Blinding Trust (Mitchell Family, #7)(84)

The little boy’s eyes got big. “In your police truck?”

“Yes.”

“Can we use the siren? I bet it’s real loud.” He was obviously too young to understand that this was a serious situation.

“Sure, kid.” I waited for him and his sister to stand up and follow me over to my vehicle.

The little guy was busy looking around the front of the vehicle at all of the gadgets, while his sister remained quiet with her hands folded on her lap. When I went to make sure they were both buckled she grabbed my hand. “Is my mommy going to be okay?”

It was heartwrentching to hear her asking. I honestly had no idea if their mother was going to make it. All I knew was that these two children were depending on me to be the hero and I didn’t know if I was capable of even having a conversation with them. “As soon as I hear something, you will be the first to know.”

“Mom said that we were going to love our new life. I hate this place. I hate that Mommy is hurt. I just want to go home. I want my daddy!” The little boy cried.

I clenched my jaw as I started on our way to the hospital. The more I tried to not think about my own accident, the more I couldn’t get it out of my head. By the time we pulled up at the emergency room doors, I had played out the entire accident once again in my head.

We no sooner made it into the emergency room doors when I saw a familiar face heading in our direction. Sue, the owner of the bar I frequented, came over and bent down in front of the kids. She pulled them in for hug and looked up at me. “Thanks for bringing them here, Ramsey…ah Sheriff.”

“You know these kids?” Sue never mentioned grandchildren, but then again, I never asked about anyone’s business when mine was locked up from anyone knowing.

She patted the boy on the head and stood up. Her cough was intense. “These kids are my great niece and nephew. Their mother was my sister’s only daughter. She passed a while back and we lost touch. I got a call yesterday that she was in trouble and needed to start over. She’s the only family I got left and I ain’t about to turn my back on her.” She grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side. “They’re worried about swelling around the brain. These poor kids don’t even know me. How am I supposed to tell them she may not wake up?”

I put my hand on Sue’s shoulder. As much as I wanted to go home and forget about these people, I knew I wouldn’t be able to abandon someone when they needed help. It was all I had ever wanted to do. This woman needed to survive. “Why don’t you take the kids and get them checked out, then take them home. I will have someone bring all of their things from the car to your house. If it will make you feel better, I will stay here until we know something more about your niece.”

She wrapped her arms around me, taking me back to the funeral of my wife and child, where everyone wanted to hug and console me. I pulled away without even realizing how cold it seemed. I could tell that she knew I had withdrawn from her. She put on a fake smile and held her hands out for both children. “I will be waiting for your call, Ramsey. You’re a good man. I hope you know that.”

I stood and waited for the woman and the two kids to walk in the direction of triage. The last thing I wanted to do was be involved in something so emotional. Sure, I’d been there before and could probably be great in dealing with pain and grief, except I hadn’t been able to let go enough to use my experience for others. Sometimes I didn’t even know if I wanted to.

After grabbing a coffee, I made my way to the room where the injured mother was located. I could hear the beeps of the machines as I entered. A nurse smiled, recognizing who I was from my uniform. I gave her a nod and sat down in a nearby chair. “How is she?”

She finished writing down something before answering me. “Right now we have her stabilized. Because of the head injury, the doctor is worried about swelling. As of right now, we are just waiting. Her vitals are improving and if we can get through the next twenty four hours, she has a good chance of fully recovering. It could go either way with a brain injury.”

I was afraid to look at the bed, where the mother was lying lifeless. I knew she was breathing, except looking at her put a face to the victim. I couldn’t let myself get attached to a case, especially one that was so close to my past.

When the nurse left, I started to get up and request that they contact me if anything changed, except my eyes glanced over at the poor mother fighting to live. Her blonde hair was a mess and dried blood made some spots appear red. She had a bandage over her nose and a stitched up spot over her eyebrow. Even with all of that mess going on, I could tell that she was an attractive woman. Her body was covered up with blankets, but her arm was hanging out enough for me to see the artwork that went from her wrist to her shoulder. It was done well and I continued to stare, I thought about the tattoos on my own body; the ones I got after I lost my girls.

Sadness overwhelmed me again, forcing me to sit back down in the chair. This woman was those kids mother. I had to know that she was going to pull through. I couldn’t just walk away. Something wouldn’t let me get out of that chair.

I put my hat over my eyes and leaned back to try to rest. Some would say that prayers were all that could be done. I’d lost faith in that. This woman’s will to live was what would decide whether she ever opened her eyes again. I owed it to Sue to stick around and wait.

I’m not real sure how long I’d been sleeping, but I woke to someone touching my arm. I grabbed my hat and placed it back on my head as I sat up straight and looked around for the nurse. Instead, the arm with the tattoos was reaching over to touch me again. I stood up, partly in shock, and looked down at the awake woman. She was struggling for words and I knew what she was going to ask before the words could come out. “You’re kids are fine, Ma’am. They’re with your aunt. You’ve been in an accident. I’ll go get you the doctor.”