Page 107 of Last Chance
“It’s good that he reacted, right?”
“Could be. We’ll see what the doctor says.”
A man in a white coat raced into the room.
Sawyer set his pack against the wall and wrapped his arms around Janie.
In silence, she held on tight, her body trembling.
Heart hurting for Janie, he kissed her temple and glanced at Jesse. The medic looked grim. Not a good sign. Jesse knew more than he’d told Janie. Maybe he was protecting her. Perhaps he didn’t have concrete answers to share. Either way, Sawyer was afraid Janie was in for more bad news.
Twenty minutes later, the doctor emerged from David’s room. “Ms. Moran?”
Janie turned in Sawyer’s arms to face the doctor. “Yes, sir.”
He held out his hand. “I’m Jeff Carroway, the hospitalist. Your brother is stable for the moment, but he's had a stroke. We won’t know how much damage has been done until he’s fully conscious and we’re able to run a few tests. We’ll be taking Mr. Moran to surgery soon so the neurosurgeon can try to remove the clot.”
Janie gasped. “Oh, no.”
“Do you know what caused the stroke?” Sawyer asked.
“Not specifically. However, given the severe head trauma, a stroke wasn’t unexpected.” After answering a few more questions and informing them that another physician specializing in stroke care would check on David’s progress throughout the day, the doctor went to his next patient as the orderlies arrived to take David to the operating room.
David’s nurse exited the room. “Do you know when Mr. Moran’s wife is expected to arrive?”
“Around noon,” Sawyer answered.
Heather glanced at her watch. “Another three hours. The surgeon definitely won’t wait. Look, I don’t know how long Mr. Moran’s operation will take, Janie. You can go to the waiting room or you can go to work or your home and we’ll call you once the operation’s complete. We’ll also call if there’s any change in his condition.”
Janie glanced at Sawyer, her preference plain on her face.
Although he didn’t want Janie in this hospital longer than necessary, he’d want to wait for word if one of his brothers was going under the knife. “Your choice,” he murmured.
“Is it safe?” she whispered.
“We’ll make it work, whatever you choose.”
“We’ll be in the waiting room,” she told Heather.
“I’ll let you know when I hear anything.”
“Thanks, Heather.”
Sawyer wrapped his hand around Janie’s and escorted her to the family waiting room. After seating her on the couch, he crouched in front of her with her hand sandwiched between both of his. “Would you like some hot tea, sweetheart?”
Tears glimmered in her eyes. “How do you always know the perfect thing to help me?”
“Tea is your comfort drink.”
“For future reference, hot chocolate also is a favorite.”
“Noted.” He rose. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Sawyer looked at Jesse, who gave a curt nod.
He headed to the cafeteria and bought coffee for himself, Chris, and Jesse, and tea and hot chocolate for Janie, along with snacks. Hopefully, he’d be able to coax Janie into a light snack until he could feed her lunch. If things didn’t go well for David, though, she wouldn’t feel like eating.
With the drinks in a carrier, Sawyer headed back upstairs to the ICU floor. He stopped by the room and gave Chris coffee and a snack. “Need a break?”
“I could use five minutes.”