23. Beth

"Conner. Oh, my heavens, Conner. No," Beth screamed as the horrific scene unfolded in front of her. Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat. Her head started to spin and for a brief second, Beth was afraid that she was going to pass out.

The crowd gasped, screamed, and cried out around her. They were horrified at the spectacle in front of them.

"Look," someone screamed. "A little girl is running into the arena toward the man."

Beth nearly fainted when she saw Taryn flying toward Conner's bloodied and broken body lying in the dirt.

The bull lifted up its massive hoof again and was about to bring it down on Conner with one last fatal blow when Taryn put her hand on his side. The huge beast froze and looked around as though it was confused. He put his hoof back down on the ground and looked at Taryn. She petted him and then leaned her forehead against his.

Gasps and whispers exploded in the crowd as the bull stood still for a minute as though communicating with the small girl in front of him. No one in the arena moved. Even Gideon stood, watching the scene unfold in front of him, in complete shock. Everyone expected the bull to explode and kill the child. However, he simply turned and walked back to the chute docilely.

Beth jumped up and ran down the steps. She looked over at her mother, who smiled and nodded, letting Beth know that Matilda was responsible for what happened.

Taryn put her hand on Conner's head and desperately whispered a healing spell. Beth rushed to her side and did the same.

"Move, ladies," a voice commanded.

The paramedics threw a board on the ground next to Conner. One of them put a neck brace on him to keep him steady in case he had a broken neck. They carefully put him on the board, lifted him onto the gurney, and ran with him back to the ambulance.

Gideon grabbed his phone and called Dr. Jean, letting her know what happened.

"She's going to meet us there," Gideon said.

The rest of the events were canceled for the night. It seemed to take forever to get out of the parking lot because everyone left at the same time.

Conner was in surgery when Beth and Taryn ran into the emergency room. Gideon arrived a minute later. Savvy rushed in right behind him.

"Conner Curry," Beth almost screamed breathlessly.

"Please calm down, ma'am. How can I help you?"

"My fiancé, her father, just came in. He was trampled by a bull at the rodeo. I need to be with him."

The nurse looked at her pityingly, as though she was holding back horrible news. "He is in surgery. Take a seat. Dr. Jean will update you as soon as she knows anything."

Gideon called Micah and Zac to let them know what happened. "I'll keep you updated."

"They are on their way," Gideon told Beth and Taryn.

He disappeared into the bathroom and washed the makeup off of his face. The other clown brought Gideon some regular clothes to change into. Several of the cowboys and the rodeo manager hung out in the waiting room, waiting for a word.

Everyone took turns pacing around the room, sitting, and bringing coffee and snacks for the others. Finally, the door opened and Dr. Jean walked out.

Exhausted, she pulled her cap off her head. She fixed her eyes on Beth, Taryn, and Gideon, although she spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.

"He is in a coma right now. He suffered massive head injuries when he was kicked and then stomped in the head. The bleeding has stopped, at least for now, so that is a positive sign. His skull is cracked and his back is broken, paralyzing him. I had to remove his gallbladder and spleen because they were ruptured. One of his kidneys is badly damaged. His ribs were broken and penetrated his lungs. I honestly don't know how he's still alive. If you guys are praying folks, I'd be hitting my knees right now."

Beth's heart and soul shattered into a million pieces as Taryn sobbed, holding on to Beth's arm.

"Please, can we see him?"

Dr. Jean looked at them and nodded. "Beth and Taryn, come with me. The rest of you guys, go home. I'm sure that Beth will keep you updated."

Savvy followed along as they walked to his room. Dr. Jean knew that Savvy was a witch and knew the close relationship she had with Beth and Taryn, so she didn't say anything to stop her.

Dr. Jean said, "He would already be dead if he was a mundane human. He's lucky that he's a shifter. Even with that, I don't know that he's going to make it. He had a lot of internal bleeding and organ damage. His energy will burn itself out trying to heal him. My guess is that he's going to stay in a coma for a while because all of his energy is going to be put toward survival." She paused and took a deep breath, turned, and looked at them. "I honestly don't know if even your talents will be able to save him. I'll check in on him every couple of hours. Let me know if you need anything.

"Is he going to die?" Taryn asked.

"Not if we can help it."

Taryn and Beth put their hands on Conner, willing their energy to heal him. Savvy chanted healing spells.

After a couple of hours, the three of them were exhausted.

"Savvy, please take Taryn back to your place after you stop off at the house to get her some clothes. I don't want my mother or sister near Taryn."

"Do you think they would try to hurt her?"

"I don't think so, because she is a witch, but I don't know for sure. All I know is that I don't trust them. I know that my mother is behind this."

"I don't want to leave. I want to stay with Dad."

"You can come back tomorrow," Beth said. "You aren't going to be able to help him if you don't get some rest, and there's only one chair to sleep in here. Go with Aunt Savvy. Eat if you can and sleep. You will need all the energy you can get to help him."

"What about the horses?" Taryn gasped.

"Gideon sent me a text, saying that he took care of them and will keep taking care of them until you can."

"Okay," Taryn said.

The defeated sound in Taryn's voice broke Beth's heart. It would traumatize the little girl if she lost her father so soon after finding him, especially with the knowledge that it was her grandmother who was responsible.

"I'll get her situated. I'll get ahold of Anna. We'll find some way to stop Matilda."

Beth hugged Savvy and said, "Thank you."

Taryn leaned over her father and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Dad. Please don't leave me."

Then, with tears streaming down her face, she left with Savvy.

Beth held Conner's hand tightly, muttering healing spells until she fell asleep with her head on the bed.

Savvy and Taryn were back bright and early the next morning. "I found a few things that might help us with Matilda, but I'm not sure. Anna sends her well wishes. She says to call her if you need her, but figures that you would want her to stay at the store and keep looking for answers."

"Yes. I'll call her later," Beth said.

Conner's family descended upon the hospital. His brother, sister-in-law, parents, best friend, and best friend's wife, burst into the hospital room early the next morning.

One of them held his hand out to Beth.

"I'm Micah. I've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you," Beth said.

"You must be Taryn," the large man said. "Your father has told me so much about you. You have no idea how much that man loves you."

"I love him, too," Taryn said. "We just have to heal him."

"I know you will," Micah said.

"This is your Uncle Zac and Aunt Olivia, and my wife, Lucy. Your grandfather and grandmother, John and Bella," Micah said as they shook Beth's, Taryn's, and Savvy's hands.

"This is Aunt Savvy," Taryn said. "She's not my blood aunt. She's my mom's best friend."

"Conner told me that there is a whole pack of pups running around you guys," Beth said.

"Our friends back home are watching them. It would have been way too much to drag five young shifters this far and then expect them to behave in a hospital," Olivia said.

"I can understand that," Beth said.

Dr. Jean came in, surprised to see everyone. Micah introduced them all again, and the doctor gave an update.

"Now, shoo. There's too many of you in here."

Reluctantly, all but Conner's parents left to go find a hotel room. John and Bella had chairs brought in. They sat in the corner, while the three witches continued pouring their energy into healing Conner.

Over the following week, Beth, Taryn, and Savvy got to know Conner's family extremely well. They treated Taryn like royalty and made sure the three witches had everything they needed. The six of them took turns sitting in Conner's room, lending their moral support to the healing process.

Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief when Conner opened his eyes and looked around him.

"What in the hell happened? Am I dead?"

Beth called Dr. Jean who rushed back to the hospital.

"I can assure you that you are not dead, but only because of these three women," she said, pointing at Beth, Taryn, and Savvy. "Let me give you some advice. It's time to hang up your spurs, boots, and hat. Any more injuries like you just suffered, and there will be no healing, no living through it. You'd stand a better chance of survival if you went skydiving without a parachute."

"I was done, anyway," Conner said.

Beth was elated. She held tightly to his hand and touched his scruffy face.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you," he replied.