Chapter thirty-four
Maggie
The house was quiet when I snuck through the front door. It wasn’t late—just a little after ten—but Jack had an early game the next morning and three barns to check on afterwards. He needed rest. I meant what I said earlier about waiting for him to tell me what was going on. If he needed time, I could give it to him. If he needed space, I’d rip myself away from him no matter how bad it hurt.
I padded up the wooden stairs, but the closer I got, the more I thought I heard something coming from our bedroom. I couldn’t tell what it was. My gait increased as a weight spread throughout my chest, but I couldn’t be prepared for what happened next. The door to mine and Jack’s bedroom creaked as I pushed it open in search of him. The bed was still made, with a few t-shirts spread over the covers. The floor had several unmatched shoes leading to the closet. Then, the noises again.
Deep heaving breaths mixed with shivering groans emerged from the closet as I flew to the doorway where my worst nightmare waited for me. There, on the floor, lay Jack, pale and sweaty, his body tremulous. His perfect chestnut eyes weresqueezed shut as he called out to someone who seemed miles away. The shirt he wore before I left was ripped from his body, lying on the floor next to him, soaked with sweat. What the hell was happening? Was my husband dying right in front of me? Was this the end?
My heart turned to a heavy stone in the middle of my chest, bringing me to my knees in front of him. I blinked a dozen times and pinched myself to make sure this was real. I reached out to touch Jack’s arm and jumped when it felt ice cold against my fingertips. Lungs working overtime, I tried to calm myself enough to enable my quivering hand to reach for my cell phone. Mindlessly typing in my passcode and dialing 911, audible sobs began to escape my throat.
“Nine-one-one, what is the address of your emergency?” an operator asked.
How the hell could she be so calm in this situation? Jack was nearlylifelessbeneath me, and there was nothing I could do about it but wait until the paramedics arrived.
“M-my husband is…” I stuttered through the rhythm of my breath catching. What was he? He wasn’t convulsing enough to be seizing, but could it be a heart attack? A stroke? Cardiac arrest? “I need an ambulance right now! I don’t know what’s wrong with him!”
“Okay, can you please give me the address? I’m going to send an ambulance right away,” she responded dutifully. My eyes were glued to Jack as I raced through my mind to remember the four fucking numbers that would get Jack the help he needed. After I rattled off the address and told her I needed them here yesterday, she asked me to stay on the phone with her.
“Is he bleeding at all? What is his condition?”
“H-he doesn’t look like it,” I quivered. My mouth felt like sandpaper as I attempted to assess my everything in front of me. I couldn’t form words. I couldn’t stay calm.
I didn’t think I could be a mom either. But Jack pushed me to believe otherwise.
Jack.
“He’s shaking, and his skin is paper-white.”
The sound of typing on a keyboard followed my words. “And what is his breathing like? Slow, heavy?”
“Fast,” I barked. “And really heavy. His whole body is heaving.” He looked like he was drowning. Like there wasn’t oxygen surrounding us. My eyes helplessly pleaded for him to come back to me.
He’s not even conscious.
“Okay, just stay on the line with me. First responders will be there soon. Try to stay calm.”
“Oka-y.” I sobbed.
What felt like an eternity passed before the sound of sirens came into earshot, and my breathing slowed only a sliver. This was it. The paramedics were going to do their thing and bring him back to me.
My Jack.
My fucking everything.
“Upstairs!” I yelled when I heard the front door burst open by force. “We’re upstairs on the left!”
An army of footsteps followed as a group of paramedics invaded the bedroom. I held tight to Jack’s still-pale arm with a prayer on my lips that he would be okay. That all of this was just some freak accident that would never happen again.
I loved this man more than anything.
I would give my life to save his.
***
I had never been inside a hospital waiting room before. Despite the many falls both my dad and I experienced in our years ofriding horses, none of them ended with us riding away in an ambulance.
I always thought going to a hospital after getting a little banged up on the polo field was unnecessary. But I never thought I would see my husband lying on the floor of our closet with no visible bodily harm, and still see him ride away in an ambulance.
