Complicated on 5th Avenue: 5th Avenue Romance Series, Book Two

by Abbie St. Claire

  “Ian,” I yelled.

  “Ma’am, you need to step back.”

  “Sir, that’s my boyfriend. Where are you taking him?” Tears flooded my face.

  Ty started crying. I didn’t know where Oliver ended up, and I hoped he’d connected with Jorge, but my eyes burned with tears and mascara, and I couldn’t see through my own haze.

  “What’s his name?” the ski patrol asked.

  “Ian Briggs.”

  He wrote something down on paper and handed it to me. “He’s unconscious with a serious head injury. We’re flying him to this hospital. I’ll ask State Patrol to meet you at the base to take you. Do you need a phone to call someone?”

  “Yes, but I…” Sobs overtook my ability to talk.

  “Stay calm. We’ll get you there.” He motioned to someone. “This is Duke. He’ll get you to the base. This your boy?”

  “Yes. Ty. He’s my son. Ian’s son is here somewhere, but we lost him.”

  Duke put us on the back of his snow cat and took us to the bottom of the mountain and introduced us to Harry from State Patrol. Ty stayed on the lookout for Oliver and Jorge, while I tried to call Jorge’s cell and Shawna’s.

  “Mom, there’s Oliver.” Ty pointed to the deck of the lodge coffee shop. Oliver was sitting on a bench, watching the skiers. We raced to him, and he was hysterical.

  “Ms. Chelsie, I lost my dad. I can’t find him.” He ran to me in tears, and as I kneeled, he wrapped his arms around my neck. I tried to soothe him, unsure of how to explain his dad was hurt. I put my finger over my lips and motioned to Ty to be quiet.

  “Sweetie, listen, there’s someone here who’s gonna help me go find your dad. I think he may have hurt his ankle or something and is probably getting some x-rays. Do you think you’d be okay staying with Mr. Jorge and Ms. Shawna for me until I get back?”

  “Yes,” he said through snotty tears.

  The state trooper drove us to the house, where I took Ty aside and told him not to say anything about Ian until I got back. Shawna promised to stay with them and keep the secret until we knew more. Just as we were leaving, Jorge arrived. It gave me peace to know both of them were watching the boys until I knew more about Ian’s condition.

  The trip to the hospital lasted about forty-five minutes, but adding the time it took to get down the mountain, find Oliver, and get to the hospital, it felt like I’d been away from Ian for hours.

  The medical system was frustrating because I wasn’t next of kin. I should’ve just lied and said I was his wife when they asked. While I understood policy, there wasn’t any way for me to get in touch with anyone because I didn’t know his parents or have their number. The lady at reception looked at me like I was a one-eyed monster and wouldn’t tell me anything, except that Ian was in surgery.

  Finally, I called Ian’s clinic and got in touch with Brooks. He made a few calls and spoke with the surgery staff coordinator then heads began to roll. Within an hour, I had suits of all kinds surrounding me with anything and everything in a private room, even giving me Ian’s belongings, including his phone and wallet.

  A surgeon came out to speak to me and told me Ian had multiple fractures in his right arm and hand, and he had a head injury on the right side. While he would need more surgery in the near future, the reason they rushed him to the operating room upon arrival, was to put in a drainage tube to reduce the pressure on his brain—his condition critical.

  I was buried in shock and disbelief. In an instant, my world…our world came crashing down. It was some time before I regained my composure and was ready to speak to anyone.

  Picking up Ian’s phone from his belongings felt a bit intrusive. I’d never gone through his things before. It took two attempts to figure out his passcode. I tried his birthday first, then succeeded with Oliver’s. I scrolled through his contacts to find his family’s info. But before I called them, I wanted to check in with the boys.

  Shawna said the boys were doing fine. She and Jorge had spent quite a bit of time with Oliver, and he was calm. She and Jorge would bring them up along with a bag and some of our things, so I could stay at the hospital with Ian.

  The next call was harder. Mam and Grumpa had lots of questions and wanted to come out immediately, but I knew they should wait until we knew more, so they promised to stay put.

  The final call was to Ian’s parents.

  “Ian, it’s been a few weeks. How are you son?” The older woman’s voice was soft and very articulate.

  “Uh, Mrs. Briggs, it’s not Ian. I’m Chelsie Peterson, Ian’s girlfriend.”

  There was some hesitation. “Yes, Chelsie. Ian has mentioned you to me. If you’re calling me from his phone, there’s something wrong, isn’t there?” Her voice pitched a bit higher by the end of her question.

  A mother always knows.

  I started to cry. “You need to come to the hospital. We were skiing and… He’s hurt.”

  There was dead silence on the phone.

  Her cold tone sliced through the thick air. “Text me the name of the hospital and the address. We’ll get a private flight out of Van Nuys so that we can get there tonight.”

  When we hung up, I felt it. I knew it wasn’t time for Ian to leave me, and I needed to be strong for him. I paced the room, waiting for him to get out of surgery.

  By the time Shawna, Jorge and the boys arrived, Ian was in recovery. The procedure had gone smoothly according to the team. The surgeon explained that head injuries were unpredictable, and we had to be hopeful and patient.

  Oliver seemed calm, but his demeanor had me worried. He seemed too collected, and I was afraid he was in shock as he sat in the chair staring into space. Finally, Ty got him interested in a game, and for an hour or so, they amused themselves with their games and ear buds, which was helpful.

  I sent Ian’s parents a text with the address and asked the staff to help me find a hotel room for them. It was amazing how helpful they had become since Brooks spoke to them.

  Beep, beep, beep. Ian’s phone battery was alarming. “Shawna, did you happen to pack a phone charger?”

  “I didn’t pack one, but maybe it’s in that backpack I grabbed just in case.”

  I started digging through his bags and out of frustration, dumped it all in the middle of the floor. A black velvet box was in the pile. When I held it out, both Shawna and Jorge smiled. My hands trembled as I gripped the box.

  “Do you two know something I don’t?”

  Shawna glanced at Jorge and he nodded. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “He was going to propose tonight. He invited us along on this trip from the beginning. He had such a romantic evening planned.”

  The news caused me to crumble. I exited the room and ran out of the building to a garden area covered in snow. I never made it to the bench, my body giving way to the heaviness and sinking to the ground. The box answered all the questions I had and explained why Ian had been acting strange. I was sure he was nervous about the plans and apparently had gone to great lengths for a beautiful night.

  Jorge came to find me and scooped me up in his arms, carrying me back into the quiet stairwell. “He loves you very much. You have to pull it together and be hopeful.”

  “Haven’t we both suffered enough? Hasn’t Oliver been put through every test possible for a little boy?”

  Wrecked, I screamed and cried into his chest until I got it all out. He held me until I could cry no more. Then, I got mad at life and bowed my shoulders back. “This will not define us. I beat my injuries and so will he.”

  We went back upstairs, and even though I was unable to understand why everything was happening, I trusted Ian would pull through. I put the ring box back in his bag and put his phone on charge. The chapel was downstairs, and I needed some space and quiet time.

  Dear God, please don’t let me lose him. Oliver and I both need him so much.

  A good deal of time must have passed when Shawna came looking for me. When she sat down on the pew beside me, I leaned my head on her shoulde
r and let my tears fall.

  “Why does everything have to be so complicated for me?”

  She let out an audible sigh. “I have no idea. It does seem like you have to fight your way to the finish line, but I know this is a race you and Ian will win, together. He loves you so much.”

  “He asked me to move in with him this week. I had no idea he was going to ask me to marry him. I’m not sure right now would’ve been the time for that. Oliver’s still not accepting me.”

  “Well, he may not be accepting you, but he’s asking for you upstairs. That’s why I came to get you.”

  I leaned back to see if she was kidding. “Really?”

  She nodded.

  The minute I opened the door to the family waiting room, Oliver rushed toward me. I sat on the floor, and he climbed into my lap, holding on to my neck tightly. “Ms. Chelsie, will you take care of me if something happens to my dad?”

  His question shredded me. The child was consumed with his fear of loss and reaching out to me to give him safe haven.

  This was not the way things were supposed to happen.

  “Your dad’s going to be fine, and I’m always going to help take care of you, too, if that’s okay with you?”

  He wiped at his snotty nose. “Yes.”

  “Would be okay with you if we all lived in the same house and became a big family?”

  He nodded. “Okay.”

  “Sweetie, I love you and Ty so much. My heart’s full of love for you both. You know that, right?”

  He nodded again, his big brown eyes red from crying. “Yes. Will you be there for all my birthdays?”

  My body tensed at his question, as I tried holding off my emotions. The depth of his pain opened like a volcano wide for me to see. “Of course, and every Christmas and graduation and dance and girlfriends and college and little boys of your own someday—I will be there. I love you, Oliver.” I rubbed his head full of dark curls.

  “I love you too, Ms. Chelsie.”

  The nurse came in and told us Ian was in a room in the ICU, and we could see him for just a few moments. I took Oliver in first. Then Jorge and Shawna brought Ty in later.

  Ian wasn’t awake, but he did squeeze my hand briefly. I told Oliver that Ian could hear us, and Oliver chatted away at his daddy. It was hard to know if Oliver felt any responsibility for the accident, but I prayed he didn’t. I hoped he never had to endure any guilt from what had happened.

  After Jorge had taken everyone back to the house, I was alone for some time before an older man and woman entered the waiting room. I knew immediately from their features they were Ian’s parents. He shared his mother’s beautiful face, but had his father’s tall, masculine build.

  “Are you Chelsie?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “We’re Elizabeth and Carrington Briggs.”

  I stood and extended my hand, which neither accepted. “Nice to finally meet you both, but I’d rather it hadn’t been under these—”

  “How is he?” Dr. Briggs interrupted, taking the seat across from me. Mrs. Briggs continued to stand.

  “They tell me he’s stabilized now, and he squeezed my hand earlier, but he hasn’t regained consciousness. They said for you to push that button on the wall, and you can see him.”

  Mrs. Briggs immediately pushed the button, and I watched as her hands trembled, gripping a handkerchief. She was overcome with angst, as any mother would be. I stood and pulled her into an embrace. At first, she was rigid. Then she let herself fall into me.

  “I’m scared,” she whimpered.

  My gaze moved to Dr. Briggs. He stared at the painting on the wall opposite his chair, but I saw the tear at the corner of his eye. It disturbed me that he couldn’t comfort his wife.

  The coldness he exuded reminded me of the day I had surgery. Ian changed from warm and caring to cold and unattached within seconds. Perhaps he was more like his father than he wanted to admit.

  The nurse came to escort his parents to his room, and though they offered for me to join, I gave them the time they needed with their son. Whatever distance had crept into their relationship, I prayed there was some way to repair it.

  Since ICU limits visits to a few minutes, they weren’t gone long. After their return, the room filled with silence, and the tension was high. It wasn’t exactly a family reunion any of us expected.

  Chapter Twelve

  The next morning I took the early visit time since his parents were still at the hotel. The sun hadn’t come up yet, and the shift change was in progress. Wearing his sweatshirt and sitting beside the foot of his bed, I rested my head in a way so I could face him.

  The constant beeping of the machines drove me insane. Every clink, clunk, gush of air or dead pause was a reminder that he wasn’t completely with me. I watched intently as his body remained lifeless. His eyes still tightly closed, but I prayed for the moment when they would flutter for the first time, when he would give me his glorious bright smile and return to me.

  “Sweetie, can I get you something?” Tessa, the night nurse, asked.

  I shook my head, but didn’t take my eyes off of Ian.

  She stroked my hair. “My shift has ended, and Barbara will be your day nurse. She’s next door, but she’ll step in and say hello in a moment. Can I do something for you?”

  I didn’t budge. “No, you’ve been very kind to allow me to stay in here and have the extra time with him.”

  “We do if there're not a lot of people and the visitor is very quiet. There’s a shower at the end of the hall you can use any time you want. Just ask the nurses to get linen for you.”

  “I don’t wanna leave him.” Sobs escaped my lips, even though I tried to stifle them. Certain he could hear me, I didn’t want him to witness my weakness. “I want to be here when he wakes up. I have to be strong.”

  “You can stay. I’ll talk to the new team coming on today. Don’t move.”

  Barbara came in and introduced herself as the weekend day nurse and said she would be with him the next three days. “The door at the end of this hallway is unlocked. Quietly let yourself in and out if you’d like and let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Barbara. I will.”

  Ian’s parents arrived just as she was leaving, but since his father was a surgeon, he asked questions I would never have thought of or understood. He never addressed me, and I once again sensed the coldness that Ian spoke of on rare occasion.

  We were asked to leave the room while they sent Ian for another CAT scan. The three of us sat in the larger ICU waiting room because another family occupied the private room.

  “If you ladies will excuse me, I’d like to return some calls for work,” Ian’s father said as he left the room.

  His mother took the seat directly across from me. “Cary and I’ve discussed it, and we’re making arrangements now to move Ian back to Los Angeles the minute he’s able to travel.”

  How dare she? What does she know about what’s best for him? Did she give any thought to uprooting Oliver?

  I leaned forward in my chair and lowered my voice for intentional sternness. “I don’t speak for Ian, since he’s not my husband. However, I wouldn’t make any plans just yet.”

  She pivoted her body forward to match me in the aisle. “You think you know him, but you don’t.”

  My palm twitched to make contact with her high, olive-toned cheekbone, but fighting wouldn’t solve anything and who knew if Ian would support Mommy Dearest over me. We hadn’t put that question to a challenge. “I believe I could say the same. It’s my understanding you’ve had this kind of test before and lost, if I’m not mistaken. Your batting average is one and done, Mrs. Briggs. It would behoove you to be nicer to the woman your son loves. I’ve done nothing to you, and I don’t deserve your antagonistic approach.”

  Remembering the unlocked door Barbara had mentioned, I slowly meandered down the hall as if headed to the restroom and disappeared through the secret door, leaving the witch to lick her wound
s.

  I gripped Ian’s hand and pleaded, “Please open your eyes, babe. I have so much to tell you. Oliver made peace with me. He wants us to be a family.”

  Nothing. No sign of any change. I stared at the bandages which were wrapped tightly around his head and covered all of his hair, leaving me wonder if they had to shave his beautiful dark locks off.

  Everything I cherish, you are a part of. You mean life to me.

  I prayed he could hear me, and I begged over and over for him to open his eyes.

  Two days later, Oliver said goodbye to his daddy and cried as Jorge carried him out on his shoulder. Ty was confused as well, and both boys weren’t happy about leaving and going home to Dallas, while I stayed with Ian. But with him in ICU, it was difficult to get them in to see Ian and even more complicated keeping them at the hospital.

  Denise was the best nanny in the world, and I knew she would take care of Oliver and Ty just as Ian and I would, and for certain she would keep them on their schedule, help with homework and such while Shawna, Jorge, Mam and Grumpa rotated in and out as second eyes. Besides, both dogs were probably going insane for attention, and Denise was nuts about them, too.

  “You shouldn’t be making decisions for our grandson,” Mrs. Briggs smarted off at me from her position against the wall in Ian’s room after everyone left. “When my son wakes, he will tell you that.”

  The capacity to understand her escaped me. I mean after three days of being around Oliver, I would’ve thought she’d at least try to hug him once. What kind of cold-hearted mother and grandmother was she?

  Unable to give her the pleasure of a fight she so desperately sought, I simply glared at her. I had no time for her petty power play. My focus had to be on the care and welfare of my best friend and the love of my life.

  The tightness of his hand shocked me. “Ian. Squeeze my hand again.” And he did. I watched his eyes intently waiting…and waiting…patiently, while silently pleading for him to come back to me.