Suddenly she heard a whisper, "Sam." Standing perfectly still, she tried to tell where it came from. "Sam, over here." Stepping toward the stall, she saw Jericho laying in a pool of blood, the cat in the corner, waiting. Watching both of them now, his yellow eyes glinting in the light. Jericho's gun was almost all the way across the stall, beside the cat. Sam took slow but steady aim..the cat fell dead. Sam stood ready to shoot again, with her gun cocked, but Jericho whispered, "Good shooting."
Sam knelt beside him, "What happened?" Tears were falling down her cheeks, while Jericho tried to lean on his elbow. "I made the mistake of thinking I had him, but he still had life in him, when I reached for his tail. He got my foot, before I knew it. When the boot came off, I reached for it and threw it at him. Dumb move. He jumped into the corner then, watching me, waiting for me to take my eyes off of him." Sam looked at his foot, "We have to get you to the hospital. You've lost a lot of blood, Jericho." She looked around for the wheel barrow, finding it down the other aisle. "Sam, you won't be able to push that through the ice, I'll have to walk." he told her. A noise behind them made them both jump, Sam reaching for her gun."Whoa! It's me, Matt. What in the world..." his voice trailed off, when he saw Jericho. Matt ran to the tack room and got a blanket and the first aid kit. Wrapping his foot in a clean plastic bag, then with the blanket. "Sit tight." he told them, running down the aisle. They heard the four wheeler start. He drove it to them, reaching for Jericho's hand and lifting him onto the four wheeler over his shoulder. Jericho didn't make a sound, but the look on his face made Sam hurt for him. Matt took off for the house, while Sam shut the barn up and ran, slipping and sliding behind them, desperate to find out how bad Jericho's foot really was.
Inside the house, Robbie started to work on his foot, carefully removing the bag, resting it on the folded blanket. "The roads are bad, but I'll take you to the hospital." Matt told him. "Let's get a good look at it first, I don't want him bleeding to death in my kitchen!" Robbie joked. She poured warm water over the wound, trying to be as gentle as she could. "Ok, I think the bleeding is stopping now."
"I think it will be fine, Rob. We can go in the morning if need be, not now." Jericho told her. Matt took over, "Actually, we are going now, the truck is already warm." Trying to joke with Jericho, but serious, Matt knew that he had lost a lot of blood and needed to be taken to the hospital. "Sam, get some pillows for his head, as well as his foot. A couple of blankets too." She flew up the stairs to get the supplies. When she got back, they had Jericho almost out the door. His head was falling forward, he was so weak and in shock. Sam grabbed her coat and took the other side of him, holding him up so Matt could hold his foot in the air.
Robbie took the blankets to the truck, placing them on the back seat.
"Robbie, call the hospital and let them know what we are coming in with. It'll take us awhile to get there though." Matt called out. Robbie nodded, holding Lily in her arms at the door. "Be careful!" she called to them. Matt turned the truck around and slid the rest of the way to the driveway. "Get ready Sam, we're going on a ride." he laughed. She did not think it was funny, "Matt." He looked sheepishly over at her, "Sorry, but it is true. You ok back there Jericho?" he asked. "Fine." was all he could say, the pain was beginning to reach his threshold now. Sam was worried that he could lose his foot. She sat silently, berating herself for not checking on him sooner. If only she hadn't waited so long, he wouldn't be in this shape. Matt looked over at her, seeing the pensive look on her face, "Sam, you did all that you could. You saved his life, after all. You have to stop now." He knew what she was thinking. She turned to look out the window, not willing to be soothed.
Thankfully, they reached the hospital without mishap. The staff was waiting with a gurney to take him, as soon as they pulled up to the Emergency Entrance. Matt took Sam to the cafeteria for coffee, while they waited. She didn't want to talk though, so they went back to the waiting room. Sam stood at the windows, watching the ice continue to fall. Matt sat across the room from her, glancing at her every few minutes, feeling totally inept, not having a clue how to help her though this. Finally, after what seemed hours, the doctor came out and told them, Jericho was being admitted. His foot would be ok, but they needed to pump him with antibiotics to avoid infection, since it was an animal bite. The scratches on his arms would be fine too. The doctor told them he was exhausted and would probably sleep through the night, so they should go home. Sam told him she would be staying, just in case he needed anything. Matt knew there was no way to change her mind, so he stayed too.
After calling Robbie, they made themselves a nest of sorts, with the chairs and pillows that a nurse brought them. Sam couldn't fall asleep, but Matt did. She smiled at him, watching him sleep so soundly, in the most uncomfortable chair she thought had ever been made. Hers was a recliner of sorts, but she kept sliding out of it. Finally, she did sleep for awhile, waking up when the breakfast trays started rolling down the hall. She woke Matt, "Come on, let's go get something to eat." He fumbled for his hat and followed her out the door, "Is he ok?" "He slept through the night, so I guess that means the pain meds worked." she told him. Almost to the cafeteria, the aroma of food began to reach them. "I can't believe how hungry I am." Sam said. "Yeah, me too. That noise you hear, is my stomach. Did we eat dinner last night, I forgot." he asked her. "I didn't, I don't suppose you did either, unless you ate before you came over." she laughed.
He shook his head and grabbed a tray, filling it with as much as he could get on it. Sam did the same, she was starving and greatly in need of fresh coffee. "I hope they feed Jericho, he'll be hungry even if he's in pain." Sam said with a mouthful. "Sorry, excuse my bad manners." Matt grinned at her, "Just enjoy."
They walked into Jericho's room, when they had finished eating, just as he was finishing his own breakfast. "Well, I'm glad you got something to eat too." Sam told him, kissing him on the cheek. "How do you feel?" "Not bad, not bad." he answered. Matt stood at the foot of the bed, "Glad you're ok. You gave us quite a scare last night." Jericho smiled at him, "Thank you both, for everything. The doc said I need to stay here a couple of days. I'm sorry Sam." Sam quickly took his hand, "Don't you worry about a thing. Just do everything they tell you, so we can bring you home." Jericho teared up, but couldn't say a thing. Sam turned to Matt, "I guess we better go home and check on things while Jericho gets some more rest. We'll be back later, and you call if you want us to bring you anything."
Pulling into the drive, Sam sighed. "Were you scared of my driving?" Matt teased. She grinned at him, "Yep." Inside, they filled Robbie and Lily in on Jericho's condition. "I'll get you some breakfast." Robbie told them. "No thanks, we ate at the hospital. We had to Mom, we were starving." Sam laughed. Lily climbed in her lap, "Is he really going to be alright?" she asked, with tears brimming on her lids. Sam hugged her, "He really is hon. He'll need to take it easy, I'm sure, so you will have to help him get better." Lily brightened up at the thought of playing nurse for Jericho. "I'll have everything ready for him!" she said, already planning out her nursing duties.
"Matt, I really can't thank you enough for everything. I don't know what I would have done without your help." Sam told him quietly. Matt almost made a joke, but thought better of it, "Anytime Sam." A look passed between them, that Robbie took note of, hoping that Sam would finally wake up and see what Matt had to offer her. "I better go home and check on my mom." Matt said, leaving. "I'll come back later to help feed, Sam. Get some rest until I get back." Sam got a cup of coffee, "I think I will take a shower before I do anything else. My back hurts from that darn chair. Why don't you call Jericho, to see what he needs." she told her mom. "Sam, you know Christmas is next week. We need to make some plans." Robbie said. Sam hadn't even thought about it being so close to Christmas. She looked at Robbie, "What do I need to do?" Robbie shook her head, "Honey, what does Christmas mean to little girls?"
Sam buried her head in her hands, "I think I've lost touch with life Mom." Robbie pulled Sam to her, "Things have been tough lately, but this is part of life. You still have to be the parent that Lily needs, even when you don't feel exactly in the spirit for it. Look, she made a list." Robbie handed her the list. Sam read it, a smile creeping around her eyes. "Riding lessons? She's a pretty smart cookie. How about if we give her the bay?" Robbie nodded, "That's the only thing she really wants. You know Sam, she's never really had much at Christmas. I suspect there wasn't enough money to go around." Sam was thoughtful, "I think we need to include Tommy, would that be ok with you?" Robbie was all for it, "I'll call Jake, or maybe Aggie tomorrow, to find out what they might have in the works for him."
Jake was glad to hear from Robbie the next day, inviting her over to the ranch. Sam raised her eyebrows, wondering what was up with that...
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Dear Readers,
Only one more Chapter left on this one. Let's see..what's Sam going to end up doing...in the end..
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