Screw it, just five minutes, she offered herself before sanity came back and she resisted reaching for him.
“Okay, be stubborn, but you know I’ll find out anyway,” he said.
Kinsey was happy to feel her temper rising. Anger, at least, pushed down her unwanted lust.
“Have fun with that,” Kinsey snapped as she finally wrenched her arm from his grasp. She turned and quickly walked down the hallway, refusing to allow herself to turn back and look at him.
She gritted her teeth when she heard his chuckle following her.
Arrogant, self-serving, pompous man!
Chapter Three
“Katherine Anderson?”
“Yes, I’m here.” Katherine rose from her seat with grace, though an obvious tremble was evident. A doctor approached, his eyes focused on the large family gathered around Katherine.
Austin stood back from the crowd, his emotions too volatile for him to speak with anyone. Fear and anger struggled for a stronghold inside him. The news had to be good. Their family couldn’t handle the tragedy of losing either his father or uncle.
“I’m Dr. Weston. I operated on your husband.” Total silence greeted his words. The family waited, afraid to even breathe.
“First, I want to let you know Joseph is alive,” he said. A single tear slipped down Katherine’s cheek. As if in slow motion, Austin focused on it as it held on for an endless moment, before dripping from her chin, slowly falling to the floor. The rest of the family members released a collective sigh of relief.
“He’s in critical condition and we’re monitoring him in the I.C.U. I don’t want to give you false hope. It doesn’t look good right now. If it weren’t for Nurse Shelton, I wouldn’t be delivering good news at the moment.” The doctor let his words settle in. Austin tensed, finally putting together what was going on with her and the angry doctor. She must’ve defied his orders. “Your husband had an Epidural Hematoma. In short form, there was swelling outside the brain tissue, and hemorrhages occurred within. Usually in these cases the patient has a lucid period, which Joseph had. Symptoms don’t always present themselves, making it hard for an admitting doctor to know there’s an emergency. In your husband’s case, had he went home before collapsing, the injury would have most likely been fatal. We were able to get inside his head before it caused severe damage to the brain. However, once we were in, we found another problem.”
Everyone waited, not wanting to interrupt. Dr. Weston paused before continuing. Austin knew the situation wasn’t good. He also knew he needed to thank Kinsey.
“Once we got inside, we found a small mass. Your husband was in the first stages of brain cancer. We were able to remove it, getting it all out. Luckily, it was small, and there didn’t seem to be any damage from surgery. Because of the severe trauma Joseph has suffered, though, he’s in a coma now. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything else at this point. The next seventy-two hours are critical. I do want to warn you that in cases like this, sometimes the patient never does wake.”
“Can I please see my husband?” Katherine asked. Her voice quiet, but Austin noted the strength underlying the pain she was feeling. He was once again impressed with his aunt.
“Yes, but only for a short visit. No more than two people can be in his room at a time.”
“I’ll take you, Mom,” Lucas said, his arm locked around her.
“We’ll be here waiting,” Amy said as she gave her mother-in-law a quick hug.
“Thank you, dear,” Katherine replied before following a nurse through the double doors leading to the intensive care unit.
“Do you have any information on my father, George Anderson?” Austin asked as soon as Katherine was out of the room. He didn’t want to add to her stress, but he hadn’t heard anything yet.
“Your father should be out of surgery soon and his doctor will be out to speak with you. I knew you’d have questions, but I didn’t want to interrupt the procedure. He was still holding on and from what the doctor’s assistant said, his vitals were good. Once again, I don’t want to give false hope or speak out of turn, but he was still alive when I came out,” Dr. Weston answered.
Austin nearly sagged with relief. Bree’s tears flowed as she heard the first news of her father since learning of the accident. Chad lifted her in his arms and carried her back to one of the chairs, sitting down to comfort her. Austin was grateful she wasn’t alone. Chad would be a rock for her to lean on through all of this.
“Thank you,” Trenton spoke up. They stood there silently for a moment, no one seeming to know what to do.
“I’ll go for coffee,” Cassie volunteered.
“I’ll help. I can’t keep sitting here, feeling helpless,” Jessica said. The two women walked from the room.
Austin waited for what seemed like hours before the doors opened again and another doctor looked around the room. When he spotted them, he made his way over.
“Trenton Anderson?”
“Yes,” Trenton quickly stepped forward.
“Your father, George, is out of surgery. He hit his head on the side of the door, causing minor swelling in the brain. It doesn’t appear to be threatening at this time, but we always carefully monitor head injuries. He also sustained a broken leg, two broken ribs, and his lung was punctured. We’ve been able to operate successfully, but we’ve had to place him in a medically induced coma because the pain would be excruciating if he were awake. We’ve been extra cautious, too, because of his recent heart attack. I understand that both your father and uncle are in here, and I wish I could give you more information, but the only thing I can tell you at this time is that he’s stable. Of course the next twenty-four hours are critical. We’ll monitor him closely to make sure he doesn’t have any negative reactions from the surgery, or any further symptoms from the collision. As of now, his chances are better than fifty percent at this time.”
“Can we see him?” Bree asked.
“Yes, but he’s in the I.C.U for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, so only two at a time. Please be quiet in the room, and only stay for fifteen minutes at a time. He needs to rest right now. That’s the best medicine for him.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Austin said as he stepped forward and shook the man’s hand.
“I’ll take Bree back first, then you and Max can go,” Trenton said to Austin.