Page 21 of Midnight

“Don’t cry, honey. You did the absolute right things.”

“I first thought something had happened at the Rose and got dressed and ran down there. But when I saw all of the police cars down at the Tumbleweed, my heart sank. I took off running as the chopper was lifting off. Pearl was sitting on the porch covered in blood. She heard the shot.She tried to call him, and when he didn’t answer, she saved his life. That much I do know.”

“Good lord. Good to know,” he said. “I’m almost at the hangar. Dylan is meeting me here. We’re flying to Amarillo and going straight to the hospital.”

“I love you so much, and I’m so sorry. Fly safe, love. When you can, let me know how he is.”

“Love you most, and I will. Gotta go. I’m at the hangar now.”

The crew at the hangar had pulled the chopper out, refueled it, and gone through all the checkups, but as soon as Ash arrived, he put his luggage inside the cockpit, then did his own preflight checkup again.

Dylan arrived as Asher was going through flight check and ran across the tarmac to the chopper. He tossed his bag inside and climbed into the copilot’s seat. They took one look at each other, then Dylan buckled himself in and put on the headphones.

“Did you talk to Gunner?” he asked.

Ash nodded. The rotors were already turning as he began prepping for liftoff. He’d filed a flight plan, so when they lifted off, Ash made a half circle in the sky, as if in acknowledgement to the growing light of the day, then headed north/northwest to Amarillo.

They didn’t talk much during the flight.

Asher was focused on flying and Dylan was lost in thought, but they were both fearing their arrival might be too late.

When they finally reached the Amarillo airport and got permission to land, the rush to get a cab became the next leg of their journey.

The sky was gray. The air was cold as they hurried into the terminal then all the way through the concourse to hail a cab. Three other flights had just unloaded and there wasa line of people waiting for transportation, too. When they finally got a cab, they loaded their luggage in the trunk.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

“Northwest Texas Hospital on Coulter Street,” Asher said.

Dylan was on his phone, texting Angie to let them know they’d arrived, as the cab carried them through the streets of Amarillo.

Ash was doing the same, reading the sympathy text from his boss, and a one-sentence text from Gunner.Boarding my flight, which he showed to Dylan.

“Good. He’ll be here in a couple of hours, then,” Dylan said.

“Less than that,” Asher said. “Look at the time when he sent the text. He’s already halfway here.”

Neither of them could find the words to say more. All they wanted was to have someone tell them Jacob was going to survive—that he was going to be okay.

When they arrived at the hospital, they grabbed their bags and headed inside. After a stop at the information desk and a trip up in the elevator, they went straight to the nurses’ desk.

The duty nurse glanced up. “Can I help you?”

“Our father, Jacob Kingston, was airlifted here a few hours ago with a gunshot wound. Do you have an update on his status? Is he still in surgery?” Asher asked.

The nurse scanned the current patients list. “His surgery was completed. He’s been moved to ICU. It’s on this floor. There is a waiting area for visitation. Go down that hall and follow the signs. The nurses there will fill you in on visitation rules, and the timelines when his doctor makes rounds.”

“Thank you,” Ash said, and picked up his bag.

Dylan was already on the move, and Ash lengthened his stride to catch up.

After checking at yet another nurses’ station, they learned that Jacob’s doctor was on the floor making rounds, and that they would let him know that his patient’s family had arrived. They were also informed of the visitation rules. The usual rules for ICU. No more than two family members at a time, ten minutes on the hour, every hour.

They moved themselves to the waiting room, found a place to sit beneath a window, and shoved their luggage against the wall behind them.

Dylan glanced around the waiting area at the people waiting with them, then stood. “I’m going to get coffee. Do you want anything from the canteen area? Coffee, sweet roll, Pepsi?”

“Coffee, black, and a sweet roll is fine,” Ash said.