She rinsed her dishcloth and then refilled her coffee cup and turned around to see that CT was gone. Probably searching for the cards in the bedroom. Or using the bathroom. She got out the cards and pad, then moved the small table they used next to his chair, bringing in a dining chair for herself before she called out for him. When he didn’t answer, she went to see if he was in the bathroom. She knew his habits and sometimes he could be in there for a while. But the bathroom was empty.
“CT?” she called out again as she went to the other side of the house. Opening the door to the bedroom she’d set up as her office, then the bathroom, and finally the guest room—also known as a place she could slip off to when CT’s snoring kept her awake, she found no one. CT was clearly gone.
It only took a minute or two to kick off her slippers, tug on boots, then fish a jacket from the big walk-in closet. She grabbed a cowboy hat from the hooks by the door and set out to find him. But she was barely down the front step when she heard a female voice calling for help. She couldn’t tell if it was Jewel or Cooper, but it seemed to be coming from the barn. Her walk turned to a run until she reached the barn where the door was open. Cooper was kneeling by CT, who was splayed out on the barn floor and groaning in pain. It took only seconds to figure out what had happened. Someone, probably CT, had set up a ladder next to the loft.
“CT.” Honey knelt beside him too. “What happened?”
“Fell down,” he muttered. “Hurt.”
“What hurts?” she asked as she pulled out her phone, ready to call 911.
“His leg,” Cooper told her.
Honey ignored the comment for the moment and felt around CT’s head. “How about your head? Did you hit it?” He looked puzzled, but since she found no lumps, she decided it was okay. “How about your back?”
“Uh-huh,” he said. Tears were now coming down his cheeks. But that wasn’t so unusual for him these days. “Hurts.”
Honey looked at Cooper, but the poor girl looked so stricken, she was afraid she was about to go into shock. “Go get your mom,” Honey told her.
After Cooper left, Honey tried to evaluate CT’s condition. It was pointless to ask if anything was broken or if he could walk. Finally she just called 911 and, while holding CT’s hand, explained the situation. By the time she answered the normal questions about breathing and consciousness, Jewel and Cooper were back, both trying to console CT. And Jewel, bless her heart, had brought a pretty Pendleton blanket from her house to spread over her father.
“I’m sure he needs to go to the hospital,” Honey told the 911 woman. “But I’m not sure if we can get him there, or if he can even get to the car. Especially since he says his back hurts.” It didn’ttake long for the woman to convince Honey that he probably needed a transport and Honey agreed. The woman promised that EMTs were on their way, and finally the call ended and Honey just sat there on the barn floor, holding CT’s hand.
“You should probably ride with him,” Jewel said.
Honey just nodded.
“Coop and I will follow. Okay?”
Honey felt tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“I need to go turn off my oven,” Jewel said. “Thanks to this weather I decided to make blueberry muffins this morning.”
“Sorry.” Honey sighed to realize how quickly plans could change.
“It’s okay. I’m just starting to practice up for the B&B.” Jewel’s smile looked nervous. “Coop can keep you company, okay?” She looked at her daughter.
“Duh, Mom.” Cooper rolled her eyes, and Jewel headed out.
“How you doing, CT?” Honey asked since his eyes were closed.
“Hurts.” He groaned. “Hurts a lot.”
“Help is coming,” she assured him. “Try to relax.”
“Hurts,” he said again.
“Want me to pray for you?” she offered.
“Yeah. Pray.” He closed his eyes again and she did too.
She had never been comfortable praying aloud in front of others, but sensing CT’s need for soothing, and hoping for some divine intervention, she started to pray. It was nothing fancy or wordy, just her letting God know they needed some help and asking for CT to be okay. As she prayed he seemed to relax. Finally she had no more words so she opened her eyes and was pleasantly surprised to see that Cooper’s eyes were closed and her head was bowed too. “Amen,” Honey said quietly.
“Amen,” CT echoed.
It seemed to take forever for the paramedics to arrive, but Honey felt peaceful as they all waited in the barn. When Jewel rejoined them, she still looked shaken, and Honey suspected she was blaming herself for not locking the barn door.
“It’s not your fault,” Honey told her. “This stuff just happens. I could feel guilty for being preoccupied while he was fretting overthe rain. I told him we’d play cards and then turned my back.” She snapped the fingers on her free hand. “Just like that he takes off.” She looked down to see if he was listening, but his eyes were still closed and, judging by his looser grip on her hand, he was more relaxed now, only letting out a quiet groan from time to time.
