“I don’t know. He’s been in surgery for several hours.”
“Okay. I’ll let Brad analyze the situation when he gets there.” He moved out of frame for a moment, and Maya could hear him talking to someone in his office.
She felt an immediate sense of relief knowing she was doing something to help, and hopefully soon Gabe would be back home with his family.
“The jet will be ready to go within the hour. It will be leaving from St. Andrews Airport,” her dad said as he came back into the frame of the screen.
Maya’s shoulders slumped. “Thank you, Daddy.”
“Anything for you, baby girl, but you owe me the story behind this.”
“I’ll tell you everything. I promise.”
“Good. I will hold you to that. Keep me updated, okay? I mean, Brad will, but I want to hear from you as well.”
“I will. I’m going to go tell Bennett about the plane now.”
“Talk with you later.”
The screen went dark, and Maya sat there for a moment, bracing herself as she prepared to reveal one of her secrets. She got to her feet and headed to Bennett’s office. As she stepped into the doorway, she could see him sitting with his elbows braced on his desk and his head in his hands. She stood there for a moment, hating to bother him.
Finally, she said his name softly, and he looked up at her. “Did you get more news?”
“He’s out of surgery, and they seem optimistic, but he still has a long road ahead of him.”
“Were you able to get tickets to Denver?”
“I was, but there was nothing available until tomorrow morning.”
“I can help you get there sooner,” Maya said, clenching her hands together.
Bennett’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“My dad has a private jet, and he’s made it available for you to use to fly to Denver.”
“Are you serious?” Bennett asked. “Your dad has a private jet?”
Maya nodded. “He is also sending his personal assistant along with you to do what needs to be done to make things easier for you all. That means he can set up hotel rooms, car rentals and when needed, Brad will line up the medical transport to bring Gabe home.”
Bennett’s eyes widened more with each revelation of what she was offering. “Who is your dad? And why would he do this for us?”
“My dad is Maximilian Zevardi, and he’s doing this for me. I’m doing this for you all.”
“We can’t accept this. It’s too much.”
“Please don’t turn this down, Bennett,” Maya begged. “What’s the use of having money if we can’t use it to help others?”
“I just…I’m having a hard time understanding all of this.” Bennett got to his feet and began to gather up his things. “But honestly, I can’t afford to turn you down. We need to get to Gabe.”
“The plane will be ready to go in an hour from St. Andrews Airport. Brad Davis will meet you there and travel with you to Denver. If you need anything, just tell him, and he’ll arrange it for you.”
Bennett paused as he was slipping his phone into his pocket. “I can’t believe this, really. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad that I can help you out a bit.”
Bennett came to her side and slid an arm around her shoulder. “This is more than a bit, Maya. It means the world to us.”
“Please tell Gabe that…I’m praying for him.”
“I’ll tell him. Hopefully, we’ll have him home soon.”
Together they walked to the front of the office. Bennett pulled on his coat then turned to Maya.
“You don’t need to stay the whole day. Just put a sign on the door that we’re closed today and will be open again tomorrow. I’ve sent you an email of people to call to postpone my appointments over the next few days, please. Makayla and Ethan will be calling their own appointments to rearrange as necessary.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Maya paused. “Please keep me updated, if you can.”
“I will. Thank you again.” Bennett gave her another quick hug before leaving the building.
Once alone, Maya locked up and went to her computer to print out a sign to hang on the front door. After she’d done that, she made herself some tea and then opened the email from Bennett and began to make the calls, pushing all his appointments to the next week. She needed to keep herself busy because otherwise, it was too easy for her mind to wander and to begin to imagine the worst.
After the last appointment was rescheduled, Maya made another cup of tea and then took a few minutes to check social media to see if any of Gabe’s friends were posting things. On his page, she read through postings by Jill and other members of his team. It was there she read about Matt’s injuries, which had turned out to be less serious than Gabe’s, but he was still facing surgeries of his own.
As she read through the comments, Maya came to realize that Gabe had a lot of supporters and people who followed his adventures on a regular basis. They were coming out in droves to post their support for him, and Maya knew that it would mean a lot to Gabe. She blinked back tears as she read posts from people who were sharing what Gabe’s videos meant to them. The posts from people who, because of physical reasons or anxieties, weren’t able to travel the world the way Gabe was, were the most touching.
That had been her not that long ago. Sometimes she forgot how it had been when she’d been trapped in a hospital room and, later, her own home. The people she’d watched on YouTube had taken her places she couldn’t go as she’d undergone treatments. Places she’d wondered if she’d ever be able to go if the treatments were successful. So she understood where those viewers were coming from, and yet it was all compounded for her because of the fact that Gabe had come to mean more to her than any of the people she’d ever watched on YouTube.
Overcome with the thought, Maya laid her head on her arms on the desk and let the tears come. She was painfully crippled by the knowledge that she’d pushed him away out of fear that his adventures would hurt him, only to have him be hurt while doing something that everyone did on a daily basis. It was a horrible thought to realize that she had allowed fear to rob her of time with Gabe, just like her mom’s fear had caused her to try to protect Maya from the world. Regret and worry drew more tears from her, knowing just what her fear had robbed her of.
When that wave of emotion had finally passed, she straightened and rubbed the palms of her hands across her cheeks. Deciding that she would take Bennett up on his offer to leave early, Maya went around and shut off lights, closing up the office for the day.
As she drove home, she realized that she needed to prepare herself for a conversation with her dad. Thankfully, it was easier to talk with her dad about something like this than her mom. Her mom would have a million questions, while her dad would probably only have half that many. She really wished, though, that she would hear an update on Gabe soon.
She had no idea how long it would take to fly to Denver and then get to the hospital. Maybe having a conversation with her dad would help to pass the time until the update came in. Hopefully, Bennett wouldn’t forget to include her when he updated the others in his family.
“Maya,” her dad called out as she walked into the house from the mudroom where she’d slipped off her boots. He’d obviously been watching the security monitor for her arrival and had come to meet her. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
His concern brought her emotions to the surface again, and she stepped into his arms when he held them out to her. He held her as her tears fell once again, then guided her down the hallway to his office. “Your mom’s not home at the moment. Would you rather wait until she got home to tell me about it?”
Maya shook her head. She didn’t exactly want to tell her mom about it at all, let alone while her emotions were running so high. Instead of taking a seat behind his desk, her dad walked over to the couch he kept in his office and sat down there with her.
“Talk to me,” he said, his usually steely g
ray eyes soft.
So Maya did. She told him about starting her job and meeting Mitch, and then how everything had changed when she’d met Gabe. How he’d opened up a world to her that she hadn’t thought she’d ever have the chance to experience. Then, with growing emotion, she told him about her realization of what his life actually consisted of and her decision to cut things off with him.
“So he was injured on one of these adventures?”
Maya gave a laugh that ended on a sob. “No. He was crossing the parking lot of his apartment building in Denver when he and a friend were hit by a truck.”
“Did you love him, sweetheart?” her dad asked in a gentle tone, one she doubted anyone but she and her mom heard. “Do you still love him?”
19
Maya let out a breath, her shoulders slumping as she pressed a hand against the ache in her chest. “I do. I thought it would get easier if I ended things with Gabe, but it didn’t. And all I can think about now was how useless what I did was. In the end, Gabe still got injured, and it was while doing something that shouldn’t have been dangerous at all.”
Her dad slipped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I know it’s hard not to make decisions out of fear. It’s something your mama has struggled with too.”
Maya nodded. “Yes, I know. And you would think that I’d have learned my lesson from her, but obviously, I haven’t.”
“What do you want now?” her dad asked.
“What I want, and what I deserve are two different things.” She drew a shuddering breath. “I turned Gabe away. I refused to consider any other option, convinced I was going to lose him or worse yet, he’d come to resent me because I forced him to change his life.”
Silence fell between them for a couple of minutes. Maya wasn’t surprised that her father had no response. After all, what could he say? She’d had a chance to grab onto life and love and hadn’t taken it. There wasn’t much more to it than that.
“If he felt about you the way you felt about him, then maybe hope isn’t lost. Maybe you still have a chance.”
She gave him an indulgent, teary smile. Only her dad would think that. “I have a feeling that me butting back into his life right now is probably the last thing Gabe needs.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.” Her dad leaned back against the couch, crossing his arms. “Love can be a powerful motivator, and if he’s in bad physical shape, Gabe may need that motivation.”
Maya pulled her legs up, hooking her heels onto the edge of the couch, wrapping her arms around her knees. “I don’t know, Daddy.”
“I’m not saying that you need to rush to Denver to talk to him right now, but maybe when he comes back to Winnipeg, you two will have a chance to talk again.”
Maya didn’t want to get her hopes up. She’d rejected Gabe—that was the hard fact—so how could they get past that? Would Gabe even want to get past it?
The darkness seemed to weigh down on Gabe, and his eyelids refused to open. Fuzziness blanketed his mind, keeping it from being able to put together the pieces of memory that kept popping up. On the edge of the fuzziness was the awareness of pain. It wasn’t overwhelming him, but Gabe couldn’t figure out why it was there. And why he couldn’t open his eyes.
“We’re keeping him sedated for now,” Gabe heard a female voice say. “His body has obviously gone through a severe trauma, and it will be best if he can just heal without moving around. Pain control will also be an issue when he wakes up. Hopefully, keeping him sedated for now will help him over the worst of the pain.”
“So everything went okay during surgery?” His dad’s voice.
“As well as can be expected. He’s young and in good shape. Those are things that are definitely in his favor. The next twenty-four hours will be the most crucial in his recovery.”
“When do you think we could have him transferred home to Winnipeg?” This time it was Bennett’s voice.
“Again, we’ll have to see how the next twenty-four hours go. I wouldn’t recommend moving him until he’s stable. He’s going to have a challenging journey ahead of him considering the internal healing that needs to take place along with the injuries to his leg.”
Gabe fought against the fuzziness. He needed to know what they were talking about. What had happened? He couldn’t remember. Couldn’t recall where he’d even been. But try as he might, he couldn’t beat the fuzziness, and soon it covered him completely, forcing him back into oblivion.
The next time he came to, the pain that had been on the edge of his awareness had moved in further, overtaking him. Gabe had experienced pain in his life, but this…this was more than anything he’d ever faced before.
He groaned and managed to open his eyes a crack. There was only a dim light wherever he was, and he was thankful.
“Gabe?” He heard his mother’s voice and then a gentle touch on his cheek. “Are you awake, sweetie?”
“Mom?” The word didn’t even sound like it was his voice, but his throat hurt, the pain letting him know he’d actually said the word.
“Oh, Gabriel, honey.” More soft touches on his cheeks. “Can you open your eyes?”
With effort, Gabe managed to lift his lids far enough to see his mother hovering over him. Her eyes looked damp with tears as she gazed down at him. “Mom?”
“It’s okay, sweetie. You’re going to be fine.” The reassurance of her words was in direct contrast to the worry in her eyes.
“What. Happened?” Gabe asked then swallowed hard. “Thirsty.”
“Hello, there, Gabe.” A female in a white coat came to the bed opposite where her mom stood. “How are you feeling?”
“Thirsty. Pain.”
A nurse appeared beside the doctor with a cup in hand. It turned out to be a cup of ice chips which his mom fed to him as the doctor continued to talk to him, asking him questions he could answer with one word. He still didn’t know what had happened, and he needed someone to tell him. There had clearly been an accident, but where? And how?
The doctor told him what they were doing for pain control. Thankfully, they must have done something as soon as they’d realized he was awake and in pain because the intensity of it had begun to ease as the doctor talked. But at the same time, exhaustion began to pull at him once again.
The doctor finally left after giving him a reassuring smile and a squeeze on the shoulder. He looked up at his mom, fighting to keep his eyes open.
“What happened?” He was desperate to understand what had put him in the hospital. From what he did remember, it didn’t make any sense. He had been in Denver, so he hadn’t been off on an adventure unless he had decided to go somewhere that he didn’t remember.
“You and Matt were hit by a truck in the parking lot outside your apartment,” his mom said, her brow furrowing.
Gabe let his mom’s words sink in. Hit by a truck? That made no sense to him. But then something else his mom had said registered. “Matt? Is Matt okay?”
She nodded. “He had surgery as well, but he’s awake and stable. You were injured worse than he was.”
He tried to take a deep breath but stopped when the pain in his rib cage increased. “A truck hit us?”
“Your friends said you’d gone out to get some food for a party you were having, then Matt told us that the truck headed straight for you. It appears, from what the police have said, that the driver had some sort of medical incident while he was driving.”
“Is the driver okay?”
His mom nodded. “The guy wasn’t injured at all, but he’ll be a while recovering from his heart attack.”
Gabe’s eyelids dipped, but he managed to drag them up and fix his gaze on his mom. “Is Dad here?”
“Yes. He, Bennett and Mitch are all here. Your dad is with Matt right now.” His mom frowned. “His family hasn’t come.”
That didn’t surprise Gabe. “His family doesn’t really have much to do with him.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.”
Gabe wanted to
tell her more, but he just couldn’t keep fighting, so when his eyes closed again, he didn’t bother to try and open them. He let the exhaustion win as sleep pulled him under yet again.
Maya was into the office early in hopes that Makayla had some news about Gabe. Last she’d heard, he was still sedated. He’d come through the surgery fine, though, and that was a relief to hear. Now it was just a matter of time for him to heal from his injuries.
“He woke up!” The words grabbed Maya’s attention, and she swung her chair around to see Makayla coming toward her desk. “Mom just called to say Gabe woke up and talked to her. He doesn’t remember the accident, but otherwise, his memory appears to be intact. She said he seems to be in a lot of pain, but they’re working to control it.”
“That is so good that he’s awake.” The relief Maya felt was immense. She didn’t care that there was no future for the two of them as long as Gabe was okay. That mattered more than anything. “Did the doctor say if he’d be able to be airlifted back to Winnipeg?”
“He’s not stable enough yet, but they’re hoping that in a few days he might be.” Makayla sat down in the chair next to Maya. “Bennett told me how you’ve helped out.”
Maya couldn’t think of what to say, so she just nodded.
“I hope it was okay that he told me,” Makayla said as her brows drew together.
“It’s fine. I assumed that he would.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked.
Maya paused for a moment before she told Makayla more of her story. More of the details that she hadn’t given to Bennett.
“I hope you know that we wouldn’t have treated you any differently,” Makayla said.
“I know that now, but I didn’t know that at the beginning. Plus, it wasn’t really something that you could work into the conversation, you know. Hey, I’ve had cancer, not once, but twice. And oh yeah, my dad is one of the richest men in the world.”
The Love of Her Life: A Christian Romance (The Callaghans & McFaddens Book 3) Page 23