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Another minute or so and the woman behind the desk returned to her position, a nurse following on her heels. “Mr. Gold?”
Jumping to his feet, Jared hurried up to her. “That’s me.”
The Governor inched closer, his ear still attached to his cell phone, but his attention clearly focused on what the nurse was about to say.
“The boy is conscious.”
He could hear every person in the waiting room blow out a relieved breath. Much of the tension that had settled between his shoulders and spiraled up his neck slid away.
“We’re going to run some tests to make sure there are no internal injuries, no brain bleeds…”
His mind fixated on brain bleeds.
“The problem,” she continued, “is that you are not his guardian. We’re of course treating him under emergency conditions, but if we can’t get authorization from the person legally responsible for him, we’re going to have to call in social services before he can be released.”
Even though he nodded calmly, he knew exactly what she was implying, and also knew that unless Mary woke up unexpectedly, that authorization was going to be slow coming.
The Governor narrowed his gaze, and as the woman once again disappeared behind the double doors, he turned back up the hall to continue his conversation.
“Now what?” Eve whispered.
“I have no idea.” But one thing he was sure of, doing nothing wasn’t an option. An advantage of being one of the larger ranches in this part of the state, and having a father who played corporate games better than he raised cattle, was that the family had a plethora of good lawyers. Now, he simply needed to find the right one.
His phone in his hand, he scrolled through his contacts, when the Governor set his hand on Jared’s arm. “I’ve got the ball rolling on this.”
Of course, Jared didn’t have a clue what ball the Governor was rolling, but he did know that the man had more contacts than the almighty himself. For now, he’d sit tight and see how things unfolded, but for Jake’s sake, he hoped reality wasn’t as dismal as his frenzied imagination.
Chapter Fourteen
Not sure what else she could do, Eve’s thoughts ran to Jake all alone and she leaned over the desk. “Can we go see him now?”
The woman looked horribly confused, or perhaps torn.
The Governor stepped up beside his granddaughter. “The child is most likely very confused by all the strangers.”
“Yes, I understand, but only immediate relatives are allowed inside.”
“We’re as immediate as he has at the moment.” Jared stared the woman down.
“I, uh, understand, but,” the clerk shook her head, “I don’t make the rules.”
“Yes.” The Governor smiled that knowing grin that Eve recognized all too well. Her grandfather had something up his sleeve. She was positive.
“James.” A tall man with salt and pepper hair approached, his arm extended. “So glad I happened to be at my desk.”
“Yes. Ed.” The Governor smiled at the man. “As discussed, my granddaughter and neighbor want to be inside with the injured boy.”
“Yes. I already checked with the nurse’s station. He’s been taken for a CAT scan. Let me escort you back to the ER and you can wait for him there.”
The young lady behind the desk stared wide eyed at the man as if he were stark naked and speaking Martian, but didn’t dare say a contradicting word when the four of them followed her grandfather through the double doors and into a small exam room.
It had been ages since Eve had seen the inside of an ER and the lack of curtained areas and move to all private rooms surprised her.
Inside, the Governor gestured for Lila to sit in the one available chair.
“I’ll see about getting you a few more seats.” Ed turned on his heel.
“Thank you.” The Governor nodded.
