Page 4 of Holly's Valentine Vow

Sirens and rapid fire talking bring me back to life again and I realize I’m in an ambulance which is going ridiculously fast based on the scenery that’s flashing by through what little I can see out of the back windows.

“You’ll be okay, Jonah,” a paramedic says as she leans over me. “My name is Hennessy, but you can call me Hen.”

“Hen, what’s wrong with me?” I manage to stammer. “Everything hurts and I can’t move my head.”

“You have what’s known as a C-collar on, it’s a neck brace to keep your head immobile until the doctors can get scans or X-rays done to ensure you don’t have any damage in that area. I can see a few broken bones, since they’re compound fractures, which simply means the bones broke through the skin. You also have a lot of road rash,” she states.

I’m impressed that as she lists off my known injuries, she keeps treating me and checking the machine that I can hear beeping behind my head. “Who hit me?”

She shrugs and says, “Your grandfather didn’t see who hit you, just found you when he pulled into the driveway. But he told the cops that he was gonna pull the camera feed or something, so hopefully, they caught whoever hit you since they fled the scene.”

Some spineless motherfucker hit me and ran like the pussy they are? That pisses me off, I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with Holly. Our wedding is right around the corner, she’s going to be upset that her dream day was ruined because someone had the gall to try and take me out. I have no doubts that this was done on purpose seeing as I was already turning into the driveway and wasn’t in anyone’s path.

I don’t correct her as far as mine and Paul’s actual relationship because in a few short weeks, hewillbe my grandfather by marriage. It doesn’t bother me one bit that he’s decided to claim me as his now.

As the darkness begins to close in once again, I ask, “Does Holly know?”

“She’s going to meet you at the hospital,” she replies just as a monitor goes nuts and everything fades to black.

I wake up to an antiseptic smell and wetness on my shoulder. Somehow, I know even without looking, that Holly’s as close to me as possible. “Babe?” I call out, my voice hoarse. My throat hurts like hell, which makes me wonder what happened the last time I passed out.

“Oh, Rebel,” she says, now sobbing. “You almost died on me!”

Died? What the fuck? I can hear beeping machines in the background, but they’re not blaring an alarm tone like I vaguely remember hearing just before darkness fell. “What do you mean?”

And why the fuck does it feel as though I swallowed shards of glass?

“You went into cardiac arrest while on the way to the hospital,” she replies. “The paramedic had to intubate you and then perform CPR to kickstart your heart after it stopped beating. They have a machine or something that she used too to shock your heart back into a viable rhythm. The doctor says it’s because your body went into shock from the pain or something. I don’t really understand all of the medical jargon he used, though. You’ve had surgery on both legs and your shoulder, plus they debrided the road rash to get all the dirt and rocks that were in the ditch. I need to let your nurse know you’re awake, honey.”

She reaches over me with a trembling hand and pushes a button. When a disconnected voice answers she says, “He’s awake.”

“We’ll be right in, I’ll call his doctor,” the nurse replies.

“Thirsty,” I mutter, my voice barely above a whisper. Any louder and the shards get worse. Since everything hurts, including the hair on my head, I don’t want to add to my pain level. I know they have some chart they use to evaluate how much agony I’m in and right now, I think it needs to be redone, because I feel like I went a few rounds with a pissed-off bear or something.

“You can have a few ice chips,” she says, her voice soothing my tattered soul. She gently places a couple of them at my lips and as the icy goodness coats my mouth and slides down my aching throat, I sigh in relief.

“The girls didn’t see me like this, did they?” I ask. The last thing I wanna do is scare my sweet girls; they may not have been created by me, but they’re mine, through and through.

“No, honey, they didn’t. While Pappy waited for the cops and ambulance to arrive on scene, he called Grammy, told her what happened, and that he’d get me to the hospital once you were loaded up and on the way. The girls don’t know anything just yet,” she states.

“Thank God,” I murmur just as my hospital room door opens and two men in white coats enter, along with a nurse who’s holding several bags of fluid. Truthfully, I hope that one of those bags has something for the unrelenting pain that’s thrumming through my damaged body.

Chapter Three

Holly

My eyes fillwith tears as I remember Pappy walking quickly into the house with downcast eyes. I had been diligently working to get the tax documents to my clients so that Rebel and I could enjoy a little adult time. Okay, alotof adult time, since life had been so crazy lately that our intimate forays were put on the backburner.

As it all comes back to me with crystal clarity, I get lost in the memory of finding out the man I love more than life itself had his life hanging on the scales.

“Pappy? What’s wrong? Is it Grammy? The girls?” I ask in succession, quickly standing and going to where my shoes sit on the mat that’s just inside the door. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but with the way he was avoiding looking at me, I knew it had to be tragic.

“It’s Rebel,” he whispers. I look closer at him and realize he’s covered in blood.

“Pappy?” My mind is racing feverishly as I scan him from the top of his head to the bottom of his boots all while trying not to collapse at his feet. His chest, arms, hands, and the front of his jeans are soaked crimson red. My pappy, the man who’s been a constant in my life for as long as I can remember, is drenched in my man’s life force.

God, please, tell me he’s okay, my mind screams.

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