BlackJack (A Standish Bay Romance Book 1) (24 page)

Chapter
Eighteen

Startled awake
to the sound of her phone ringing, Shannon’s heart leapt up into her throat. One
quick glance at the clock told her it was two in the morning.

“H...” she
cleared her throat and tried again. “Hello.”

“Mrs. McKenzie?”

Oh God. It was
never a good sign when people called her Mrs. McKenzie. “Yes.” Her head began
to pound in tune with her heart.

“I’m Doctor
Splaine from St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver. There’s been an accident and your
son Cameron has been injured.”

Shannon had a
hard time replying because her entire body shuddered, causing her to nearly
drop the phone. A huge part of her was afraid to ask how badly her son was
hurt. So instead of answering the good doctor, she a prayed to God to spare her
son’s life.

“He’s pretty
banged up. Broke several bones.”

She’d had a
strange feeling in the pit of her stomach when she’d gone to bed, almost as
though she knew. “How...how bad is it?” She held her breath and waited.”

“Unfortunately...”

Oh God, her
hand flew to her throat. Here it comes.

“He suffered a
severe blow to the head. He’s unconscious. We had to operate on his leg because
of a compound fracture and he lost quite a bit of blood. However, that’s not my
concern right now. His head injury is. How soon can you get here?”

Shannon’s life
became a tunnel, and the phone and the person on the other end were billions of
miles away. Miles she’d never be able to travel in time. This could not be
happening, not to her Cameron. Somehow she reeled herself back to the situation
at hand and managed to answer with what she thought was someone else’s voice
entirely.

“First flight
out.”

“Good.”

After the call
ended, she stared at the wall, trying to come to terms with what the doctor
told her. Cameron hurt. Hurt badly. His head injured. And then the reality of
the situation slammed into her, and she cried for five solid minutes before she
reeled herself in once again and dreaded what she had to do next. She had to
call John. She’d dialed his number thousands of times before, but she couldn’t
remember it now. It took her three tries to get it right. Her brain had gone
numb along with the rest of her body. When she heard John’s clipped voice
answer, she broke down again and began to blubber. It was a wonder John
understood anything she said. He would make the travel arrangements as she
drove to his house.

Frantically she
tossed clothes carelessly into an overnight bag, pulled on jeans and a sweater
and grabbed her leather jacket on her way out the door. As she drove, squinting
through her tears, she thought about the fact that Mitch had gone home. She
wished he’d stayed because she wasn’t confident in her driving skills at the
moment.

It was a dark
and drizzly night, and Shannon never did much care for driving at night in the
rain. The glare from other car lights nearly blinded her. She leaned forward,
white knuckling the steering wheel and drove as fast as she possibly could. When
she approached the exit, she said her silent thanks to God for getting her
safely to John’s and her hands loosened their grip on the steering wheel
somewhat. Several miles later, she pulled up to his well-lit antique colonial.

Before she
could knock, the door flew open and she found herself wrapped in John’s arms. He
stroked her back as she quivered in shock and fear of the unknown. “I couldn’t
get us a flight until seven in the morning. Come in and get comfortable.”

Shannon entered
their family room and sat on the couch. The television glowed in the dark
telling her John must’ve been watching it. He left her briefly and came back
carrying a pillow and blanket. “You might as well sleep for a couple hours.”

Shannon took
the things he offered and tried to settle in. But she knew sleep would never be
possible. “Will you stay with me?”

John sighed,
ran his hands through his hair and her cheeks heated with embarrassment. Why
would he stay with her when he had Cheryl’s comforting arms waiting for him in
their bed? She took a deep breath and let him off the hook. “Never mind, I
think I might sleep after all.”

He raised a
brow. “You sure?”

She waved him
off. “Go. Just don’t forget to set the alarm.”

Before he left,
he shut off the television and Shannon found herself alone in the room. The
glow from the nightlight plugged into the wall gave her welcomed comfort. She
lay on the couch and prayed. When she felt there was nothing left she could do
or pray about she turned the television back on, muted the volume and rummaged
around in her pocketbook for her cell phone. She desperately needed to hear
Cole’s voice. She didn’t want to call her parents or her sisters or Mitch until
she had a better understanding of Cameron’s injuries. She scrolled through her
address book, touched Cole’s name and counted the rings until she heard his
deep, sleepy voice answer on the third ring.

“Hello.”

“Hi, sorry I
woke you.”

Bed covers
rustled. “Shannon, honey is everything okay?”

“No,” she choked
out. “I’m at John’s house and we’re on our way to Denver.” She paused, hoping to
stop her voice from vibrating. “Cameron was in an accident.”

Cole groaned
and cursed. “How bad is it?”

She explained
what she knew, which wasn’t much.

“I’ll meet you
at the hospital tomorrow.”

“But...what
about AJ?”

“I can’t take
his body back until it’s released from the autopsy, probably three days,
besides I’d go stir crazy here worrying about Cameron.” He paused and added, “Worrying
about you.”

She began to
cry. Jeez, she’d done nothing but cry lately, albeit she had plenty of reasons.

Shannon kept
Cole on the phone for over an hour. They talked about everything and anything. Talking
to him was easy. It seemed as if she could tell him anything, and he’d
understand. Not to mention hearing his voice soothed her. He understood her so
well. If she didn’t already accept their connection, she’d be freaked out that
someone knew her almost better than she knew herself. And hell, maybe he did. She
finally let him go because her battery kept flashing low. So before her phone
died, she hung up and lay there silently as her heart pounded so loudly against
her ribs they hurt.

The hell with cardio
workouts, all it took to get one’s heart rate pumping was having a family
crisis.

John came in to
wake her not long after she’d hung up with Cole and she was ready. The sun had
yet to rise, but at least the rain had let up. As they walked to her car John
held out his hand. “I’ll drive.” Relieved, she gladly handed the keys over.

John drove in
silence so she sat back and listened to her car stereo. When a BlackJack song
played she witnessed John physically tense up. So even though Cole was innocent
of Lindsey’s death, John still didn’t approve. Too damn bad for him. She was
going for the brass ring. He had, so why not her?

They breezed
into Logan Airport as traffic was light this early in the morning. When they
went through security, John removed his shoes. She almost laughed at the
expression on his face when they both saw his big toe protruding through his
sock.

“Did you forget
you had to remove your shoes?”

“Nope. These
were the only matching socks I could find.”

“Having a hard
time with the laundry?”

He rolled his
eyes and muttered something under his breath which Shannon was quite sure wasn’t
nice.

The flight left
on time and was uneventful. They arrived in Denver almost on time to the minute.
If only all of her flights went this smoothly. Which reminded her she had to
contact her publicist and cancel her tour on the west coast. Christ, with all
the worries and thoughts going on in her head, how had that popped up?

They drove
straight to the hospital from the airport and the closer she got the more
nauseated she was. She’d not eaten anything, but that didn’t mean her stomach
didn’t want to revolt and throw up something. She swallowed and fought the bile
down as she clasped her hands on her lap to keep them steady. Her whole body
ached from her trembling and tense muscles. When they pulled up to the
hospital, she felt almost faint from stress and anxiety and shit—fear. Fear of
the unknown. Without a word, she linked her arm through John’s, hoping to help
steady her legs and hoping his were steady enough for both of them.

They entered
through the main lobby, went to the volunteer at the desk who gave them Cameron’s
room number. When Shannon walked down the long sterile hallway, it gave her the
illusion of getting longer and narrower, making her wonder if she’d ever reach
the end before the walls closed in on her, crushing her, suffocating her, causing
her to never see her son again. With a huge sigh of relief, she finally did
reach the end.

One of the
nurses at the station outside Cameron’s room stopped them before they could
enter. “May I help you?”

John answered
for them in his deep commanding voice. “Yes. We’re Cameron McKenzie’s parents.”

“Go on in, I’ll
page Doctor Splaine and let him know you’ve arrived.”

“Thank you,” John
mumbled and practically sprinted toward his son’s door.

When Shannon
stepped inside the first thing she noticed was his left leg up in traction, his
right arm in a cast and his head bandaged. She sucked in her breath as she took
in the many cuts and bruises on his face.

His ribs were
wrapped as well. My God, he was banged up badly. But he’d survived. Yes, thank
God. He’d survived. They’d actually heard a radio report about the crash on the
way here. There had been over a dozen vehicles involved. Heavy fog played a
huge part in it. It started when a truck carrying logs jack-knifed causing a
chain reaction. There were several fatalities. She tried not to let her mind
drift into dangerous places. But it was impossible, and she couldn’t help but
think Cameron could become one of those casualties?

Shannon stood
paralyzed to the floor as she thought about what ifs? Jesus, she honestly
didn’t know how she would go on if the worst happened. And her heart bled for
those families who had lost cherished loved ones in the crash.

She fought down
her tears. She would be strong from now on and cry on the inside, not outside. Gently,
she placed her hand on Cameron’s unbroken arm and was shocked when his eyes
fluttered open, one all the way, the bruised one only part way. He licked his
parched lips. “Mom, Dad,” he said, sounding weak and dazed.

The doctor had
said he was unconscious. She expected to find him in a coma. Relief washed over
her, and her knees nearly gave way so she rested against the side of his bed. She
couldn’t begin to explain how it felt to see her beautiful son’s hazel eyes
staring at her. “Does it hurt badly?”

“I’m sorry,” he
strained to talk. “I was on my way back home. I got off and turned around. I
missed you.”

Shannon’s heart
fluttered and she took his hand in hers, the one without the cast. The hand
with the intravenous line feeding him much needed fluids and medicine. Tears
streamed down John’s face as he rested his hand on Cameron’s shoulder and said,
“its okay. It doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re going to be okay. You’ll
heal and be fine.”

“Do me a favor,”
Cameron struggled to speak, and Shannon could well imagine the painkillers
throwing him for a loop. “I keep asking for Amber and nobody will tell me
anything.” His eyes bored into hers, and she saw the fear and desperation in
them. “Find Amber for me,” he pleaded.

“I’ll find her.
Don’t you worry,” she said gently.

He closed his
eyes and slept in a drug induced state, leaving Shannon to wonder who Amber
was?

“Mr. and Mrs. McKenzie,
I’m Doctor Splaine. I spoke with you, Mrs. McKenzie, on the phone.”

“It’s Gallagher.
Shannon Gallagher.”

“I’m sorry, Ms.
Gallagher.” He turned toward John. “Are you Mr. McKenzie?”

“Yes.”John
shook the doctor’s hand.

Doctor Splaine
gestured toward the doorway. “Why don’t we speak in the lounge, and I’ll fill
you in on everything.”

Shannon and
John followed the stone-faced, tall, slim, middle-aged doctor to a small
waiting room at the end of the pristine white hall. There were several anxious
looking people waiting there. They took three seats in a row, and Doctor
Splaine explained Cameron’s injuries in great detail. Not only did he break his
wrist, he broke his leg in two places, one resulted in a compound fracture and
they had to insert rods. He broke several ribs and punctured his lung. He also
had a serious concussion as well as many lacerations and bruises. Yet he was a
lucky boy. Out of the fifteen people on the bus, only nine survived the crash.

Shannon reached
for John’s hand and squeezed it. A thousand questions raced through her mind,
but they all seemed trivial in light of the fact so many lives were lost and
her son survived. There was one question, however.

“Cameron asked
for a girl, Amber. Can you tell me anything about her?”

Doctor Splaine
exhaled and his features turned grim.

Shannon didn’t
think she wanted to hear what he had to say.

“We came across
her student identification card an hour ago and just notified her father. Unfortunately
it doesn’t look good.”

Shannon bit her
lip to hold back an anguished cry for this Amber person she didn’t know. She
must, however, be the girl Cameron appeared to be traveling with.

The doctor continued,
“other than that I can’t divulge anything else without her father’s consent.”

“How old is she?”
Silly question but the only one Shannon could think to ask?

“Seventeen,” he
replied.

Oh God, the
poor girl and the poor father. “Could you please let me know when Amber’s
father arrives?”