Page 56 of Worth the Risk
“Alright, I’ll wait at the entrance for you. He’s gonna be fine.”
“Right, okay. Bye.” I hang up and walk out front. Anna is singing a song and swaying while sweeping. “Anna.”
“Yeah, Winnie?” She keeps sweeping.
“Uh, I have to leave.” I’m on the verge of tears and my tone gets her attention.
She spins to look at me.
“Is everything okay? Are you crying? What’s wrong?” Concern colors her words and show all over her face.
“I….I think it’s okay, but Colt is in the hospital and I have to go check on him. Mary Holloway is on her way now to get me.”
“Oh my gosh, of course! I’ll be fine on my own today and I’ll make sure to lock up tonight. Just go.”
“Thanks, Anna. You’re my best employee.”
“I’m your only employee, but I know.” I give her a hug and the key to the front door.
“Thank you again, Anna. I’m…” She shrugs.
“I know. Just text me about tomorrow or if you need anything.”
“Okay, I’m just gonna grab my bag and wait out front.” She pulls me in for another hug and I barely hold myself together.
“He’ll be fine, Winnie.” She’s trying to be reassuring, but she can’t know that. No one can. One minute you’re planning your family vacation to the beach and the next you're sitting in a white fluorescent lit room that smells like antiseptic hearing that you’ll never see the people you love most in the world ever again. I don’t trust that things will work out. I’ve worked every day of my life since that day to make them work out. I see a blue truck pull up to the curb with the Holloway Ranch logo and I run to get in. After I get the door shut I can’t get the seat belt to loosen and I start yanking over and over until I feel a warm hand on my arm. I turn and Mary takes a deep breath, I mimic her and she reaches over to help me get buckled in.
“We’re gonna get through this, Winnie.” I appreciate her not saying everything will be fine. She knows sometimes they aren’t. I nod and she starts driving. Fifteen minutes later we’re parked. I’m jogging up to the emergency entrance door of the hospital when I see Rhett standing outside. That’s when I let myself lose it. He walks towards me and takes me in his arms. I hear an awful wet coughing sound and think someone nearby must be choking, but realize it’s me when I feel Rhett rubbing reassuring circles over my back and repeating a calming mantra…“Shhhh…it’s okay baby, I’ve got you.” I’m full on sobbing now. Embarrassingly so. I know I should feel that. Embarrassed—but I can only feel the panic, the anxiety, and memories of a horrible night keep popping up.
“Is he done with the scans yet?” I choke out between sobs.
“He was just getting ready to get sent to his room when I came back out here.”
“Okay, I need to see him.” He releases me only so far that he has his arm wrapped around my shoulders and he guides us to Colt’s room. When we get to the door I stop abruptly and Rhett tightens his hold on me and lets me stand outside for a second. I’m trying to mentally prepare myself for the worst, but a booming laugh startles me. I rush in and start sobbing again. Colt is sitting up in the bed laughing while Mare is looking at his chart and shaking her head at him. Rhett stands at my side, kissing my head as I stare at my brother who I love so much.
“Whoa, whoa…Winnie, it’s okay. I’m okay.” I move then and with probably too much force, throw half my body over his.
“I w…was ss…so worried, C…Colt.” I’m relieved but the adrenaline is making me feel like i”m floating and shaky.
“I’m fine, Win. I stopped repeating things like 30 minutes ago.” He smirks. Smirks. “Just had a little spill—no pun intended.” He winks. “Well maybe some pun…” I glare at him and finally his face softens and turns serious. “I’m sorry you had to worry, Winnie.”
“I…I ccan’t lose you.” He rubs my arms.
“I never want to scare you like this, but it wasn’t a big deal. I don’t even think I need to be here.”
“You do.” Mare and Rhett say at the same time.
“Fine, but I’ve been checked out and I’m gonna be just fine.” I look at Mare and she nods.
“He has a minor concussion, thank God he was wearing that helmet. He’ll have to take the next seven days off work and come back in for another scan, but he will be fine, Winnie.”
“What the hell happened out there?” Rhett lets out an irritated huff while Colt launches into his big rescue story. I look at Rhett a few times while Colt tells his tale to find him looking at me each time. After he’s finished recounting their day on thewater, a nurse comes in with discharge paperwork and tells us that someone needs to stay with him tonight to wake him up every two hours.
“Okay, I can do that,” I say at the same time that Rhett says “I’ve got it covered.”
“That’s okay Rhett, I’ll do it.”
“You’ve got to open the bakery in the morning Winnie. I really don’t mind and I don’t have anything to do tomorrow.”
