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She nodded then winced at the pain shooting through her head. “Yes, I’m fine. I can walk. I just wish the ground would stop moving.”
Luke strode toward the hospital entrance, panic building in him like a pot of water ready to boil over.
He couldn’t even remember how he got here. Everything was a blur after he’d gotten the call from Bear. He’d already dropped Emma off and had been heading back to the ranch when Bear called to tell him Kaylee had been in an accident.
He’d registered the wordsthrown from a horseandprobably a concussion, but the rest was lost in the rush of noise in his ears as he whipped a U-turn on the highway and sped back to town.
He was still on autopilot as he parked and hurried across the parking lot, but once his feet hit the sidewalk, he stopped in his tracks as if he’d run into a glass door.
Memories of this exact same moment from five years before slammed into him. He’d gotten the call about Beth and raced to the hospital in the same way. He pressed his fist to his forehead, forcing the memories away. This wasn’t about Beth. This was about Kaylee, and she was hurt.
Focusing on his boots, he forced his feet to take another step forward. Then another.
I can do this. It’s not the same.
The automatic hospital doors opened with a whoosh and the smells hit him like a freight train, almost knocking him to his knees. The distinct scents of antiseptic and bleach, of cafeteria food and sickness. He could hear the sound of a crying infant and the hack of someone’s phlegmy cough.
He swallowed the bile building in his throat as he took a step back. Hecouldn’tdo this.
Just the smell and the sounds of the emergency room were hitting him like a two by four to the face. What would happen when he had to walk inside and up to the desk?
Come on, Montgomery. Man up. It’s Kaylee.
He pushed forward, one step at a time, through the doors and toward the receptionist, the tension-filled air of people waiting to see a doctor pressing in on him.
Thankfully he recognized the receptionist. She was an older woman who was a deaconess at his church. She smiled at him as he approached the desk then her smile turned into a concerned frown. “You okay, Luke?”
“Kaylee. Collins. She was brought in a little bit ago.”
“Yes, of course. With Mr. Berenger. He said he would be calling you. She’s still in the trauma center. You can go on back.”
Trauma center? A bone-deep fear shot through him. Were her injuries worse than he feared?
Kaylee leaned her head back against the pillow as she waited for the ibuprofen the nurse had given her to kick in. She peered over at Bear, whose large body made the chair he was sitting in seem like a child’s.
His knee bounced with impatience. “Where is that dang doctor?”
“He’ll be here,” she said then held out her hand. “Can I open my present while I wait?”
Bear shook his head and uttered a gruff, “Yeah.” He passed the gift bag. “It’s nothing special. Just something that made me think of you.”
She was touched that he’d made her a gift at all. “I’m sure I’ll love it.” She reached into the bag and pulled out a square of cardboard. She gasped as she peered at the silver chain and pendant attached to it with scotch tape. The pendant was the “K” key of an old antique typewriter. “Oh my gosh, Bear. I do love it. It’s amazing.”
He shrugged but the hint of a pleased smile threatened to curve his lips. “It’s no big deal. I just took one of the keys off an old typewriter I had in the basement and strung it on a chain. Some might say it’s just a piece of junk. But I thought you might appreciate the significance.”
“I do.” She pressed the necklace to her chest. “It’s wonderful.” She peeled the tape from the cardboard and pulled the chain over her head, taking care to not catch it in the gauze bandage the nurse had affixed to her forehead. “It’s one of the top ten best gifts I’ve ever received.”
He frowned. “Then I’d say you don’t have very good gift-givers in your life.”
She laughed but the movement made her head hurt. She leaned back against the pillow as she noticed Bear check his watch for the umpteenth time. “You can go. I know you have plans, and I’m fine, really. I’m not going anywhere.”
He looked from her to his watch again then pushed to his feet. “If I hadn’t made plans already, I’d stay.” He edged closer to the door. “And I’m not good with all this hospital stuff.”
“I totally get it. And it’s not like I’m going anywhere.”
He reached out and awkwardly patted her hand. “Take care of yourself. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”
“You too. And thanks again for my present.”
