Forever's Embrace (Forever In Luck Series Book 2) (19 page)

Thinking
back on the moment, she turned, and looked into his eyes. “Yeah, I remember.”

Grabbing
two tubes, Jake turned back to her. “Kiss me before we go down. That sexy mind
of yours has started my engine, and I want a kiss.”

Moving
in close, she looked up at him. “Isn’t that like throwing an accelerant on an
already raging fire?”

“Yep,
but if I can survive yesterday, I can handle today. Come here.”

Wrapping
her arms around him, she kissed him with all the love she had in her heart,
then stepped back. “How’s that?”

“I
want more,” he growled. “Let’s skip this and go back to the ice house.”

Jules
laughed. “I knew it. Yesterday and last night should’ve been enough for a
while.”

“News
flash, bebis, it’ll never be enough, not until you’re mine, and even then, I’ll
want you all the time.”

Jules
stopped short and stared up at Jake, taking it all in, processing what she’d
heard. “Jake—”

“Come
on you guys,” Linnie hollered, as she ran over and grabbed Jules by the hand,
pulling her along. “We’ve been waiting forever, let’s go.”

Putting
their tubes together, they all got on and were on their way. Racing down the
hill at breakneck speed, they flew, screaming and hollering as they bumped and
spun their way to the bottom. Two thirds of the way down, they bounced off the
snow wall with such force, that Jules lost her grip and flipped out of her
tube, rolling and sliding part of the way down. Standing, she saw Jake running
towards her.

“Are
you okay?” he hollered, as he ran her way.

Moving
around, she answered loud, “Yeah, I think so. At least I don’t think anything’s
broken, probably have some bruises though.”

Reaching
her, he took her in his arms. “You scared the hell out of me when I saw you hit
the ground and tumble down the hill.” Keeping an arm around her, he helped her
walk to the end of the chute.”

“Sorry,
I lost my grip when we smacked into the wall.”

Linnie
ran over, “You okay, Jules?”

“Yeah,
I’m good, just bruises. Let’s go again. I’ll hang on tighter this time.”

*****

Jake,
willed his heart to slow down. Losing his grip on Jules and seeing her ripped
from him, then her flopping down the hill, nearly sent him over the edge.
Waiting for a group of screaming girls to finish their run before making their
way across the lanes, they headed towards the moving sidewalk quickly, dodging
fellow tubers along the way.

“Wait,”
Jules said. “I dropped my glove.”

Stopping,
he saw that she’d run back a lane, and had just picked up her glove, when she’d
turned back without noticing the mass of tubers headed her way. Hearing the
screams of the oncoming group, she tried moving out of their path, but slipped
on the icy lane. When the group struck her, their mass and speed sent her
flying into the safety fence, Her head slammed against the fence wall, and her
back against a supporting post, before her body fell limp to the ground.

Jake’s
knees went weak, and he stumbled trying to get to her. “Linnie,” he bellowed,
as he ran to Jules.

Linnie
was there in a flash. “Don’t move her, Jake,” she ordered. “Nate, call nine one
one!”

“She’s
not moving, and, and she’s bleeding!” Jake said in a panic.

“I
know, she’s breathing though,” Linnie responded, as she lifted Jules’s eyelids,
“and her pupils are equal, round, and reactive. Jules? Jules, come on honey,
open your eyes. We don’t know how bad her back and neck were hurt.”

Just
then, Jules jerked and rolled to her back, lifting an arm to her head.

“Don’t
move, Jules,” Linnie said. “You’re hurt, and we’ve called for an ambulance.
Open your eyes for me.”

“My
head,” she said weakly, as her eyes fluttered open.

Blood
was spreading out in a pool under her head, and Jake could see a decent sized
laceration near the back. Taking off his jacket, he removed his shirt and
gently put it to her head, then threw his jacket back on. Her eyes closed and
he panicked. “Open your eyes, Jules, keep them open, Precious, come on.”

“Jake?”
she whispered, as she lifted her hand to her head again.

“Right
here, Precious, I’m right here. I love you, Jules. Stay with me, don’t close
your eyes, don’t go.”

“Jules,”
Linnie called, trying to get her attention. “Jules, can you feel your legs?
Jules?”

She
didn’t answer. Jake watched as she slowly pulled back her hand and stared at
the blood all over it. Just then emergency personnel arrived, and all manner of
craziness took hold. Jake struggled to keep his grip on her. “Jules, open your
eyes. Jules?” he began to panic. “Jules? Jules? Jules, open your eyes, babe.”
Her eyelids fluttered open for a brief moment, and he grabbed it. “I love you,
Jules. You need to know I love you.” Then she left him in mind and spirit, as
the emergency workers carried her away in a rush.

“Jake,
we need to go,” Linnie said urgently, as she stood and tugged on his jacket.
“Come on.”

Dazed,
he looked up at her. “I never told her I loved her, I should have told her I
loved her.”

Grabbing
his hand and pulling on his arm, she answered him, “You did, I heard you. Jake,
we need to get to the hospital, now.”

He
sat there, not moving. “I don’t think she heard me,” he responded, thinking out
loud.

“Nate,”
Linnie yelled.

Nate
appeared at his side. “Hey buddy, let’s get you up and off the ground,” he
said, as he reached and put an arm around Jake, lifting him up and onto his
feet.

“Nate,
I never told her I loved her. She needs to know.”

Nate
shook him by the shoulder, trying to get his attention. “Jake, she knows. Now
we need to leave. She needs us. Let’s go.”

Jumping
at the words, Jake started moving quickly towards the parking lot. “How? How
can you be sure?” he asked, needing convincing. “I don’t think she heard me
when I said it.”

Nate
answered, “Look at your chest. She knows.”

Jake
looked down and pulled his jacket open. There, on his chest and over his left
pectoral, was a heart, painted in her blood, by her hand. Everything became
blurry, and he began to blink rapidly. Stumbling over a snowbank, he ran with
Linnie and Nate to the truck. Hopping in the back, he grabbed Linnie’s shoulder
as Nate sped off. “I need to keep this, forever.” Pulling out his phone, he
handed it to her, then removed his jacket. “Take pictures, take lots of them.
Fill up my phone with them.”

As
Linnie snapped away, Jake asked, “They take her to St. Croix hospital?”

“Yes.”

“How
bad is it?”

“Hard
to say. We know she moved her arms, and turned herself from her side to her
back, so she has some movement. We just don’t know about her legs. Then the question
is, does she simply have a concussion, or worse, a brain bleed? Her pupils were
working fine though, and there wasn’t any blood coming from her ears or nose.
So, that’s good.”

Jake
fell back against the seat and started smacking his head against the window.

“Jake,
stop!” Linnie yelled. “We don’t need two of you with a head injury.”

“Why
didn’t I listen to her?” he yelled back. “Why? I should have listened!” He ran
his fingers into his hair, grabbed and pulled on it, as he kicked the seat.
“She was worried about tubing that fucking hill, went on about physics and the
energy potential of groups tubing together, and I blew her off. Laughed at her.
Did you see how many of them came at her? Did you?” he asked, as he sat
forward, putting his face in his hands. “God, the blood. Did you see all the
blood?”

Linnie
reached back and took one of his hands. “Look at me,” she said softly. “I know
you’re upset, I am too, but we need to be calm for Jules’s sake. Accidents
happen, and head lacerations always bleed a ton, that part’s very normal.”

Walking
into the hospital’s emergency entrance, they were quickly escorted to a waiting
area in the back. Nate and Linnie sat, as Jake paced back and forth, round and
around, all the while feeling like he was a volcano about to erupt.

“Hello,
my name’s Sara, and I’m one of the nurses working in the ER today. I’m stopping
to let you know that the doctor’s with Juliet over in radiology as we speak.
They’re working on getting various scans and images, and the doctor’s been in
contact with specialists in the cities.”

Jake
rushed over to her. “Is she awake? Did she wake up?”

“Yes,
but she has some confusion, and is slow to respond. The doctor will be with you
as soon as he can. Who’s next of kin?”

Linnie
sat up. “I am. I mean, we are. We’re her family.”

“Where
are her parents?”

“Jules
is an only child. Her parents died when she was an infant. She was raised by
her grandmother who has since passed. We’re her only family,” Linnie answered.

“Might
you have her identification, insurance information, or anything of the kind?”

“Yes,
I brought in her purse.” Opening it, Linnie found what was needed and handed it
to the nurse. “Can you tell us if she’s able to move her legs?”

“I’m
uncertain of the answer to that, when I was with her our primary concern at the
time was the extent of her brain injury. The doctor will be with you as soon as
he can,” she assured them before leaving.

Minutes
seemed to turn to hours as they waited, but soon the doctor arrived. “Hi, I’m
Dr. Benton. Juliet is awake. She doesn’t remember what happened, or the time
leading up to the accident. The scans we’ve done do not show a brain bleed, or
skull fracture, and there’s no swelling or abnormalities to indicate anything
more severe than a concussion.

Overall
the scans of her body look good, with the exception of her spine. There appears
to be a fractured vertebra in the first lumbar region. It’s hard to tell the
extent of the injury at this time. The scans we’ve done here have been
transmitted electronically to a specialist in spinal conditions in the cities
to best determine the next course of action.”

“Can
she move her legs, wiggle her toes?” Linnie asked.

He
shook his head. “At this point, she has not demonstrated she can.”

Jake
turned and walked to the window, listening as they spoke.

“So,
she’s a paraplegic then?” Linnie sought out.

“Her
reflexes are definitely diminished, but it would be presumptuous to make that
assumption without more information, and some time.”

“Excuse
me,” the nurse from earlier interrupted. “Dr. Benton, Dr. Reiter’s on the
line.”

Looking
at the three of them, he said, “This is our call.” Picking up the phone, the
two doctors spoke. Hanging up, Dr. Benton stood. “Due to the neurological
compromise and results of her scans, Dr. Reiter is concerned about an unstable
fracture that appears to be impinging on the spinal cord. He feels it necessary
to do emergency surgery to stabilize the area and hopefully preserve her
neurological function. Lifelink’s been called, and she’ll be helicoptered to the
cities immediately. I’m sorry I can’t stay longer to answer your questions, but
I must go speak with her now, and I’m sure you’d like a few minutes with her
before she goes. Give us a few minutes and we’ll come get you.”

Soon
they were ushered down a hall and into a large open bay of the ER. Jules was
center stage, and Jake went to her immediately. Feeling unsure, and afraid he’d
startle her, he gently took her hand and kissed it before speaking. “Precious?”

She
turned her head to him. “Jake?”

His
eyes closed at the sound of her voice. The relief that she remembered him and
responded to his special name for her was overwhelming. “Yeah, sweetheart, it’s
me. I’m here.” He bent down and put a gentle kiss to her lips. “How you doing?”

She
looked around, paused, looked like she was thinking hard, then answered. “My
head hurts.”

“Yeah,
you’re banged up pretty good. Linnie’s here. You want to say anything to her
before you go?”

“Linnie?”

Linnie
stepped up to the bed. “I’m here, Jules.”

Jules
looked over. “Linnie, you make my decisions if I can’t.”

Linnie
nodded. “I will, it’ll be alright. You hang in there. We’ll meet you in the
cities.”

A
nurse came over, “Excuse me, I’m about to give her a little pain medication for
the ride. The team’s landing now. You’ll want to say your goodbyes.”

Jake
kissed her hand again. “Precious, look at me. I love you. I really love you.”

She
smiled a small smile, her eyes growing heavy. “Ti amo anch’io.”

Just
then the flight team walked in, and began preparations to move Jules onto the
transport stretcher. His time with her coming to an end, he quickly kissed her.
“I love you, Jules. Don’t forget, okay?”

Then
they moved her over, buckling her onto the stretcher, grabbed a packet of
papers, and were gone.