Page 18 of Ghost of Christmas Future
“At least Daddy won’t have to worry about shoveling the steps.” Wolf stuck his tongue out and appeared to be trying to catch snowflakes.
“Why, because he’s in the hospital?” Cope asked. He added shoveling to his ever-growing list of things to do.
“Nope! I’ll do it for him. I’ve watched him enough times and I know all the cool swear words he uses when he slips on the ice!”
“Wolf has a point. Jude’s language is pretty colorful.”
Walking into the hospital, Cope was hit with a blast of positive energy. He wondered if that was his gift finally starting to give him information about his husband, or if it meant Bertha Craig was in the building. Cope hadn’t seen or sensed her since Jude’s accident, but had a feeling that meant she was with Jude.
That positive feeling grew stronger on the elevator. More positive still when he walked into the ICU ward. When Cope reached Jude’s room, he found Kaye sitting in one of the chairs outside his room. She was sobbing into her hands. “Kaye, what is it? What’s wrong?” Cope’s heart was in his throat. Was his gift back on the fritz? Had it given him false hope that good news was on the way, when, in fact, he was about to get the very worst news of his entire life?
Kaye pulled her hands from her face. Her eye makeup ran down her cheeks. Her blue eyes were bloodshot from crying. She shook her head, all the while trying to take a breath. “The tube. The doctor took out the tube.”
It took Cope a minute to figure out what Kaye meant. “They disconnected him from the ventilator?” Why the hell would the doctor take him off the respirator unless it was to die? He turned to Ronan, who held Wolf’s hand. “Does that mean he’s going to…?” Cope couldn’t say the word die.
“They’re waking him up, Cope!” Kaye let loose a half-strangled laugh. “The swelling’s gone down enough to wake him up. Eagle is in with him now. They kicked us out of the room so they could remove the tube. We were allowed to come back in when Jude started breathing on his own.”
“Sweet Jesus,” Cope muttered. “It’s a miracle.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Eagle said from the door. “We’ve got to wait and see if my mule-stubborn grandson wakes up.”
“Not only is Jude stubborn, he’s a drama queen. Knowing my husband, he’ll probably get some more beauty sleep before he decides to wake up.”
“Go kiss him, Dad! Just like Sleeping Beauty. Love’s first kiss will wake him up!” Wolf looked positively giddy.
“Why didn’t anyone call me?” Cope asked. He assumed the doc would call with any changes, good or bad, in Jude’s condition.
“The doctor said she would, so Eagle and I stayed at Jude’s side.”
As Kaye spoke, Cope’s phone began to ring. “It’s the hospital.” Cope rolled his eyes. “This is Cope.”
“Hi, Cope, this is Doctor Victoria Albert. I wanted to let you know we’ve taken Jude off the vent. He’s breathing on his own and we’re hoping he’ll wake up soon.”
Cope chuckled. “I just got to Jude’s room and Kaye filled me in on the details.”
“Wonderful. I’ll be doing my rounds in a few minutes. I’ll speak with you more in depth at that time.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Cope hung up the phone. He was so happy he could dance. Instead, he hugged Kaye. “I can’t thank you enough for being here for Jude. I know how much you love him. That means the world to me.”
Kaye hugged Cope tighter. “Jude is like a son to me. Same for you and Fitz. I couldn’t have asked for a better family than you boys.”
Cope had so much more he wanted to say to Kaye, but those words could wait, he wanted to be in Jude’s room when his husband woke up. He gave Eagle a quick hug and walked into Jude’s room. It was such a relief to see Jude breathing on his own, with all the paraphernalia of the respirator gone. Not to mention the constant woosh of the machine forcing air into Jude’s lungs. “Hey, babe.” Cope leaned over the side of the bed and pressed a kiss to Jude’s chapped lips. His bruises were slowly fading, morphing from purple and brown into shades of yellow and green.
Taking a seat on Jude’s bed, Cope felt his heart rate slow, and with it, the rest of his world. He could see with his own eyes that Jude was getting better. They’d always been there for each other, in sickness and in health, long before they’d spoken those words to each other.
“Remember the day we met?” Cope asked. “I took one look at you and collapsed into your arms. And you thinkyou’rethe dramatic one!” Cope had been in hiding in Galveston, Texas after Deacon Boudreaux had nearly killed him. It seemed toCope at the time like he was never going to be able to leave the Lone Star State and get back to the life he loved in New Orleans, doing psychic readings and giving clients a glimpse into their future. He’d been sitting on the beach one day when a spirit appeared beside him. It turned out to be Bertha Craig.
It took Cope a few visits from Bertha for him to begin to trust the Yankee woman, but eventually they’d formed a friendship. It was around that time that she mentioned Jude’s name. Told Cope that this mysterious man living in Massachusetts was not only the key to his own salvation, but was the man of his dreams. Still sour on love after his near-death experience, Cope couldn’t have cared less if Jude was Zeus himself, but the idea that this man could save him from the hermit lifestyle he’d had to adapt to keep himself safe from Deacon, who still had not been captured, was music to Cope’s ears.
Bertha had been the one who’d brought Jude and Cope together. Cope had absolutely no doubt Bertha had been with Jude from the moment he fell. If anyone could get Jude to wake up, it was Bertha. She was a formidable woman, filled with love and hope. It would be those things that would ultimately bring Jude back to his family. Cope was sure of it.
13
Jude
Jude listened with rapt attention as Cope spoke to him. He’d heard the parts of the story about Deacon nearly killing him and Cope’s time spent in hiding, but what he’d never really gotten the whole story about was Bertha’s role not just in saving Cope, but in getting him to come to Boston.
“Someone’s looking miles better today,” Bertha said, taking the spot on the bed that Cope had vacated.
