“Gunner has it covered, he's got the tranquilizer gun. Petey ran past the stables toward the creek. Go.” She practically pushed me into the ambulance.
“Tom, start an IV, wide bore. And get me another pressure bandage. She's also got a minor leg wound.” Jake called out as we climbed in. I watched him work, his hands swift and sure, doing things I couldn't name to the woman I loved.
“Got it. ETA to Regional is twelve minutes.” Twelve minutes. A lifetime. An eternity. Not nearly enough time.
The doors slammed shut, and we were moving, sirens wailing as my world hung in the balance. Inside the ambulance, the sound was deafening, a scream that matched the one trapped in my chest. The vehicle swayed and bounced, and I gripped the bench seat so hard my knuckles went white. Through it all, Tally lay still, too still, her chest barely rising beneath the oxygen mask they'd strapped to her face. The rhythmic beep of the monitor was the only thing that told me she was still here, still fighting, still mine to lose.
Chapter 49
I Won’t Give Up – Jason Mraz
Wilder
The last hour had been a complete blur. As we ran into Regional Medical the medics shouted things at the doctor who yelled instructions to the nurses. A cacophony of noise and emotions as I stood back, helpless. Helpless and alone.
I didn’t even know her fucking blood type to give them. Her brother’s number was in her phone, but I didn’t know the code to open it up. There was so much I couldn’t do. What if I hadn’t done the right things? What if she fucking died on the operating table while they figured out how bad it was?
Was it my fault for choosing to buy that specific bull?
Should I have insisted on the sheriff arresting Glenn?
Should I have employed him in the first place?
Pacing, I looked up at the clock on the wall. I had no idea how long I’d been there, only that lights had started to come on in the hallway, and the sky outside the window had turned dark with streaks of pink scoring through it. I knew, though, that I’d do this again and again and again, wait and worry for her. Because I loved her and that was what love was. The good and the bad and being willing to go through hell for someone. And I would walk there barefoot and back for the woman who laughed heartily at Bertie’s jokes, who paused mid-sentence when she caught me staring, or the way she smiled when one of the horses did something she thought was incredible. All those moments felt bigger than everything and the idea of losing every future moment with her made me want to rip the whole damn place apart.
“Wild.”
I turned to see both my brothers coming toward me, arms open wide.
“What’s happening?” Nash asked, breathless like he’d run all the way there.
“No idea. They took her to the operating theater as soon as we got here. Why aren’t you with Lily?” Fear iced over me at what could have happened to my sister-in-law.
“She’s fine. She insisted I come. She’s got a sprained ankle and some cuts on her hands where she broke her fall. Bertie is playing nursemaid, but Ella is on her way over.” His shoulders sagged as he ran a hand over his face. “My fucking life flashed before my eyes when Bertie said she was hurt.”
“Thank God she’s okay.”
Gunner slapped a strong hand on my shoulder. “Have you managed to get hold of Tally’s brothers?”
“I don’t know their numbers, and I just couldn’t think…I have no idea how to.” I dropped down onto a chair before my legs gave way from under me.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Gunner crouched down in front of me. “I’ll call Nate and get him to call them.”
I groaned. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because the woman you love is hurt,” Nash said, sitting next to me. “And I know your head isn’t straight when that happens.”
“I’ll go and call him.” Gunner was halfway to the door. “I’ll also get us some coffee. You eaten anything, Wild?”
“No. Don’t want anything.”
“Get some coffee and maybe a sandwich for him, Gunner. He might eat later.”
“Be back soon.”
“She’s going to be okay,” Nash said, mirroring my position of elbows on thighs with hands clasped, almost praying. “She’s strong.”
Tally was strong but she’d been hit by two thousand pounds of bull going at speed. I just had to hope she’d managed to jump far enough clear to ensure she survived.
