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“Mom, I’m not leaving him. I’m safe. Trust me, being surrounded by the Slades is the safest place I can be.”
I finally talk them both down from flying out here and my dad says he’ll give Silas a call and fill him in along with Mallory. I don’t have the emotional bandwidth to explain things to anyone else tonight, especially when I still have a million unanswered questions myself.
I hang up and see two police offers walk through the emergency room doors. They spot Ranger and Decker and walk over to them. Trent motions for us to gather around.
“Sheriff,” Drake says to one man, “Deputy,” to the other. Clearly, they all know each other.
“We’re going to need to take statements from you three, standard protocol. But I wanted to come down here first and see how Tyler’s doing and let you know we found them.”
“And?” Drake says.
“They’re two known poachers. They’ve had arrests and outstanding warrants in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. They claim they had no idea that Tyler was a man on a horse. They said he looked like an elk.”
“Oh, bullshit!” Trent snaps.
“Hey, I think that’s a crock, too, but I’m just relaying his statement. The guy mentioned that he didn’t see any neon orange—”
“Why the hell would he?” Ranger shakes his head. “We aren’t hunters. That’s our fucking land and we were working.”
“I understand. You guys aren’t in the wrong here at all. They’ve both been arrested on poaching and trespassing charges, plus the unlawful use of a weapon.”
“That’s it?” Trent is practically up on the cop’s nose.
“For now. I’m pushing to charge them with attempted murder, but we’ll have to see what the judge comes back with. I gotta tell you, it could be attempted manslaughter or even criminal negligence.”
Ranger pulls his hat off and walks away. Trent’s face is so red it looks like it’s about to pop, and Decker just laughs.
“Fucking joke,” he mutters.
“You men need to go outside and calm down; you’re making a scene. I’ll talk to the sheriff and deputy,” Drake says.
By the time the police leave, it’s almost 1 a.m. Visiting hours are long over, but the doctor has given us special dispensation.
“We’ll see him tomorrow. We want you to stay with him.” Drake squeezes my shoulders as Celeste embraces me. I say good night to everyone and Trent stops on the way out.
“Hey, here’s a few bucks. Please go over there get something from the vending machine just to humor me. I know you’re wrecked and not hungry, but you have to take care of yourself right now.”
I thank him, promising I will. I grab a pack of Cheez-Its and some juice and follow a nurse back to where Tyler is.
I hold my breath as her shoes squeak down the quiet hallway. I’m terrified of what I’m about to see. I stop just outside his door and brace myself. The nurse can clearly see my apprehension and she grabs my hand.
“He’s okay. He’s strong. Just go in there and talk to him. He can hear you.”
I let out a breath and walk inside the room. The soft beep of the machines around him is all I hear. There are tubes coming out of him, and he looks so alone and helpless, I almost lose it again.
I pull up a chair next to him and grab his limp hand, bringing it to my lips. I plant tear-soaked kisses on it as I silently pray.
“You have to make it, please,” I whisper. “I need you. Our baby needs you. I can’t do this alone.”
