Page 105 of Take My Name

“Colton’s still lookin’ for her. She might be in worse shape than Warren thought,” Bellamy explains, sitting next to their dad.

“Or worse now after runnin’ off,” Posey adds. “She was already off-trail in a rockier area.”

“Oh shit.”

“If she’s not in good shape, the vet will put her outta her misery. He’s already there waitin’ to see if Colt finds her,” Mr. Langston explains.

“Wait, what’s that mean?”

“It’s too hard to say for sure, but he’ll assess once he examines her,” Mrs. Langston clarifies, but my gut tells me that’s not what her husband meant.

If Lilith doesn’t make it, Warren will feel horrible. Although he acts like a hard-ass, he’s a softie for his horses, and knowing he’s part of the reason she took off while injured, he’ll blame himself.

We sit and make small talk while we continue waiting. Eventually, Warren’s aunt arrives in a panic. She was already down a manager and couldn’t leave until the next one came.

“What’s takin’ so long?” She paces and then goes to the nurse’s station. It’s sweet she loves her nieces and nephews like they’re her own children.

“The doctor’s on his way out now,” I overhear and instinctively stand, everyone else doing the same.

Bodie’s the first to come out, followed by an older man.

“Is he awake?” Posey whispers to Bodie, but he shakes his head, and my heart drops.

The doctor calmly introduces himself while everyone impatiently waits.

“We’re running a variety of tests to evaluate Warren. Because he was kicked in the chest, there’s a risk of blunt thoracic trauma—which can range from minor bruising to life-threatening internal injuries. He may have a concussion, but until he’s awake, we can’t properly assess his neurological status. The initial CT scan doesn’t show any hemorrhaging or structural brain injuries. It did reveal some bruised ribs, so he was lucky not to have any fractures. The blow to his chest most likely triggered a trauma response—either from pain, panic, or both. If he was already in distress at the time, that could have compounded the reaction and led to the spike in his blood pressure. For now, he’s breathing on his own and we’re monitoring his vitals closely.”

Everyone’s so quiet—all I can hear is the blood rushing in my ears and my pulse throbbing in my neck.

“So he’s gonna be okay?” Posey’s the first to speak.

“He’s not gonna die?” Bellamy asks.

“Apart from any unforeseen complications, he should be fine. But until he wakes up, we won’t know about his neurological status.”

“Is it normal he still hasn’t?” I ask.

“It can take some time,” he replies gently. “His body and brain are still recovering from the trauma. Sometimes we need extra time to heal, but we’re watching closely to make sure there’s no hidden swelling or bleeding that’d be causing a delay in him waking up.”

“Can we see him?” Mrs. Langston asks.

“Yes, but only a couple people at a time. His nurse will come out and bring y’all back.”

“Thank you,” Mr. Langston says, shaking his hand. “Appreciate it.”

“Of course.”

It’s another twenty minutes before a nurse comes out and then Mr. and Mrs. Langston go to his room first. I’m anxious as hell, itching to run in there and shake him awake so I can tell him I love him and to fight like hell. The doctor implied he’s going to be fine and that he’s lucky because it could’ve been so much worse, but I can’t help the fear building that there’s always a chance for things to take a turn.

Posey and Bodie go next, but they return disappointed because he still isn’t awake. After them, JoJo and Bellamy check on him but return with the same outcome.

Once it’s my turn, I ask if anyone else wants to come with me because I feel awkward taking up time that they could be sittingwith him. But Mr. Langston says he has to get back to the ranch, so Bellamy and Posey tag along with him. Then it’s just me, his mom, and aunt.

“Go ahead, sweetie. He’s in room sixteen. Take as long as you need,” Mrs. Langston encourages when she notices me hesitating. I already said goodbye to the others, so I nod and walk down the hallway.

My heart beats out of my chest when I enter his room and find him sleeping peacefully. He looks so calm while I’m trying not to panic.

I pull up a chair next to his bed and weave my fingers through his. They’re ice cold, so I cover my other hand over both of ours.