Last First Kiss (45 page)

They sat and waited for another hour and a half, until one of the nurses came in to tell them he was in his new room in intensive care on the third floor. The group gladly moved to the ICU waiting room, knowing they were one step closer to seeing Jackson. Giselle and Bill went in to see him first.

Bill shook his head. “Son, you look a hell of a lot better than the last time I saw you.” He took Jackson’s hand. “I love you, boy, but I’m going to give you and Giselle some privacy.”

Giselle leaned in close to him. “How do you feel?”

“
Never felt better.” He tried to smile.

“
The girls are thrilled at the prospect of having you for a daddy. They said to tell you they can’t wait. Neither can I.”

“
We could get married in the hospital.”

She chuckled. “We’ll talk about it later. Red is here, so are Sam, Carrie and Gwen.”

“
Send in Red and Carrie? They worry the most,” he said.

She nodded and hurried out.

A minute later, Red and Carrie walked in to see him. Red balked at seeing his friend looking so rough, but Carrie walked right up to him and kissed him on the cheek. “Well, Jack, when you do it, you do it good.”

“
Always do, hon,” he replied.

She beamed at him. “Congratulations are in order I hear. I’m the matron of honor.”

He smiled at her. “Cool...”

“
I told her as long as she doesn’t make me wear some silly dress made for skinny women.”

He turned slowly to look at Red. “How about you?”

Red gave him a somber look. “I’m with her,” he said, pointing to Carrie. “I draw the line at dresses made for skinny women, too.”

“
Your ass,” Jackson murmured.

Red laughed. “Just try to keep me away from this one. I’m happy for you, man.” He grabbed the hand his friend held up.

“
You already know how I feel about it,” Carrie said.

Jackson gave her a lopsided grin. “You...always in my corner...” he croaked.

Carrie busied herself smoothing his blankets. “Well, somebody had to be. Poor baby, you had it coming from both sides for a while, there. You deserve to be happy more than anyone I know.” Her voice cracked, and she mumbled a quick ‘see you later’ before leaving.

Jackson smiled as he watched her walk out. “Pushover.”

“
Hey Jackson, bet you didn’t know your old buddy, Tanner Collins, works here.”

“
Did he...work on me?” Jackson asked, his voice faltering.

Red picked up the glass of water and put the straw to Jackson’s lips. “Nah, I called him to tell him you were here. I told him to come in and give everyone updates, or else.”

Giselle walked in. “It worked too.”

“
I could hear nurses talking...he’s still a player...screws around on fiancé.”

Red snorted, “I wouldn’t expect anything else from him. Hey, I’ll let Giselle visit with you now. See you later, bro.”

Red walked through the waiting room and out the side door. He ended up in a secluded area on the west side of the building. Collapsing against a brick wall, he took the time to let things sink in, and offered up a silent prayer of thanks for his friend’s life. He left a message on his folk’s answering machine, and was about to call his club manager, when the door opened up. Before he could make himself known, the sight of Jackson’s pissy little orthopedic surgeon, Dr. LeBlanc, stopped him.

He watched as, facing the opposite direction, she pulled her hair out of its elastic band and fluffed it. She lifted the phone to her ear and waited. After several moments, she lowered it, cursing softly, and pushed another couple of buttons. After a few seconds her head snapped forward as her whole body seemed to tense. “Who the hell is this?” she demanded.

Red eased himself back around the other side of the wall so she wouldn’t see him if she turned around.

“
Tanner? Who’s the woman who just answered your phone?”

Red’s jaw dropped at the discovery.
She’s
Tanner’s fiancé?
He listened to the conversation with renewed interest.

“
I thought you said you had to go home and rest?”... “Then why aren’t you at your apartment?”...“Tanner, I just called there...you’re in a bar!” She sighed. “Yeah, whatever...in case you were wondering, your friend’s surgery went well...did you hear me? Hello? Tanner?”

Red looked around the corner in time to see her look at her phone before swearing loudly. “Cheating son of a bitch!”

He watched her lean against the wall and sniff delicately, before wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. Instead of falling to pieces, as he expected her to, she pulled her shoulders back and walked inside.

“
I’ll be damned,” he said. “No wonder she’s in a foul mood. Maybe it’s not me, after all.”

CHAPTER 28

Jackson’s two day stint in Intensive Care proved to be torturous for him, as well as Giselle and the staff. On Wednesday morning, once they moved him to a private room where he could have ‘some Giselle’ all day long, he transformed from surly to the perfect patient.

Red made the trip on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday afternoon, this time meeting Lauren at Sam and Carrie’s place to pick up Mac and Lexie. As soon as he drove up, the two girls came running out to meet him, excited to visit Jackson.

Lauren followed them outside, carrying Ava.

“
Hey, twin, I bet you don’t remember me,” Red told her.

“
Sure I do. Gretchen and I cheered with your sister, Annie, in Gardiner. She’s just a few years older than us.”

“
Yep, she’s almost thirty and still living with my folks.”

Lauren grinned at him. “I saw her last weekend at the festival in Gardiner. She told me she got her Physical Therapy license. I put a bug in her ear about moving to Kenton. We just lost one of two that shared a practice in town.”

“
Well, keep bugging her, will ya? Mom and Dad could use the break.” He looked at the toddler she carried. I recognize this beauty from Giselle’s videos. Hello, Ava Grace.”

Ava looked shyly up at him and flashed him a cheesy grin.

Red laughed. “She reminds me of you and Gretchen when ya’ll were that age, Lauren. Ava, I’m going to see Jackson.”

At the mention of Jackson’s name, the toddler’s big brown eyes lit up. “I go see Jackson!”

“
You want to come with me to see Jackson?” he asked, as he held his arms out. She nodded, and let him hold her.

Ensconced on Red’s hip, she turned to Lauren and waved. “Bye bye, Mama. I go see Jackson.”

Red chuckled. “No wonder he fell in love with this one.” He asked Lauren to take a couple of shots and some video with his camera phone, before he and the girls drove to the hospital.

<><><>

Jackson sat quietly with Giselle and Carrie, when Red walked in with Mac and Lexie.

After hugging her mother, Lexie walked up to the bed. She puffed out her breath and pointed her finger at him. “Jackson, you sure do know how to scare a girl. Next time you ride a motorcycle, you need to watch for cows on the road.”

“
No more motorcycles...they’re too dangerous,” Mackenzie insisted.

Red lifted one, then the other so they could kiss Jackson.

Lexie crossed her arms and addressed Jackson. “Hey, I heard a rooma.”

“
It’s a rumor, Lex, not a rooma,” Mac corrected. “You’re such a baby sometimes.”

“
I am not a baby. I’m five years old!”

“
You are too. You can’t say the simplest words” Mac said.

“
Momma, make her stop!” Lexie wailed.

“
Girls, stop that,” Giselle said firmly. She looked at Jackson. “There’s still time to bail, babe. It only gets worse.”

He winked at her then turned his attention to the younger child. “Lex, what is this rumor you heard?”

I heard a
rumor
that you’re going to be our second daddy. Is that true?” Lexie asked as she attempted to climb up on his bed. Giselle grabbed her and stood her on a chair so she could see him.

“
It is, if it’s okay with you and Mac,” he told her.

Lexie clapped her hands gleefully. “That’s the best news I’ve heard since we got a Paw Paw Bill! You know, Jackson, my daddy was the best daddy in the world and I love him a whole lot. But, I don’t like not having a daddy around. I think you’re gonna be our next best daddy.”

“
Thank you Lex,” he told her with a huge smile. “That means a lot to me, and I promise I won’t let you down.” He turned to the older child. “Mac, are you okay with this?”

“
Actually,” Mac said, in a very grown up voice, “I’m relieved. It was too hard trying to explain to my friends why Bill was my Paw Paw, but Jackson wasn’t my daddy,” she said, rolling her eyes dramatically. “This will be much better.”

“
Well, I’m glad, Mac. That’s why I’m here, to make your life better.” He looked up at her mother, adding, “I want to make all your lives better.” The look she gave him could have melted butter. “And I can’t wait,” he added, gazing at the woman he loved.

After twenty minutes, the girls left with Carrie. Giselle kissed them, saying she’d be home when visiting hours ended.

Mac looked at Jackson. “I’ll go now, but when you get out of this place you’re coming home with us. Nobody can take care of you as good as we can.”

Giselle smiled at her daughter. “Don’t worry, Mac. I’ll make sure he comes home with us when he leaves here.”

Once Carrie and the girls had gone, Red sat down next to Giselle. “Hey, I almost forgot, I met your little Ava Grace when I picked up the girls. Take a look at this,” he said pulling out his phone and bringing up some pictures and video.

“
What a sweetheart!” Jackson said. He gave Giselle a pitiful look. “Baby, can we have one? Please?”

Giselle laughed. “I’ll see what I can do. You do realize we’ll have to start from scratch, don’t you? That means several months of midnight and 3 a.m. feedings, colic, teething pains, thousands of dirty diapers, and tons of other problems before they’re that low maintenance.”

“
Hey, I’m ready for anything. But, how long after we’re married do we have to wait before trying for one?”

“
I’m not getting any younger, so I’m ready when you are.”

“
I love this woman so much,” he told Red. “Speaking of which, how long do we have to wait to get married? I want to make you my wife as quickly as I can.”

“
I’d like to be able to dance with my husband at our wedding and that could take a few months.”

“
We’ve got a problem then,” he said. “I won’t stay in that house with you and those girls unless we’re married.”

“
Jackson, I want everyone to be there,” Giselle groaned. “My first wedding was Toby and I standing before the chaplain at LSU with a couple of friends to take some snapshots of us. I’d like to have friends and family there for this one.”

He put his hand up to stop her. “Just hear me out, okay? How about if we get married at the courthouse as soon as I leave the hospital? Later, when I’m better, and can dance with my bride, we can have a big wedding out at the ranch and have it blessed. We could have everyone there, even Red’s family. I really want you to meet them.”

He watched her face as one by one, her excuses dissipated. She leaned over his bed until they were face to face. “You’ve got yourself a deal, big boy, but don’t think I’ll let you get lazy with your therapy. You know how much I like to dance.”

Jackson hooped as he pulled her to him with his good hand and kissed her. “Thanks babe! I’ll make it up to you first chance I get.”

<><><>

Red stepped out of the room to give the couple some privacy. He watched, as Tiffany LeBlanc walked briskly towards him, her blonde ponytail swinging from side to side with every footstep. He cleared his throat. “He Doc.”

Tiffany glanced up from the clipboard she studied, and paused. “Are they changing linens?”

Red straightened to his full height and ran his hand through his hair. “No, she’s just agreed to marry him as soon as he leaves the hospital. I left to give them some privacy.”

“
It’s generous of her to give up the ceremony, the white dress, and everything,” she said.