Page 43 of Evergreen Desires
Will was stumbling to get to my side. “Jake, Jake, Jake, calm down. It’s clear you have earned the moniker of his knight. Remember, go with the flow.” Slinging his arm around my shoulder and pulling me in, he turned back to the nurse in the doorway who did not look at all flustered. “I am sorry, Tala. If that is what YOU think is best.”
“Yes, there are a few of us here that understand the unique hereditary traits that the Boon family has. I know what I’m doing.”
“Oh, I am sorry. Please, please forgive me.” Tears were streaming down my face. “I am just a bit…”
“Overwhelmed. And protective,” Will said, pulling me into a full-on bear hug. Somehow, he knew I needed that in the moment.
“No worries, but we should move quickly before the doctors make their way back through or the burn ward opens up.”
In no time, Tala had disconnected his monitors and silenced the alarms. She gracefully maneuvered the gurney through the hallways and elevators until we reached the physical therapy room. Once through the door, there was a therapist there working with a patient. He looked to also be of Native American descent. Tala nodded in his direction when he looked up.
“Room 4 is open, and the ice bath is ready.”
“Thanks,” Tala said before heading towards the private room.
Once inside, Tala ordered us to get him into the ice bath as she turned her attention to a small stainless steel rolling table that had some jars set up on it. Will wasted no time rolling Beau onto his side and hoisting him into his arms before moving towards the ice bath.
I was amazed by the display of sheer strength. Will noticed my facial expression. “I have been heaving Christmas trees since high school. I can deal with this lug’s dead weight.”
Tala turned around at this exchange and let out a huff. “There’s an assist device right there that would have helped.”
All three of us looked at where Tala was pointing. “Well, I’ve got him already,” Will replied, looking sheepish.
Tala returned her attention to the table in front of her, where she was mixing items from the jars into a bowl. AsWill lowered Beau into the stainless-steel basin, Will let out a gasp as his arms hit the cold water.
“Hence the reason for the swing,” Tala called over her shoulder.
A moment later she turned and sprinkled the mix into the ice water. It appeared to be herbal—a mix of dried leaves, twigs, and bark. She looked at me as I studied what she had sprinkled in. “Just to help the healing along a little faster, more traditional medicine and less modern medicine.” She said, smiling at me.She turned her attention back to Beau and began mumbling some words that I did not understand, placing one hand on his forehead, and the other on his bare chest.After she finished the little chant, she held her hands in place for several more seconds before taking a deep breath, exhaling, and turning towards me with a grin. “Okay, I need to get back to my station before I am missed. You need to leave him in there for 10 minutes. Use a cloth and try to wipe away the damaged skin. My guess is that in about 30 minutes, someone is going to realize there was a glitch or mistake in the system and come looking for him. Just say you don't remember who brought you here. Once you’re back at the emergency room, or the burn ward, they will reevaluate him and determine there was clearly a mistake in the initial diagnosis. Are we all good?”
“Yes, oh my, yes! Thank you for everything!” I exclaimed, tears again streaming down my face.
“He and his family are good people. I am glad I could help. Take care, Jake.” With a smile, she turned on her heels and left.
It worked like a charm and almost on schedule; 30 minutes later we were found by some other nurses, sitting in the ice bath room looking as innocent as we could. It seemed that Tala took advantage of the nursing shift change. The final rounds of the ER thought we were in the burn unit, and the burn unit had us listed still in the ER. Once the realization had dawned, they noticed that a physical therapy order had mistakenly been added to the chart.
In no time, they had us back in the ER and being evaluated by the new set of doctors and nurses. This time, it was just superficial burns and not nearly as extensive as the notes had indicated. Instead, they began to lower pain medicine and let us know they wanted to keep him overnight for observation as they decreased the pain medicine and evaluated the head injury.
Luckily, we were transferred to the intensive care unit, where Tala worked, for this overnight stay.
CHAPTER 36
BEAU
Waking up in the hospital was a jarring experience. I blinked, trying to clear my vision, and the first thing I saw was Jake, his head resting on the edge of my bed. That sight alone melted my heart and filled me with relief—he had made it out alive. The only visible injury was a bruise forming on his right cheek.
As we drove home that morning, between Will and Jake, they explained everything that had transpired: the greenhouse fire, the rescue, and the hospital stay. I was stunned to learn there were people who had understood my unique medical needs and that my dad had the connections to help. I would need to dive into that quagmire soon enough.
I had ended my relationship with Jake, believing it was for his own safety. The same night I did this, he nearly got killed. My life had become too dangerous to involve anyone else, especially him. I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to Jake because of me.
I owed my dad a call based on what Will had relayed to me. Will telling him about Jake only complicated matters further. Now I had to explain that I was letting Jake go. Will had already called him to let him know I was home andrecovering, buying me a little more time before I had to make that call.
When I finally do muster the nerve to reach out to my dad, I knew I needed to learn more about this network of people who knew more about our kind than I could have ever imagined. It had always been a closely guarded family secret, a rule to never discuss it with outsiders. Who were these people, and what else did they know?
“How are you feeling?” Jake asked as he peeked his head through the bedroom door.
“I'm doing okay. I still have a headache, and my mind is racing with everything that's happened in the last few weeks. But I'm on the mend. Thank you for asking,” I replied, trying my hardest to maintain a professional, non-emotional tone, although unsuccessfully.
Jake stepped farther into the room, wearing a small smile. In his hand, he held a bottle of Tylenol and a glass of water. “I figured as much. Here, I brought you some Tylenol. I’ve been using it for my headache as well.”
