Gunner sighed. “That’s a whole lot of nothing to go on,” he said. “Maybe he’ll have something to point us in the right direction when he wakes up.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. “I assume it’s the usual rules about visiting hours in ICU?”
Dylan nodded. “We go in on the hour, ten-minute time limit, and only two family members at a time.”
“It’s almost time. Asher, you and Dylan got here first. I’ll catch the next visit. Are we staying here through the night, or do you want me to organize a motel room somewhere close?” he asked.
“We don’t have a car to drive back and forth. We’d be wasting a lot of time calling cabs and waiting on cabs,” Dylan said.
Gunner arched an eyebrow. “You two take the firstvisitation. I already rented an SUV. It’s here at the hospital. I’ll find the nearest hotel. We may be here for days.”
Asher glanced at Dylan, then they both gave Gunner the nod. “Good idea. You do your thing. We’ll settle with you later on the costs. We can get in several visits before midnight, and if all is well and he’s stable, we’ll call it a night and be here early in the morning. Maybe catch the doctor making rounds again and get an update on his status.”
Dylan tapped Asher on the shoulder and pointed at the exodus of people leaving the waiting area. “It must be time,” he said.
“Tell Dad I’m here,” Gunner said, and went to get his bag as they walked away, pulled out his laptop, and then over to the little canteen in the corner and got a can of Dr. Pepper and a couple of snacks. Moments later, he was logging in on his laptop and pulling up hotel websites while he ate.
It didn’t take long to settle on a hotel called Studio 6 Suites. The rooms looked good on the website, and it was less than a mile from the hospital. He rented three connecting suites with king-size beds. Each suite contained a bath, and a small living and kitchen area. Satisfactory for what they needed. Then he finished off his snacks and went to get a cup of coffee. He’d already been up for almost twenty hours, and it was going to be even longer before they got any rest.
* * *
Asher dreaded this first confrontation. Jacob was their anchor. The steadfast man who’d stepped up for them in every way that mattered. Even though they were all as big and tall as him now, they still viewed him as the trustworthy voice in their ear when they needed it most, and knowing he’d been struck down in such a vicious assault was shocking.
When they entered the actual ICU area, the energy shift was palpable, and the silence frightening. All those cubicles. All those desperately ill patients in the beds. And all they heard were beeps from the equipment registering the fluctuation life levels.
And then they saw their dad and moved toward him.
“Jesus,” Dylan whispered.
Asher put a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. “Dad’s as tough as they come and he’s still alive. Don’t count him out.”
They moved to his bedside—Asher on one side, Dylan on the other, and both reached for him at the same time, feeling the warmth of his skin, and eyeing the steady rise and fall of his chest.
“Hey, Dad… It’s me, Ash.”
“I’m here, too, Dad. It’s me, Dylan. Gunner is in the waiting room, but they only let us in two at a time. He’ll see you soon.”
“I don’t know why this happened to you, but we will find out who did this, and we will not leave Crossroads until we put their asses in prison,” Asher said.
“You aren’t alone in this fight. You saved us when the world blew up in our faces. We’ve got your back, Dad.”
Then they looked at each other across the bed, then down at their dad.
Dylan’s voice was shaking. “I have this overwhelming urge to call him daddy.”
For a moment, Asher went straight to the past, remembering how many times he’d pulled back the covers so nine-year-old Dylan or seven-year-old Gunner could sleep with him. Sometimes they were all piled into the same bed, crying for what they’d lost.
“I refuse to accept anything but his full recovery. We’re not going to lose him this way,” Asher muttered, then caught motion from the corner of his eye and realizedvisiting time was nearly over. Ten minutes had flown. “Dad, we have to leave now. Visiting time is over, but we’ll be back. Rest and heal. You are loved.”
Dylan leaned over and gently kissed Jacob’s forehead. “Love you, Dad. We’ll be back.”
They were walking out when Ash suddenly stopped and looked back. The steady beeps throughout the room were no longer eerie. They were signs of life, and in this place, that was enough.
When they re-entered the waiting room, Gunner looked up, gauged the look on their faces, and waited for the verdict.
They sat on either side of him and lowered their voices as they spoke.
“He’s pale and motionless, but everything that’s supposed to be ticking and beeping is happening, and his breathing is steady,” Asher said.
“He’s really pale,” Dylan added.
