Page 8 of Zane

“Please come with me.” The woman turned and led her away from the waiting room.

Kelsey hurried to catch up to her. “Can I see him?”

“I’m afraid not yet,” the woman said. “He’s currently in surgery. After that, he’ll be in the ICU. I’m going to take you to the waiting room on the floor where he’ll go when he’s out of surgery. Is there anyone with you?”

Kelsey didn’t want to think about why they might not want her to be alone. “Not at the moment. My husband’s family is flying in from Idaho. They’ll be here later today. Do you have any news about him I can pass on to them?”

“When we get to the waiting room, I’ll see if there’s an update for you.”

The waiting room the woman led Kelsey to was empty and fairly non-descript but not sterile, with warmly painted walls and generic framed art. The chairs looked like they would be comfortable, but Kelsey really hoped she didn’t have to wait too long in them.

Five minutes after she chose one of the chairs to sit in, she started to fidget.

Was she just supposed to sit there? There was no way her anxiety wasn’t going to eat her alive as she waited for someone to come tell her that Zane was okay. Remembering that her earbuds were in her purse, she dug them out and put just one in. She didn’t want to completely block the room noise out since she needed to hear when the doctor came to speak with her.

Kelsey pulled up her voice note again, breathing in rhythm with the counting. Closing her eyes, she tried to just concentrate on that, but images flashed through her mind. Images of Zane injured in his car. Of him on an operating table.

She felt alone and so weak, incapable of being the strong person she had to be. Her anxiety was making her question her ability to deal with what was to come.

But her love was stronger than her anxiety. It had to be. Zane needed her in a way he never had before.

He had always been the strong one. The organized one. The one who took care of everything. But for the next little while, that was going to have to be her.

“Mrs. Halverson?”

CHAPTER THREE

Kelsey shot to her feet, pulling the earbud out of her ear. “That’s me.”

A young woman in scrubs approached her, then guided her to a small room down the hall a short distance from the waiting room. She introduced herself as a resident and said the surgeon had sent her out with an update after the nurse had passed on her request for one.

Kelsey didn’t know if that was the norm for this doctor or not. But if it wasn’t, she appreciated they’d made the exception for her.

“How is Zane?” she asked, clutching her purse to her chest.

“He was critical when they brought him in,” the resident said. “He’d lost a lot of blood, so we had to replace that. The scan we did revealed swelling on the brain and internal bleeding. He also has some cracked ribs, and his left tibia is broken.”

“But he’s going to be okay?” Even as she asked the question, Kelsey knew they wouldn’t give her that reassurance.

“We’re continuing to monitor him,” the woman said, her expression sympathetic. “He’s having to deal with a lot physically, and there’s a possibility he’ll have to be sedated for a while to allow the swelling in his brain to lessen. Keeping him immobile for a bit will help with the healing of his other injuries as well.”

“He’s still in surgery?”

“Yes, but they should be finished with him in the next hour or so, then he’ll go to the ICU, which is on this floor.”

“And I can see him then?”

The woman nodded. “Once he’s settled in his room.”

“How long might that be?”

The woman gave her an understanding smile. “I know you’re eager to see him, but it’s important that we take our time to make sure he has the best chance of a full recovery.”

Kelsey’s shoulders slumped. She knew that, but it was like all her training and common sense had disappeared beneath the weight of her desire to see for herself that Zane was still alive. “Thank you for the update.”

“You’re welcome.” The woman reached out and touched her arm, her brown gaze gentle. “He’s in the best of hands here.”

Kelsey appreciated her assurance that Zane was in good hands, but it did little to settle the mess of nerves in her stomach.

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