I could hear someone calling my name, the voice distant. My head was foggy and my eyes felt heavy. “Savannah, sweetheart, can you hear me?” it said again. “Savannah?” I forced my eyes open, finally realizing that the voice belonged to my mom. She was kneeling beside me, her face a picture of worry.
“Mom,” I croaked, my mouth dry. “What’s going on?”
“Savannah, sweetheart, you passed out.”
Reality came rushing back and I suddenly remembered the fire. “Josh!” I cried out. “Where’s Josh?” I struggled to sit up, my eyes frantically scanning around me in an attempt to catch a glimpse of him. The stable was still burning and the paramedics had arrived. They were huddled around someone lying on the ground.
“Josh is out honey, your dad and Mason got him, and the paramedics are working on him now,” she said, putting her hand on my arm. “You need to wait here Savannah, I’ll get someone to check you over.”
“No!” I shouted. “I need to be with Josh.” Finding a strength I didn’t know I had, I pushed my mom away and stood up, swaying on my unsteady legs.
“Okay, okay,” she conceded. “Let me help you.” Taking my arm, she walked with me over to where three paramedics surrounded Josh. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew it was him, recognizing the jeans and cowboy boots he’d worn to my parents’ house.
“He’s stable enough to move, and we need to get him to the hospital, now,” one of the paramedics shouted above the noise that was echoing around the ranch. I couldn’t get anywhere near him, feeling completely helpless as I watched them transfer him to a spinal board. Finally able to see his face, I gasped—his eyes were closed and he was black from the fire. His head was bandaged, the blood from the wound smeared down his face and matted in the hair that was visible. My hand went to my mouth and I let out a sob. Desperate to touch him, I moved closer, managing to brush my hand against his as they carried him past me.
“I love you,” I told him, my voice shaking. Looking up, I saw a devastated Grace watching me. Tears were running down her cheeks and she was visibly shaking. The paramedics carried Josh to a waiting ambulance and I followed, watching as they loaded him into the back. Turning back to Grace, I reached for her hand.
“Go with him,” I pleaded. There was only room for one passenger, and as much as I wanted to be with him, I knew as his mom, she needed that too.
She nodded and climbed into the ambulance. Sitting next to him, she held his hand, her eyes fixed on me. “Thank you,” she mouthed as the ambulance doors closed and they sped away from what was left of the stables, red lights flashing.
“I need to get to the hospital,” I cried, turning and breaking down as my mom pulled me into her arms.
“Come on, I’ll drive. Your dad, Brody, and Mason have all been taken there too,” she told me as she led me to the car then sped down the driveway. I dropped my head into my hands and sobbed. Nearly everyone who meant anything to me was in the hospital, and right then I didn’t know if any of them would survive.
15 minutes later, we rushed into the emergency department, finding Grace and Libby in the waiting area. “Libby,” I cried throwing my arms around her. “What’s happening? Where is everyone?” I asked, pulling away and looking at her tear-stained face.
“Mason, Brody, and Uncle Ryan are okay, they’re just getting checked over…” She trailed off.
“And Josh?” I asked urgently, watching as her eyes flicked to my mom, who stood behind me. “What is it?” I shouted, tears rolling down my face. “Is he…?” I shook my head, not able to say the word.
“No Savannah, he’s not,” Grace said, stepping forward and taking my hands in hers. She guided me to some chairs and gently pushed on my shoulder, forcing me to sit down. “They’ve taken him straight into the triage area. He’s not conscious.” Her voice hitched and she took a moment to compose herself. “They think part of the roof collapsed on him. The nurse said once they’ve assessed him, the doctor will come see us. We just have to wait.” I nodded as my vision began to blur again and the ringing in my ears returned. I dropped my head between my knees, desperate not to pass out again.
“I’m getting a doctor, you need to be looked at,” I heard my mom say, her voice muffled.
“No!” I exclaimed, my head still between my knees. “I need to be here.”
“You need to get checked out Savannah,” my mom insisted.
My vision was returning to normal and I raised my head. “Please don’t make me leave, I need to be with Josh,” I begged, my voice breaking with emotion.
“How about if we find someone to see you here, in the waiting room?” Grace asked, kneeling in front of me, her eyes red from crying.
“Okay,” I said, surprised by her concern. It was hard to believe that an hour before, she had been yelling at me. That didn’t matter now—nothing mattered if Josh didn’t make it. Grace stood up and I saw my mom give her a grateful smile.
“I’ll go get someone,” Libby said, walking off toward the reception desk.
“I’ll come with you,” my mom offered. “She needs to see someone from obstetrics.”
They both disappeared around the corner and I sat wringing my hands in my lap. My leg bounced up and down with nerves, and I couldn’t make it stop. My eyes kept going to the door I knew led to the triage area, and I willed the doctor to walk through and tell me the man I’d loved all my life was going to be okay. I felt a hand on my leg and I turned to see that Grace had sat down next to me.
“You really love him, don’t you?” she said quietly, her eyes fixed on the floor.
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “I do…more than anything.”
“And he loves you,” she said, a statement rather than a question. Her eyes met mine and I nodded. “Well he must—he risked his life to save you,” she said with a sigh.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my head dropping into my hands. “He went in there for me and I wasn’t even in the stables. It’s my fault he’s in here.”
“No Savannah, it’s not your fault, that’s not what I meant. It was an accident sweetheart.” She sighed and pulled my hands away from my face, forcing me to look at her. “I’m so sorry I’ve been so awful to you. I’ve been selfish.” She shook her head and stood up, pacing in front of me. “I saw you as a threat, someone who would take Josh away from me. After everything he’s been through…” She trailed off.
Frowning, I looked up at her. “Josh has had lots of girlfriends, why am I any different?”
“Because it’s you Savannah.” She smiled. “You’re different than the others. I’ve always known he liked you, I guess I just never realized how much.” Her hands covered her mouth as she tried to hold back a sob. Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and looked at me. “He’s got pictures of you beside his bed, did you know that?”
I nodded as fresh tears slipped down my cheeks. “Oh God, Grace, I can’t lose him.”
She came over, kneeling in front of me. “He’s a fighter Savannah, always has been. You’re not going to lose him.” I closed my eyes as sobs racked my body. I was desperate to believe her, but the longer we waited with no news, the more my hope diminished. I felt her arms go around me and we clung to each other, both of us crying.
We heard the main doors to the emergency department open and looked up as Robert rushed in. “Grace!” he shouted as he ran over to us. Seeing our tears, his face paled.
Grace let go of me and took hold of his hand. “We’re waiting for the doctor to come speak to us. All we know is that he has a head injury and he wasn’t conscious when they brought him in.”
Relief flooded his face and he flopped down into one of the waiting room chairs. “I thought you were going to tell me…” He shook his head, dragging his hand down his face. He turned to me. “Savannah darlin’, are you okay? What happened? Why were you there Grace?”
“There was a fire in the stable. Josh thought I was inside and went in to get me, but I was at the cottage with Grace,” I told him, my eyes flicking to Grace’s.
“Thank God you weren’t in there,” he said, his eyes dropping to my bump. “Why were you at the cottage Grace?” he asked again.
“She left something last night and just stopped by to pick it up,” I said quickly before Grace could speak. I didn’t see the point in telling him why she had really been there. It seemed like the fire had forced her to look at how she had been behaving, and she appeared to be regretting her actions from the past few weeks. Grace caught my eye and gave me a grateful smile. Robert nodded, missing the silent conversation Grace and I were having. Just then, Libby and my mom appeared with a doctor.
The doctor checked me over, checking my blood pressure and pulse. Although he checked the baby’s heartbeat with his stethoscope, he wanted me to go upstairs to maternity so they could scan the baby as a precaution. I told him once I knew Josh was okay, I’d head up there, but for time being, I was staying put. I wasn’t worried about the baby because I was getting plenty of movement, and told him so. He seemed happy with my answer, telling me to speak to reception if anything changed, and they would page him to come back downstairs.
We’d been waiting what seemed like hours for some news on Josh and we still hadn’t been allowed to see my dad, Brody, or Mason, although we knew they were okay. Finally, after another half an hour of waiting, my dad and Mason appeared, and apart from looking exhausted, they weren’t hurt. I watched as Libby threw herself at Mason, clinging to him and sobbing, and my mom embraced my dad, kissing him on the lips.
“Where’s Brody?” she asked in a panic.
“He’s fine, he’s with the girl he rescued,” my dad told her.
“What girl?” she asked in confusion, and he shrugged his shoulders.
“There was a girl about Libby’s age hiding in the stables. When Brody and Josh went in to find Savannah, they found her. She’s stable but unconscious.” I’d forgotten I’d seen him carrying someone out. Just then the door to triage flung open and we all turned to see one of the doctors standing in front of us. I felt Grace reach for my hand and squeeze it tightly.
“Are you the family of Josh Miller?” he asked, looking at Grace and Robert and then at my parents.
“We’re his parents,” Robert replied, stepping forward.
He nodded and gestured for them to sit down. Grace was still holding my hand and she guided me to sit down next to her. “I’m Dr. Green. I’ve been with Josh since he was brought in and he’s stable, but critical. It was touch and go for a while. He’s suffering from severe smoke inhalation and he’s still unconscious. We’ve intubated him to give his lungs a chance to recover, so at the moment the machines are breathing for him.” I gasped and Grace put her arm around me. My mom sat the other side of me, her hand on my leg. “The wound to his head wasn’t as bad as we first thought, and it’s only superficial, so we aren’t too worried about that. The main concern is his breathing, and the smoke inhalation.”
“Is he going to be okay?” I asked, my voice breaking.
“We’re doing everything we can for him. We’ll keep him intubated overnight, and we don’t know yet when he’ll wake up.”
“Can we see him?” Grace asked, her voice shaking.
The doctor nodded and stood up. “Family only at the moment, and only two at a time. He’s being moved to the ICU right now, and one of the nurses will come get you when he’s settled.”
“Thank you Dr. Green,” Robert said, reaching out to shake the doctor’s hand. He nodded and gave him a small smile before disappearing back through the door into triage.
“They aren’t going to let me see him,” I cried, panic swirling inside me. “I’m not family!”
“Yes you are Savannah—you’re his wife,” Grace said forcefully. “He loves you and he needs to hear your voice. He needs to know you’re okay and that he needs to fight.”
I flung my arms around her and held her tight. “Thank you,” I said over and over. I felt someone tap my shoulder, and turning around, I saw Libby holding out her wedding ring.
“Put this on, no one will question you then.” She reached for my hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger.
The door behind us opened again and a nurse came into the waiting area. “You can see Josh now, just two at a time.”
Robert gestured for Grace and me to follow her. “You two go first,” he told us with a nod. I kissed him on the cheek as I passed him and we followed the nurse down a long hallway.
She came to a stop outside a closed door. “This is Josh’s room. There are a lot of wires and machines around him, try not to be too alarmed. They’re all there to help him.” A wave of nausea washed over me and I felt my legs shake.
Grace took my hand again and squeezed it tightly. “Ready?” she asked. I nodded even though I wasn’t, and she turned and pushed the door open.