Page 69 of Love's Harvest
He stirred and then closed his eyes.
She checked to see if he’d been hit anywhere else, but she saw no signs of it.
Remembering finding Jesse and all those gory details, she lowered her face into her hands.
Shaking, feeling sick, she threw her arms around Aaron.“Wake up!Open your eyes!”She reached into her pocket for her cell phone and realized she’d left it on the kitchen counter.
Sobbing uncontrollably now, she tried Aaron’s pocket and found his cell phone.She struggled to come up with a password to open it and tried as many dates as possible, until she hit on 0125.Her birthday.
Aaron began to groan.
Keeping an eye on him, Sarah called 911 and told them what had happened and where they were.
Kneeling in the snow beside him, she took hold of his hand and squeezed it, speaking softly in his ear.“You’ve been hit by a heavy branch.Help is on the way.I’m staying right with you.Aaron ….I … I love you.”
He remained still, eyes closed.
Sarah had no idea how long they’d stayed like that until she finally heard the sound of someone calling her name.
Sarah stood.“Over here.”
Two figures appeared.One was carrying something, a stretcher maybe.The other had hold of what looked like a suitcase, which she thought held medical supplies.
“Hurry!He has a bad gash on his head, and he won’t wake up.I don’t think he has any other injuries, but I tried not to move him too much.”She realized tears were sliding down her cheeks.
“Okay, we’ll take it from here,” said one of the EMTs.
Sarah stood aside clutching her gloved hands, telling herself it was Aaron on the ground, not Jesse, and that he’d be alright.Still, unwanted visions filled her mind.When was the last time she’d told Jesse she’d loved him?Was that the last thing she’d said to him?She’d had a habit of saying it to him a lot because he’d needed it so much.
“He’s awake,” she heard one of the EMTs say.
Sarah hurried over to them.“Please, let me see him.”
She knelt beside Aaron and felt a rush of relief fill her when his eyes focused on her.
“Hi,” he said.“What happened?”
“A heavy branch fell on your head,” she said.“We’ve got people here to help you.”
She kissed his cheek and stood, letting the men continue to care for Aaron.After checking his pulse and other vital signs, one of them worked on the head wound.
“He’ll need stitches,” the man declared.
In time, they allowed Aaron to sit up.
“You’re a lucky man.Your wife called us,” said one of the men.
Aaron groaned but sat holding his head in his hands.“No, just a friend.”
At his words, Sarah felt a stab go through her heart.She told herself not to make anything of it, that Aaron had just had an injury to his head.But a sneaky thought grabbed onto the idea of her just being a friend, and all of her previous doubts roared back to life.
“Do you feel strong enough to stand?”one of the EMTs asked Aaron.“We need to get a professional to look at you.”
“I’ll walk,” said Aaron looking at the folded stretcher one of the men had carried.
With help, Aaron struggled to his feet.
“I’ll walk him to the ambulance,” said one of the men.“Can someone carry my case?”
