Hammer It Home: Powertools, Book 6

by Rylon, Jayne

“Listen to your friend. Errr, brother-in-law.” Ofelia scrunched up her nose. “Whatever you want to call him. I’ve been around long enough to know a person’s soul makes all the difference. And if you’re part of our patient’s, then you fight with him.”

  “I will. I am.” Kayla nodded, straightening her spine. Neil, James and Devon flanked her.

  “Good.” The nurse pointed down a long hall glowing with florescent lights. “Third left, follow the signs. The surgeon will come find you as soon as he’s finished. Don’t get antsy. If things go well, it’s gonna take quite a while. Quick news is bad news in this case.”

  Kayla gulped, then nodded.

  The crew led her away.

  “Not you.” Ofelia’s arm shot out, stopping Joe. “Bring your girl in here. We’ll straighten her out and see if you’re going to be a dad. Sound like fun?”

  “Yeah.” Joe didn’t try to hide the tear that plopped onto Morgan’s forehead, rousing her a bit more.

  “Oh, Joe.” She alarmed him when she couldn’t seem to say more than that.

  “Was that a happy one, or the scared shitless variety?” Ofelia asked him quietly.

  “Maybe some of both.” He sniffed discretely. “Hoping to grow our family. Not shrink it.”

  “I’m rooting for you too.” The nurse patted his shoulder as they veered off from the rest of the crew. “You kids seem like you deserve to catch a break. But you’re a hell of a lot luckier than most I encounter. You’ve got some crazy thing between you. Not everyone has a support group that tight. You’re going to be okay, no matter what happens here today. Trust me.”

  Joe swallowed hard. “I’m trying.”

  He set Morgan gently on the gurney, sighing as Ofelia shooed him back a few paces. Morgan’s fingers slipped through his, barely clinging when he withdrew. He winced when he watched Ofelia hook Morgan to all kinds of machines and swallowed hard when she inserted the needle with the IV beneath Morgan’s delicate skin, though she didn’t even flinch.

  “Oh, sweet stuff. You’re gonna have to toughen up. If she’s preggo, you’ll see a hell of a lot worse than that in the next nine months.” The nurse chuckled. “Nothing we can’t fix here, kids. Fatigue, dehydration and likely some wacky hormone crapola. Look at how I can pinch the skin on her hand and it stays. I’m guessing she’s been suffering a few bouts of sickness and hasn’t wanted to worry your fine ass.”

  “Is that true?” Joe canted his head.

  Morgan didn’t deny it. Her lids fluttered closed instead.

  Joe didn’t bother pursuing the topic. Especially not when she visibly relaxed, her breathing evened out and some of the lines around her eyes vanished.

  Another woman entered the room, wheeling a cart of supplies. She was young, pretty, blonde, and something about her niggled Joe’s memory. Please, don’t let her be a chick the crew played with. He honestly couldn’t remember some of them. They hadn’t been Mo. That’s all he knew.

  “Oh, Morgan!” The woman rushed to the bed and started flipping through the mostly blank charts, assessing the situation for herself.

  “You know this girl?” Ofelia perked up. She snatched a few items off the cart, then worked efficiently doing things Joe couldn’t quite see. “Today just gets better and better.”

  “I went to school with her.” She waved smelling salts beneath Morgan’s nose, then began to talk low and sweet. “Hey there, Mo. It’s Melody Cramer.”

  Melody. Oh, yeah. Joe had met her at a barbecue once.

  “Mel?” Morgan’s lashes fluttered as she struggled to stay awake. “Where am I? What are you doing here?”

  “Your sexy husband brought you to see me. Seems like you might have passed out on him.” She smiled at Morgan. “I thought you told me he was treating you right, huh? Is that any way to repay him?”

  “Joe.” Morgan reached out.

  He clasped her fingers, trying not to disturb the tube protruding from her hand. Ofelia seemed too engrossed in her fiddling on the cart to chide him for interfering. “Right here, baby.”

  “Baby. Accident. Dave.” Morgan gasped. Clarity returned to her eyes in a flash. She tried to sit up. The three of them restrained her.

  “One thing at a time, girly.” Ofelia petted Morgan’s hair. She filled in Melody as well as reassuring Morgan. “Your friend is in surgery. There’s nothing to know yet. He’s strong and he has the rest of his brothers to watch out for him. You gotta work on yourself here a bit so you can help and not hinder. Got it?”

  Morgan nodded, tears sliding down her cheeks. “Dave.”

  “You know, I’ve seen a lot of families in my time here. Not everyone loves their in-laws like you.” Ofelia leveled a stare between Joe and Morgan.

  Melody saved them from explaining when she presented Morgan with the infamous pee stick. “I assume you know what to do with this?”

  “Yeah,” Morgan sighed. “We’ve been trying for a long time.”

  Joe helped his wife to the restroom. She clutched the IV bag pole, and they awkwardly trundled off to take care of business. Once they’d suffered through the ordeal and toddled back to the hospital bed, both of them had grown silent. Afraid to see the giant magic negative on the test they’d become so familiar with.

  A minute or two passed while they resettled Morgan, adjusting her and helping her get comfortable once more. “Melody.” Morgan cleared her throat. “Can I ask you a favor?”

  “Oh Lord.” Ofelia slapped her forehead with her hand. “Do I have to leave the room? Why does indulging patients always mean breaking the rules?”

  “Maybe you’d better.” Joe had a feeling he knew what Morgan was after.

  “Shush.” Melody flapped her hand at Ofelia. “You’re the first in line to buck tradition around here.”

  “Good.” Joe nodded. “Because I think my wife is about to ask you…”

  “If I’m pregnant—”

  “You are.” Ofelia whipped the test with a bright, cheery plus sign out for them to see, clasped between her gloved fingers. “Congratulations.”

  Joe couldn’t help himself. He knocked the nurses aside and smothered Mo in hugs and kisses worthy of a homecoming after a decade absence. “I love you, cupcake.”

  “Love you too.” She sniffled.

  He laid his hand on her belly. “And mini cupcake.”

  Melody bawled at their display, and in his peripheral vision, even Ofelia seemed to knuckle away a tear.

  “So…since I am pregnant.” Pride resonated from Morgan’s triumphant declaration. “What I wanted to know—”

  “Yes?” Melody glanced from Morgan to Joe to Ofelia and back.

  “—is when are you able to determine paternity? Can you tell me who the father of the child is?”

  Melody opened and closed her mouth. Twice.

  Even Ofelia seemed speechless.

  They both looked at Joe as if they expected him to render the hospital to rubble, leveling the whole place right down to its foundation.

  “It’s okay.” He laughed ruefully at their shock. “I…sort of… I can’t. My brothers. Dave. The one in the accident. It could be him.”

  “Whoo doggies.” Ofelia flopped into one of the chairs near the window. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

  “I’m sorry, Morgan.” Melody shook her head. “Absolute earliest would be ten weeks in. A few more if you can hold out for a less risky procedure.”

  “Okay. It doesn’t matter to me, you know.” Morgan squeezed Joe’s hand. “This baby is ours. I just thought…”

  “I understand, Mo.” Joe kissed her forehead. “Anything to keep him fighting.”

  The beeping of the machines escalated.

  “Oh no, none of that,” Ofelia scolded Morgan. “Your blood pressure has to stay nice and steady to keep your little guy happy. You’ve got more to consider now than you or your husband or even your brother-in-law. Got it?”

  Morgan nodded. She peeked up at Joe.

  Despite everything, they both wore identical, shit-ea
ting grins.

  Kayla paced the length of the twenty-seven-and-a-half-tile-wide space. Precaution along with a healthy dose of superstition led her to avoid stepping on the black linoleum sprinkled in a mostly random pattern between the beige monotony of the rest of the flooring.

  Would that make a difference in the long run? Probably not, but she would try anything at this point. Maybe she should dodge the cracks too.

  She swore at least three days should have passed since they’d arrived, every racing heartbeat seeming to pump in ultra-slow motion. The clock hanging crooked on the wall proclaimed it hadn’t even been four hours yet.

  It killed her to be so close to Dave and yet so far away. If only she could see him, hold his hand, tell him she was there. Lend him whatever strength she could. Maybe then she wouldn’t feel like she’d chugged an entire bottle of bleach. Her stomach churned when she considered how minor that pain would be compared to what Dave likely faced.

  A rhythmic squeak interrupted the now-familiar soundtrack of the waiting room—the crunch of Styrofoam coffee cups, people tapping their fingers or toes, snores from the elderly man in the corner and the soft murmurs of various crew members fortifying each other. Heads turned in unison toward the new stimulus.

  “Hey.” Morgan lifted her fingers from the arm of a wheelchair, pushed by Joe. The plastic hospital bracelet around her wrist slid higher on her thin arm. Rosy cheeks and alert eyes unwound one small tendril of anxiety from Kayla’s heart.

  “Feeling better?” Mike crossed to the chair and crouched so he could evaluate her up close and personal.

  “Much.” She leaned forward until her forehead rested on his. “Any updates?”

  “Nothing.” Neil joined them.

  “Remember, Ofelia said that’s a good sign.” Joe laid one of his broad hands on Morgan’s shoulder when she slumped. Kayla, James and Devon circled around their friends.

  Kate approached to stand right in front of Morgan. She rubbed her own slightly rounded belly, then said softly, “Can you give us something to smile about?”

  “It doesn’t feel right.” Morgan stared at her socked feet on the metal rests of the wheelchair.

  Kayla marched over, taking up a post on the opposite side from Mike. She ordered, “Look at me.”

  A watery gaze lifted. Tears bulged at the corner of Morgan’s eyes, threatening to fall.

  “If you’re pregnant, no one would be happier for you than Dave.” Kayla shivered. “He’s talked about it almost every night while we were falling asleep. How much he was hoping for you. How much longer we’d have to wait to find out. Please, tell me it’s true. Tell me something wonderful is happening today.”

  James and Devon wrapped Kayla in their protective embraces. Still, everyone alternated staring at Morgan and Joe.

  The tears suspended in her eyes fell, tracing silvery tracks down her cheeks. She bit her lip. Then nodded. “It’s true. This time. I’m pregnant. It’s really true.”

  Joe leaned forward, burying his face in his wife’s neck. If the shaking of his wide shoulders was any indication, he joined her in emotional release. His arms folded over her chest as he hugged her from behind. The guys took turns slugging him in the shoulder, slapping his back and ruffling his hair before nudging Mike out of the way to kiss Morgan’s cheek.

  They finally cleared away. Even Joe stood upright, giving Kayla room to approach. She leaned in and hugged her friend. “Congratulations. You’re going to be a great mom. I’m so thrilled for you.”

  “And I’m here for you.” Morgan clasped her tight enough to border on painful. “Both of you. Dave is tough. We’re going to make it through. Him. And all of us too.”

  “Excuse me. Is Mrs. Rosewood in the room?” A doctor stood in the entryway that had only been empty—and empty and empty some more—for an eternity.

  Mike threaded Kayla’s arm around his elbow and escorted her to the rumpled man. His scrubs were askew, hair sticking up on end, and his face seemed pale in the harsh lights. Dark stains smattered his clothing.

  After the interminable torture of not knowing, the truth suddenly frightened Kayla. She stutter-stepped. The foreman dragged her forward with his momentum. She must have whimpered.

  “Come on, Kay.” He squeezed her arm. “We have to find out. Hearing the truth isn’t going to change anything. It is what it is. We’re going to cope with it together.”

  “This is Kayla Rosewood.” Mike presented her to the doctor. “I’m Dave’s brother. We’re all his brothers.”

  The rest of the crew huddled close behind them. Morgan and Joe tucked in the rear.

  “Big family.” The doctor nodded slowly. “I’m not surprised he has so much support. Ma’am, your husband is stubborn as hell. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone quite so determined not to give up. There were a couple very close calls. Both according to the rescue workers and from what I saw myself. I’m thrilled to be standing in front of you right now and to be able to say your husband is being moved to the ICU for recovery.”

  “So he’s going to be fine?” She struggled to translate each phrase that drifted from the doctor’s lips and decipher the repercussions his pronouncement had on her and Dave’s lives. Her heart soared with hope and relief.

  “I wouldn’t say it like that.” The surgeon sobered. He ground his hands over his face. “I assume the police haven’t been in yet, since he wasn’t conscious to answer questions.”

  Kayla shook her head no.

  “Then you don’t know anything about the accident?” The surgeon sighed.

  Several shallow, quick breaths threatened to choke Kayla.

  “You’re scaring her.” Mike rubbed circles on her back.

  “I looked it up on the local news.” James spoke up from the rear. A green cast infused his typically bronzed skin.

  “You did?” She whipped her head around to stare at him. “Why didn’t you show me?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “It’s that bad?” She looked between Mike and the doctor.

  “All I know is he took on a semi and lost.” The surgeon shook his head. “Or maybe he won. I’ll let you be the judge. This I’m sure of. It’s going to be a long, hard road from here. Your husband was pinned inside his car. His left leg was shattered. Tibia, fibula, kneecap—you name it. A large chunk of his calf muscle was…missing. I did all I could to save the limb. We’ll have to wait until he’s awake and healing to see if it worked.”

  “There’s still the possibility—”

  “I’m afraid so.” He grimaced.

  “Okay, okay.” Kay had spent the last several hours preparing herself for this, based on the tips Ofelia had given them. “It’s horrible. Terrifying. Going to be so difficult for him to not be active—”

  She didn’t realize she’d cut off until Mike hugged her tight and someone petted her hair from behind. She cleared her throat. “But other than his leg. He’s okay, right?”

  “I’m not trying to be evasive, Mrs. Rosewood. I’m sorry. The reality is we just can’t be sure yet. They’ll run more tests in the morning. A lot of him is too swollen for accurate imaging right now, but we think we’ve addressed the bleeding and isolated all the critical issues. He’s banged up pretty much everywhere. A piece of the door gashed his belly. He had stitches in his face, arms, chest and… Well, there’s no part of him we didn’t work on except his back.”

  Her knees buckled.

  Strong arms surrounded her, keeping her afloat through the storm of fear and pain.

  “I know it may not seem like it. Not today and not six months from now, but your husband is lucky. So very fortunate to still be with us, given the situation. A few inches more of that door bending or a couple inches higher on the crushing pressure that mangled his leg or…any number of almosts, and we would not have been able to help him.”

  “Dave.” Kayla cried his name over and over.

  “Can we see him?” Mike asked for her.

  “Once they have him in the ICU, we’ll let Mrs.
Rosewood in for five minutes. You—only you—can go with her. After that, you might as well go home and get some rest. You won’t be able to see him again until tomorrow after his exams, and he’s going to need you when he wakes up. He’s stayed strong for you all, now you’re going to have to carry him.”

  “That won’t be a problem.” Neil crossed his arms over his chest as if storing up his energy. “We’re a crew. We stick together. That’s what we’re here for.”

  “I sort of got that sense.” The surgeon smiled wanly. “You all hang tight a little while longer and a nurse will come for you. I’m heading home now. Days like today make me wish I had more time to spend with my family.”

  Kayla’s hand shot out, latching on to the doctor. “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome.” He nodded.

  Joe watched Mike and Kayla march down the hall behind the nurse who’d come to collect them and lead them to Dave. They trundled off as if headed to the gallows, bracing themselves for whatever they might find at the other end of the journey. He wished he could get just a glimpse of his crewmate. As if that tiny contact might help one of his best friends rest more peacefully.

  Tomorrow.

  His pocket vibrated. He jumped. Almost anyone who would bother calling him was already in this room. After considering ignoring it, he figured what the hell? It wasn’t like the tension was doing him any good without distractions. He slipped the device from his jeans and winced at the contact picture of his cousin Eli, who wore a smug grin while he held up a monster, twenty-two-inch rainbow trout he’d caught on their last ice-fishing trip.

  Eli and his gang of adopted brothers plus one sister had grown close to Dave over the years, despite sporadic contact. How would Joe tell them what had happened?

  “Hey.” He choked out a greeting, hoping the rest came easier.

  “You weren’t even gonna call me with the news, dirtbag?” Laughter, not heat, infused the accusation with lightheartedness Joe couldn’t comprehend.

  “How’d you hear about Dave?” He plopped onto one of the molded plastic bucket seats that made him feel like a giant in a kindergarten class. With his back turned to the rest of the crew, Joe pitched his question low to avoid upsetting them any more than they already were. He dropped his head into one hand, his elbow propped on his knee, and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. “Is the footage so bad it hit the regional news? We don’t know much other than that he tangoed with a semi.”