Bayou Christmas (Cypress Cove #2) - Suzanne Jenkins Page 0,52

and went to the village dock, where a helicopter had been dispatched to take her to the medical center.

“Gus said they told him her face was protected by the canvas cover of the bimini. It couldn’t prevent a skull fracture…”

“Skull fracture!”

“They think she might have a skull fracture and a broken nose, but she didn’t have any cuts.”

Justin lost it then, hunched close to the wheel, keeping his eyes as focused as he could, but crying. Thinking of his beloved Maggie, so sorry he’d rocked the boat over the stupid cottage paint job and now this. If she died, he’d regret that for the rest of his life. Thank god they’d made up and danced and made love Saturday night. He’d always have those wonderful memories of her if anything horrible happened.

Then he pulled himself together, and his inner voice admonished the negative dialogue while Dave chattered about the roadhouse and the dancing. It was a good segue from fear, and Justin appreciated it.

They finally arrived at the Trauma Center entrance, and Dave took the wheel so Justin could get inside. Gus, Rose and Aunt Elizabeth were waiting for Justin, in a huddle weeping. For a minute, Justin thought she’d died, and wailed as he grabbed Aunt Elizabeth to hug.

“She’s stable, she’s stable,” Gus quickly explained. “Beat up badly, but stable. No broken jaw, no skull fracture, but she does have a head injury from the impact, a severe concussion.”

“Is she unconscious?” he asked.

“She’s awake now, and she’s frantic, asking for you. She’s worried about the dog.”

Just then the doctor came out and addressed Rose.

“She’s asking for Justin and won’t calm down until she knows he’s on his way.”

“Doctor, this is Maggie’s fiancé, Dr. Chastain.”

They shook hands, and then the ER doctor’s expression changed. “You see our horses,” he said, surprised. “You or your father.”

Justin nodded his head, trying to place him while the doctor led the way to the emergency room to see Maggie, explaining that she was stable and would be okay, but she had a rough road immediately ahead of her.

“Try to get her to relax. She keeps talking about a rescue and her dog and, of course, you.”

Justin gave him the short version of Maggie’s rescue. “She’s right in the middle of getting it up and running, so I know she’s going to push herself to recover so she can get back to work.”

“She’s in here,” the doctor said, opening the door to Maggie’s cubicle. “We’ll be transferring her to intensive care in about an hour when a bed opens up.”

Justin took a step over the threshold, and Maggie must have been trying to watch because he heard a weak cry, “Justin!”

Running over to her bed, the nurse in the room stepped away as the couple wept, her arms encumbered with IVs and monitoring devices, struggling to embrace him as he leaned over the bed railing to hug her gently, crying as he kissed the little bit of face he could reach. Relief flooded over him as he noticed there was no blood visible except for a little bit around her right nostril, the broken nose probably.

“I think they said my nose was broken,” she said softly, her lips barely moving.

“It was too small anyway,” he replied, kissing her again. “How do you feel?”

“I have a headache, but they said I was hit on the head pretty hard. My poor boat!”

“I’ll get it fixed, Maggie. Don’t worry about the skiff, I promise you.”

“Brulee’s alone.”

“Who do you want in your house?”

She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. “Can you ask Dave to send Amber? Tell her the combination and where to find the hidden key.”

“Dave’s here,” Justin said. “He came with me.”

She nodded, her breathing finally slowing down. He looked up at the monitors and saw that she was relaxing. Quickly sending Dave a text, he asked that he contact Amber; she was the only one Maggie wanted going in the cottage for some reason. And could she take Brulee with her?

She wants Amber? Dave texted back.

Justin answered, That’s what she said.

Dave texted right back, Amber answered she’d be honored to get Brulee.

Gus contacted Grace and asked her to contact everyone who would be concerned about Maggie: Miss Spencer at the grocery, Kelly Casson, Annie, and the owner of Café Delphine. Everyone would spring into action for Maggie’s benefit.

At about two in the morning, Maggie woke up for real in the ICU. She sort of remembered some of what had happened after the accident like