by Kim Turner
He touched her hair, but his hand dropped. “Lily…tell her…I love her.”
Jenna shook her head. “You tell her…you are going to be fine, Aaron Decker. Don’t you dare try to say good-bye.”
He closed his eyes for another long moment. Jenna touched his face praying with her own eyes closed that he would be all right.
“Maxus?” he asked about the horse again, opening his eyes and trying to move.
“Gabe is taking care of him,” Jenna answered him, smoothing his hair.
“I fell? Tell Lily.” His voice was barely heard above the noise of the chopper which had settled nearby.
“Yes, you fell, but you are doing really good. Aaron? Aaron?” Jenna called to him as his eyes rolled back and his body went into spasms.
“Seizures.” Jeremiah lifted one of Aaron’s eyelids.
Jenna nodded. A seizure was due to head injury, but even a mild concussion could cause that.
“You men, help me lift him and we’ll meet the chopper, now. It’ll save some time,” Jeremiah shouted above the noise.
Jenna held tightly to Aaron’s hand as Jeremiah and the other men lifted the backboard and made their way along toward the chopper. His limp hand in hers was almost more than she could handle. She held tightly anyway, thinking there was so much more she should have said to him. Please, Aaron be all right. Oh God please.
A paramedic jumped free of the chopper and spoke to Jeremiah who called Jenna over.
“This is Jenna Wilder; she’s the RN on the set,” Jeremiah introduced her.
“What ya got?” The paramedic had his pad to take notes, but the sound of the chopper was so loud she found herself yelling to relay the report.
“Fall of maybe twenty feet, he hit on the way down. Confused, broken ribs and collapsed lung on the left, diminished. Left radial fracture. Vitals. One-hundred over sixty, one-hundred and forty and forty-six. Moving well, pupils equal and reactive. Follows commands but confused and seizing, a good hematoma behind his left ear. Abdomen soft, no rigidity. Heart sounds good.”
The paramedic made his notes. “What’s his age?”
“Thirty. No history of surgeries, he got a head injury as a kid when he got beat up once. No other history.” Jeremiah followed talking to the paramedic. “I’m his brother.”
Jenna watched as last-minute notes were made and the paramedic jumped inside to begin working on Aaron, who had been loaded through the underside of the life flight rescue chopper.
Jeremiah shut the hatch under the chopper and trotted out of the way, glancing back as the aircraft lifted from the ground and flew into the rose-colored evening sky.
Jenna pulled her hand to her mouth and burst into tears, crumbling to her knees. “Oh, God.”
Out of nowhere, Sally wrapped her arms around her. “He will be fine.”
Jenna wiped her eyes, “How did this happen?” She looked down at her hand to the ring. How had things gone from the happiest moment of her life to this? And explosion, but then—Vince had done this and it was all her fault it had come to this.
“Come on, we’re going in the ambulance, so they can cut the lights on and travel fast.” Jeremiah spoke to her and Sally, racing toward Gabe who was fast approaching.
Sally tugged her along and soon enough she was running behind the men with Sally on her heels. Jeremiah opened the back of the parked ambulance and she and Gabe climbed in behind him.
“Sally?” Jeremiah held to the door.
“I’ll bring your Jeep, you go, but please call me.” Sally stepped back her eyes resting on him as he tugged the keys from his pocket and tossed them to her.
The ambulance pulled away, sirens blaring. Jenna held on as the rough ride off the set jolted the vehicle back and forth.
“That was a damn explosion.” Gabe leaned hard against the wall of one side as the truck shifted on the dirt roads leading out of base camp. “Rusty took Maxus, looks like the blast got his eyes, but he was too worked up to tell.”
“Son of a bitch!” Jeremiah rubbed a hand across his face and shook his head. “Think he’ll have to put him down?”
“I’ll let Aaron decide that, but I don’t need him kicking my ass for it.” Gabe growled, looking out the window.
Jenna’s breath caught. This wasn’t a freak accident. Vince’s notes on the flowers had read Cowboy up. Cowboy Down.
She pulled her cell phone from her pocket, searching for Brianna’s text box in the rocking vehicle that was pulling onto the interstate. She began texting and then slammed off the box and dialed instead, not able to concentrate to type the text. She was losing it.
The phone rang and Brianna picked up on the other end. “Hey, girl.”
“Bri, are you on?”
“Yes, what is it, Jenna?” Brianna voice was urgent.
“Bri, they’re bringing Aaron in…who’s on?” Her voice cracked and tears welled in her eyes.
“Doc Gates. Jen, what happened?” Bri shouted.
“The ramp jump, he fell, there was some kind of explosion. He’s coming in on life flight. Bri, you have to take him.” Jenna held tightly as the truck picked up speed, the lights flashing and the sirens blaring.
“Wait, the call’s coming in.” Brianna stopped her and Jenna held on. “All right, what are his vitals? Level of consciousness?”
“Got that…trauma two, Shay.” Brianna came back to the phone. “He’s two minutes out Jen; his vitals are stable, in pain and confused.”
“Take care of him Bri, we’re on the way,” Jenna whispered and cut her phone off, glancing at his brothers. “He’ll be there in two minutes. He’s in pain and confused, but vitals are good.”
Gabe shook his head. “He made that jump, who’s been in camp the last few days near the ramp? Or for that matter this morning?”
Jenna shook her head and whispered. “It had to be Vince.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” Jeremiah shrugged.
“Yes, she does, but I went over that ramp this early this morning, if he put explosives he did a damn good job,” Gabe cursed and glanced back out the window.
“He worked with explosives in the military.” It dawned on Jenna to remember that Vince had done so as a younger man in the Navy. The impact of terror hit the pit of her stomach once more. Perhaps the flowers and the one note had been a warning she hadn’t heeded. She pulled her arms around her body again and fought the tears. This was her fault, all of it and now Aaron had been hurt and it was all because of her.
Chapter Twenty
The chopper landed with a jolt. Aaron stirred, his mind groggy, though the morphine the paramedic had given him helped less with the pain than confusing him even more. Every breath hurt to the point he wasn’t sure he wanted to take the next one. His back and neck ached and the pounding in his head was excruciating. He’d startled a few times on waking thinking he was falling again, only to have the paramedic try and calm him. He was confused and things weren’t making sense as he tried to clear his vision which distorted with each blink of his eyes.
“Mr. Decker, we’re here. You’re doing well. The pain better?” The young paramedic yelled to be heard over the roar of the spinning chopper blades or was that his head?
Aaron blinked, nausea making him gag. No sense talking over the noise of the engine. He’d fallen, the ramp giving way. Jenna? Jenna had been there with his brothers. Maxus? Someone needed to get the horse. He had to get up, but he was strapped to the stretcher. He fought the restraints until it hurt, forcing him to stop.
“Relax, Mr. Decker, you’re at the hospital,” the paramedic yelled over the noise.
He opened his eyes again. Had he slept? The lights above on the building reminding him he was at the hospital and it was dusk. Or was it morning? He was off the helicopter and being rolled inside. Oh, he’d fallen. What the hell with that ramp? Maxus!
“Gabe?” he called, but no one responded as they rolled him inside the building. Each bump along the way drove pain right through his back and side. He clos
ed his eyes, shaking with every effort to breathe. He tried to get up but couldn’t move. He needed air. His chest was tight. No one was listening. He couldn’t breathe.
The outside sky turned into the ceiling of the hospital, white tiles, some with brown areas of water leaks, but a smoother ride relaxed him. The lights rolled right past him with the paramedic spouting out all kinds of medical information about him. Yea, he was sure he had broken ribs too, he’d done that before, but he’d never hurt like this. Head injury, is that why he had such a damn headache? A concussion too. But Maxus? Son of a bitch!
The stretcher stopped and Brianna was there.
“Aaron, it’s Bri. Tell me where you are?” She flashed a light in his eyes, his head pounding all the more.
He blinked, closing his eyes and talking through the mask. “Hos…pital. I can’t…breathe. Jenna?”
“Jenna called me and she and your brothers are on the way…we’re gonna get you taken care of. Tell me where you hurt? Remember Dr. Gates?”
Aaron grimaced as the doctor touched his chest.
“Tell me what you remember?” The doctor had a damn light too, making his head pound. He closed his eyes blinking hard and gagging with the nausea that rode through him.
“I fell, the horse… Gabe?” Maxus was hurting, he could feel it. Where was Gabe?
“How did you fall?”
“The ramp blew somehow…Gabe needs to get the horse.” Aaron tried to tell them, removing his oxygen mask. They weren’t listening. Where the hell was he anyway? Oh, the hospital. He was at the hospital.
The doctor spoke to Brianna and the others in the room. “Get a CT of the head, chest and abdomen stat. CBC, BCP, heart echo, keep the fluids going. X-ray the arm, spine, and skull. Give him some Zofran for the nausea and let’s get some Decadron on board.”
The doctor placed his stethoscope to various places along his chest listening.
“Can’t breathe.” Aaron fought them, they didn’t understand. Maxus?
“You’ve got a number of broken ribs and a collapsed lung Mr. Decker. Set up for a chest-tube. You’ve a good concussion from the looks of it so we can give you a bit more morphine but the chest tube is no fun.” The physician took the kit Brianna handed him, with several other staff around him, cutting away his clothing.
He tried to sit, pulling hard. “Maxus needs help.”
“No Aaron, lay still, you’re in the hospital.” Brianna got in his face and continued, “Jenna will be here soon. Lie still. Gabe will take care of Maxus. He will.”
Jenna. He’d fallen and her eyes had told him the story. It was bad. Where was she now? Maxus? “Maxus. Gabe?”
“Let’s get the tube in and he’ll breathe easier.” Dr. Gates turned back to him. “Mr. Decker, I’m going to put a tube in your chest, here on your side, to drain the blood from your lungs. It’s likely your ribs have pushed into the lung area and you have bleeding inside. This will help you breathe easier.”
Aaron was aware the ribs were broken, but no wonder he couldn’t breathe. “Sounds…like…loads of…fun.”
Brianna took his hand and lifted his arm above him, where someone else held him. Cold liquid hit his side, taking what breath he’d managed.
“Jack’s going to hang onto you so I can work. I’ll get you a good dose of something for the pain once we know that your head’s in good shape.” The physician traced along Aaron’s ribs, pressing to find the right area.
“Ahhhh, can’t take… that.” He was out of breath but fighting hurt worse than lying still.
“I’m going to numb you up a bit. Just a sting, but I won’t lie to you, the tube is going to hurt.” The physician pushed.
Aaron tried not to flinch, the stinging of the needle bad, but not as bad as when the doctor applied pressure to push the tube through.
He went rigid, unable to fight, being held by Jack. “Damn it…ahhhh.” He lost his breath, the pain unbearable.
“Hang on buddy, he’s almost done.” Jack kept talking to him, the elderly tech built like a truck.
“CT’s here. One minute, we’re getting a chest tube placed.” Brianna glanced back at him. “All done, Aaron.”
They lied. The damn tube hurt like hell going in but it relented little in staying in place. He groaned trying to touch his side but Jack pushed his hand back.
“Blood, hemopneumothorax, keep him to gravity.” Dr. Gates glanced back up, his blood covered gloves held high. “Go ahead with the scan.”
Aaron lay still and Brianna took his hand. “It’s fine Aaron, you’re at the hospital, you’ve slept for a few minutes. How is your breathing?” Brianna leaned over him, wiping blood from his face and cheek, and then listening to him with her stethoscope. Had he slept?
Had he slept again? “Jenna?”
“Jenna should be here shortly. The CT scan is good on that hard head of yours. You just need to rest. A pretty good concussion, but you’ll be fine. I gave you something for the nausea and you can have something for the pain every hour or so,” Brianna coaxed brushing the hair back from his face.
Aaron winced, but he was now free of the collar, a softer one in place. “My head…damn it.”
“Do you remember what happened, where you are?” Brianna asked.
“I fell, the hospital. Jenna’s here?”
“Not yet…” Brianna smiled.
“She was…scared. Could see it…in her eyes.” Things were fuzzy like he was dreaming or was that the medicine?
“Well, that Jenna is a tough one and she’ll be here in no time.” Brianna pulled the blankets higher on him. The medications seemed to take over his mind, dulling the pain but making him feel as if he was fading. Sleep, sleep would be good. Maxus? Damn.
He closed his eyes, unable to keep them open, unable to fight the effects of the medication numbing his thoughts. Thinking of Jenna, he let go to a medicated slumber, wanting to be free of the pain, wanting to hold her. The pain would leave him if she were with him, wouldn’t it?
****
Jenna exited the back of the ambulance, having said nothing further on the ride to the hospital. Gabe and even Jeremiah had agreed to the idea of Vince being behind the explosion and both had remained quiet on the ride, unnerving her all the more. What must his brothers think now?
Shay met them, coming around the desk. “He’s in the back. Dr. Gates and Bri are with him. Come on, you can all wait in the family room.” Shay hugged her and ushered them inside the private room.
“Can I go back?” Jenna pleaded knowing the answer.
“Jenna, you aren’t a nurse right now. Doc and Bri are in there and he was doing very well. Bri will let you back when she can.” Shay shook her head. “Staff rules.”
“How long before we know something?” Gabe asked.
“I’m sure it will only be a short time. All his tests are back and the doc is reviewing them,” Shay explained.
“I’m sorry, Shay this is Gabe, Aaron’s brother and you know Jeremiah,” Jenna introduced them to the clerk.
“I know you are all concerned, but he was awake when he came in and I know they will let you know something very soon.” Shay motioned to the coffee. “Please help yourself to coffee or water. I’ll be back in a short time, let me know if you need anything. Jenna, anything.” Shay waited until she got a nod from Jenna and then headed back off to the ringing phones at the desk.
Jenna turned back around meeting Gabe’s intense stare and then looking at Jeremiah for reassurance. “Dr. Gates…is very good. Brianna too.”
Jeremiah sat down in one of the chairs, putting his head in his hands, “He is the best there is.”
Gabe simply paced at the door, watching who he could see behind the small window of the double doors leading to the back where Aaron was being cared for.
Jenna sat in a chair opposite Jeremiah, gulping to keep more tears at bay. She still couldn’t believe what had transpired. This was her fault. It was. There was no other explanation. There couldn’t be. She had to make sure Aaron was al
l right and then she had to find somewhere for her and Mason to go—somewhere safe.
“Decker family?” Dr. Gates appeared at the door.
Jenna stood, meeting glances with the doctor she knew well, unable to read his face.
“We’re his brothers. Gabe Decker and you know Jeremiah,” Gabe answered, as Jeremiah stood.
“He’s doing very well. He’s got a severe concussion, some periods of being confused, which I think will pass. The seizures haven’t returned. He has four broken ribs, and I put a chest tube in for a collapsed lung. His left wrist has a fracture. With, falls like this, it’s hard to say. I expected to find more broken bones or even spinal injuries, but everything looks good. We have to watch him for heart issues, aortic dissection or bleeding, but so far so good.”
“He’ll be all right then?” Gabe was shaking his head as if he couldn’t take it all in.
“He needs heart and vascular monitoring, bed rest. Pain medications. He kept asking about the horse,” Dr. Gates added.
“The horse has eye injuries, but we don’t know.” Gabe shrugged.
Dr. Gates held his gaze and nodded. “We’ll move him to ICU once we have a bed. For now, I’ll have Brianna let you back to see him, but he’s got a hell of a headache…let him rest.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Gabe shook Dr. Gates’ hand.
Jenna took a deep breath and stared at her ring, taking the first deep breath she’d taken since Aaron had fallen and then she cried, weeping silent tears. Dr. Gates didn’t sugar coat things and the report while concerning was still better than she had thought it might be.
“I should call Sarah and Amos.” Gabe turned to Jeremiah.
“Let’s wait. I’ll call them once we see him.” Jeremiah shook his head and took a deep breath, leaning back in his chair banging his head several times on the wall behind him.
It was then Gabe turned to her. “You, were…amazing back there.”
She didn’t want the praise. It was her fault that Aaron was hurt, and she knew that without a doubt.
“Hey, none of that.” Gabe walked closer and, of all things, hugged his arm around her shoulder. “It’s fine now. He’ll be all right.”