be too late to declare his love to her. To tell her she was the only woman he wanted to spend his life with. The only woman he’d ever truly wanted.
The others remained silent as Cody softly cried.
Dan screeched to a stop in the hospital carpark and the two men hurriedly lifted Zoe into her wheelchair. Cody noticed her eyes were red, puffy and swollen. He squeezed her shoulder and kissed her cheek.
“I’m so sorry, sis. She’ll be okay. She has to be.” I have to tell her how I feel.
They rushed through the glass doors leading to ER and while Cody stayed with Zoe, Dan strode to the counter to find out where they had Emma.
After a hurried exchange he called out that he would be back in a few minutes, then disappeared through a door the nurse stood holding open for him.
“Mr Jamison, your sister is critical. The paramedics said she crashed again on the way here and she wasn’t breathing when they brought her in. It appears she hit her head hard and she has swelling on her brain. We’ve placed her into a coma and have her on a breathing machine to give her brain a chance to heal. We need to help take the strain off her heart. The doctor will stitch her up shortly.” The nurse led Dan to where his sister lay on a gurney.
She looked like she was connected to every machine in the hospital. Dan was terrified. He gathered her hand in his and his tears dripped onto the sheet. “C’mon, sis. You need to rest and heal. Cody has something to tell you, something I know you’ll want to hear.”
A doctor in a white coat stepped up to the bed. A nurse beside him held a tray of implements. “I’ll have to ask you to step out while we stitch your sister up. I’ll come and get you when it’s done.”
Dan nodded. “I’ll go and let my friends in the waiting room know. Will they be allowed to see her?”
“Of course, but one at a time.”
The nurse showed him out to the waiting room where he found Cody and Zoe holding hands, solemn faced.
When Cody spotted Dan he sprang to his feet. “How is she?”
Dan slumped in a chair next to Zoe and brushed at his tears. “They said she stopped breathing again on the way in and the hospital had to revive her. They said the bang on her head has caused her brain to swell and they have placed her into a coma so she can heal. They’re stitching her wound.”
“Coma? Fuck. Is she going to be okay? Cody dropped into a chair when his legs threatened to buckle.
“How did it happen?” Dan asked.
“I couldn’t catch her at the ranch. I was turning in as she barrelled onto the main road. I turned around and followed, she was speeding and weaving all over the road. As I was coming to the bend, I heard a loud bang. She must have lost control and ploughed into the ditch. Another man and I stopped to check her. He saw flames coming from the engine and I pulled her out seconds before the car exploded. She could have been killed and it’s all my fault.” Tears sprang to his eyes.
“Don’t. I don’t want to hear you blame yourself again. It’s not your fault.”
Cody was confused.
“Don’t you dare blame yourself. Emma’s a big girl. She shouldn’t have been speeding.”
“But I upset her. I was warned about how she might react when she saw me with Leanne. I saw how upset she was when I mentioned meeting up with her back at the ranch.”
“If she was upset she shouldn’t have been driving. You can’t control the actions of others. If you have no feelings for Emma, then she needs to learn to accept it. Don’t let her control what you do.”
Cody gazed at Zoe and Dan. “I thought she was gone forever and I’ve never been so scared in all my life.” He lowered his eyes. “I love her so fucking much.”
“Well it’s about fucking time. She’s been in love with you forever.” Dan said.
~*~
The threesome sat in silence as they waited for news on Emma. Finally, a nurse called Dan’s name.
“You can see your sister now.” She glanced at Cody and Zoe. “One at a time please.”
“Thank you.” Dan turned to Cody. “Do you want to go in first?”
Cody addressed the nurse. “Can I stay with her tonight? I’m her fiancé.” He heard the others inhale sharply at his declaration but they remained quiet and didn’t contradict him.
“Considering the circumstances, I suppose it would be okay. If she needs our attention, you will need to step out though.”
“Thank you.” Cody turned to Dan. “I’ll go in last. Can you take Zoe home for me? I’ll call Eden and see if she can stay for a while.”
Dan nodded before speaking with the nurse who waited patiently for them to decide who would be the first visitor. “Can you wheel Zoe in to see her future sister in law please?”
“Of course.” The nurse wheeled her through the doors leading to critical care while Dan sat quietly and Cody made a call.
~*~
Cody’s head rested on the bed and he held Emma’s hand gently. For four days he’d kept vigil. He had left her only long enough to return to the ranch for a shower each day, to check on Zoe and give his men their instructions. While he took care of business, Dan stayed with his sister.
He heard the curtain being pulled aside and lifted his head to see a doctor enter the space. He moved to the bedside and spoke to Cody. “We’re going to do a scan this morning and with any luck, the swelling will have gone down enough to bring her out of the coma.”
“Will she be okay?”
“We don’t know. Until she’s awake and we can speak with her, we don’t have much of an idea of how much damage has been done.”
“Okay.”
The doctor checked the machines and studied the figures on the chart which he’d lifted from the end of the bed. “Someone will be in shortly. I’ll speak with you once we have a chance to review the results.”
Cody thanked the doctor and watched him leave.
“Do you hear that, sweetheart? You’re going to wake up today. I’ll be able to tell you I love you. I know you’ll be happy at the ranch. We can have as many kids as you like but they can’t ride horses or quad bikes. They can’t do anything dangerous. I’ve dealt with enough accidents to last me a lifetime.”
“Mr. Thompson, we need you to step out for about two hours while we treat Miss Jamison.”
Cody placed a kiss on Emma’s cheek and headed out.
As he was leaving the hospital, he ran into Dan and explained what the doctor had told him.
“I’m headed to the ranch to shower and check on Zoe. I’ll be back in about an hour and a half. Hopefully the news will be good.”
“I might head back home too rather than hang around for a couple of hours. I’ll see you back here.”
The men parted ways as they headed to their cars.
~*~
Cody dragged his fingers through his hair as he followed the nurse through the door. His heart pounded and he felt sick with dread.
Emma’s head was swathed in bandages, her face black and bruised, eyes swollen almost shut. He was relieved to see her sitting up and answering another nurse’s questions.
“Your fiancé is here to see you,” the nurse announced as she led Cody to the bed.
Emma’s head shot up in surprise. “I don’t….”
“Yes, you do.” Cody whispered as he leaned over and cut her off with a kiss.
His kiss was gentle and loving. Despite her pain, a rush of heat curled in her belly. The nurses left them alone.
“I don’t understand,” Emma murmured when Cody released her and sat in the chair beside the bed. He curled his fingers around hers.
“I’m so sorry, Emma. I don’t know what I was thinking bringing Leanne to the bar. I never meant to hurt you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “It’s not your fault. I know you don’t love me and I should accept that you will go out with other women. You have nothing to be sorry about. I acted like a stupid spoiled brat.”
Cody sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Emma close against his chest. Warmth shot
through her body. Her nipples pebbled and moisture surged to her groin. He ran his fingers through her silky hair and nibbled at her neck.
“I’m in love with you, Emma. I said I was your fiancé so they’d let me stay with you.”
She tried to push him away. Surely she must be hallucinating, she couldn’t have heard him correctly. After all, it was a hard bump on the head and doctors said she’d been in a coma for more than four days. Cody relaxed his grip so Emma could lean back and look into his eyes. They were smoky, passion was evident. “Wh…what?”
“When I saw the wreck, I thought I’d lost you and it nearly broke my heart. That’s when I realized, I love you. I think I always have. I was just too fucking stubborn to admit it.” A tear escaped his eye, she gently rubbed it away.
“I can’t believe it. I’ve dreamed of hearing those words for so long. Are you sure?”
“Absolutely, sweetheart.” He captured her lips in a sensual, tongue twisting kiss.
“Ahem.”
They sprang apart at the sound of someone clearing their throat.
“I need to take this little lady down to x-ray if you can get your tongue out of her mouth long enough. We need a more comprehensive scan now she’s awake.” A grinning young man stood holding a wheelchair ready to transport his patient downstairs.
Cody lifted Emma into the wheelchair, kissed her cheek gently and left to speak with Zoe and Dan.
“They’ve taken her down to get a more detailed scan done. After that we’ll know when she can come home. I’ll call Eden and ask if she’s happy to look after both girls for the next couple of weeks.”
“Thanks. How did things go? Did you tell her how you feel?” Dan asked.
Cody sat down. “Yes, I did. I’m not sure she believes me but I think she’s happy.”
“She’ll be over the moon when it sinks in. Oooh, I can’t believe she is going to be my sister-in-law. We’ll really be sisters.” Zoe smiled at her big brother.
“Hold up. We haven’t talked about marriage yet. I’m not sure that’s even on the table.” Cody warned.
“It will be,” she said confidently.
“What are we going to do now?” Cody asked, changing the subject.
Accidental Love Page 6