by Sable Hunter
Slipping a gentle hand under Cato’s neck, Tamara lifted her head and placed a pillow under her neck for support. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she retrieved it to check the message.
The text was from Storm.
I hope Jaxson is doing as well as possible. If you need anything. Today, tomorrow, in a year from now, you let me know. The Connolly brothers are here for you.
She texted a quick Thank you. I appreciate you very much.
“Tammy.”
The word was soft, an almost inaudible whisper, but Tamara heard it. Rushing to his bedside, Tamara placed a hand on Jaxson’s. “I’m here, baby,” she told him, praying for him to open his eyes. She waited hopefully at his side for half an hour, hoping he would speak again. When he didn’t, she pulled her chair closer and laid with her head resting at his side.
“Tamara, I need you, sugar.”
Again, he’d spoken. She jumped to her feet, hovering over him. “Jaxson? I’m here. Talk to me.”
The machines beside the bed began to bing and blip louder. In a panic, Tamara raced out into the hallway to retrieve the young nurse she’d seen at the front desk.
“He’s okay,” the nurse said after she’d joined them in the room to check on Jaxson. “What did he say exactly?”
“He called out for me,” Tamara told her.
The nurse slid her watch back inside her pocket. “It happens all the time. Usually they mumble something. Most times it’s just gibberish. But it’s a good sign. He’ll be okay. Have patience. You two will be together again in no time.”
Tamara considered waking Cato, but there was no point. Jaxson had spoken but was nowhere near full consciousness. He’d called out for her and Tamara took that as a good sign. The young nurse was right, all would be well soon.
…A few hours later, Heath was back. “You need to go home and change,” he told her. “Grab a shower and something to eat too.”
“I want to stay here,” Tamara protested the idea.
“Listen, the doctor said he could sleep the entire day.”
“Or he could wake-up at any moment,” Tamara insisted.
Heath had to smile. “Well, yea, but the chances of that are slim. The doctor said the average person sleeps for quite some time after going through such a traumatic experience.”
“Your brother is anything but the average man, Heath.”
Heath fixed her with a glare, then looked down for a moment. “Of course, he is. He’s as hardheaded as a mule and twice as stubborn, but the longer he sleeps, the quicker he’ll recover. I just think you’ll feel better if you went and fixed yourself up a bit.”
Tamara smiled. “I guess I must look a sight. My appearance hasn’t been a priority for me.”
“You look fine, but you’ll want to look your best when Jaxson comes to himself.”
“You’re right.” After taking a long look into Heath’s eyes, Tamara could see the man was tired too. He looked like he bore the weight of the world on his shoulders. “You didn’t get much sleep when you left, did you?”
“Hell, no. I couldn’t stop thinking about my brother.”
“I know the feeling,” Tamara agreed, going to the closet to retrieve her purse. “I thought you had meetings today.”
Heath glanced at Cato, who was still sound asleep. “She’s going to be pissed when she finds out I canceled them. I couldn’t stay away.”
“And I won’t stay away long either.” Taking out her phone, she thumbed through it. “I’ll call an Uber.” She looked for Dylan’s number.
“Nonsense.” Heath reached into his pocket and it came back out with a set of keys. “Take my truck. It’s the red one in the garage. You can’t miss it.”
“All right. Thank you.” Tamara laid her phone on the bedside table and took the keys from Heath begrudgingly. “This is good of you. I think you’re great, no matter what Jaxson says.”
Heath laughed. “I know, I’ve had to be the hard-ass a time or two.”
“A time or two?” she teased, going to the bed to kiss Jaxson once more.
“Just a time or two.” He waved at her as she left. “Be safe.”
When Tamara reached the garage, Heath’s ride was easy to locate, for the truck stood out in the sea of newer vehicles like a sore thumb. Jaxson had told her that Heath and the whole family called the carefully restored vehicle ‘Old Red’. The name fit perfectly.
“Tamara!”
Turning around with Heath’s keys in her hand, she spotted someone running toward her. The face looked familiar and as the person drew nearer in the dim light of the garage, she could see it was Chelsea.
“Oh, Tamara. How is he?” Chelsea pulled her in for a big hug. “I got here as fast as I could. Is he awake?”
“No, he’s still asleep. I’m sure he’ll open his eyes soon though. Jaxson is a strong man.”
“Yes, he is. He’s big, he’s strong, but he’s going to be devastated by this.”
She knew Chelsea was one of Jaxson’s best friends, but something about the way she talked about Jaxson got Tamara’s back up. “Jaxson will be just fine, Chelsea. I’ll see to it.” She pointed toward the parked cars. “I’ll be back soon.”
When Chelsea saw where Tamara was headed, she was clearly shocked. “Heath is letting you take Old Red?”
“He is.”
“Wow. In all the time I’ve known Jaxson’s folks, I’ve never seen Heath let anybody but a family member behind the wheel of his beloved truck.”
Well, I guess that means I’m family, she thought, but didn’t say the words aloud. “I really need to go home and change, Chelsea,” Tamara said, climbing in and shutting the door.
“Wait!” Chelsea called and Tamara reluctantly rolled down the window.
“I need to apologize to you. I put the snake in your suitcase, hoping it would scare you away.”
“I know.” Tamara grinned at her. “Didn’t work. I’m still here.” She waved at Chelsea before pulling out of the garage, even though there was nowhere she’d rather be than at Jaxson’s side.
* * *
Jaxson fought his way through the fog. His head felt like it had been run over by a truck. “Where the hell am I?”
“Here, drink this.” Heath held a cup of water with a straw out to his brother. “Tamara was right. You’re certainly no ordinary man. Here you are waking up not twenty minutes after she left the hospital.”
“Hospital?” Jaxson glanced around almost in a panic, trying to remember what circumstances had brought him here.
“Oh, Jaxson, thank God.” Chelsea ran to his side, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I came as soon as I heard.”
“Easy now.” Heath pulled her back so she wouldn’t hurt him. “Give him some room to breathe.”
Looking around the room, Jaxson saw Heath, Cato, and Chelsea. “What’s going on here? Somebody talk to me.”
The doctor had warned them he might be a bit confused when he awoke from the anesthetic. “You’re in the hospital, buddy,” Heath explained. “You had an accident.”
“An accident?” He thought for a moment. “Right.” He remembered the trailer backing over him. “I’m okay.” He raised his arm to throw off the covers, then noticed the IV. “God, Almighty.” Jaxson mumbled, suddenly feeling anxious.
Chelsea and Cato looked at the floor. Telling Jaxson what had happened wasn’t going to be easy and neither felt it was their place to convey the bad news.
“Jax, buddy,” Heath started. “You got hurt. Pretty bad.”
Tears began to run down the ladies faces and Jaxson grew even more anxious. “What the fuck? I feel lousy, but I’m in one piece.”
“Your leg, Jaxson…”
Heath’s tone confused him. “Yea, my leg.” He’d busted it up. “Maybe they can take that damn cast off while I’m…” For the first time, his eyes drifted down his body. “Fuck me,” he whispered when he saw no cast. He saw no leg. The horror of it caused a scream to lodge in his throat.
“They had to ta
ke your leg, Jaxson. There wasn’t any saving it.”
As Jaxson registered the reality of his loss, Heath wasn’t sure he’d ever get the image of his brother’s stricken face out of his head for a long as he lived.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Oh god, oh god, oh god. No. No. No!” Pulling back the covers, Jaxson came face-to-face with the horror of the situation. This was no joke and no dream. There was nothing but bedsheet where his right leg from the knee down should’ve been and a bulky wrapping of bandages with a few crimson red stains marring the white surface. “My leg!” Jaxson bellowed. “Heath! What did you let them do to me?”
Heath leaned in to pull his brother close. This is exactly why he’d made the others stay back at the house. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Heath,” Jaxson cried into his brother’s shoulder. “They’ve butchered me! Why? Why did you let them do this to me?” He asked again, breaking his brother’s heart in two.
“I know brother, I know. We’ll figure it out. Don’t you worry.”
Cato pulled away, giving the brothers some space. Fishing in her purse, she sent Tamara a text to let her know Jaxson was awake and she needed to get back as soon as possible.
On the table beside her, Chelsea heard a phone beep. Noticing no one else made a move for it, she lifted the cell off the table and opened the message. It was from Cato, telling Tamara to get back to the hospital as soon as possible.
“Uh…” she began and stopped, remembering the pang of jealousy she’d experienced when she’d seen Tamara climbing into Heath’s beloved truck. She was drawn back to the time when she’d asked to borrow it and Heath had responded with a comment about hell and a freak ice storm. Now here Tamara was, being allowed the use of a McCoy family treasure. None of it was fair. She’d known them all longer. She was Jaxson’s friend first. God knows, she wanted to be more, before…
“What?” Cato asked, breaking Chelsea’s train of thought.
“Nothing.” Holding down the button until the phone turned off, she placed it back down on the tabletop and made no mention of it.
“Where’s Tamara?” Jaxson asked suddenly.
“I sent her away. She needed a break,” Heath explained. “That girl was on a plane the second she found out you’d been hurt and she never left your side all night.”
“That’s right,” Chelsea added quickly. “I’m sure she would come racing back if she knew you were awake.”
Cato kept checking her phone, sending three more texts to Tamara telling her to get back to the hospital ASAP. Each time, Tamara didn’t respond and Cato didn’t say anything. The last thing Jaxson needed now was a reason to worry.
Over the next hour, Jaxson suffered untold torment. He wanted to tear the tubes and needles from his body and run away. Only…he couldn’t run. Dammit! He couldn’t walk! He’d never be whole again! “God, I want…I want…”
“What do you want, brother?” Heath asked.
“I want everybody out,” he said quietly. “You, Chelsea, everybody.”
“Come on, Jax,” Heath implored. “You don’t mean that.”
“I do.” He looked down at his one remaining leg and the obscenely shortened stump of the other one. “I don’t want to see anybody.” And he sure as hell didn’t want anyone to see him…especially not Tamara. The very idea of her getting a good look at what he’d become turned his stomach. Thank God, he’d been covered up when she was here.
“The whole family will be here soon. Everybody will want to see you,” Heath told him quietly.
Jaxson rolled over in the bed, giving his brother his back. “No.” He felt broken. His entire identity as a man was tied to his physical abilities and the truth of what his life was going to be like now was too much to handle. “You tell them all to stay at the house, Heath. I don’t want anybody to see me like this. Not Pep or Ryder. None of them. And especially not Tamara. You tell them all to stay away.”
Cato went to the bed. “Jaxson, no. They love you.”
Jaxson pulled his hand away when Cato grabbed for it. He wanted to snap at her, ask just who the hell did she think she was? She wasn’t family, not yet. “I said nobody, and I mean nobody.”
Cato blanched white and excused herself.
“Now, was that necessary?” Heath asked. “You know who you’re acting like, don’t you?”
“I’m acting like a jackass, so I must be acting like you.” He barked at his big brother, then looked to his best friend. “Chelsea, get me a pen and paper. I want you to make a NO VISITORS sign and slap it on the front of my door.”
Chelsea looked to Heath for what to do.
“What the hell are you looking at him for?” Jaxson barked. “Get me the damn pad and pen. I’ll do it myself. I may be a useless cripple but at least I’ve still got the use of my hands.”
Heath dropped his head. “Jax, don’t talk like that. Please.”
Jaxson glared at his brother. “Why not? It’s fucking true!” He knew he was being a jerk, but Jaxson didn’t care. He was hurt and uncertain whether he had any kind of a future at all. No man in his situation would’ve acted any differently. “The pen and paper!”
With a secret smile on her lips, Chelsea did as he requested. “Here, you go.”
Jaxson scribbled in big letters, making a mistake the first time and tearing the paper to shreds. “Nobody but you two,” he ordered when the sign was finally done. “Put that fuckin’ sign on the door and nobody but the people in this room are allowed to be in this room.”
A nurse came in to see what all the yelling was about. “Please, Mr. McCoy, lie back and take some deep breaths for me.” Jaxson did as he was told. “I’m going to give you a shot of painkiller. It’ll make you feel better and hopefully calm you down.”
After the nurse gave him the injection, Jaxson laid back as the drug hit his system. The pain had started to creep into his leg over the last hour and he was feeling a bit better. “Heath.” He motioned for his brother to come closer as his eyes began to droop. “Nobody else. Promise me.”
“Jax…”
“Nobody, Heath.”
The pain meds were taking full effect now and Jaxson could barely hold his eyes open.
Taking the sign his brother had just made, Heath looked at it long and hard before turning away. “Alright, but this is a mistake.” He handed the piece of paper to Chelsea. “Put this on the door for him.” Shutting people out, especially his own family and the woman who loved him, was the wrong thing to do. As much as he wished he could snap his fingers and change the way Jaxson felt, Heath knew it wasn’t his place to make decisions about his life. He was there to protect his family and if this is what Jaxson wanted, he would respect it.
* * *
Tamara was winded, out of breath. Visiting hours at the hospital were active. The only parking place she could find was a block away. How odd, she ran for a living, so her lack of ability to get air in her lungs was a result of frantic worry, not over-exertion. Seeing Chelsea in the hall near Jaxson’s door caused her to raise her hand. “Chelsea! Hey! Is he awake?”
Chelsea folded her arms across her chest smugly. “Good of you to show up.”
“Heath told me to leave. I think he thought I could use a shower.” She tried to make a joke. ‘I went home and laid down. I passed out, I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“Well, while you were home soaking in the tub and taking a beauty nap, we were here. Comforting Jaxson.” With what seemed to be a calculated step, Chelsea stepped away from the door nearer to Tamara.
When she did, Tamara saw the sign on the door. “No Visitors?”
“Yea, that’s what Jaxson wants.”
“I’m sure he needs his rest.” She tried to step past Chelsea. “Is he awake?” To her amazement, Jaxson’s friend blocked her way.
“What are you doing?”
“No visitors. That means you.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she said slowly, as if talking to a child. “I’m Jaxson’s girlfrien
d.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. Jaxson said he doesn’t want to see you.”
“Yea, right.” She extended her hand to push Chelsea out of the way.
“Sorry, that’s just the way it is.” Chelsea stood her ground and Tamara grew angry.
“You either get out of my way, Miss Stanhope or you’re about to find yourself sitting on your ass.”
“Just try it, Miss Grayson. I’d love to tear some of that mousy brown hair out by the roots.”
They faced one another in a Texas standoff. Tamara thought it must be the stupidest thing she’d ever been involved in in her life. “Jaxson!” she yelled, hoping he’d hear her and put an end to this nonsense.
Inside the room, Jaxson stirred. “What was that noise?” he asked in a low tone. The pain meds were wearing off, but he was still lost in a fugue of self-pity and loathing.
Heath stepped to the door so he could be sure. “It’s Tamara.”
Tamara! The mere mention of her name filled Jaxson with absolute fear. How could he face her like this? He was half a man now. She’d never want him.
Heath was at the door, about to open it.
“No! I don’t want to see her,” Jaxson said to his brother.
“Are you sure?”
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely.”
“Okay, bro. I’ll deal with it.” Opening the door, Heath slipped out.
Outside the door, Tamara was stiff with tension. When she saw Heath, she relaxed a little bit. “Is he okay?” Tamara asked. “I want to see him.”
Heath’s expression was somber. “He said he doesn’t want to see anybody, Tamara.”
“Even me?”
Chelsea stood at Heath’s side. “Even you.”
“But why? I love him. He loves me.” Her voice was full of desperate pleading. “I need him!”
“I’m afraid Chelsea’s right, Tamara. He doesn’t want to see you.” Heath was torn between doing what Jaxson wanted and doing what he felt was best for his brother. “Just give him time,” he told her when he saw Tamara’s eyes begin to fill with tears.