When Love's Gone Country - By Merri Hiatt Page 0,51
as each breath brought small amounts of liquid trickling down the drain tubes, collecting in two heavy plastic coated bags on either side of the bed.
“That’s from inside his lungs?” Jeremy asked.
“Yeah. He swallowed, well, inhaled a lot of water,” Bob said.
“So, it didn’t go in his belly, it went into his lungs, ‘cuz he breathed it in.”
“Right.”
“Now, this is makin’ it so the water’s comin’ out.”
“Right.”
“So, each time that stuff comes out, he’s gettin’ better.”
“Right.”
“He looks better than before,” Purity said. “A lot more color in his cheeks.”
“He’s doing very well,” the nurse said. “By tonight we’ll have him up walking around and he’ll be coughing more. That will really get the fluid out. He’ll also be doing breathing exercises to strengthen his lungs.”
“When can he come home?” Jeremy asked.
“The doctor will decide that, but I would guess three or four days, maybe even sooner.”
Everyone was encouraged by the nurse’s words.
Meg and Bobby decided to stay the night in Jacob’s room and Brad wanted to do the same for Courtney. Purity and Alex offered to take Jeremy back to the ranch with them.
“Want to sleep with us tonight?” Purity asked Jeremy when it was getting close to bed time.
“Can I?”
“Sure. Diego’s already on our bed and I figure we could all use some cuddling time.”
“I do that with Mom and Dad sometimes. I like it.”
When Diego was snoring at the end of the bed and Jeremy was deep in sleep between them, Alex said, “So this is what it’s going to be like when the baby’s born.”
“Probably. How do you feel about that?”
“To quote Jeremy, ‘I like it.’”
They shared a lingering kiss, then drifted off to sleep.
The next morning they headed to the hospital. Courtney was rummaging through a drawer when they arrived. “Don’t they have any damn scissors around here?”
“You look better,” Pure said.
“I feel better. I want out of this joint. And I hate this stupid thing they put on your wrist. I want it off, now!”
“I think they make you keep it on until you’re discharged.”
“I’ll gnaw the damn thing off if I have to.”
The nurse came in. “I told you to stop tearing at your bracelet. You’re going to end up with a bruise or a scratch on your skin.”
“Do you have any scissors?”
The nurse rolled her eyes and headed for the door. “I’ll check on your discharge paperwork.”
“They can’t keep me against my will. I’ll sue.”
Purity laughed. “So glad to see you’re back to normal.”
“It’s not funny. I want this IV out of my arm, too. It itches.”
“We’re going to head up and see Jacob.”
“Oh, I’ll go with you. He’s doing so much better today.”
“You’ve already seen him?”
“I went up around four o’clock. Couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to bother Brad. Meg and Bob were crashed out in the chairs looking damn uncomfortable and Jacob was watching t.v. We talked for a bit. His voice is really scratchy.” Court unplugged her IV pole and pushed it ahead of her toward the door.
“Are you supposed to be doing that?” Pure asked.
“It’s fine. I do it all the time.”
“She’s only been here a day,” Alex said. “How can that be ‘all the time.’”
Purity shrugged. “You know Courtney.”
When they reached Jacob’s room, he was sitting up eating eggs, bacon and hash browns.
“I think we have the wrong room,” Alex said. “We’re looking for sick patients.”
Jacob smiled. “I’m feeling a lot better today.” He began coughing, a little at first, then it turned more violent with his face turning red and taking in gulps of air.
Meg rubbed his back and held a pillow to his chest. When he finally got his breathing under control, he took a sip of water. “I get these coughing attacks.”
“I saw,” Pure said. “You handled it well.”
“The nurse gave me some pointers. It helped. Hey, I really wanted to thank you, Alex, for saving my life and everything. I was kind of out of it and don’t really remember much.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Purity asked.
“Something grabbing my shirt and pulling me. I couldn’t really fight it. I felt so tired. Like it wasn’t even me or something. It was weird. Then I remember bits and pieces, like seeing Courtney and hearing her try to breathe. And then I remember you. You had your hand on my face or something. I was on something that was moving. And then I remember this sound, like helicopter blades. It’s all kind of blurry and disjointed.”
“I can fill you in,” Alex said. “You did