Page 56 of Between the Stars

I think I’m going to throw up.

Inside the hospital, Josie tells us they were able to save his arm but had to do a blood transfusion and tape his artery back together. Yes, she said tape.

Griff shakes his head, walking with us up to Jace’s room. It’s then I realize how out of place Griff looks in Texas. He’s wearing jeans, sure, but with a polo shirt and perfectly combed hair and a clean shave. Half the people in this hospital are sporting beards, cowboy hats, wranglers, and Carhartt jackets. Griff doesn’t even own anything with leather, other than a belt or two.

I wanted to come alone, practically begged, but there was no way he was allowing it. As soon as we were at the hotel, I tried to pull the “oh, you can stay back here, I’m going to run by and check on him.”

Didn’t work. He insisted on coming with me. So now look at me. Do I look nervous? Ha. That’s an understatement. Not only am I praying they were able to save his arm, but I’m also terrified of what he’s going to say. He told me to leave and never come back. Okay, maybe not so many words, but he might as well have. And he blocked my damn number. He clearly doesn’t want to see me. So what am I doing here?

I wish I knew the answer.

“Taped?” Griff rolls his eyes at Josie. “Don’t you mean reconstructed? You can’t tape an artery back together, Josie.”

Josie shoots a glare his way and punches the elevator button dramatically. “I don’t know. I don’t know medical jargon.”

Griff leans back into the elevator wall, staring at the posters on the walls. “Clearly.”

“Listen,Tin Man—”

Griff tenses beside me.

“Josie, stop.” I grab a hold of her hand and yank her to me. “Is he still in the ICU?”

“Yes.” She shoots another glare toward Griff who’s no longer paying attention to her. He’s staring at his cell phone in his hand. “Only a couple people up there at a time, but we can see him. Mom said he’s been awake, off and on.”

“Your parents here?” I haven’t seen his parents in years, and I admit, I’m nervous. Not that I didn’t get along with Layla and Einar, because I always did, but seeing them is going to be a different story.

Josie nods, holding her cell phone in hand as she types what looks to be a message. “Mom’s talking to the insurance company at the moment and Dad is back in Amarillo helping Bishop and the guys clean up.”

Right. I imagine there’s a mess to clean up with that much blood and a snow-covered ground. “How are the girls?”

“They’re with Kacy at home. Scared I’m sure. Sev wouldn’t leave Jace and was hysterical when they tried to take him. I guess they had to land a LifeFlight in the field. Can’t imagine what they saw.”

Me either.My cheeks flush, my heart pumping harder. “No kidding. And he did this on a tractor?” I can feel Griff’s eyes on me, his body next to mine and the heat, but I don’t look over at him. I’m afraid he’ll see something he doesn’t want to on my face.

“We don’t really know.” Josie tucks her phone into her back pocket. I search her eyes. She must be exhausted after the day she’s had. I know I am and I didn’t even see what she must have. “Morgan was the first one to him. Camdyn was smart enough to hit the PTO switch and turn it and the tractor off.”

“That was smart of her.”

“It was,” Josie agrees as the elevator doors open and two doctors enter. We push back against the wall to allow room. “Morgan got pressure on it and they called 911, but Jace was unconscious. They said it was nearly cut clean through.”

I cringe, my stomach rolling. Usually this kind of thing doesn’t freak me out but hearing about it happening to Jace isn’t the same. “How’d it catch his arm? What was he doing?”

“Morgan said he thought maybe he caught his jacket sleeve because it ripped his jacket off first and wrapped it around the pipe, but in the process must have tangled his arm. Luckily his arm was the only thing caught.”

“No kidding,” I gasp.

“He’s lucky it didn’t kill him,” Griff adds, typing away on his phone. “That’s not to say he’s completely out of the clear yet. Infection is going to be a huge risk for him. And that’s not to say he won’t lose the arm if it doesn’t heal properly.”

Josie scowls at him and hits the phone out of Griff’s hand. “Thank you,Tin Man.”

Sighing, I lift my eyes to Griff as he scowls at Josie. “I’m just being honest.”

Josie leads us up to the ICU floor where Jace is. The room is quiet and Jace appears to be sleeping. My heart lurches into my throat at the sight of him. My stomach feels like it’s turning inside out.

I step further into the room to see Jace is covered in a white blanket, his arm propped up by a foam wedge and wrapped in a bandage to keep still. I want to run up to him and wrap my arms around him, but I know I can’t. One, my heart won’t handle it, and two, the fucking obvious. He’s not mine to care about.

Griff immediately introduces himself to the doctor, who steps in to monitor Jace’s progress. They talk about the surgery, the risk of infection and how amazing it is he didn’t cut his arm off. I hear bits and pieces of it, but my attention is on Jace. He looks so different from when I last saw him. His complexion is pale with dark circles under his eyes.

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