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The doctor stood at the foot of the bed. “Mrs. Webster has suffered a linear fracture of the skull.”
“But what does that mean?” Newt demanded.
“It’s the most common type of skull fracture,” the doctor told him. “There’s a break in the bone, but the bone itself doesn’t move.”
“But what does that mean for her? Will she be able to leave here in a few days, or a few weeks? Has there been any brain damage?”
Newt’s words sent Robert into a blind panic, and his heart pounded.
Toby’s hand was at his neck, firm yet gentle, and Robert took a breath.
“The longest she might expect to stay is a week, but I think she could be out of here by Friday or Saturday.”
“What about the bleeding from her ear?” Robert asked. “Isn’t that serious? One of the ER doctors said something about cerebral spinal fluid.”
“We did think that for a while, but that proved false. There was a lot of blood from two facial lacerations, and it was this blood you saw runningintoher ear, not from it. The cat scan ruled out the possibility of spinal fluid leakage.” He pointed to her arm. “Her arm suffered a complex fracture, and we had to operate. But after five days with us, she should be able to go home, where she’ll need plenty of rest.”
Diana opened her eyes, and Robert’s legs almost buckled under him with relief. She blinked several times. “Where… where am I?”
Newt stood, still holding her hand. “Hey there, darlin’. You’re in the hospital.”
She frowned. “What am I doing here?”
Robert stroked her forehead. “You had an accident.”
Her frown deepened. “What happened?”
“You don’t remember?” Fuck, she sounded so confused, so unlike her usual self that a trickle of panic slithered down Robert’s spine.
“What happened?” she repeated. “Why am I here?”
“The confusion is normal,” the doctor said in a low voice. “She’s suffering from concussion.”
“You took a tumble off your horse,” Newt said in a gentle voice.
“I did?” Her brows knitted together, and she raised her hand to peer at the tubes coming from the canula.
“Gentlemen, she needs to rest,” the doctor told them.
“Can I stay with her?” Newt hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
In all the years since their marriage, Robert had gotten along with his brother-in-law, but they hadn’t exactly bonded. They saw each other during the holidays, at Diana’s fortieth birthday party which had been the talk of Bozeman forweeks, just fragments of time here and there. For the first time, he felt a connection.
Diana connected them. Their love and concern for her united them.
“You can stay a while longer, until she falls asleep. Then I’d recommend going home and getting some sleep yourself. It’s been a long day for you.”
“I’ll take you home,” Toby murmured in Robert’s ear. “The doc’s right. You need to sleep.”
Robert didn’t want to move from her bedside, but he knew Toby made a lot of sense.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”
Diana didn’t respond, but brought her hand up to touch his arm.
Robert gave Newt a nod. “You get some rest too, y’hear?”
“I will.” He returned his attention to Diana.
