Page 63 of Spurred On

The man I love is lying flat on a gurney. Blood runs down his temple, and his arm is definitely broken. I blink down, trying to wrap my headaround it. Nausea rolls deep in my gut from the sharp pain I feel in my heart.

Aspen's voice shakes me out of my moment. “Ava, I am going to need you to hold your shit together. Let's get him inside.” With that, I am back in the action, head on straight. He needs me, and I know I can do this.

“Check his airway,” Aspen says.

The sound of his heartbeat fills the room as Aspen gets him placed on monitors.

Beep..Beep..Beep..Beep.

By the sound of that alone, I know his heart is working too hard. Placing my stethoscope over his lungs, I check both sides. “The right side sounds diminished.” I look over and see Doctor Thomas palpating his belly.

“Get me an ultrasound, and where the fuck is anesthesia and respiratory?” Dr. Thomas says behind me. I’ve been so wrapped up in what’s in front of me that I didn’t even see him come in. Trauma shears in hand, Aspen cuts through Maverick’s shirt. Her hands shake, but her face is steadied with determination. When his shirt falls off, the sight makes my heart drop. Bruises are already blooming over him. Everywhere. He is completely and utterly broken. I take a steadying breath and refocus.

“They’re on their way,” I answer, grateful that Aspen was ahead of that game on that one. I swing the ultrasound machine across the room for the doc to have easier access to it.

Beep.beep.beep.beep.beep.

Fuck, why is his heart rate getting faster? My hands start to shake, and my brain feels cloudy. Fuck. This cannot be happening. I can’twatch this happen. If he would have listened to me, he would have been fine.

Get it together, Ava.

“Abdomen has free fluid, page general, I need them down here now,” the doctor hollers out. The charge nurse dials out on her small, blue Ascom phone. The team works together effortlessly.

Beepbeepbeepbeep.

“Guys, his blood pressure is tanking. We need to find the source of the bleeding right now or we’re going to be in trouble,” I say as I look up to the monitor, seeing his vitals start to crash.

The general surgeon runs in. “Prepare the OR for a laparotomy. I need extra sutures and staples up. How is his neuro exam?”

“Pupils are equal and reactive. Witnesses say the head suffered the least of it. We will get a CT as soon as possible,” Dr. Thomas says without lifting his head from Mav.

“His sats are dropping, guys. We need to intubate,” Dr. Thomas says. Tears fill my eyes. I’ve lived lots of bad days, and I do not need another bad one to contend with the worst day ever. My eyes roam over him, and I can feel my heart breaking.

Standing at his side, I take his hand, allowing myself one moment to break my professional façade. “Maverick Lee Ryder, you cannot leave me. Do you hear me? Everyone leaves me, but you can’t. Please hold on. I love you. Please.” I don’t care who is around.

Aspen pulls me away as anesthesia comes to the head of the bed. “Pushing roc, get me the glidescope.” He works for a few seconds. “I see fog, we are good. Let’s get him up to the OR.”

“Can our hospital handle a trauma like this?” I look over to Aspen, shocked to see the same amount of horror in her eyes I assume is in mine. She handled this whole thing so well; I know she lovesMaverick too. She was calm and steady until it was finally our chance to hand the baton off. That’s what this feels like, a race to save Maverick.

“Yes, the OR crew is amazing. That is a world-class surgeon right there. He only moved out here because he thought it would be an easier, quieter job. No one warned him about farm accidents or dumbass boys getting on the back of bulls.” She tries to smile, but it fails to meet her eyes; only one side of her lips moves up.

The charge nurse and an OR nurse wheel Maverick out of the bay and I feel my world crack and splinter.

“What happens if something goes wrong?” Panic grips my throat. It feels too hard to breathe, too hard to think. My breaths come in ragged pants. All I can think of is the worst-case scenario, my life has trained me for that.

Aspen grabs onto me, anchoring me back to reality, and forces me to look at her. “Just like anything else when you’re rural. Stabilize and ship.” Aspen drops my arms and swings her arms around me, holding me for a second. My arms close around her too, holding on to her for dear life.

“I can’t lose him too, Aspen,” I whisper, holding on to her like she is my life raft, keeping me afloat when all I want to do is drown in despair.

“He’ll be okay. He’s tougher than you give him credit for.” Her voice sounds so steady and sure this time that I try and believe her.

I nod my head, wishing it was Maverick holding me instead.

My eyes close, and I let out a silent plea to the universe.Please don’t take him from me.

Chapter 36

Maverick

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