Eleanor took a good look at Wes. “Oh, god. Josh, Adina… get Pete. Wes, sit down,” Eleanor begged and pulled off her jacket. She helped Wes sit. “Breathe with me. Nice and slow.”
Kodi, the medic from Tango Team, ran to his side. “Mr. Crockett, tell me how you feel.” He placed an oxygen mask on Wes and measured his pulse and blood pressure. “How much did you eat and drink today?”
“Not enough, I guess,” Wes said.
“I’m going to lay you back and lift your legs. Then I’m going to start a line,” Kodi said. Adina lay a silver blanket against the cold ground and covered it with a wool blanket. Josh and Kodi lay Wes back and elevated his legs. “Color is better. How we doing?”
“Better,” Wes admitted.
Eleanor rubbed his arm. “You should have let me do this without you. You were supposed to be resting. Pete’s going to throw a fit.”
“I didn’t want you to do this alone,” Wes said.
“I have an entire team at my back and am near all those protective puppies.” She cocked her head.
Wes zoned out, his eyes closing. “Mr. Crockett, open your eyes.” Kodi shook his shoulder.
“I’m fine. Ellie, what did you say?” His eyes were glazed over.
“Surrounded by a team or the protective puppies?” Her brows knitted.
“Puppies and corn. When you were delirious with your fever, you said, ‘Save me. All die. Puppies and corn.’ I thought you didn’t want to die. And I promised you a puppy. The corn made no sense. But now, the kennels are filled with puppies. And before they were kennels, it was a corn crib. You must have dropped the case into the corn crib.”
Eleanor interlocked her fingers with his. “You’re insane. You need to let them take care of you.”
“They are. I’m mentating quite well in this position. Mirouette, round-the-clock security for the cabin and kennels and the land in between.” Wes reached for his phone.
“You make a call, and I’m tying you to a bed and all that entails,” Pete said, coming up behind him. “Do you ever let a person finish a cup of coffee?” Pete knelt beside him and listened to Kodi’s report. “Alright, scoop him onto a stretcher, and we will take a slow ride to the clinic. Stone, take his phone and call Troy. Wes, you are officially stood down.”
Wes groaned, “Pete, please, I’ll behave. Don’t stand me down.” He sounded like a little boy begging for a new toy.
Pete directed the lift, and they loaded Wes into the rapid transport vehicle. “Asshat, do you want to kill yourself? You had a head injury that most people die from or come back with limited function. You’re healing, not healed.”
