Page 25 of Faith for the Cowboy
Harper smiled faintly at his joke but couldn’t bring herself to laugh. She moved across the room and sat next to Lawson, who had turned himself away from the rest of the family. She put a hand on his arm but kept her attention toward his brothers. They seemed to be trying to pass the time, talking and joking. Jenson was in rare form, entertaining everyone as usual. Still, it was obvious that there was tension in the room; even their laughs were nervous.
After what seemed like an eternity, a doctor emerged from the double doors leading back to the treatment area. Lydia stood quickly, and Jenson and Sawyer moved to stand on either side of her.
“Mrs. Macklin?” the doctor asked.
Lydia nodded, unable to respond out loud.
“I’m Dr. Williams. I’ve been treating your husband.”
“Yes, thank you,” Lydia managed to find her voice.
“I have good news and bad news. He’s doing alright, but he has had a heart attack.”
The air seemed to be sucked out of the room instantly. Even though they had all feared and suspected it, Harper knew they had hoped against hope that it couldn’t be true.
“We’re taking him to the cath lab to do some testing, and depending on the results, we will either put in a stent, or we will schedule him for surgery first thing tomorrow morning.”
Lydia swayed, and Sawyer put a hand on her arm to steady her, even though she seemed to have found some inward strength. “Thank you. Can I see him?” Lydia asked.
“Of course,” the doctor said. “I’ll have someone come out and take you to his room. We may be taking him to the cath lab by the time you get there, but you can be waiting for him when he gets back.”
“How many of us can go back at a time?” Jenson asked.
“We don’t like to have too many people at once. Two at a time is best,” the doctor said.
“That’s alright,” Lydia said. “We’ll take turns.”
“Yes, I would recommend that,” the doctor said. “I must warn you that this could be a long road. You’ll want to take breaks when you can. I promise, we’re doing everything we can, and we’re going to take good care of him.”
“Thank you,” Lydia said barely above a whisper.
As the doctor disappeared behind the double doors, the family sank back down in their seats. Harper watched Lawson’s face during the course of the conversation. He had gone from distraught to hopeful back to a blank expression that she couldn’t quite understand.
Sawyer addressed the family and took charge. “Well, Mom, when they come back, I can go back with you if you want. Jenson and everyone else, why don’t you guys go get some coffee and snacks, then we can rotate and let Mom stay with him.”
Jenson was the first to stand. “I don’t want to leave, not until we’ve seen him.”
Titus stood and stepped close to Jenson. “Me either, man, but Sawyer is probably right. It may take a while. And it’s best if we get some sustenance and take care of Mom.”
“Oh, don’t fuss over me,” Lydia said.
All the brothers shushed her together. Jenson spoke for them, “Mama, you fuss over all of us all the time. It’s our turn to fuss over you. And I don’t think any of us are gonna take any arguing about that.”
Lydia smiled. “Thank you, boys. I’m sure I’ll be taken care of. I just want to see your daddy soon.”
Harper looked at Lawson. “Do you want to go get some coffee?”
“No,” Lawson said firmly. “I’ll stay until I get to see him.”
Harper lowered her eyebrows and bit her lip. She was afraid he might say that. “There really is nothing you can do. We have to wait for the tests to come back.”
Lawson shrugged. “I know, but I don’t care. I’m not leaving.”
Harper nodded and slipped her hand into his. “I understand. I’ll stay with you.”
Lawson nodded but didn’t say anything else. He put his other hand on top of hers and settled back into his seat.
17
