Page 37 of Andrew’s Outback Love

I shook my head. “I refuse to believe that Drew’s arm will be damaged and he won’t be able to operate again.”

“How about we wait and see what the doctor says before we imagine the worst? Nothing is a forgone conclusion.” Cam, the voice of reason when we most needed it.

The next two hours passed painfully slow and each of us dealt with the waiting in our own way. I dozed on and off, exhausted thanks to the trauma of what I’d witnessed. Cam sat quietly reading while James, Finn and Ruby couldn’t sit still and opted to take multiple walks. They were in and out like yo-yos. When I heard the door open, I assumed it was who I’d dubbed the 3 Restless Musketeers coming back in. Instead, I opened my eyes to find a tall man who was probably in his fifties. I jumped to my feet as he asked if we were the patient’s family.

“No, Drew’s family is overseas. I have this fax from his father.”

I moved closer and handed over the sheet of paper James had given me and watched as the doctor read it before handing it back.

“Ms. Freemont, surgery went very well. Dr. Lowman is awake and I have explained the surgery to him although I doubt he’ll remember. He should be out of recovery and taken to a room shortly. We have placed his arm in a sling for support while his injury heals.”

I asked the question I was dreading the answer to. I felt Cam at my back, offering support.

“Is there any permanent damage?”

“He has no feeling in his arm and hand at this point, but we don’t believe there is. The bullet severed the subclavian artery and came to rest against the muscle. It probably grazed nerves but there was no damage which would indicate permanent disability. In my opinion, he’ll be fine in a few weeks.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding as the doctor continued.

“He’ll need to rest for a couple of weeks and should be able to resume surgery in three to four weeks. There will probably be some tingling in his arm and fingers for a week or so when feeling does return, but it’s nothing to be concerned about. Setting aside he was shot, he was very fortunate his injury was relative minor.”

“Thank you, doctor. Am I able to see him?”

“Two at a time in recovery. I’ll take you in.”

I turned towards Cam.

“Can you ask James to call Drew’s parents when he gets back and let them know what’s going on?”

“Sure, I can.” He gave me a gentle push. “Go! Let us know when we can come up and see him.”

I reached up on tiptoes and placed a kiss on Cam’s cheek. When I pulled back, a tear of relief ran down my face.

“Thanks for being here.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else. We love that man in case you hadn’t noticed.”

I smiled before following the doctor from the room. I couldn’t wait to see Drew for myself and make sure he really was okay.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Linda

I followed the doctor into recovery and past several beds before coming to where Drew lay sleeping. Or I thought he was. He opened his eyes when we approached and gave me a tired smile.

“Hey.” His voice sounded hoarse, the result of having a tube shoved down his throat.

“I’ll leave you to it,” the doctor said before addressing Drew. “You’ll be moved to a private room in the next couple of hours. Press the buzzer if anything concerns you and the nurse will page me.”

“I know the drill. Thank you, Doctor.”

The doctor patted the bed beside where Drew’s hand was resting, smiled at me and left. I turned to pull a chair closer, sat and gathered Drew’s hand into mine.

“How do you feel?” I asked.

“Like I was hit by a Mack truck.”

“I was scared to death when I saw her fire the gun and watched you collapse to the floor.”