Sea of Love(44)

Dane continued. “Twenty-nine, thirty.” He bent over to breathe for Rob and a strong hand pulled him back. Dane twisted out of his grip. “I have to help him. His breathing’s shallow. His pulse is weak.”

Two strong men held Dane back as he twisted and fought to get to Rob. “Get the fuck off of me. I have to help him.”

Rob was already on a stretcher. They were taking him to the ambulance.

“Dane!” a deep voice hollered.

Dane shook his head, jolting himself out of his state of shock.

“Come with us. We have to check you out, too,” the man said.

“I gotta get to Rob,” Dane yelled, finally noticing the paramedic’s uniform.

“I’m a paramedic, and I’m taking you to him. You did good. He’s being taken care of.”

With Dane in his grasp, the paramedic guided him into the ambulance.





Chapter Twenty-Seven


LACY HELD KATIE against her chest as she, Sheila, and Charlie burst through the emergency room doors. Her body shook; her mind refused to process Treat’s call. Dane’s in the hospital. Treat was a major supporter of the hospital, and they’d called him right away. Dane’s okay, but Rob’s on shaky ground. They had a diving accident. No blood, but Rob’s unconscious.

“My husband, Robert Mann, he was brought in. Diving accident,” Sheila said through her tears to the woman behind the registration desk.

“And Dane Braden, they were together,” Lacy said with Katie clinging to her. Katie had been crying since they’d received the call from Treat, and although Lacy was sure she didn’t understand what was going on, she panicked in response to Sheila’s and Lacy’s reactions. They’d packed up the kids and sped to the hospital.

A tall, African American nurse came around the desk. “Mrs. Mann, please, come with me. Unfortunately, your son will have to wait here. Can your friend watch him?”

Sheila shot a helpless look toward Lacy. Her brown eyes were red and swollen, and her makeup ran in streaks down her cheeks. Charlie stood beside his mother, his face the same brooding mask it had been earlier in the day.

Lacy could hardly breathe. “Go. I’ve got them. Go,” she said. Dane. Oh my God, please be okay. She held her hand out to Charlie. “Come here, sweetie.”

Charlie took her hand.

The woman behind the desk said, “Your name?”

Lacy contemplated lying. Sister. Wife? Finally, she spit out her name. “Lacy Snow,” she said. “Is he okay?”

The woman scanned a clipboard. “Yes, there you are. He gave us your name. He’s okay. He was in shock.” The woman held up a finger toward Lacy, then said something to a male nurse behind her. “Mike can take you back to see him if you have someone with you to watch the kids.”

“Thank you.” The kids. Damn it. She turned back toward the desk. “I don’t have anyone to watch them.” She felt her lips quivering. She turned back to the desk.

The woman shook her head. “I’m sorry. We can’t allow them in the back.”

Shitshitshit! Lacy ran through possible solutions. She didn’t know anyone in Chatham. Not anyone she could leave someone else’s children with. She turned back to the woman behind the desk. “And the man he was with? How is he? Rob Mann?”

“I’m sorry, but we can only release information to family members or those who are on the release form,” the woman said.

Lacy groaned. She bounced Katie, trying to calm her down while her own mind ran in circles. “Can you let Dane Braden know I’m here, but that I have Rob’s kids and I can’t come back with them? I hate him being alone. I need him to know I’m here.”

“We can do that,” she said.

“Thank you.”

Torn between being relieved that Dane was okay and worrying about Rob, Lacy took the children to a small table in the corner of the room, where there were toys and coloring books strewn about. She set Katie on the chair beside her, and Charlie sat down with his arms crossed. Lacy looked back at the doors to the patient area, thinking about Rob. Please let him be okay. Katie clutched her bear and reached for a coloring book with her free hand.

“Did my dad get bitten by a shark?” Charlie asked.

“No, honey, no. He didn’t get bitten by a shark.” But he could have been.

“When can we see him?" he asked.

“I’m not sure, honey. They’ll tell us when you can.” Lacy wished Danica were there, or Kaylie, or someone who could help. She considered her options. Mom? What if Sheila already called someone?

“Ms. Snow?” Lacy spun around.

“Yes, I’m Lacy Snow.”

The male nurse from earlier pulled her to the side and said quietly, “Mr. Braden has asked to be released, so you’ll see him in just a few minutes. He asked me to let you know.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she said. Released. He really is okay.

Lacy turned her attention back to the children.

“Lace?”

“Dane!” She spun around and flew into Dane’s arms. “Oh my God, you’re okay. I was so worried. Are you okay? Treat didn’t tell me much,” she said.

Dane looked at the kids. “Hi, guys. I’m just going to talk to Lacy over here for a minute.”

Lacy’s stomach plunged. “What happened? Oh God, Dane. What happened to Rob?”

Dane’s eyes filled with tears. He shook his head. “I…I shouldn’t have let him dive.”

“Dane, look at me. What happened?” OhGodohGodohGod.

“We were free diving, and he got hit in the head. Hard. He was knocked unconscious.”

“Unconscious? He was or he is unconscious?” Lacy looked at the emergency room doors again. He’s back there. Sheila’s back there. Alone.

“Was. He’s breathing. He wasn’t breathing. He didn’t have a pulse. I helped him. He’s breathing now, but he still hasn’t regained consciousness,” Dane explained.

She searched Dane’s eyes. They were flat, like he was lost or dazed. “But you’re okay?” She ran her hands up and down his arms.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Sheila’s alone. She needs someone. Dane, I have to go back there,” Lacy said. “Please, can you get them to let me back there? She’s gotta be so scared.”

“I can. Treat’s a big supporter of the hospital. They put two and two together when they signed me in and said they were calling him. I told him to call you. They’ll let you go in the back with Sheila.” He looked at the kids. “I’m sorry, Lace.”

“Sorry? It sounds like you helped him. This isn’t your fault,” she said. “This is…” A risk of your job. She couldn’t say it aloud. His job was a hell of a lot more dangerous than walking across the street. “Can you watch the kids? Are you okay enough to?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “I’ll go talk to the nurse and have them bring you back.”





Chapter Twenty-Eight


LACY COULDN’T REMEMBER the last time she’d been in a hospital room. She stood in the doorway of Rob’s room. The antiseptic smell permeated her senses as she took in Rob, lying with his head back, a thick white tube down his throat and an EKG monitor strapped across his chest with wires running to a machine by his bedside. Another monitor was attached to his index finger, and an IV line snaked from his arm. Sheila sat on the opposite side of the bed, holding his hand, tears streaming down her cheeks. Lacy took a step inside the room, feeling sick to her stomach.

“Sheila,” she whispered.

Sheila turned to face her. Her eyes were wet and puffy, and her slim, upturned nose was pink from crying. Her hair was a long, tangled mess. Her shirt had come untucked from her shorts and hung awkwardly from one side.

Lacy embraced her. “I’m so sorry,” she said through her own tears.

“Where are the kids?” Sheila managed. She clutched a handful of tissues in her trembling hands.

“Dane’s with them.”

Sheila nodded. “He’s okay?”

“Yeah, seems to be. What did they say about Rob?”

Fresh sobs ripped from her chest. “He…They said if he wakes up soon, then he’ll have less of a chance of any deficits.”

Deficits. He was going to quit today, and now he might have deficits. “If…? Do they think…?” Lacy wiped the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

“I don’t know. They don’t know. Dane thought a nine-foot shark whacked his head and knocked him unconscious. A fucking shark.” Sheila covered her face. “This is why…” Sobs swallowed her voice.

A shark. This is real. This could happen to Dane. Or worse.

“What am I gonna do? I can’t live without Rob. The kids need him. What am I gonna do if he doesn’t wake up?” Sheila stood and touched Rob’s cheek. “He’s my life.”

Lacy reached for Sheila again.

Sheila didn’t collapse in to her this time. She grabbed Lacy by the shoulders. Her dark eyes were filled with fear and venom. Her thin lips turned down at the edge in an angry frown. “Lacy, this could be you and Dane. This is what I was so afraid of.”

No. I don’t want to hear it. Please stop. Stopstopstop.

“Honey, I know you love him, but think about it. This is real, Lacy. Real.”