Chapter 7
“Mr Richardson? I’m Dr. Dean…”
Kevin removed the ice pack from his eye and stood up as the doctor entered the
family waiting area in the Emergency Room. “That must have been some horse…” he
said as he looked at Kevin and Nick, both men now sporting evidence of their
“knock down/drag out,” two hours earlier.
“What?” Kevin mumbled.
“The horse. Mrs. Richardson told
us her injuries were due to getting stepped on by one of her horses. She didn’t
mention that you two suffered a few injuries as well…”
Apparently, Jeanie knew how bad
this would look in the press and, as usual, was smart enough to try and cover
up what happened.
“We’re fine…is Jeanie okay?”
Nick was firmly wedged in between
A.J. and Lindsay, each keeping a firm grip on his thigh to keep him still.
“She’s going to be okay. How many
times did that horse step on her before you guys pulled her out?” The doctor
had a pretty good hunch what was going on. He’d pulled more than his share of
E.R. duty. This looked more like a barroom brawl than a wild horse…
“I-I’m not sure…”
“Just curious. Her
injuries…nothing too bad. Her nose is broken and she’s not happy about having
two black-eyes.”
Kevin sank back down into the
molded plastic chair.
The doctor continued, “She has a
mild concussion…”
“Why was blood coming out of her
mouth?” Lindsay’s voice was quivering.
“She’s fine. When
the…”horse”…kicked her she bit down on the inside of cheek…soft foods for a few
days…”
“B-but she’s gonna be okay?” Nick
croaked. Kevin shot him a go-to-hell look.
“We’re going to keep her over
night.”
“Why?” All four chimed in at the
same time. Kevin continued, “If she’s just got a broken nose and a slight
concussion, can’t she rest at home? We’ll keep her in bed…”
Dr. Dean paused for a minute. “Mr.
Richardson, can I see you alone for a minute?” He walked to the other side of
the almost empty room. A.J. and Lindsay kept their grip on Nick’s legs. They
weren’t sure how much more Nick could take…
Kevin, numb from fear, followed
the doctor. The doctor motioned for him to sit down. “Mr. Richardson, your wife
is fine. Her injuries sound worse than they are…” Kevin closed his eyes and
said a silent little thank you to God. He’d never forgive himself if he hurt
her… “With one exception…and that’s why we’re keeping her overnight…” Kevin’s
eyes popped back open.
“She lost the baby…”
Stunned, Kevin just sat there.
Dr. Dean continued, “From what she
told us, she wasn’t very far along. Possibly, it wasn’t a viable pregnancy to
begin with. There could have been other things going on. Has she been under a
lot of stress lately? Has she been sick?”
Kevin couldn't force an answer.
The doctor patted his leg. “She’s
fine. Dr. Morgan, the OB/Gyn on duty tonight did the D&C, she’s already up
in a room. We contacted her personal physician and he’ll check on her first
thing in the morning during rounds. Unless there is some type of complication,
she should be released tomorrow morning.”
Kevin was speechless. She was
pregnant… The room was beginning to spin. For a minute he thought he would pass
out.
“Mr. Richardson?”
“Huh?”
“Are you all right?”
“Yeah…”
“One of the girls can show you up
to Jeanie’s room if you’d like…”
“Yeah…” Kevin stood up as the
doctor motioned for one of the clerks to join them.
“This is Kaye. Show Mr. Richardson
up to his wife’s room.”
“Yes, sir. Oh my gosh! I saw ya’ll
when you played Dallas…we are such fans…” Kaye gushed as she led Kevin toward
the elevators.
* * *
Jeanie lay in the darkened
hospital room. Her head was pounding and every time she moved it felt like a
bowling ball was rolling from one side of her head to the other. She reached up
and touched the heavy tape across the bridge of her nose and winced in pain.
She wasn’t even sure what happened or who hit her. A broken nose… she wanted to
cry, but it hurt too much.
The baby…Jeanie knew she was
pregnant because she’d done a home pregnancy test. However, she’d wanted to
wait to make certain before she told Kevin.
This time would be different…
She’d planned a romantic weekend
away from Madi and Jess.
This time would be different...
Just she and Kevin, alone, and
loving each other. She'd planned on wrapping up a brochure from the doctor's
office written specifically for "daddys" and putting a sweet little
note on it..."Surprise! Madi's going to have a baby sister or brother…Read
up, BSB Kevin..."
This time would be different...
Now, there wouldn't be a
"this time." He left…he took Madi and left… It was too late…
When she heard the heavy metal
door swung open she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She wasn’t in
the mood to talk to nurses or orderlies…
Kevin quietly walked over to the
bed. Guilt washed over him as he looked at down at her. She looked tiny in the
sterile bed. Heavy tape covered the upper part of her nose. Even in the dimly
lit room, he could tell she had two black eyes. She also had a tiny butterfly
bandage over the cut on her face where his ring made contact with her delicate
skin causing it to split open.
Jeanie remained quiet. She
couldn’t deal with Kevin right now. Not now…
He fumbled with the metal railings
on the side of the bed and finally managed to lower it then carefully crawled
up next to her. Lying on his side, he draped one strong arm over her and gently
cuddled her.
“I’m sorry I hurt you…I love you
so much…” he whispered.
To his surprise, she answered. “I
love you, too Kev…”