My heart had about stopped in my chest when I saw that tiny, frail body lying there in the dying grass. I probably would have found him even sooner, except that the patch of weeds he was lying in was on the other side of the trough and hidden from view.

Hell, the fact that he was wearing light beige shorts and a yellow T-shirt didn’t help matters either. The poor little guy blended right in with the yellowing grass.

I could’ve sworn that Chuck had already checked this area, but right now wasn’t the time to place blame–especially when I’d almost missed seeing him myself.

Laurie leaned on me heavily as I led him over to where Chris lay. I would have given anything to spare him from seeing his son like this, but knew better than to try and keep him away.

The moment we got close enough for him to see his boy, Laurie came back to life. Jerking away from me, he flew over to his son’s side, dropping to his knees and immediately running his hands over Chris’s body as if looking for injury.

“Don’t move him now,” I cautioned. “He’s unconscious, but like I told the sheriff—he’s still breathing.”

Laurie looked up at me with tear-filled eyes. “How did this happen, do you think? He never would’ve climbed that fence, only the open gate would’ve lured him in here. Chris is a good boy, you know that.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know the answers right now—but rest assured, I will find out. But first, let’s get Chris taken care of, hmm?”

Laurie began to cry. “Do you think they trampled him? Of course, they did. Sorry, that was a stupid question. How else would he be lying here unconscious? Shit, Dean. What will I do if he never wakes up? Chris is my baby, how did I not know that he’d even gotten outside? He was out here getting stepped on by cows while I was right there, just washing dishes. I’m the worst father ever.”

Pulling him into my arms, I ran a soothing hand over Laurie’s back while I spoke. “Hush, now. Don’t write him off yet—that boy is a fighter. And remember, that where there is life—there is hope. Let’s get him to the hospital and see what the doctor says before we go down that road. We can freak out once we’ve heard what’s going on.”

Laurie nodded shakily, pulling away to look up as several footsteps came pounding toward us. My brothers were both there, along with a pair of EMTs.

The emergency workers must be new in town, because I’d never seen either of them before—a rare occurrence in this town. Sheriff Thompson was following behind at his own pace, which wasn’t surprising given how much older he was.

While the EMTs quickly snapped a brace around Chris’s small neck and slid a board beneath him for transport, Kade rushed up to hug Laurie.

“What can we do for you, hon? Name it—Zeke and I can come to the hospital with you, or stay here and help with your family.”

Laurie looked too stunned to talk at this point, so I answered for him. “I’m pretty sure that our grandmothers have taken over his family by now, plus Tanya’s here. Maybe just come along and meet us at the hospital? I think Laurie could probably use all the support he can get over there.”

“Yeah, if our grandmothers and his grandpa are going to be in the same room—I’m pretty sure we should be safely on the other side of town with you,” Kade grinned.

Zeke dipped his chin toward Laurie. “You go ahead and help him, little brother. Kade and I will be right behind you once we make sure everything’s settled here. Give me the keys to your car, and one of us will drive it over to the hospital so that you can both ride in the ambulance.”

We began following the EMTs as they carried Chris through the pasture. I looked over at Zeke in surprise. “Do you think I should go in the ambulance? I mean–I don’t want to overstep.”

“I’m pretty sure you’d be better served there, Dean,” Zeke said softly as he looked pointedly at Laurie again.

I reached out and caught Laurie right before he fell headfirst when he blindly stumbled over a rock. The poor guy was walking like a zombie, not that I blamed him for a second. If I was this torn up over the little guy, I couldn’t imagine how Laurie was feeling right now.

Laurie flinched at the touch of my hands on his arms, then relaxed when he realized it was me. “Sorry, you startled me, Dean. I–I guess I was in a fog.”

“You don’t have a thing to apologize for,” Kade said as he came up on Laurie’s other side and hooked an arm around his waist. “Hell, if I were you? They’d be carrying me out of here on a second stretcher. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for, Laurie.”

“Not really, but as a parent you learn how to fake it until you make it,” Laurie said with a wry smile. A second later, a look of panic crossed his face. “Oh, shit. I need to see to Kiki and Matty! They can’t see Chris being carried out of here on a stretcher.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” I said pointing to the open gate where the EMTs had backed the rig right up to the gap. “Unless they were standing right here, nobody can see from this angle—the ambulance has it blocked.”

“And besides that, our grandmothers are on the scene. Trust me when I say this, honey bun–those old ladies have your kids on lockdown by now,” Kade added.

We watched as they loaded Chris onto a gurney and slid him into the ambulance, then one of the guys turned to Laurie.

“Are you and your husband both riding with us? It’s family only, so just the parents, please.” He said the last part in apology as he glanced over at my brothers.

Laurie started to shake his head in denial, but I stopped him cold by placing my arm around his shoulder as I answered the paramedic. “We sure are, buddy. Come on, Laurie. Let me help you up in there, dear.”

I heard my brothers snickering behind me, but tuned them out. If pretending to be Laurie’s husband was the only way I could ride along and offer him support, so be it. After I helped Laurie into the rig, I turned back to Zeke and tossed him my keys.

“I’m parked out back by the guesthouse. Listen, I’m sure the grandmothers have it under control, but I’d appreciate it if you’d both check in on the kids before you leave.”

“You’ve got it, little brother,” he answered without hesitation. I nodded and climbed in after Laurie, sliding in next to him on the small bench seat.

The door slammed shut, and less than a minute later we were moving. The driver thoughtfully waited until we hit the main road before he turned on the siren, and then we were on our way.

* * *

“Should I go ask the nurse again if she has an update?” Laurie asked. He sat there on the plastic chair, tapping his foot impatiently while he chewed his thumbnail raw. “We’ve been here for over three hours, surely somebody has an answer for me by now. I mean, I’m his father. I don’t understand why I couldn’t go back there.”

I reached up and caught his hand, pulling it away from his mouth and holding it in mine. “You couldn’t go in the x-ray area, because you’re pregnant. As for the operating room, we both know the answer to that one.”

Laurie nodded shakily. “I just don’t understand, his arm was the thing that was broken. Why are they operating on his brain again?”

I stroked the back of his hand with my thumb, soothing him as I spoke. “The stent will help prevent blood clots and reduce the swelling around his brain, remember? The doctor explained it all to you, and why they needed to do it. Would it help you if I Googled some articles about it on my phone?”

Kade chided me as he walked in and sat down next to Laurie. “Holy shit, Dean? Are you touched in the head? You never look for medical help on Google, everybody knows there’s only two results when you Google for medical problems. It’s either nothing—or it’s cancer. Neither of those are applicable in this situation.”

He passed us both a cup of coffee, while Zeke came wandering back in with his own cup. Zeke smiled sadly in our direction. “Any news?”

I shook my head. “No, he’s still in surgery. But it shouldn’t be long now, I’m hoping.”

My brothers and I made small talk while Laurie stared off into space as he sipped his coffee. Familiar faces from around town popped in and out to check on us from time to time, but for the most part we sat there listening to the clock tick while we waited for news.

“So, Laurie? Can you settle a bet for me and Zeke?” Kade said after a long bout of silence. “Have you already punched Dean for lying and pretending to be your husband? Or are you saving it for later? Because that option works too.”

“Dean pretended to be what?” Laurie asked distractedly.

“Back at the farm, when y’all were getting into the ambulance? He totally let that EMT think he was your husband—so Zeke and I were wondering how long you were gonna let him get away with that? Or if you’d already belted him one.”

Laurie blushed, and looked up at me shyly. “Did you seriously do that? That’s funny, and it makes me sad that I don’t remember.”

“It wasn’t important, man. It was a means to an end, that’s all.” I explained. “In that moment, you needed me for support and I saw no need to correct that guy’s misunderstanding when he assumed we were married. I mean, I’ll be more than happy to set the record straight later if you want, I didn’t think it mattered at the time.”

Laurie lifted his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “It doesn’t matter, not really. I appreciate that you were there—I’m just sorry that I don’t remember it too well. This entire afternoon is a blur, to be honest.”

Before we could talk anymore, one of Chris’s surgeons came walking into the room. We all jumped up to our feet, anxious for news. He was smiling, that had to be a good sign—right?

“Mr. Adams, your son is out of surgery and doing fine for the moment. His arm has been reset and put in a cast, the leg–as you know—wasn’t fractured, only badly sprained. As long as he pulls through this all right, we’ll be able to call him a very lucky boy.”

“Can I see my son now, Doctor?”

I’d forgotten that I was holding Laurie’s hand, until he squeezed mine nervously.

Shaking his head, the doctor motioned for us to sit down. He sat down next to us, and reached out for Laurie’s free hand.

“Once he’s settled into the pediatric ICU room we’ve reserved for him, you’ll be able to see him. But only for short visits, once an hour. We put him into a medically induced coma, to keep him still while his brain heals. A little guy like him needs to rest, but at his age that’s easier said than done.”

Laurie pulled his hand from mine, turning his whole body to the doctor as he spoke insistently.

“You don’t understand, Chris is deaf. If he wakes up in a strange place and connected to machines, he will be terrified. He won’t understand if somebody tries to explain it to him–that’s why I need to be there at his bedside. That and the fact that he’s only five years old.”

“Mr. Adams, your son is in good hands. There is no place on earth more suited to what he needs right now, than where he is. We understand that he’s hearing-impaired, it’s notated boldly on his chart. I promise you that you will be the first to know before we decide to bring him out of the coma. We won’t do that on a whim, it will be planned in advance.”

“But when you bring him out of it, I can be there then, right?” Laurie pressed.

“Definitely. But you need to understand, when we bring him out of it, he won’t immediately open his eyes and be alert. Once we slow the medication, it can take minutes, hours, or even a day or so. Think of it like this—when he wakes up, it won’t be like flipping on a light switch. Instead, it will be more like slowly turning up a dimmer switch. Does that makes sense?”

Zeke came over and crouched down beside me, looking intently at the doctor as he joined the conversation.

“Do know how long you intend to keep him in the coma? I’ve heard that after seventy-two hours, it can take a little longer to wake them up. And, does this mean that you have him intubated?”

The doctor seemed relieved to have somebody asking better questions. “Yes, in a case like this, intubation is a necessity. As for the duration of the coma? It all depends on how long it takes for the swelling to go down around his brain. The stent we put in will help with that.”

Laurie turned his attention back to the doctor. “I’m sorry, but I was too upset earlier to understand everything you were telling me. Now this stent you put in, how long will it remain inside my son’s head? Will there be a second surgery to remove it when he wakes up?”

The doctor shook his head. “We won’t be removing it. The model we used is bio-absorbable. Given your son’s age, it seemed the best choice. It will take six months or so to begin breaking down, but won’t completely dissolve for up to three years.”

Laurie gasped in surprise. “Three years? And he can live like that? Will it hold him back from normal activities?”

The doctor smiled gently at Laurie. “It is our every hope that Chris will wake up and be able to resume normal activities soon. But there are no guarantees, I need you to understand that. We will do everything in our power to help your son, and his youth is definitely in his favor. But this is a question for down the road, not right now. There are many other hurdles to jump over first, you know?”

Zeke spoke firmly on Laurie’s behalf. “We get that, Doc. What my friend is asking is, when Chris wakes up and when Chris is back to normal activities—because we have every faith that he will be—will your stent cause him any difficulties on the playground?”

“No, it shouldn’t. In fact, I doubt it will even take three years to dissolve. A couple good growth spurts and it will be well on the way to breaking down, but I have to tell you what the manufacturer says—not what my gut tells me.”

I wrapped my arm around Laurie and hugged him against me when he started to shake again, nodding my thanks to the doctor. “Will somebody let us know when we can see our boy?”

The doctor nodded as he stood. “We’ll let you know the second that you can get in there. I’m sorry I can’t offer more than what I’ve told you,” he apologized before leaving the room.

Zeke snorted in derision while Kade held up a single finger to the doctor’s retreating back. Zeke reached over and patted Laurie’s knee.

“Chris will be just fine, Laurie. Take it from a lawyer, that doctor wasn’t trying to be a dick—but he has to be careful about what he says, anything that can be construed as a false promise could open him to a lawsuit.”

“Screw that,” Kade sniffed as he scooted over to hug Laurie from the other side. “It’s one thing to avoid a lawsuit, and another thing altogether to act like a human and at least pretend you have a heart.”

Laurie’s nose felt cold against my neck as he snuggled against me. He whispered so softly, that I almost missed what he said.

“Thank you for being here, Dean. I’d be lost without you right now.”

I ran a comforting hand of friendship up his back as I replied. “It’s all good, Laurie. As Sonny said to Cher—I’ve Got You, Babe.”

Hearing Laurie chuckle slightly more than made up for the snickers I heard coming from my brothers.