Gone Country (Rough Riders #14)(99)

“Where is Rielle?” Ben asked.


“Trade show in Denver with Rory.”


“Did you call her?”


“No. Not until I know…” He cleared his throat. “Same with Sierra’s mom.”


“Let’s err on the side that everything will be all right.”


“I’m trying. But if anything happened to her, I’d lose my f*cking mind.”


“I know. Don’t think that way.”


It was hard not to. “Sorry that Cam got you out of bed. I wasn’t thinking straight when he called.”


“That’s fine. I wasn’t in bed. I called Mom and Dad. They’re a little slower on the draw, but they’ll be there.”


Wasn’t long before they were in town. Gavin unbuckled his seatbelt the instant they turned into the hospital parking lot.


Ben pulled up to the front. “Go on. I’ll see you inside.”


He nearly fell on his ass when his boots connected with the slippery ground. He righted himself and headed through the ER doors. A woman not much older than Sierra managed the front desk.


“Sir? How may I help you?”


“Sierra Daniels. I’m her father. I need to see her.”


“I’ll let the staff know you’re here. In the meantime, you’ll need to fill out all the paperwork on this clipboard—”


But Gavin had already started down the hallway.


“Sir! You can’t just go back there.”


Watch me.


He stopped short of yelling her name as he passed by hospital rooms. He reached another desk and the woman behind it was no pushover. She got in his face. “You cannot barge back here.”


He loomed over her. “My daughter was in a car accident and I’ve no idea if she’s even okay. Please, just give me any kind of information—”


“They’re doing a CT scan on her right now.”


Gavin whirled around. “Who are you?”


“Alan. The EMT who brought her in.” He raised his hand to forestall Gavin’s question. “Before you badger me to tell you more, I can’t.”


“Who can?”


“I can.”


He turned the other direction quickly.


A male in surgical scrubs moved toward him and Gavin’s heart dropped.


“I’m Roger, the ER nurse. Before I can tell you anything you need to fill out the forms. There are a few questions we need answers to on Sierra’s health history.” He pointed to the small waiting room. “The sooner you get the bureaucratic portion done, the sooner we can treat your daughter and the sooner you can see her.”


Gavin grabbed the clipboard and pen. His eyeballs pulsed with anger. This was bullshit. It’d be faster if they just asked him the f*cking questions. He glanced at the clipboard. The words on the paper blurred into black blots.


Get control.


Five excruciating minutes later he handed in the paperwork. Then another five minutes before Nurse Roger appeared.


“I’ll take you back to see Sierra. Two things you should know. Sierra admitted she’s been drinking tonight.”


Gavin’s stomach dropped even as his blood pressure skyrocketed. Sierra had been drinking and driving?


“You can yell at her about poor choices another time. I need you to be focused on the positive side of this. Like she wasn’t behind the wheel—”


“What? She wasn’t driving?” As much as that relieved him, it also had him demanding, “Then who the hell was driving?”



Roger put his hand on Gavin’s arm. “Calm down.”


“I am calm. Who was driving?”


“Her boyfriend.”


Since when did Sierra have a boyfriend? As he looked at Roger. “You said two positive things. What’s the other one?”


“She wore her seatbelt. She only ended up with a broken collarbone and didn’t go through the windshield.”


White spots danced in front of Gavin’s eyes and he swayed.


“Whoa, there. Let’s sit down for a second.”


“No. I’m fine. Just…no one’s told me anything about what happened or how it happened or that she had…” Broken body parts. He managed a hoarse, “What else?”


“I’ll let the doctor discuss that with you. You’re ready to see her?”


“Yes.”


Roger walked to a room at the end of the hallway.


With each footstep Gavin’s heart beat faster. His mouth was so dry he couldn’t swallow. His gut churned. His pulse pounded in his eyes, in his ears, in his throat. Hospital sounds morphed into brutal silence in his head, making him feel like he was underwater.


Then he was beside her and he almost wept at seeing the most precious thing in his life lying in a hospital bed attached to an IV. Her dark hair was pulled back, showing the paleness of her face against the white pillow. Bruises dotted her face, jaw and neck. Her lips were reddened, cracked and chapped. Her right arm was strapped in a sling and resting on her belly. She wore a hospital gown. The left side of her body from her shoulder down was covered with several blankets. He was as afraid to touch her as he was afraid not to touch her.