The Chase (11 page)

Samantha’s eyes grew wide with alarm. “Chancellor’s in the hospital, too?”

“Yes, sweetie.”

“But why is he in the hospital if he’s okay?” Her lower lip quivered, as if she were about to cry again.

Kendall knelt down and put her arm around Samantha. “Samantha, I promise you that Chancellor is fine,” she said, forcing a reassuring smile.

Samantha didn’t return Kendall’s smile, but at least she didn’t cry. She turned away and stared outside, leaning her forehead against the windowpane. “Is Jake a cowboy?”

Kendall followed her gaze and saw that Jake’s cowboy hat rested on the dash in front of him. “Yes, he is.”

“I’ve never met a real cowboy before. Is he nice?”

“Yes.” Kendall supposed Samantha probably would think Jake was nice. Elizabeth had certainly seemed smitten with him.

“Why’s he sitting in the car?”

“It’s such a pretty evening, he wanted to stay outside,” Kendall said. The truth was, she hadn’t invited him in. Neither of them had spoken a word to each other since his outburst on the drive over.

“Samantha, would you like to go outside and meet him?” Deb asked. “I met him when Kendall arrived.”

Samantha turned away from the window and looked at Kendall. “Would that be okay?”

“Sure.”

“Can Emma come, too? I don’t think she’s ever met a real cowboy before, either,” Samantha said.

“Of course she can.”

“Let me go and get Emma from the playroom,” Deb said. “You two go on out. We’ll be there in a minute.”

Kendall opened the front door and reached for Samantha’s hand. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go meet your cowboy.”

As they walked towards the Jeep, Jake opened the door and stepped out.

“Jake, I have someone here who’d like to meet you,” Kendall said when they reached the vehicle. “Samantha, this is Jake. Jake, this is Samantha.”

Jake held out his hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Samantha.”

Samantha smiled shyly and put her small hand in his. “It’s nice to meet you, too,” she said softly.

“I told Samantha that you and Chancellor are friends,” Kendall said.

“Oh, boy, are we ever.” Jake let go of Samantha’s hand and leaned back against the Jeep.

“Kendall told me that Chancellor’s in the horse hospital but that he’s going to be okay,” Samantha said.

Jake glanced at Kendall. “That’s right, darling.”

The door to the house opened and Deb and Emma walked out. “That’s my best friend, Emma,” Samantha said. “I’m going to have a sleepover here because my daddy is in the hospital and my mommy is spending the night there with him.”

“I heard about that,” Jake said.

“Emma, this is Jake,” Samantha said when Emma reached them. “He’s a real cowboy.”

Emma looked down at his boots. “Do you ride bucking broncos?”

Jake smiled. “No. I usually ride a nice quarter horse named Charlie.”

“What color is Charlie?”

“He’s a bay, just like Chancellor. And he has a big old blaze down his face and four white socks.”

“Do you go foxhunting with Charlie?” Emma asked.

“Don’t be silly, Emma. Cowboys don’t go foxhunting,” Samantha said.

“Samantha’s right,” Jake said. “I don’t know the first thing about foxhunting. Do the two of you foxhunt?”

Both girls giggled. “No, we’re still too little,” Samantha replied. “But my daddy’s going to take me beagling on the leadline next year, when I’m six.”

Jake frowned. “Beagling? What’s that?”

“That’s when you go foxhunting with beagles instead of foxhounds. It’s for kids,” Samantha explained.

“That sounds like it’ll be real fun.”

“Girls, I think we’ve taken up enough of Jake’s time,” Deb said. “Why don’t we head back inside and make those ice cream sundaes?”

“Okay,” both girls said in unison.

“It was nice to meet you, Jake,” Samantha said. “Thank you for helping make Chancellor feel better.”

He nodded at her. “You’re welcome, darling. He’s a nice horse. I’m glad I got to help him. You tell him hi for me when he gets home, okay?”

“Okay.” Samantha turned to Kendall and held her arms out for a hug. “Bye-bye, Kendall. I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetie,” Kendall said, giving her a big squeeze. “You have fun with Emma tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kendall turned to Deb. “Thanks, Deb.” She leaned close to give her a hug and whispered, “Don’t forget about locking the doors.”

Deb nodded and held a hand out to each girl. “Come on, girls. The gummy bears are waiting.”

Kendall and Jake watched in silence as the girls skipped up the walk to the house.

“Cute kids,” Jake said.

“Aren’t they? Thanks for being so nice to them. They were thrilled to meet a real cowboy.”

He smiled wryly. “Yeah, I guess I kind of stick out like a sore thumb around here.”

“You’re somewhat of a novelty in hunt country, let’s put it that way.” Kendall walked around to the driver’s door. “I guess we can be on our way.”

They both climbed into the Jeep and Kendall put the key in the ignition, but she didn’t start the engine. Instead, she took a deep breath and turned to Jake.

“Look—”

“Kendall—”

They both stopped. “Ladies first,” Jake said.

She forced herself to look him in the eye. “I was just going to say that I’m sorry if I’ve seemed inhospitable. I think it’s a wonderful thing you did, helping rescue Chancellor.”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “Thanks.”

“Now, what were you going to say?”

He exhaled loudly. “I was going to say that I’m sorry about what I said about your ex-husband. That was hitting below the belt.”

She gave him a curt nod. “Apology accepted.”

“And one more thing. I shouldn’t have made that remark about when Mrs. Cummings’s baby is due.”

Kendall was surprised by his admission. Perhaps he wasn’t as insensitive as she’d thought. “Anne and Doug are really good people. And they are very much in love. They didn’t get married because they
had
to, and it really upset me to hear you imply that. Especially now, with Doug lying in a coma.”

She felt Jake watching her as she started the engine and put the Jeep in gear, and when she made eye contact, he smiled. “You’re a good friend, sticking up for them like that. I admire your loyalty. And like I said, I’m sorry about the comment. I feel like a jerk for saying it.”

At least we agree on one thing
, Kendall thought.

T
he graying light of dawn was just creeping into the hospital room when
S
Anne thought she saw Doug’s fingers move. She bolted forward in her chair, her eyes glued to his hand. Had his fingers really moved, or had she imagined it?

She slipped her hand over his and squeezed lightly. “I’m right here, Doug. I’m holding your hand. Can you feel it? Wiggle your fingers if you can hear me.”

Anne loosened her grasp on Doug’s hand and stared at his fingers.
Please, God, let them move
, she prayed. But Doug’s hand lay limply in hers.

She stood up and placed her hand against his cheek. “Doug, please wake up. Our baby needs you. You can’t let our baby grow up without ever knowing you. Please, please, try to wake up.”

The rhythmic whoosh of the ventilator was the only response, and Anne sank into the chair and closed her eyes.

She awoke with a start to a high-pitched shrieking sound and heard a female voice scream, “He’s bucking the vent!”

Anne saw two nurses leaning over Doug’s bed. “What’s happening?” she asked, struggling to her feet and covering her ears with her hands. She turned her head in the direction of the sound and realized it was coming from the ventilator.

The nurse nearest to Anne held an arm out and motioned for her to stay back. “Mr. Cummings, you’re in the hospital, and you have a tube down your airway. The more you fight it, the more uncomfortable it will be,” she said in a loud voice. “You must try to calm down.”

Anne rushed to the foot of the bed, where she had a clear view of Doug.

His eyes were open and they flashed back and forth wildly as he strained against the nurses’ grasp.

“What’s happening to him?”

“He’s trying to pull the ventilator tube out,” the nurse replied. “If he doesn’t settle down, we’ll give him Diprivan.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s an anesthetic.”

Anne slid around the side of the bed so she was closer to Doug. She put her hand on his leg. “Doug, it’s okay. Stop fighting. Everything’s okay. Just try to relax.”

Doug’s blue eyes focused on Anne and his struggling stopped.

“There you go. Just take it easy,” the nurse said, keeping her hold on his arm while reaching over and silencing the alarm on the ventilator. “I know it’s uncomfortable.”

Anne touched the nurse’s shoulder. “Please, may I stand next to him?”

The nurse spoke to Doug. “Mr. Cummings, if I let go of your arm so your wife can move closer to you, do you promise not to grab at the tube again?”

Doug made a choking noise and tried to lift his hand.

“No, don’t try to speak. You won’t be able to talk while you’re on the ventilator. Just nod your head,” the nurse said calmly.

Doug nodded.

“Okay.” The nurse let go of his arm and moved aside. “I’m going to call respiratory therapy.”

Anne reached for his hand and could have shouted with joy when she felt him squeeze her hand in return. She smiled and leaned close to him. “Doug, you had a car accident and you’ve been unconscious for a little while.”

His eyes were worried and full of questions, and Anne brought his hand up to her mouth and brushed her lips against it, then rested it against her cheek. “Everything’s okay. You’re going to be just fine.”

Anne heard the sound of approaching footsteps. She turned, to see Dr. Martin enter the room.

“I was on the floor and heard that Mr. Cummings is awake,” he said, nodding at Anne as he walked around to the opposite side of Doug’s bed.

“Respiratory therapy is on the way, Dr. Martin, and we’ve paged Dr. Hollins,” the nurse said.

“Very good.”

“The ventilator is bothering him,” Anne said. “Can he come off it now?”

“That’s what we’re going to determine.” Dr. Martin placed his hand on Doug’s shoulder. “Mr. Cummings, I’m going to ask you to move different parts of your body, okay?”

Doug nodded.

“All right. Let me see you move your right foot. Very good. Now your left foot. Great. And your left hand. Good. And, now, if your wife will let go of your right hand for just a moment, I’d like to see you move it. Wonderful.”

He took a penlight out of his jacket pocket and aimed it at each of Doug’s eyes. “Excellent.”

A woman had arrived while Dr. Martin was examining Doug, and she studied the monitors. The doctor looked expectantly at her.

“Hi, Dr. Martin. I’m Lori from respiratory therapy.”

“What’s your assessment?”

“Sir, I don’t think we need weaning parameters. He’s awake, he’s pulling big tidal volumes, and his oxygen saturation level is one hundred percent. There’s really no need for him to be on the vent.”

A nurse entered the room. “Dr. Hollins is on the phone.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Dr. Martin said, walking towards the door.

He returned in a few moments and said to the woman from respiratory therapy, “Dr. Hollins says to go ahead and extubate.”

The doctor turned to Anne. “Mrs. Cummings, why don’t you and I wait out in the hallway while they extubate your husband. You’ll be able to come back in a few minutes.”

“Do I have to leave?” Anne asked. “Can’t I stay in here, if I keep out of the way?”

Dr. Martin smiled at her. “You’re better off waiting outside, Mrs. Cummings. They’ll take very good care of him. I promise.”

Anne figured she wasn’t going to get anywhere arguing with him. She squeezed Doug’s hand and kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a minute. I love you.”

Z
elda waited next to the pay phone and grabbed the receiver on the first ring. “Hello?”

“Hi, babe,” Earl drawled in his sexy voice.

“Hey. I missed talking to you last night. Is everything okay?” She ran her hand up and down the metal phone cord as she spoke.