“But with a head injury such as his, sometimes this happens. Any day now I expect him to open his eyes and glare at us for all the times we’ve poked him with needles.”
“I hope so,” Jenny answered, and then hurried to Chance’s bed, unwilling to waste a moment of her allotted visiting time. “Hi, mister,” she whispered, and feathered a kiss on his stubbly cheek. “Have mercy! You need a shave!”
She spoke in normal, conversational tones, just as she had every day since his accident. Jenny was convinced that Chance could hear her and would wake up when he was ready to deal with the pain on his own. And, just as she had on every visit, she clasped one of his lifeless hands between her own warm ones and rubbed gently, massaging his fingers and the palm of his hands, careful not to disturb the intravenous needles fastened on both arms. She talked about Henry and the ranch…clumsy blunders that the new colt had made trying to chase a wily old barn cat. Anything that came to mind. And as she talked, she touched, patted, massaged and caressed, willing him, if only on a subconscious level, to know that she was here.
Up to this point, everything in her life had revolved around this man. She couldn’t imagine life without him. He had to get better! He was her whole world and they’d never even made love. He’d hadn’t given her the opportunity to share the part of her that belonged only to him.
Why, Chance ? Jenny wondered. Why did you keep me at arm’s length? All I ever wanted was to be in your arms. What are you hiding from me…and from yourself? Why won’t you let me in ?
Where once only darkness and silence had existed, now there was sound. And with sound…pain! Gut-wrenching, clear-to-the-bone, pain. When it became more than he could bear, he would concentrate on the gentle touch, and the familiar voice that hovered just beyond consciousness. If he focused hard enough, the pain would be replaced by a nameless something…an emotion too far away to identify. He tried. But just when it was within grasp, the blessed darkness would come back to claim him.
“Nurse! Nurse!”
Jenny stepped back from Chance’s bed as the ICU team answered her call for help. She’d been sitting by his bed, talking and touching, just as she had for the past week, when she’d seen him move. Not an involuntary muscle spasm, but a specific motion toward his midriff where tight bandages bound healing ribs.
Oh God ! Jenny thought. Chance !
It was the first conscious thing he’d done since diving beneath the horse’s hooves to protect her.
His mouth stretched into a grimace and opened just enough to let a tiny moan escape. It was just as well it was gone. It had been hanging around inside his head for days, teasing and taunting, threatening to become a full-fledged scream, but hadn’t quite managed to make the transition.
“Don’t move, please,” the nurse cautioned, as he began to pick at the needles and tubes tying him to the bed.
“What?” he mumbled, as he tried to form the word around a tongue too thick and swollen to articulate clearly.
“You’ve been injured,” she answered. “Doctor will be here shortly. You’re in a hospital. Please don’t.” She grasped his hand. “You’ll dislodge the needles.” The nurse’s firm voice stilled his movement as he digested her words.
Hospital? Hurt? How ? Unfortunately the deep breath he took before speaking got him pain instead of answers. His lungs expanded against his bruised and broken rib cage and sent oxygen spiraling into an already aching head.
The pain forced him back into darkness. His body relaxed, regaining the inert status it had maintained for days.
Jenny groaned softly, her joy at his first signs of recovery erased as he sank back into his personal twilight zone.
Dr. Walker came into the ward just as the nurses completed their check on Chance’s intravenous hookups.
“Coming around, is he?” he asked, as he made a thorough sweep of the
“I hope so,” Jenny answered, and then hurried to Chance’s bed, unwilling to waste a moment of her allotted visiting time. “Hi, mister,” she whispered, and feathered a kiss on his stubbly cheek. “Have mercy! You need a shave!”
She spoke in normal, conversational tones, just as she had every day since his accident. Jenny was convinced that Chance could hear her and would wake up when he was ready to deal with the pain on his own. And, just as she had on every visit, she clasped one of his lifeless hands between her own warm ones and rubbed gently, massaging his fingers and the palm of his hands, careful not to disturb the intravenous needles fastened on both arms. She talked about Henry and the ranch…clumsy blunders that the new colt had made trying to chase a wily old barn cat. Anything that came to mind. And as she talked, she touched, patted, massaged and caressed, willing him, if only on a subconscious level, to know that she was here.
Up to this point, everything in her life had revolved around this man. She couldn’t imagine life without him. He had to get better! He was her whole world and they’d never even made love. He’d hadn’t given her the opportunity to share the part of her that belonged only to him.
Why, Chance ? Jenny wondered. Why did you keep me at arm’s length? All I ever wanted was to be in your arms. What are you hiding from me…and from yourself? Why won’t you let me in ?
Where once only darkness and silence had existed, now there was sound. And with sound…pain! Gut-wrenching, clear-to-the-bone, pain. When it became more than he could bear, he would concentrate on the gentle touch, and the familiar voice that hovered just beyond consciousness. If he focused hard enough, the pain would be replaced by a nameless something…an emotion too far away to identify. He tried. But just when it was within grasp, the blessed darkness would come back to claim him.
“Nurse! Nurse!”
Jenny stepped back from Chance’s bed as the ICU team answered her call for help. She’d been sitting by his bed, talking and touching, just as she had for the past week, when she’d seen him move. Not an involuntary muscle spasm, but a specific motion toward his midriff where tight bandages bound healing ribs.
Oh God ! Jenny thought. Chance !
It was the first conscious thing he’d done since diving beneath the horse’s hooves to protect her.
His mouth stretched into a grimace and opened just enough to let a tiny moan escape. It was just as well it was gone. It had been hanging around inside his head for days, teasing and taunting, threatening to become a full-fledged scream, but hadn’t quite managed to make the transition.
“Don’t move, please,” the nurse cautioned, as he began to pick at the needles and tubes tying him to the bed.
“What?” he mumbled, as he tried to form the word around a tongue too thick and swollen to articulate clearly.
“You’ve been injured,” she answered. “Doctor will be here shortly. You’re in a hospital. Please don’t.” She grasped his hand. “You’ll dislodge the needles.” The nurse’s firm voice stilled his movement as he digested her words.
Hospital? Hurt? How ? Unfortunately the deep breath he took before speaking got him pain instead of answers. His lungs expanded against his bruised and broken rib cage and sent oxygen spiraling into an already aching head.
The pain forced him back into darkness. His body relaxed, regaining the inert status it had maintained for days.
Jenny groaned softly, her joy at his first signs of recovery erased as he sank back into his personal twilight zone.
Dr. Walker came into the ward just as the nurses completed their check on Chance’s intravenous hookups.
“Coming around, is he?” he asked, as he made a thorough sweep of the
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