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“Ed Fontenot was out fishing, and he didn’t see her. He rammed right into her. He didn’t know what he hit until the hardware from the bimini flew up at him.”

Justin’s shoulders shook as he tried to hold it together. Suddenly, he wished he was alone so he could scream. It was apparent why people informed of terrible news fell to their knees. That kind of knowledge took over your body. His bowels rumbled as his mouth filled with water, the need to throw up overpowering, so he pulled over and quickly opened the door.

Dave rubbed his brother’s back, crying. It was a clear indication of the depth of his despair.

When he was finished, he sat up and rummaged in the back for a box of wipes. He was a vet, of course he’d have something like that.

“You’re always prepared,” Dave said.

“In case I get horseshit on my hands,” he said, his voice breaking.

The irreverent comment took his mind off Maggie for just a second. Less than a second.

“Are you okay?”

“No, but I’ll survive,” he said, pulling back onto the road.

The hour drive into New Orleans was a nightmare, his mind whirling as Dave told him what he knew, that the fishing boat called for help the moment the captain realized what had happened. His son jumped in to make sure he kept her face above water, worried that he’d hurt her if she had a broken neck so they didn’t do anything else until the Coast Guard got there.

They got her aboard their vessel and went to the village dock, where a helicopter had been dispatched to take her to the medical center.

“Gus said they told him her face was protected by the canvas cover of the bimini. It couldn’t prevent a skull fracture…”

“Skull fracture!”

“They think she might have a skull fracture and a broken nose, but she didn’t have any cuts.”

Justin lost it then, hunched close to the wheel, keeping his eyes as focused as he could, but crying. Thinking of his beloved Maggie, so sorry he’d rocked the boat over the stupid cottage paint job and now this. If she died, he’d regret that for the rest of his life. Thank god they’d made up and danced and made love Saturday night. He’d always have those wonderful memories of her if anything horrible happened.

Then he pulled himself together, and his inner voice admonished the negative dialogue while Dave chattered about the roadhouse and the dancing. It was a good segue from fear, and Justin appreciated it.

They finally arrived at the Trauma Center entrance, and Dave took the wheel so Justin could get inside. Gus, Rose and Aunt Elizabeth were waiting for Justin, in a huddle weeping. For a minute, Justin thought she’d died, and wailed as he grabbed Aunt Elizabeth to hug.

“She’s stable, she’s stable,” Gus quickly explained. “Beat up badly, but stable. No broken jaw, no skull fracture, but she does have a head injury from the impact, a severe concussion.”

“Is she unconscious?” he asked.

“She’s awake now, and she’s frantic, asking for you. She’s worried about the dog.”

Just then the doctor came out and addressed Rose.

“She’s asking for Justin and won’t calm down until she knows he’s on his way.”

“Doctor, this is Maggie’s fiancé, Dr. Chastain.”

They shook hands, and then the ER doctor’s expression changed. “You see our horses,” he said, surprised. “You or your father.”

Justin nodded his head, trying to place him while the doctor led the way to the emergency room to see Maggie, explaining that she was stable and would be okay, but she had a rough road immediately ahead of her.

“Try to get her to relax. She keeps talking about a rescue and her dog and, of course, you.”

Justin gave him the short version of Maggie’s rescue. “She’s right in the middle of getting it up and running, so I know she’s going to push herself to recover so she can get back to work.”

“She’s in here,” the doctor said, opening the door to Maggie’s cubicle. “We’ll be transferring her to intensive care in about an hour when a bed opens up.”

Justin took a step over the threshold, and Maggie must have been trying to watch because he heard a weak cry, “Justin!”

Running over to her bed, the nurse in the room stepped away as the couple wept, her arms encumbered with IVs and monitoring devices, struggling to embrace him as he leaned over the bed railing to hug her gently, crying as he kissed the little bit of face he could reach. Relief flooded over him as he noticed there was no blood visible except for a little bit around her right nostril, the broken nose probably.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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