“Thank you.”
The doctor nodded then said, “I’m talking about for you too, Mr. Turner.”
“Th-thank you, Dr. Andes. Is she…hurt anywhere else?”
“Her wrist is sprained badly, but no broken bones.”
I sat there stunned. “Her wrist?”
He nodded solemnly. “Some scratches and bruises as well, but yes. The fence was the major reason she was airlifted and rushed into surgery. There is no other internal bleeding or damage. Had the object been any higher it would have done damage to her intestines and stomach and possibly killed her.”
My hand pushed through my hair. “Thank God it wasn’t higher,” I mumbled. As much as it sickened me to lose the possibility of kids with Waylynn, it would have been so much worse to lose her.
“Thank God it wasn’t more serious,” John said as Melanie nodded her head.
“As much as I hate what had to be done, it could have been worse,” Steed added.
“There was no trauma to her head which is very good news. She should be out of surgery in the next thirty minutes and then in recovery for a bit before they assign her a room.”
“Thank you, Dr. Andes,” John said as they both stood and shook hands.
After I thanked God for not letting Waylynn die, the anger came. “I’m glad God didn’t take Waylynn from us.” Shaking my head, I stared at the three of them. “What I don’t understand is why would He take that away from her?”
Melanie stood. “Jonathon, why don’t we take a walk and get some fresh air.”
I faced Waylynn’s mother. “It was the one dream she had left. We both wanted a child. Why would He take it from her?”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. She took my hand.
“Please excuse us.”
Dr. Andes nodded as Melanie and I walked to the elevator.
Melanie’s voice made me jump. “Is there an outside courtyard or somewhere private?”
We were standing at the information desk.
“Yes, if you go out these doors and follow the light green path, it will take you to the outdoor sanctuary.”
“Thank you.”
I allowed her to lead me down the path. My head was telling my heart to be strong. To be prepared to help Waylynn through this, but I also felt like God had ripped a dream from me, as well.
Walking around a corner, we came to a small garden with benches. Melanie let go of my hand and wandered over to the one next to the fountain.
“I don’t understand why He would do this,” I said again.
Melanie sat down next to me. “He has a reason and what you need to do is let the anger out now, Jonathon, before Waylynn sees it in your eyes. Because the first thing she is going to worry about is that now that she can’t have kids, you’ll leave.”
It felt like someone had kicked me in the gut. “What? I would never leave her. Ever.”
She took my hands. “Good. That is what I want to hear from you, and I want you to promise me that no matter how tough this gets, you don’t let her push you away.”
Furrowing my brows, I stared. “What?”
“She’s going to push you away, and I need you to be prepared for that.”
“Wh-why would she push me away?”
Melanie looked down and wiped her tears away. “Tell me why you love my daughter, Jonathon.”
I sighed. “Where do I start? She loves me, she makes me feel whole, she’s my entire world. The reason I feel like God put me on this Earth. She makes me laugh. Makes me happier than I’ve…than I’ve…”
Burying my face in my hands, I started to cry. Melanie wrapped her arms around me and held me tight.
“She makes me happier than I’ve ever been before. She scares the shit out of me.”
We both chuckled.
“She is the only woman who will have my heart. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to make her happy.”
Withdrawing, she smiled. “I am one-hundred-percent positive she feels the same way, but the first thing she’s going to think is that she can’t give you a child.”
“I don’t care.”
“Maybe not right now, but in her mind, you will at some point down the line. I want you to be ready for that when it happens and fight…fight harder than you’ve ever fought before.”
I nodded. Deep down I knew we were both going to have to work through this. Right now, my only concern was Waylynn. Everything else would have to work itself out. I knew if we had each other, we would be able to make it through anything.
“We’re going to be okay. We’ll be here for her through all of this and do whatever it takes to help her heal physically and emotionally”
She gave me a weak smile just as the rest of the Parker family showed up.
They rushed over to us, and I whispered, “We’ll be okay.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Waylynn
Opening my eyes, I glanced around the room. Jonathon was sitting in a chair with his head back, eyes closed. I wasn’t sure if he was awake or sleeping. To my left, my mother sat next to my bed, her head resting in her hand and her eyes closed.
Taking a deep breath, I looked at Jonathon again. “Jonathon…” I whispered.
His eyes opened, and he immediately came to my side.
“Hey, baby. I’m right here.”
“What happened?” I asked, my mouth feeling so dry.
“Waylynn, my sweet baby!” my mother said, drawing my attention back to her.
“Momma.”
“Let me go let the nurses know you’re awake.” She glanced at Jonathon and nodded.
“I’m so thirsty.”
She stood and kissed my forehead. “I’ll get some water, sweetheart.”
Jonathon took my hand and kissed the back of it while I watched my mother walk through the door.
“Are you in any pain?” Jonathon asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. There were two turtles in the road. Another car was passing and I tried to move over to the side to avoid them, but the road was uneven and my tire must have caught. I lost control of the car. I went off the road and the next thing I remember…I was in the car and they were trying to get me out.”
A tear slipped from his eye and rolled down his cheek. He wiped it away. “Your car flipped a few times, and you went through a fence. A tree stopped you from rolling down a hill.”
Everything seemed to come back to me at once.
“Blood. There was blood all over my hands, and I felt a terrible pain in my stomach.”
Jonathon swallowed hard. “You had to be airlifted to the hospital here in San Antonio and they did emergency surgery.”
I lifted my left hand to see it bandaged up. “Did I break my wrist?”
“No. You sprained it pretty badly, but no other broken bones.”
I stared at him. “Then why did I have to go into surgery?”
Tears filled his eyes, causing him to blink several times. He held onto my hand tighter. “A piece of the fence went through the car and impaled your lower stomach.”
The memory of me looking down and seeing metal sticking out of my stomach hit me hard. I swore I felt the pain all over again.
“Oh my God. I saw it…I screamed when I felt it push into my stomach. Did they do any damage getting it out? Will I have a big scar?”
Jonathon’s chin quivered as he pressed his lips together. “It did a lot of damage and they had to…” His voice shook and fear rushed through my veins.
“What? They had to what?”
I could see how hard he was fighting not to get upset. Pulling in a deep breath through his nose, he slowly blew it out.
“They had to do a h…hysterectomy.”
The words didn’t filter into my brain right away.
Jonathon cupped my face and kissed me. “I’m so sorry, baby. I’m so damn sorry I wasn’t driving that morning.”
Did he say hysterectomy?
“They did a hysterectomy? On me? They did one on me?” A sob pushed f
rom my lips as I repeated myself. “On me, Jonathon? They did a hysterectomy on me?”
He slowly shook his head. “There was no other choice. I’m so sorry.”
“No. No! Why did you let them do that? Why didn’t you stop them?”
“Waylynn, I didn’t get to the hospital in time. It was almost an hour after the accident before I even knew you were in one. I went into town on forty-six so I could pick up the coffee. I didn’t see the accident.”
“You let them take away my only chance for a baby! They took that away from me! You should have stopped them!”
My body shook as I sobbed, aching for her.
“Waylynn, honey, look at me.”
It was my mother begging me to look at her. All I could do was stare at Jonathon.
“Why didn’t you stop them?”
Sadness swept over his face, making me wish I could take back what I’d just said. But the only thing I could think about was that my dream of becoming a mother was fading into the blackness.
Jonathon leaned in closer. “Waylynn? Waylynn, baby, please stay with me!”
His voice faded as quickly as the light did. I slipped into a slumber of peace and prayed that when I woke back up, this would all turn out to be a bad dream.
* * *
I blinked as I tried to adjust to the sunlight shining through the window. The chair that Jonathon had been sitting in was empty. An ache formed in my chest and my throat felt sore as I attempted not to cry.
When I turned my head, I saw my mother. Her head was lying on my bed.
“Momma.”
Popping up, she let out a sigh of relief. “Waylynn, sweetheart.”
From the look in her eyes, I knew I hadn’t been dreaming when Jonathon told me about the hysterectomy.
“Where’s Jonathon?”
“Cord made him go to the hotel and shower and get some sleep. He hasn’t left your side in three days.”
“Three days?” I asked. “What happened?”
“You passed out and the doctors said you were in shock. We’ve been worried sick, and Jonathon has been holding your hand for hours, begging you to wake up.”
I vaguely remembered his voice, muffled through the pain.
“It’s true then. They did a hysterectomy?”
She nodded. “There was no other option. They did it to save your life, and even if Jonathon had been here in time, they would have still done it.”
A tear slipped from my eye. “Is he angry with me?”
Her eyes widened in horror. “No! Of course he’s not.”
“I blamed him. I didn’t mean to.”
She took my hand and kissed the back of the bandage. “He knows that. He loves you so much.”
I began to cry as I looked at the ceiling. “I can’t give him…what he wants, Momma. I’m…I’m broken.” My body shook as I cried.
“Oh, Waylynn, my sweet baby girl. Don’t you say that. Jonathon loves you regardless of if you can carry a child or not.”
I shook my head. “He wants kids. We talked about how we were going to tell them stories about the two of us before we had them.”
Another round of sobs came, and my body hurt like hell, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t stop the tears if I tried. “He wants more than one. I can’t even give him that now!”
I could hear someone walk into the room, and my mother spoke to them.
“Mitchell, call Jonathon and tell him Waylynn is awake and needs him. Have the nurse come in also.”
The door shut again and I turned to her. “I can’t face him.”
“He needs to see you, and you need to see him. Now, I want you to take a deep breath and relax.”
“Momma,” I said, tears building so fast I could hardly see. “I can’t give him a baby. I can’t have a baby!”
The nurse walked into the room, and my mother stepped away from the bed. Her hand covered her mouth as I cried harder.
“I can’t give him a baby!”
The nurse spoke to me in the calmest voice as she placed a needle into the IV. “It’s okay, Waylynn. Shhh…this will help you relax.”
“I don’t want to go back to sleep. Please, don’t make me go back to sleep.”
A warmth spread through my body and I instantly began to relax.
I felt a hand brush my hair back, and I looked to the right. “Daddy,” I whispered.
“I’m here, baby girl. Daddy’s here.”
Smiling, I closed my eyes. “Where’s Jonathon, Daddy?”
“He’s almost here, darlin’. He’s almost here.”
“I love him, Daddy. Please tell him for me.”
The room felt charged as I felt someone kiss me on the forehead.
“I’m right here. I love you, too, Waylynn.”
Opening my eyes, I smiled when I saw Jonathon. He hadn’t shaved and his eyes looked so tired.
“I’m not leaving, I promise.”
Emptiness swept over me. I knew he meant those words, but how long would he mean them?
Jonathon leaned over and gently kissed me. As if he could read my mind, he whispered, “I’m never leaving.”
* * *
“How is she today?”
I rolled my eyes and sighed loudly. It had been five weeks since my accident, and my mother and Aunt Vi still walked on eggshells around me. “You know I can hear you. I had a hysterectomy, they didn’t remove my ears.”
The voices lowered, and retreated. The back door opened, and Corina stepped out onto the porch.
“Mind if I join you?”
My heart nearly broke in two as I looked at her stomach, a small little pooch.
I forced a smile. “Sure, I don’t mind at all. How was the sonogram?”
She sat next to me. “It was good.”
Facing her, I took her hand in mine. “Please don’t be afraid to talk about the baby with me. I want to hear about my future niece or nephew.”
The corners of her mouth rose slightly. “Everything looks good. We could see the baby moving.”
I smiled. “That’s good. Did you find out the sex?”
She shook her head. “We decided to be surprised.”
“Well, that would have made a fun Valentine’s gift to each other.”
Corina chuckled. “I guess.”
I glanced down at my hands and then back to her. “I’m not jealous or angry that you’re having a baby. I won’t lie and tell you it doesn’t make me sad, but I’m so happy for y’all.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “I’d give anything to carry a child for you, Waylynn. Anything.”
I pressed my lips together. “I know. Amelia and Paxton said the same thing. They even asked me if I somehow had my eggs stored.”
Corina’s eyes widened in hope.
“I didn’t. I only went to a sperm bank.”
“Oh.”
I nodded. “Anyway, have you decided on how you’ll decorate the baby’s room?”
“I think we are going to do baby animals. Keep the color simple for either gender.”
“That’s smart if y’all are going to keep it a surprise.” Looking away, it took everything in my power not to tear up. Not only dealing with the emotional toll of having a hysterectomy and both ovaries removed, I was also dealing with the hormonal changes of my body basically being thrust into menopause in my thirties. I was all over the place, up one minute and down the next.
“Do you want to talk about anything, Waylynn?”
Giving her a slight grin, I shook my head. “No. I’m tired of talking about it. The counselor has been a big help, but I’m ready to move on. I want to get to the dance studio, that’s my main focus right now and the only thing that matters in my world.”
“And Jonathon?”
Turning away, I stared out over the Texas hills. “Mom said he’s been by every day for the last week, and you won’t see him. He’s not giving up on you, Waylynn.”
My lips trembled. “I don’t have anything left to give to him.”
“What ab
out your love?”
Snapping my head to look at her, I laughed. “It’s different now. It can’t be the same between us.”
“Hey, how is my beautiful sister and wife?”
Mitchell walked up on the porch and kissed me on the forehead, before kissing Corina on the lips.
“Y’all have plans for Valentine’s dinner?”
They looked at each other, and Corina blushed. “Oh, I get it. Some hanky panky planned. Tell me you’re at least taking her to dinner first.”
Mitchell laughed. “I am. We’re heading into San Antonio and spending the night.”
A slow, dull ache pulsed in my chest. Jonathon had begged me to let him make me dinner, but I told him I was spending the evening with my parents.
“Sounds romantic.”
Mitchell wiggled his brows. “I hope so.”
I flashed them both a big smile. “Well, I guess I should go for my daily walk. The doctor says walking helps me heal faster.”
“You’re getting around good.”
“Yep. Parker willpower and all.”
“Tell Jonathon I said hi,” Corina said as I made my way down the steps.
I lifted my hand. “I will the next time I see him.”
“You’re not seeing him tonight?” Mitchell called out.
I ignored him. “Have fun, y’all.”
I made my daily walk down to the main barn to see Cooper. He was waiting for me when I walked inside. Letting out a laugh, I grabbed a handful of oats and made my way over to him. The other horses called out for the oats, making me laugh a little more.
“They’re all jealous of your daily snack, buddy.”
Cooper bobbed his head up and down. “I should be able to ride you soon.”
My hand ran across his neck as he ate his oats. Leaning my head against his neck, I felt the tears build. I held them back, refusing to cry yet again.
“Jonathon called me earlier. I didn’t answer.”
Cooper let out a bray.
“I know. You don’t have to lecture me about it. I know I need to talk to him. It’s hard, though. When he’s around I have to pretend I’m okay, and it’s exhausting. I know he can see right through it and it makes it even worse when I see his sadness. He thinks he can’t help me.”