“A little military coming out in a time of need?”
Hunt shrugged. “Maybe. It was a knee-jerk reaction to the fear on Ava’s face. If that young couple that they brought in survives and gets married, they’re both going to have the in-laws from hell.”
“Maybe this incident gave all of them a reality check. Anyway, they can be mad all they want somewhere else, and tonight, that will be locked up beside each other in the Blessings jail.”
Before Hunt could respond, Ava’s parents appeared in the doorway of her room. Dr. Quick stopped them, then walked them back out in the hall. Two nurses were tending to Ava and monitoring her condition, so Hunt followed the doctor out into the hall and walked into the middle of the conversation with Ava’s parents.
Karen Ridley was trying not to panic, but the fact that they hadn’t let her and Larry see Ava had scared her.
“Dr. Quick! How is she?”
“She’s alive but unconscious.”
“What happened?” Larry asked.
Quick looked at Hunt. “You didn’t tell them?”
“I was going to after they got here,” Hunt said.
Karen’s eyes widened in sudden fear. “Tell us what?”
“Ava was taken hostage during the fight,” Hunt said.
Quick frowned. “I told her to call the police because the families were arguing loudly, disturbing the other patients, and then I went back to my patient, unaware that one of the men took her hostage to keep her from calling.”
“But what happened to her?” Karen asked.
“I didn’t see it. I’ll let Hunt explain.”
Hunt shrugged. “I was pumping gas when I heard there was a fight in the ER. I came to check on Ava and walked into a brawl. Josh Ryman had her pinned against the wall and wouldn’t let her go. I sort of threatened him with dismemberment if he didn’t turn her loose. He dropped his hold, and then the families began arguing again, and when Ava started toward me Josh thought it was someone coming at him from behind and swung his fist as he turned. He hit her hard…really hard…in the chest. She flew back. Hit the wall and then dropped. Basically, the blow stopped her heart. By the time I got to her, she didn’t have a pulse. I did CPR. Scared the hell out of me. It was about four minutes of that before they had a defibrillator free, and then once they used it they got a heartbeat. She’s breathing on her own, but they have her on oxygen.”
Karen began to sob and threw herself into Hunt’s arms. “You saved her life. Oh my God…Oh, Hunt. You saved her life.”
“We all did,” he said.
Dr. Quick glanced back in the room and then added, “We’ll be moving her upstairs soon, but you can go in and see her now. There’s no way to know if she can hear what’s being said, so don’t say anything that might frighten her.”
They nodded in unison and went inside.
Hunt followed them into Ava’s room and, once more, stood at the foot of the bed while her parents took up posts on either side.
* * *
Karen smoothed hair away from Ava’s forehead, then leaned over and kissed her.
“Ava, darling, your dad and I are here, and so is Hunt. We just want you to know we love you, and that you’re going to be okay.”
Hunt stood without talking, listening to her parents’ words of comfort, knowing that love would become part of what would heal her. He wanted to hold her in his arms until she opened her eyes and smiled at him—to hear her sass—to hear her laugh—to feel the warmth of her breath against his face as they made love.
He’d seen a lot of men die in the war, and when they quit breathing, they were gone. Ava had been dead in his arms, and he’d witnessed life returned to her. Hunt was so grateful to God for giving her back. He didn’t know how all that worked in heaven, and right now he didn’t care. All he knew was that his sweet Ava was alive again, and how much he loved her.
He glanced up at the clock over her bed and thought about the painters and the house, and how important that had been to him this morning, and how inconsequential it was now, and how fast priorities can change.
He had arrived in Blessings on New Year’s Day. He’d been here less than two weeks, and in that time he’d buried his mother, learned the truth of the family secret that had driven him away, fallen in love, and been working diligently to fulfill that promise he’d made to his mother. Today had begun as just another day in the steps toward fulfilling that promise.
He couldn’t know this would be the day Ava died, or that the CPR he’d learned in the military would be the difference it made in reversing her fate, but he was grateful.
Thank God. Thank God.
* * *
The Rymans and the Dillons were booked for disorderly conduct. The two women were released on their own recognizance because the only people they’d hurt were themselves. They apologized to each other in tears, then begged a ride from one of the officers to get them back to the hospital to check on their injured family members.
The two men fighting had not only hurt each other, but it was nothing to the hurt Hunt Knox had dealt. They’d caused considerable damage to property at the hospital. Caused injuries to hospital personnel because of flying debris, and they were sorely ashamed.
The two Hunt had taken down were patched up in the ER. One with a broken nose reset and taped up. The other one sent off to jail with an ice pack to his jaw.
But it was Josh Ryman who was in the most trouble. What he’d done to Ava Ridley was unintentional, but his irrational behavior and his rage and violence had caused it, and now all three of the brawlers would be facing a judge tomorrow. Bail would be set.
But there was nothing that was going to take away the shame of their behavior or the grief of knowing that their first grandchild was dead because of what they’d done.
* * *
While Ava was being moved into a bed upstairs, Hunt was on the phone with the painters.
“I’m sorry to hear your girl got hurt,” Bill Smith said.
“So am I,” Hunt said. “Don’t worry about locking up. I’ll have one of my sisters come by and give you a key. You can lock up this evening when you leave and let yourselves in tomorrow,” Hunt said.
“That’ll work,” Bill said. “We’re getting along fine. We’ll put a second coat on the outside tomorrow morning. I’ve already got two of my boys working on the inside. They started in the attic, and they’re working their way down toward the front of the house.”
“If nothing happens, I’ll be by tomorrow to see,” Hunt said, and hung up. He didn’t know if Birdie was back at work, but he knew Emma would be free and gave her a call.