Chapter Thirty-Six
Hailey
The Next Evening
Opening my eyes seemed to take a great effort, like I was at the bottom of a very deep hole and swimming upwards, kicking my feet and fighting to reach the surface again. The light was so bright that I had to close my eyes again immediately and start by opening them just a crack at first. When I could finally stand the assault, I opened my eyes all the way, frowning at the unfamiliar surroundings.
It looked like I was in the hospital.
I was lying in bed, a white blanket pulled up to my chest, with a heart monitor beeping next to me and an IV in my arm, delivering clear fluids. What the hell happened?
I looked around for the button to call the nurse for some answers and saw Cash sitting in the corner, fast asleep. I had to smile at that, even as disoriented and groggy as I felt. And my hand left hand was killing me. It looked a little puffy and red. My fingers were stiff. I drew in a sharp breath when I tried to move them.
“Hailey?” Cash said, and I turned to look at him. Relief bloomed over his face, relaxing the tension hardening his features. His big green eyes took me in. They were so glassy, he looked ready to burst into tears.
“What happened?” I asked. “The last I remember we were riding horses.” My mouth was too dry. I needed something to drink, ideally a gallon of it.
“You were bitten by a rattlesnake,” he said. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it.”
I had some fuzzy memory of a snake, but it was hard to know what had happened, what I’d dreamed, and what I’d written about a place that looked very much like Ogden Ranch.
“You had a big dose of venom. The doctor was worried you’d fall into a coma, even after they gave you the antivenom. He said we’d need to see what happened today to know what to do next. I didn’t think you were going to wake up again.”
“You look terrible,” I said, and laughed, the sound of it grating to my own ears. “I just mean it looks like you were up all night worrying.”
He tried to smile, but his face was worn, the skin under his tired, bloodshot eyes dark from lack of sleep. He stood from the chair and took my right hand. “I’m fine now that you’re awake again. I realized while you were unconscious that I didn’t know the first thing about how to get in touch with your family.”
I gave him a tired smile. “Eric could’ve shown you how to find the contacts on my phone. All my family’s in there.”
“Good to know,” he said, his shaded eyes scanning my face, the worry overtaking his features again.
“How are we doing in here, folks?”
Cash let go of my hand and turned as a doctor strolled in, dressed in a white lab coat, my chart in one hand. He smiled as he set it down on the tray next to the wall.
“How are you feeling, Ms. Young?” He took me by the wrist and started examining my puffy hand. It looked like someone had pumped some air into it.
“Kind of out of it,” I replied,
“You went through quite an ordeal,” he said. “Straighten your fingers for me, please.”
I did, wincing at the tightness in them. “That really hurts.”
“That will subside in a few days. In the meantime, we can give you something for the pain. The fact that you’re awake right now is an excellent sign.” The doctor smiled at me perfunctorily before looking at Cash. “She’ll be just fine, sir. Rest easily.” He glanced my way again. “We’ll keep you here for another day or two for observation, but you should be good to go after that. Do you have any questions?”
I shook my head and then thought of one. “Can I please have some water?”
“I’ll send the nurse in with some.” He scooped up my chart and left the room.
Cash was standing next to my bed but refusing to look me in the eye when I glanced at him.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, a little confused by his demeanor. He seemed more upset now than he had when I first woke up. “The doc said I was going to be fine. I should be out of here soon.”
“You almost died because of me, Hailey. I can’t forgive myself for that.”
I frowned, but it felt like my face was moving in slow motion. My thoughts seemed stuck in molasses. “What happened was an accident.”
He shook his stubborn head, his eyes flashing with anger that I knew he was inflicting on himself. “No. I know those trails. I should’ve been paying attention to what was going on around us.” He shook his head again. “Even better, I should’ve never spoken to you the way I did; then you wouldn’t have ridden off in the first place.”
“Don’t blame yourself for this,” I said, my words firm enough to draw his attention away from himself and what he might have done wrong. “It’s natural for people to fight. We love each other.” That brought a smile to my face and his too, though the worry was still apparent in his eyes. “We’re going to do more fighting in the future. It’s even natural for snakes to bite people. I don’t want that to happen again, but I don’t want you to blame yourself for it.”
He managed a weak, barking laugh at that and I smiled too.
“I’ve never come that close to death before. I can’t say I saw a white light, but I at least have another interesting chapter for my western story. One of the characters should definitely have a near death experience involving a snakebite.”
“You find the good in everything,” Cash said. “Even me.”
I reached for him with my good hand, though the IV was stuck in the back of it. I squeezed his warm fingers. “It’s not hard to find the good in you. It’s right there on the surface.”
He leaned to kiss me gently on the lips, like I might break if he pressed harder. Up close, his eyes looked very dark. It wasn’t as bright in here as it had seemed when I first woke up. The light was draining from the windows, and I guessed that night was falling.
“In light of this injury, I’d probably better extend my trip until the end of the year,” I said, and he gave me the crooked little half-smile I’d come to love so much. “Maybe even into January or February. Just to give myself enough time to properly recover. What do you think?”
His half-smile transformed into a full one, his emerald eyes sparkling with real pleasure. “I think that’s best. I wouldn’t want to impede your recovery.” He leaned to kiss me again, this time with a little more passion than the first time.