**********
They spent the night in the waiting room while Josh was in surgery. It was nearly dawn before the doctor appeared. Dr. Jones was an older, stocky man with short white hair. He pulled them into a family waiting room and said, “Joshua has lost a lot of blood. He is extremely weak. The arrow nicked his artery and collapsed his left lung. However, he’s a lucky man. It missed his heart, and he’s in excellent physical condition. He has a good chance of survival as long as there are no further complications. The Sheriff’s quick thought to stabilize the arrow instead of removing it saved Joshua’s life. We are going to wait and give him some time to heal before we decide if he needs additional surgery.”
Elizabeth rose from her chair and asked, “Is he out of danger?”
Dr. Jones offered softly, “We will know in about twenty-four hours. As I said, he’s young and strong. You’ll have to be patient.”
Randy rose and offered his hand to the doctor saying, “When can we see him?”
“He’s being moved to intensive care. A nurse can take you to the waiting area. If he remains stable you can see him, one at a time, but for only a few minutes.” Dr. Jones said, “A nurse will be with you soon.” He disappeared through the doorway.
“This is my fault,” Randy announced, “It was my job to push the wolves back. Not Josh. I never should have asked him to come with me.”
Elizabeth turned to Randy and took hold of his arm saying, “You know Josh would never have let you go into woods alone after those wolves.”
Randy shook his head and added, “It was my idea to check out the maintenance road. I just had to have one more look before we headed home. I just couldn’t let it go.”
“Maintenance road?” Elizabeth stared at him confused.
“That’s where it happened.” Randy explained, “We found a deer stand the stalker was using to view the cabin. The next thing I knew Josh had an arrow sticking out of his chest.”
“The stalker?” Elizabeth gasped, glancing at Amy, “Are you saying the stalker tried to kill Josh? I thought this was a hunting accident! I thought some idiot mistook Josh for a deer and shot him!”
“No,” Randy met Elizabeth’s gaze, “It was the stalker. I returned fire, and I’m sure I hit him, but there was no time to search. I had to get Josh …” Randy’s voice broke as he spoke. His eyes filled with tears, and he glanced down at the floor trying to regain control. “I don’t think that arrow was meant for Josh.”
Amy rose from her seat, wrapped her arms around Randy’s waist, and asked. “Randy, what are you saying?”
“I think that shot was meant for me.” Randy locked eyes with Elizabeth. “I’m sorry; Josh was moving past me when he was hit.”
Elizabeth shook her head and said, “Randy, it’s not your fault.” Her head was swimming; she didn’t know what else to say. Why was this happening? Who was this person stalking her? Why? When would it all end?
Three-Year Rule Page 22