“Caleb’s out of surgery,” he begins, his voice calm and professional. “There was significant damage to his spleen, but we were able to repair it. He lost a lot of blood, but he’s stable now. His leg was a clean break, and it was set well out in the field. With time and physical therapy, he should recover fully.”
The collective sigh of relief is almost audible. My mom bursts into tears, clutching my dad’s arm as he murmurs reassurances. Frank mutters a quiet “Thank God,” while Benny and Jared exchange relieved glances. Sutton squeezes my hand so tightly it almost hurts, but I don’t mind.
“When can we see him?” I ask, my voice rough from hours of silence.
“He’s in recovery now,” the doctor says. “Once he wakes up, you’ll be able to see him. It shouldn’t be too long.”
We settle back into the waiting room, the tension easing but not disappearing entirely. Time drags again, but eventually, a nurse appears to lead us to Caleb’s room. The sight of him hits harder than I expected. He’s pale, his face bruised andscratched, and there are bandages wrapped around his torso and leg. An IV drips steadily into his arm, and the machines around him beep softly.
“He’s going to be okay,” Sutton whispers, her hand resting on my back. Her voice is soothing, but I can’t tear my eyes away from my son.
Caleb stirs, his eyes fluttering open. It takes him a moment to focus, but when he does, he gives a weak smile. “Hey, guys.”
“Hey, yourself,” I say, my voice thick. I step closer, careful not to jostle anything. “You scared the hell out of us, you know that?”
“Sorry,” he mumbles, his voice hoarse.
My mom leans over to kiss his forehead, her tears falling freely now. “Don’t you ever do that to us again, Caleb Wade Callahan!”
He chuckles weakly, wincing as the movement pulls at his injuries. “I’ll try my best, Grandma.”
Frank steps forward, his expression is stern but his eyes soft. “What the hell happened out there, boy?”
Caleb’s brow furrows as he tries to piece it together. “The cougar. It came out of nowhere. It went for Thunder first and clawed him up pretty badly. He spooked, and I… I fell off. Broke my leg, hit my head.”
He pauses, his gaze distant. “The damn thing came at me then. Got me good on the side and back. I shot at it a few times and scared it off, but it kept coming back. I thought I was done for. It was like…onsomething, but…the strangest thing it had on a collar.”
“A collar?” I say, my throat tightening. I push the thought away. He had a really traumatic experience, and I shouldn’t be focusing on the trivial things. “What happened?”
His eyes widen slightly, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I… I don’t know. Something else showed up. Big, brown, and fast. Itgrabbed the cougar and flung it like it was nothing. Then it… it tore it apart. I’ve never seen anything like it. It looked back at me with these big, red glowing eyes.”
The room falls silent, everyone exchanging uneasy glances. Frank’s the first to speak, a sly grin tugging at his lips. “Skunk ape. Told you so,” he says, looking pointedly at Sutton. “There’s more out there than you think.”
Sutton rolls her eyes, but there’s a flicker of doubt in her expression. “Let’s focus on the fact that Caleb’s alive,” she says.
Caleb chuckles softly, his eyelids drooping. “Whatever it was, I’m grateful. Don’t think I’d be here without it.”
“Rest now,” my mom says, brushing his hair back. “We’ll be here when you wake up.”
As Caleb drifts off, the room settles into a quiet hum of whispered conversations and soft footsteps. I sit by his bedside, Sutton’s hand in mine, and for the first time in hours, I feel like I can breathe again. Whatever happened out there, we’ll figure it out. Right now, all that matters is that Caleb’s alive.
“We’ll head back to the ranch and make sure everything is tightened up,” Benny says.
“I’m going to go with them. Will you be all right?” Frank asks Sutton.
She nods slowly, shock written all over her face. “Yeah, Dad.”
The others all head back home, while my parents go to the waiting room to sit. Sutton leans into me.
“That was so scary.”
“Thanks for…everything. You were so quick to know what to do, and you handled it all.”
“Human medicine and animal medicine are the same.” She shrugs as she looks away quickly.
“Don’t blow off compliments.”
I take one of her hands in mine before I tug her into me as closely as possible.
