Page 44 of Merry Christmas, Cowboy

At the same time, with Coop on one end, and him on the other, they lifted the heavy piece up, but Garrett’s hand slipped and he lost control of the slab. “Whoa!”

It only took a second before a sharp edge of the granite came down on his arm, slashing it open. Blood immediately spurted out. “Let it go,” he shouted to Coop.

Coop dropped the piece onto the wood underpinnings of the counter, just missing taking out another piece of Garrett’s arm.

Garrett grabbed his arm tight and bent in half, the pain immediate and excruciating.

“Oh, man. You okay?” Coop ran around the island and looked at his arm. “That’s a big gash. You’re gonna need stitches.”

Garrett squeezed his eyes shut. He knew as soon as the granite slipped, this was going to be bad.

“I’ll get some towels. Where’s your first aid kit?”

Still hunched over, Garrett pointed toward the bathroom.

“Keep pressure on it,” Coop shouted from the other room.

Garrett leaned against the kitchen wall, holding on.

When Coop returned, it was only a few minutes before he was bandaged up and heading to the hospital emergency room. Garrett laid his head against the headrest in Coop’s truck and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to deal with the pain. Then he shot up in his seat. “Cody.”

“He’ll be okay. I’ll call the school and let them know what happened. They’ll notify Nicole. I’m sure she’ll watch out for Cody. There’s still an hour before school lets out.”

Garrett nodded and flopped back down, taking deep breaths, and whispered, “Nicole.”

*

“Students, it’s timeto put away our crayons. Nelia, since you’re our cleanup monitor will you make sure all the crayons are off the tables and in their buckets?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Thank you. Children, as soon as we’re done cleaning up our desks, we’ll have story time.”

The kids were especially excited lately knowing that Christmas was coming and it seemed to make them a bit unruly. Today was uniquely challenging, nothing seemed to come easy. One little girl cried when she couldn’t find her water bottle until Nicole noticed it in someone else’s backpack. Two boys bumped heads when they’d accidentally run into each other at recess. Both were sent to the office, both needed to sit it out with ice packs on their heads, until their parents came to pick them up. And Joanie Maynard peed her pants and needed to change into her spare clothes. On days like these, Nicole felt more a caregiver, than a schoolteacher. But it came with the territory.

When Lisa Murdock, the school secretary, showed up at her door, crooking her finger, whispering she needed a word with her, Nicole immediately walked over. “Lisa? What is it?”

“We just got word that Mr. Garrett, Cody’s uncle, was injured on the job site. He’s been taken to the hospital.”

“Oh, no.” Stark fear caught in her throat. Her heart raced wildly. “W-what happened?”

“Mr. Cooper said he’d gotten hurt installing granite and for you not to worry. He asked if you could take care of Cody until he calls you later.”

“I surely will. But did he say how bad it was?”

“No, he didn’t. Sorry.”

“Thank you.” Nicole looked over at Cody who was talking to his desk buddy, Jonas. The boy was all smiles. How was she going to give him the news without worrying him? And how was she going to cope with Garrett being hurt? Already, her mind was swimming in a dozen different directions. She prayed he wasn’t too terribly injured.

After Lisa walked away, and with her heart in her throat, Nicole struggled to keep focused on the story she was reading to the class. It seemed like an eternity before the school bell rang. As usual, she walked the children out to meet with their parents. When just the two of them were left, Nicole bent down to Cody’s level. “Cody, Paulette isn’t taking you home today. There’s been a little accident and I’m going to ask you to be a big boy right now. Okay?”

Cody searched her eyes, looking extremely curious. “Is Paulette okay?”

Oh, darn, she was confusing the boy. “Yes, Paulette is just fine. She’ll be here in a bit. But your uncle Garrett got a little hurt and he’s in the hospital.”

Tears filled Cody’s eyes. “Is he gonna die?”

Dear God. Cody’s expression was killing her. It was the saddest face she’d seen on any child. Ever.

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