Now, she lay there, at the bottom of an uphill battle. Deep down, I knew she’d be okay, but she was looking at months of therapy and needing help I couldn’t give her on the road. I knew she could go home with her parents, but I also wanted her to be home, in our place. I shook my head. Those were problems for another day. We still had to deal with today’s surgeries.
“How long have you been married?” Mrs. Randall’s soft voice came from the other side of the bed.
I brought my gaze up to see both of them watching me. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Five months. We got married the weekend after she found out she was being deployed. I wanted the title of her husband before we were separated for six months, something that should have happened years ago. And I wanted to be the first to know if anything happened to her.”
Mrs. Randall’s eyes shimmered again. “Like now.”
It wasn’t a question, but I answered it anyway. “Yes. I knew we’d be on the road. I wanted them to have to find me. And I wasn’t sure what LiteStar would let me do if she needed me but only had the title of girlfriend. As my wife, they’d have to let us cancel shows so I could care for her.”
“Were you going to tell us?” Mr. Randall asked.
I dropped my head. “Honestly? No. The plan was to have a wedding when she returned and the only people who would know we got married before then would be us. My parents didn’t know either.” I knew after all this, I’d need to call them and it wasn’t a conversation I looked forward to.
Mr. Randall nodded, while Mrs. Randall reached over the bed and covered my hand where it held Megan’s. “I’m glad you found your way back to each other. It broke her heart when she left without a word. She thought she was doing the right thing. Giving you the shot you deserved.”
I glanced back down at the woman who had given me a chance at everything I’d ever wanted, even if it meant sacrificing her own happiness. “She was right. I wouldn’t have made it without the choice she made.”
A choice that led her to a hospital bed, injured from an explosion. The hits just kept on coming. There was a soft knock, before the door to the room opened. A tall man in green scrubs stepped through the door.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Anderson. Dr. Wright scheduled Lt. Randall for surgery today, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s correct.” I stood and held out a hand to him. “Jackson Hadden, Megan’s husband.”
He eyed me for a moment, and I waited for the inevitable recognition. His eyes widened.
There it is.
“Jaded Ivory?”
“That’s me. Now, what can you tell me about the surgeries?” I wanted to steer the conversation back to Megan. What band I played for was irrelevant at the moment. Unless it meant better treatment. I hated using my status for anything, but if it meant Megan got the best of everything while she was there, I’d do it.
“Um…yes.” He shook his head once. “Sorry, my wife and I are huge fans. Back to Megan. I don’t want to have to pull her out of sedation for permission only to put her back under. The surgery is pretty routine now that her chest tube can be removed. We’ll complete that in pre-op before we take her back. From there we’ll set both bones.”
Somehow I didn’t think it would be as simple as setting them. “How bad are the breaks?”
He pulled out a large manila folder from under his arm, extracting two X-rays, which he placed on the light board on the side of the room. “This one here,” he said, pointing to the one of her collarbones, “is broken in three places. I’ll have to use metal pins to realign the bones and hold the pieces together and allow them to heal. She’ll need to wear the brace for about four weeks to keep her arm immobile.” He moved to the next picture. “As for her leg, it’s a tibial plateau fracture, which means it’s behind her knee. We could cast and let it heal, but since she is an active young woman, I would prefer to immobilize it with a metal plate and screws. This will allow her to resume her normal activities much quicker than if we let the bone heal on its own.”
Megan already had enough to contend with. She didn’t need longer healing times. As her husband, I knew the decision was mine. That didn’t stop me from looking at her parents and waiting for their approval before I nodded at the doctor. “Yes to both.”
Dr. Anderson nodded. “I’ll have someone bring you the forms to sign and we’ll get Megan wheeled upstairs.”
The doctor left the room and it wasn’t long before two nurses came back in. I signed the forms the one nurse handed me, while the other moved the IV bags to a pole she’d attached to Megan’s bed. They wheeled her down the hall, leaving me alone with my in-laws once again.
Mr. Randall stood and held a hand out to his wife. “Come on, both of you,” he said, looking over at me. “Megan is going to be in surgery for at least a few hours. The nurses have our numbers and none of us has eaten. We’ll need our strength to help Megan over the next few weeks.”
I knew he was right, but it didn’t make it any easier walking out of that hospital room. Even with Megan upstairs for surgery, I wanted to make sure I was there when she returned to the room.
When I didn’t move, Mrs. Randall walked over and laid a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll be back before she returns.”
I glanced up at the soft smile on her face. “Okay.”
I stood and we made our way down to the cafeteria. My stomach still felt queasy, but I knew her parents were right. I needed to eat something to keep up my strength. We grabbed some wraps and chips. Each bite tasted sour, but I forced it down anyway. It could’ve been a five-star meal and it still wouldn’t have tasted good. The coffee was a welcome burst of caffeine.
After about an hour, we made our way back up to Megan’s room. I talked to my parents and the band while we waited, giving them all the information I had. Mom was a little upset she hadn’t known we’d gotten married but was more worried about Megan at the moment. I knew when Megan felt better we’d both get an earful and I’d take it just to know Megan was awake and healthy sitting beside me.
The doctor had come in to let us know the procedures had gone well and Megan would be brought down soon. Both braces would need to stay on for now and she’d have to keep weight off her leg for the next twelve weeks. Not easy with only one working arm, but we’d find a way to make it happen.
Eventually Megan was wheeled back into the room. This time a bandage covered her shoulder beneath the brace and her leg lay on top of the blanket. A long strip of gauze ran along the side of her leg, beneath a heavy looking metal brace. Her lashes rested against her cheeks and her color had started to return. If it hadn’t been for the injuries on her face, I would have thought she was taking a nap. Now, more than ever, I wanted her to wake up and talk to me. I wanted to know she was all right.
Hours passed as she slept. The lack of sleep started to get the better of me and I rested my head on the bed, where I held her hand. Her mom and dad had taken seats across the room. Both of them asleep. Her dad rested his head against the wall and her mom’s head lay on his shoulder. My eyes fluttered shut even as I tried to keep them open.
Movement by my head had me lurching up into a seated position. I had no idea how long had passed. Megan’s fingers lightly griped my hand. I searched her face, waiting for any sign that she was awake. Then I saw it. Her eyes fluttered lightly.
“Come on, Megan. Open those beautiful green eyes for me.”
38
Megan
A voice in my head tried to pull me from sleep, but my eyelids felt so heavy, almost like I couldn’t lift them. Jackson’s voice filtered through my mind.
“Come on, Megan. Open those beautiful green eyes for me.”
I tried again. Blurry shapes and images appeared before me. I blinked a few times and things began to take shape. The big outline in front of me slowly morphed into Jackson. His eyes reflected the light as his eyes filled with tears and he watched me with a small smile on his face.
“There you are, beautiful.”
The
unfamiliar room filled the rest of my vision as confusion set in. “Where,” I croaked out, but my dry throat wouldn’t let me continue. I coughed, pain radiating up my side. Jackson grabbed a cup of water and brought it over, placing the straw at my lips.
“Don’t try to talk yet. Take a small sip and I’ll explain.”
I closed my lips around the straw and took a sip. The water cooled my burning throat, but I kept my focus on Jackson. My mind had a ton of blurry images parading through it, but I couldn’t make sense of anything. When I let go of the straw, Jackson set it back on the table. When he faced me again, he bent down and pressed his forehead to mine. His shoulder shook and his breathing hitched.
“I’ve been so worried about you.” His voice sounded raw, raspy.
“What—” I tried again, but he covered my lips with his finger.
He pulled back and I could see the tear streaks on his cheeks. I attempted to move my arm to brush them away when I realized it had been secured to my side with a brace. My eyes darted to his.
He caressed my cheek. “I don’t know exactly what happened, except that there was an explosion. They—”
At the word explosion, the blurry images in my head solidified and the memories came racing to the surface.
“Caravan.”
“What?” His brows drew together.
I cleared my throat and tried again. “Caravan. We went out to help. Rockets hit the Humvees.”
I knew I couldn’t get the whole story out. I could tell him the rest later. It had been enough for understanding to light his eyes. We had soldiers injured in the field. The area should have been secured. It hadn’t been. Halfway there, rockets came from the side. The force threw us from the vehicle.
My heart started to race. I’d seen plenty of soldiers after attacks like that. Most with life-changing injuries. More often than not, they needed amputation of one or more of their limbs. It became harder and harder to breathe. Jackson’s eyes widened like saucers.
“Megan, what’s wrong? I’ll call the nurse.”
He moved to grab the call button and I squeezed his hand to get his attention. “Where. Am. I?” I said between each panted breath.
Germany meant things were as bad as I feared.
He watched me cautiously. “Maryland.”
I sucked in a full breath, which hurt like hell, and let it out slowly. Maryland. Things couldn’t have been that bad if they sent me home. If I’d been sent to Germany, I knew Jackson would have come there, so the attack couldn’t have been that long ago.
“Megan?” Concern was etched in every single one of his gorgeous features.
I closed my eyes and braced myself to take stock of my injuries. At least if I knew what I was dealing with, I could focus on healing and getting back to my life. I opened my eyes again and stared directly into Jackson’s, wanting the truth not some sugar-coated version he might want to give me to keep me from freaking out.
“How bad?”
He winced.
“Jackson.” I watched him. “I need to know.” My voice was still weak, but I knew he could hear the demand in my tone.”
He sighed. “Damaged spleen, but they were able to repair it before you were flown back to the States. Broken ribs that punctured your lung.” Those explained the pain in my side.
“Chest tube?”
He nodded. “Yes, but they took it out before surgery today.”
“Surgery?” The racing in my heart started again.
His eyes moved to my shoulder and leg. “They had to set the break in your collarbone with pins and the fracture in your leg with a metal plate. Plus all the cuts and bruises.”
“That’s it?”
Jackson’s brows flew into his hairline. “That’s it? What do you mean that’s it? That’s not enough for you?” His voice grew louder with each word.
I got it. He hadn’t seen what I had overseas. No, the next few months wouldn’t be easy, but I’d been lucky as hell. Things could have been so much worse. I moved both of my legs, the weight from the brace making it more difficult. They were both there. I had a feeling not everyone in that caravan was as lucky.
“Jackson?”
I moved my gaze across the room, where my mom was sitting up in a chair, my dad right next to her.
“She’s awake.”
“Oh, my baby.” She came rushing forward. If they were here, that meant they knew we were married.
I watched my mom, waiting for her reaction, but all she did was lean over and hug me lightly.
“Mom,” I whispered, but she shook her head.
“Shh, rest. We can talk later. I’m just glad to see you awake.”
That was when the back of my eyes started to sting. I’d been so focused on the where and what of it all that I hadn’t stopped to realize how badly my family had been suffering over the last few days. I glanced over at Jackson and for the first time noticed the heavy, dark circles beneath his eyes. It didn’t look like he’d slept in days.
My dad came over to the bed, and they both looked just as exhausted as Jackson did. “Good job coming back to us, kiddo.”
I gave him a small smile. My limbs started to feel heavy. Now that I had the answers, I could relax. The last few days won out over my desire to see and comfort my family. My lids began to droop. I could deal with what my parents knew and didn’t know tomorrow.
Dad rested his hand on my uninjured foot. “Now that you’re awake and we know you’re going to be all right, I’m going to take your mother back to the room the army got for us to get some sleep.”
“That’s a good idea,” I said through a yawn. I glanced over at Jackson. “Did they get you a room too?”
Jackson nodded. “But I’m not staying there. I’m not leaving your side until you leave this place.”
I thought about arguing with him, until I noticed his stiff shoulders and the firm set of his mouth. I even waited for my dad or mom to talk him out of it. There would be no way he’d get any sleep here. But neither of them did.
Dad watched Jackson with approval. “That’s what a good husband does for his wife.” He turned back to me. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Mom kissed me on the cheek and then they were gone, leaving me alone with Jackson and a ton of questions I was too tired to ask.
I opened my mouth, but Jackson covered my lips with his in a soft kiss. When he lifted his head, he rested his forehead against mine. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”
I relaxed back into the pillows. Whatever had happened over the last few days didn’t matter. Everything would be fine. My parents didn’t even seem upset that we’d gotten married, but even if they were, I knew I’d made the right decision. The man pulling up two chairs next to my bed to stay with me in the hospital loved me more than anything and I wouldn’t trade that for the world.
A week later, and many uncomfortable nights for Jackson, the hospital finally agreed that I could go home. My parents offered to drive me back to their place, but their house was small, full of cramped corners, making wheelchair access not easy. And neither of them could afford to take off work. I knew Jackson would give them money to cover their salaries, but both he and I knew my parents were too proud to accept it. Which left me heading home to our condo.
With the wide-open plan it had, I would be able to somewhat navigate around the house. The bigger problem would be when Jackson had to return to the tour. The record company had agreed to two more weeks of canceled shows, but they expected him to meet the band in the next city. Not that I could blame them. We were talking millions of dollars in tickets. And eventually, they’d have to reschedule the shows that were canceled. Most likely near the end of the tour.
The plane ride hadn’t been the most comfortable even in first class, but Jackson made sure to get me on the aisle so my leg had room to stretch out. I could bend it for short periods of time. My ribs still ached, as did the cut on my abdomen. I think the broken collarbone hurt the least. Thank God for the pain meds in
the hospital.
When we arrived at the condo, Jackson wheeled me onto the elevator. The chime of the elevator was music to my ears. It was the sound of home. I’d be able to sleep in my own bed each night. We reached the door, but before he could get his keys out, it flew open to reveal Monty with a huge smile on his face.
“Shoulda changed the locks.” He laughed, dangling the key from his fingers.
“What are you doing here?” Jackson pulled Monty into a quick hug, before Monty bent down and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
“Your wife is just coming home from the hospital. Did you really expect me not to come and check on you?”
Jackson patted him on the cheek. “I think your wife is bringing out the sweet in you.”
Monty smacked his hand away. “Shut up, ass.”
“Nice to see things haven’t changed.” It was also nice to see the way the light reflected off Jackson’s wedding band, which had resided on his finger since the moment I woke up in the hospital.
Jackson sniffed the air. “Do I smell food?”
Monty clasped him on the shoulder. “That you do, my friend. Come on, let’s get you guys something to eat.”
Jackson pushed me down the hall and into the living room, where everyone else was waiting. Jenna and Mari held up a welcome home banner. While Allana and Heath held up a sign that read ‘Congratulations, Newlyweds.”
“Congratulations,” everyone shouted.
I couldn’t stop the smile from breaking free. Seeing all of these people surrounding us, accepting me as part of their family, made a warm feeling spread through me.
Mari was the first to come up and press a kiss to my cheek. “We’re so happy for the two of you.”
“Can I see the rings?” Jenna asked.
I lifted my hand. Jackson had gone through my stuff at the hospital to find them. Now that everyone knew, it didn’t matter where or when I wore them.
Play Me (Jaded Ivory Book 5) Page 26