Cowboy Take Me Away (Rough Riders 16)

“I ain’t here only on my own behalf. Colby plans on comin’ by in a few hours. As does Cam when he gets off shift. I don’t know about Colt and Carter.”

Probably wasn’t the best time to tell Cord he’d talked to Colt and Carter the past two days. He’d never played favorites with his kids; there were just times when he had closer connections with some than others. This was one of those times.

“You will call us?” Cord prompted.

“As soon as she’s awake.”

Cord stood in front of him. “Give me a hug, old man.”

They did the back slapping, man-hug thing and it was all good.

Chapter Thirty-One

Hospital, Day 7—late afternoon

The doctors approached Carson in the ICU waiting room twenty-four hours after he’d last spoken with them.

“I hope you’re here with good news.”

“Yes. The swelling is down and her EEG is within the normal range. The wound on the back of her head has healed quicker than we expected. We’ve determined it’s time to bring her out.”

Carson bowed his head and said a silent prayer of thanks.

“There are a few things you need to be aware of as she becomes conscious.”

His head snapped up. “What?”

“She will be confused. Possibly agitated. She will have memory lapses.”

“You told me this was the safest course of treatment for her and now you’re tellin’ me when she wakes up she might not remember…” Jesus. What if Carolyn opened her eyes and looked at him like he was a stranger?

His lunch threatened to come back up.

“Mr. McKay, this was the safest course of treatment. Any treatment has risks. But the memory lapse I’m speaking of is related to the day of the injury itself.”

“So she won’t look at me and not know who the hell I am?”

“Highly unlikely.” Dr. McMillan leaned forward. “She will be very disoriented immediately upon waking. Some patients are angry, some are frustrated, some don’t speak at all and remain in that dazed state for days. Other patients can’t separate hallucinations from reality; unfortunately nightmares can sometimes be a side effect of being sedated with that particular cocktail of pharmaceuticals.”

He froze. “You mean she might’ve been havin’ nightmares the entire time she was under?”

Dr. Vincent nodded. “Before you start ripping into us, there is no way for us to accurately predict how this procedure will affect each individual.”

“I’ve had follow up visits with patients who remember absolutely nothing of their time in the coma; they literally thought they’d been asleep for a few hours. And others who recall exactly what people said while speaking to them. And other patients who can recite specific medical progress and problems from physician’s conversations.”

“Which is why we’re very careful to never speak negatively in front of the patient and never assume they cannot hear us,” Dr. Vincent added.

“So she ain’t outta the woods yet.”

“Yes. And no. Yes, meaning we’ve successfully eliminated the swelling in her brain as intended. No, because your wife will have several days of recovery here at the hospital before she starts other forms of therapy. After a week of zero physical activity she will experience muscle weakness. Most likely she’ll be hungry but eating might make her nauseous at first. We’ll monitor her lung function very closely for signs of infection. She may be afraid to go to sleep. She may exhibit manic behavior. Happy one minute; crying or yelling the next. The most important thing you need to remember, Mr. McKay, is patience. But do not ignore or discount anything she tells you, even if it sounds bizarre. This has been a traumatic experience for you, but it’s even more so for her.”

Carson rubbed the back of his neck. “She’ll need physical therapy?”

“It’ll depend, but it’s usually recommended. She might also need speech therapy. We can’t be sure if she sustained any permanent damage in those cognitive areas due to the swelling until she’s awake.”

“How long will it take to wake her up?”

“Again, it depends. After we remove the ventilator and put her on oxygen, I’ve seen a person come out of it in as little as six hours.”

Carson noticed he didn’t give an estimate on a longer amount of time. “Can I be in the room with her?”

“Yes, as long as you understand that when she regains consciousness the medical team will have necessary assessment procedures to complete and you cannot interfere in any way.”

“I ain’t gonna get in anyone’s way. I just…need to be there with her when she wakes up.”

“Understood. We’ll get this underway and the ICU nurse will keep you abreast of every step.”

“I appreciate it.”

Carson watched the doctors leave, conferring in low tones. He probably should let his kids know where they were in this process, but he couldn’t deal with the questions he didn’t have answers to until Carolyn actually woke up. And if she woke up confused and irritated… He didn’t think their first interaction with their mother should be when she didn’t have any idea what was going on.

The better plan was to wait to tell them.

He was f**king sick and tired of waiting. He wanted his wife—and his life back.

The staff had brought a chair into Carolyn’s room. Like before, every hour he spoke to her, urging her to come back to him.

The first time she moved her hand, his heart leapt.

The first time her eyelids twitched, his entire body thrummed with anticipation.

Not long now.

Although the six hours he’d been sitting in the chair seemed like another six days.

At hour eight there was a flurry of activity, nurses coming into the room. They blocked the bed so he couldn’t see. It took every ounce of control not to jump up and demand to know what the hell they were doing.

Then he heard it.

Carolyn’s voice.

And nothing could’ve stopped him from going to her side.

Nothing.

He saw her eyes were open.

The nurse asked questions but Carolyn was too confused to answer. Agitated, she shook her head and winced.

When she noticed him, she blinked. The confusion remained in her eyes.

“Hey, sugar.” He reached for her hand and kissed the tips of her fingers. “I’ve missed you like crazy.”

Her hoarsely whispered, “Carson?” was the single most potent word he’d ever heard.