Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Willow

I rush through the doors and spot Piper sitting in a chair. She stands the moment she sees me.

"Where is he?"

She puts her hands on my shoulders. "Before we go back, I need to warn you; he looks bad. He's heavily sedated." Her eyes well with tears. "They are going to try to wake him up this afternoon. Willow, if he doesn't wake up?—"

I pull Piper into my arms. "He will wake up." He has to.

As far as I knew, Durango has been on assignment for the last couple of days. But I have since found out something went terribly wrong before he even left the Seattle area. And now he's in the ICU.

"You must be Willow."

I turn, and there is a man standing there. His hands are shoved into his pockets, and he has bags under his eyes. Based on the obvious muscular build underneath his form-fitting T-shirt and the confident air he gives off, he must work at Morgan Thompson Security. While I haven't met the guys there, Durango has told me a little about some of them.

"Willow, this is CT. He was with Durango when the accident happened," Piper says.

CT holds out his hand, and I shake it.

"What exactly happened?" Piper told me Durango had been swept over some falls, but none of what she said made any sense. He was here for work, so why was he in a river?

CT swallows. "It was raining so hard. I picked him up at the airport, and I was driving us to Pine Valley. But the road was closed, and we had to take a detour. This woman was in the road, and she needed help with her animals." He shakes his head. "It all went so wrong so fast. One of her dogs escaped, and Durango tried to save it. It ended up in the river. So, he climbed on a log that was over the water and saved the dog. But then, the log broke off, and I lost sight of him so fast."

Piper wraps her arm around his waist, and CT moves his eyes to the ceiling. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have stopped."

"No, it's not your fault," Piper says. "If you hadn't stopped, Durango would have insisted on it. He wouldn't have left that woman out there in a walker and helpless."

Piper's right. Durango wouldn't have left a woman out there like that.

"He tried to get out, but due to all the rain, the river was running so fast. He went over the falls with all the debris." CT stares at the floor. "He was pulled out of the water fairly quickly. But he hit his head on something. He has a traumatic brain injury. That's what the doctor is most concerned with." His voice cracks, and he wipes his eyes.

"How bad is it?" My legs feel weak, and the next thing I know, CT has an arm around my waist. I regain my footing, and he lets go.

"The doctors aren't sure of the full extent of the damage yet," Piper says. "But he's still alive. That's what we need to hold on to."

I nod as I take it all in. When Piper called and told me Durango was in the hospital, I knew it was serious, but I crazily thought by the time I flew out here, he'd be much better.

"Let me take you to him." Piper wraps her arm in mine.

She leads me to the nurse's station. "We're going to see my brother," Piper says.

The nurse arches a brow. "And is this another sibling?"

"No, this is his wife."

The nurse's eyes widen. "Oh, yes, of course. Go ahead."

His wife. For the past few months, Durango and I have been getting reacquainted. He's made it clear he wants to date, but I've held off. And I haven't fully explained why. It's all because of my ex.

"He's in here. Please keep your voices low."

I don't hear her next words as my eyes take him in. His face is bruised, and so is the arm that's exposed. His other arm is in a cast. His gown is open in the front, where there are several things taped on his chest that are hooked up to the monitors. I've never seen anyone look so beaten. But what startles me the most is that he's on a ventilator.

There is a chair beside the bed. I sit down and place my hand on his, but I don't squeeze. Hell, everything has to hurt.

A nurse steps into the room. "As the doctor mentioned earlier, we're going to reduce the sedation. We hope he wakes up sometime today. But we still don't know the extent of his injuries, so he may be confused."

"I understand," Piper says.

"Why is he on a ventilator?" I ask as I turn to the nurse.

She glances at Piper.

"This is Durango's wife," Piper says.

The nurse nods. "I'll get the doctor."

She leaves us alone, and I turn back to Durango. "You were supposed to be on a quick assignment. You promised to take me to a Yankees game."

He doesn't respond. Not that I expect him to. I've never seen him this broken. All I want to do is wrap my arms around him and keep him safe.

"Mrs. Myers?"

"Willow?" Piper calls.

I turn and spot a doctor standing on the other side of the bed. "Yes," I ask.

"I'm Doctor Jenkins." He glances at Durango.

I turn my attention fully to the doctor. "Why is he on a ventilator?"

"We had to sedate him heavily. There was trauma to his brain from his fall. Mr. Myers also has broken many bones in his arm, leg, and ribs. There were lacerations on his kidney and gallbladder, and one of his lungs was punctured. We still don't know the full scope of his head injuries. Miraculously, he had no spinal injuries. The man is lucky to be alive. According to a police report, two men saw him go over the falls along with a shed and a decent-sized tree."

I lean back into the chair to brace myself.

Piper is next to me with her arm around my shoulders. "Willow, broken bones will heal," she says.

I nod. "When will he wake up?"

"We hope this afternoon. But there is a possibility he never wakes up. You need to prepare yourself for that." The doctor grabs his phone out of his pocket and stares at it. "Sorry, but I need to go."

Never wake up? Tears fall down my cheeks. He has to wake up!

Piper sighs. "That doctor doesn't have a good bedside manner, but I researched him, and apparently, he's good."

I stare at Durango, who is barely recognizable right now, and I kick myself for putting him off. After he had time to deal with everything I told him, he made it clear he wants us to try to date. And for all that time, I have kept him at arm's length and kept him in the dark about all that happened to me. I haven't even told him that I started therapy.

And now, if Durango dies… No. He can't die. He can't. Not after we found each other again.

"Durango," I say as I wrap my fingers around his hand. "Please wake up."

He doesn't move. His eyes remain closed, and there's no squeeze of my hand. Nothing.

"Were you able to sleep on the flight?" Piper asks.

When Piper told me what was going on yesterday, I booked the first flight to Seattle. It was a red eye. "No." And I couldn't.

My mind raced with what could be wrong. Piper had simply said Durango was in the ICU and I should come.

"Willow, there's a blanket on the window seat. Why don't you try to get some rest?" Piper suggests.

I glance over and spot a folded blanket and pillow on a cushion next to the window. But now that she mentions it, I am exhausted.

"It's going to be hours before he might wake up. Grab a nap while you can," Piper says as she settles into a chair on the other side of the bed.

"Thank you. I think I will." I get settled on the window seat, and despite it not being very comfortable, I manage to fall asleep.

"She just got in a few hours ago."

I open my eyes. Piper is talking to Ozzie.

"Oh, she's waking up," Piper says.

I toss the blanket aside and glance at Durango. "Hi, Ozzie. How long was I sleeping?"

"Three hours," Piper says.

Ozzie shoves his hands into his pockets as he stares at Durango.

A nurse comes into the room and checks Durango's vitals. We all stand around and watch silently.

"How long until he wakes up?" Ozzie finally asks.

The nurse finishes writing something on the chart and glances up. "We stopped the medication that was keeping him asleep this morning. It takes a while to work out of his system. He could wake up at any time, but it could also be several more hours." She replaces the chart at the end of the bed and leaves the room.

I stare at Durango. The ventilator causes his chest to rise and fall. The sound fills the room, along with the beeping monitor telling us his heart rate.

Please, Durango, you have to wake up. I can't lose you again.

My mind drifts back to what I did ten years ago. God, I was so stupid. If only I'd been more mature. That could have saved so much time and heartache.

I curl my knees up to my chest and stare at him. He has to be all right. He has to be. And once he wakes up, no more waiting. I can't let him go again.