Love Again (Cowboys & Angels 4)

Closing my eyes, I prayed the hardest I’d ever prayed in my life and made a bargain with God that I’d do whatever He needed me to do, if He would only please not take Waylynn from me.

“Jonathon. Jonathon, sweetheart, we’re here.”

My eyes lifted to see Melanie, standing outside the truck, urging me to get out. “We’re at the hospital.”

I was numb, but somehow I managed to follow John and Melanie into the hospital.

“My daughter was brought in by airlift from Oak Springs. Waylynn Parker.”

The nurse nodded. “Yes, she’s in surgery. Let me have Lori bring you to the waiting room. I’ll let the doctor know her parents are here.”

“And her husband,” Melanie added.

My head snapped to look at her.

“Okay, I’ll let him know you’re all here.”

John took my arm and pulled me over to the elevators. “We’ll be on the fourth floor if you’d like to let other family members know.”

Melanie smiled. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Melanie gave me a look that helped explain why she told the nurse I was Waylynn’s husband, so that they would talk to me in case John or Melanie wasn’t there.

We made our way to the waiting room, and Steed jumped up as Melanie rushed over to him. “Have you heard anything?”

He shook his head. “I got here about five minutes before y’all. The nurse said someone would come out and let us know what was going on.”

“Do we know what happened?” I asked, finally finding my voice.

“The state trooper isn’t sure if she swerved to miss a deer, or if someone might have cut her off, but she caught the rough edge of the shoulder and her car ended up off the road. It rolled a few times and went through a fence.”

Melanie covered her mouth and started to cry. “When they got there…” John’s voice stopped.

“Was she breathing, was she awake? Why did they airlift her?” Melanie asked.

Steed shook his head. “I don’t know. That’s all Mitchell knew.”

We sat in the chairs and waited for someone to come out. I went over the entire morning in my head. Why didn’t I drive in with her? If I had been driving maybe this wouldn’t have happened.

Scrubbing my hand down my face, I dropped my forearms to my knees and stared at the floor.

Steed’s voice came from my right. “This isn’t your fault.”

I closed my eyes and forced the tears back. “I should have driven in with her.”

“It was an accident, and we’re not even sure what happened.”

Lifting my head, I stared into his eyes. “She told me she had a surprise later today, and she couldn’t wait to tell me about it.”

Steed placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “She’s going to tell you.”

“God, I hope so.”

“Mr. and Mrs. Parker?”

Melanie and John stood.

The doctor looked at Steed and then me. “I’m Dr. Frank Andes.”

Melanie put her hand on my arm. “This is Waylynn’s husband, Jonathon Turner, and her brother, Steed Parker.”

When my eyes met the doctor’s, I couldn’t help but notice how sad he was.

The doctor reached for my hand and shook it before shaking Steed’s, then John’s.

He took a deep breath before motioning for us to take a seat. He sat too, and looked between each of us. “I’m assisting Dr. Wright in the operating room. He’s the lead surgeon and has asked me to give you an update.”

“Your daughter, as you know, was in a car accident. The vehicle flipped a number of times and went through a fence.”

Melanie tried to contain her emotions, but a sob slipped from her lips.

“She was conscious when the first responders got there, although no one knows what caused the accident.”

He looked directly at me. “She was airlifted to our hospital because she had major trauma. A piece of the fence crashed into her lower stomach.”

I felt like I was about to be sick. Steed put his hand on my back, and I tried not to let my worst fears come to life.

“We were able to remove the object, but it did major damage.”

Melanie was sobbing.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Turner, but we’ve had to do a hysterectomy with a bilateral oophorectomy on your wife. There was no other way. Even if we hadn’t removed her uterus, the damage would have been so severe she would have never have been able to become pregnant, let alone carry a child. It would have most likely led to other problems further down the road. One of her ovaries was so severely damaged it had to be removed. The other was covered in endometriosis. Dr. Wright had to make the decision to leave the one ovary or remove it. After consulting with a top gynecologist in San Antonio, they both agreed it would be better to do a complete hysterectomy.”

“Would she have been able to still produce eggs had you left it in?” Melanie asked.