Fall for Me (Cowboys of Crested Butte 1)

“She’s critical.”

Liv was in the intensive care unit, and Renie was with her when he walked in. There were tubes and machines hooked up to her everywhere. Ben put his head in his hands and cried.

“Stop that,” Paige barked at him, then softened her tone. “She’s going to get through this.”

Ben’s arms ached with the need to hold her. Renie’s head came up when she saw him, and she came out.

“Go ahead and go in,” she murmured. “I’ll tell you more after you’ve seen her.”

Ben put one foot in front of the other. He saw himself moving forward, but the walk to her bedside was the longest of his life.

She had a metal device on her head, with screws going into her skull. Her face had scrapes and cuts on the side of it, and a machine did her breathing for her. Ben kissed her forehead, sat down, and started to talk.

He talked, and talked, and talked. He told her every detail about the show the night before, in Chicago. He told her which songs had been crowd favorites and

which ones he’d chosen to do for encores. He asked her about her race, and about what happened. He had the same conversation he would’ve if they had talked last night. Except she couldn’t answer.

Ben told her he wanted to play “Fall for Me” last night, but had decided that the first time he played her song, he wanted her in the audience, so he hadn’t. And then he broke down.

Paige came in and put her arms around his shoulder. “Come with me, Ben.” She ushered him out of the room, and Mark stepped forward, put his hand on Ben’s arm, and walked him away from the ICU.

Ben sat, head in his hands, and cried. He’d found her, his reason for living. What would he do if he lost her now?

“She’s gonna be okay.” That simple statement from Mark brought him back. Ben turned to him.

“No one else is letting go of Liv. If you are, then you shouldn’t be here.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you’re with her, you need to tell her you believe she’s going to be okay. She lived. She’s gonna be okay.”

Mark was right. He’d only been thinking of himself. Liv herself would say, “This is about me, not about you.”

“Paige can tell you what the doctors said, if you’re ready.”

Ben nodded.

Paige explained that the doctors had two treatment options. Liv could stay in traction for twelve weeks, to see if her neck injury healed on its own. Or, they could try surgery. With surgery, the risk was significant, with a chance Liv wouldn’t survive it.

They wouldn’t do anything, however, until they determined the reason for her coma. Nothing on the MRI indicated why she wasn’t conscious.

“They want us to keep talking to her, just like you were, Ben.” Paige said. “She may be able to hear us. Before you go back in, I want to talk to you about the tour,” said Paige.

“What about it?”

“You need to get back to it.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding.”

“If there is a change in her condition, we’ll get in touch with you. But Ben, you’ve got sold out shows, a band, and a crew depending on you.”

He couldn’t even consider leaving. If the doctors didn’t know why she wasn’t conscious, that meant that she might wake up any time. He would be here when she did.

His father called Ben’s cell and told him he’d found them a place to stay for the night, not far from the hospital, and he’d rented a car. “I’m on my way now,” he told Ben before they ended the call.

Ben went back in to see Liv, while Mark waited for Ben’s father.

“How is she?” Ben’s father asked Mark.