Woven Wishes (Whispered Wishes Book 4) (11 page)

“I’ve got a better idea,” he said.

Before she could blink or even realize what had happened, he picked Holly up and laid her back on the hood of the car, passionately kissing her with her hands pinned over her head. Her shallow breaths slowly returned to normal as he pulled away slightly.

“Touché,” she whispered. “How long until we get to the cabin?”

“Three hours. Two and a half if I speed.”

“Okay,” she replied, her voice still breathy. “Speed it is. I’ll get the last bag, you start the engine.”

“I think I already have,” Ben laughed.

“I was referring to the car,” she said, shaking her head as she walked into the house once more. Thankfully, the third bag was the lightest of the bunch, which meant it was the most important of the three. It held her extensive collection of sexy lingerie. She locked up the house, put the bag in the trunk, and slid into the passenger seat, where Ben was ready and waiting to hit the road. “Hey,” she asked, as he pulled out of the driveway, “where’s your luggage? Aren’t you taking anything?”

Motioning to the backseat, he pointed behind him to a small duffel bag. “This, my love, is how you pack for two nights.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Rolling her eyes, Holly settled in for the long drive.

Music and conversation helped pass the time as they drove out of town making their way toward the expressway. A glimpse of her reflection in her window made her smile. She looked content, but not in a bored, stuck in a rut sort of way. It was the look one had when they’d reached a place of pure happiness and relaxation. Looking over to her husband as he drove up the highway ramp, she realized he had the same expression she did. Life was good.

“Ben?”

“Yeah, babe?” he asked, as he looked behind him to check oncoming traffic in order to merge on to the busy road.

“I know we said we weren’t going to talk about babies and stuff,” she replied, “but I’ve been thinking about what you said, about Nicholas helping us financially if we wanted to try another round of IVF.”

Ben quickly glanced at Holly with a surprised look on his face before bringing his attention back to the road. “It’s okay, babe. I understand where you’re coming from, I really do. Going through … well, we’ve just been through something traumatic, and we still need time to heal. That’s why I think this weekend away is going to be so great for us. You don’t think I’m upset about it, do you?”

“No, at least, I don’t think so, but that’s not why I brought it up,” she explained.

“Okay … I’m not sure I understand.”

“What I’m trying to say is that I changed my mind. After we get back home from this trip, let’s give him a call. I want to give it another try.”

“Holly,” Ben darted his eyes quickly at her, “are you sure? I don’t want you to do this for me. You have to make certain this is what
you
want. Is this what you want?”

“Yes. That’s what I’m trying to tell you,” she said, laughing. “This is what I want. For me
and
for you.
For us.
”

“Oh, babe.” Ben reached over to take her hand with his right while keeping his left firmly on the wheel. He looked over at her for just a second and said, “You have no idea how happy this makes me. Thank you.”

The last thing Holly remembered were the taillights of the tractor-trailer that had stopped short in front of them and the grinding sound of metal on metal as their car smashed up against it.

Chapter 23 - Ava

Ava watched her two boys play together in the backyard. While she couldn’t hear them, she could tell just by the expression on their faces they were enjoying the nice weather and each other’s company.

Back when she learned her second child was a boy, she was admittedly disappointed. It wasn’t that she didn’t want a son, she just didn’t really know that much about taking care of little boys. With the exception of her father, a few dates, and her husband, she’d spent her entire life around girls. But she quickly learned that little boys were cuddly creatures who loved to get messy and give lots of kisses. Her heart, already stretched to the max upon the birth of Jenna, grew even bigger the day Logan was born, and once more with Ryan.

“I keep telling Ryan he has to keep his hands cupped if he wants to catch the ball.”

Ava startled at the sound of the voice behind her, nearly dropping the dish she’d been washing into the sink.

“Max! You’re home early. I didn’t hear you come in. I wasn’t expecting you until dinner time.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed her lips and explained, “My last flight got detoured … there are some nasty storms down south. Anyway, we landed early, and here I am. I hope I gave you enough time to kick your boyfriend out.”

“Oh, stop,” she replied, kissing him back. “The only boys here are the ones you helped make. My boyfriend left hours ago.” Winking, she gave him another kiss.

“Gross!”

Ava looked over to her daughter standing in the doorway … a look of pure disgust on her face.

“
Oh, hi Dad! Welcome home. It’s great to see you,”
Max said in his best teenage girl voice, still holding Ava close.

“Seriously,” Jenna quipped, glaring at them, “do you have to do that in front of everyone?”

Max raised one eyebrow. “We
were
alone until
you
barged in. And last I checked, this is my house. I can pretty much do whatever I want, wherever I want.” Looking back to Ava, he kissed her again—this time a wet, sloppy, noisy kiss.

“Whatever,” Jenna said with that tone all kids seem to have the minute they turn double-digits. “Mom, when you’re done making out with Dad, can you tell me what time you need me to babysit tonight?”

“Babysit?” Max asked, pulling away slightly. “Did I forget about plans for this evening?”

“Sometime after dinner,” Ava told her daughter. “Thanks.”

“Okay,” she said. “Oh and hi, Dad, welcome home. It’s great to see you.” Grabbing an apple out of the fruit bowl, she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

“Well?” Max asked again “What are these plans?”

“I mentioned it to you before you left. It’s for the exhibit of the artist who I ran into at the museum with Ryan a few of weeks ago.”

“You mean the day you lost Ryan, and
he
got lucky and ran into the artist you knew, when God knows what really could have happened to him.”

Ava closed her eyes for a second. This conversation was not getting off to a good start, but now was not the time for an argument about the events of that day.

“Anyway,” she continued, hoping they could quickly move past that part of the story, “this artist, Gregory Douglas, was in town because he was preparing for his own exhibit. The opening is tonight, and he invited us to go, as his personal guests. Remember?”

Max shook his head and sat down at the kitchen table. “Right. I guess I forgot. I’m sorry, babe, but I’m really beat. I just came off a six-hour flight, and I haven’t been home in days. I just want to watch the game tonight and get some shut-eye.”

She nodded. It was what he did every time he came off of a long shift. Every. Time. Except this one time,
she
wanted to do something different—with him—as a couple.

“What about what I want?” she asked. The words came out without her giving them any thought, but they needed to be said. “Max, being back in that museum did something to me. I can’t explain it, but I miss that scene. The pieces, the smell of the paints, talking with artists, the mechanics of the exhibit itself, everything.” Sitting down at the table, she took her husband’s hand in her own.

“Don’t these things last a few days? Why do we have to go tonight?”

It was like talking to a complete stranger. Max knew opening night was a big deal; the night everyone got dressed up to celebrate the artist and his or her work. It was a party, mixed with art, and she wanted to be a part of it. Besides, tomorrow he’d have another excuse, and then another.
There was always something.
“Tonight’s the opening. Look, I know I chose to give up that life to raise our family, and I don’t have any regrets. However, now that the kids are older, I need to start carving out more time for myself. I need to live and breathe art again.”

“You’re saying you want to go back to work?” he asked.

“No. I don’t know, I haven’t thought about that. What I’m talking about is going out, to events like the one we were invited to tonight. It’s something we haven’t done in years. Don’t you remember how much we enjoyed doing that together? We never seem to go out anymore. I miss that, Max. I miss you.”

“I’m sorry, but I really am wiped. Tonight the only date I want is one with my lazy boy chair and big screen TV. Why don’t you call Tessa? I’m sure she’ll go with you.”

“Never mind.” Ava sulked out of the kitchen, frustration, anger, and disappointment all crowding her brain, trying to make sense of her husband’s words. Sitting on the couch she tried to remember when exactly it was he’d changed so much. Her thoughts would have to wait as she answered the phone.

“Ava?” the frantic voice said. “It’s Tessa. I’m on my way to the hospital. There’s been an accident.”

Chapter 24 – Holly

“Mrs. Oakes, the doctor would really like to examine you.” The nurse put her hand on Holly’s shoulder only to have it shrugged away,
again
.

“I told you I’m fine,” she said, eyes glued to the door in the waiting room.

Several hours ago, they’d arrived at the hospital by ambulance where they rushed her husband into surgery. She’d tried to run down the hall after him, but an orderly held her back as she screamed and sobbed to let her go. Eventually, she was able to calm herself down enough to talk to a string of doctors ranging from medical students to internists to give them Ben’s history and tell them what little she could remember from the accident. Somehow she managed to convince them, that despite the bloody bandage the EMS had placed on her forehead, she felt absolutely fine. Ben was the only thing she cared about. When they’d found him at the scene he was bloodied, unconscious, and barely breathing.

Now, she was just waiting. The nurse had brought her into a room reserved for families. It was there she realized she was alone. She gave the nurse Tessa’s name and number as next of kin for some reason. Maybe it was because of her two sisters, her younger one always had such a special bond with Ben. Tessa told the nurse not to worry, she would take care of making the necessary calls to Ava and both her and Ben’s parents. She arrived at the hospital in record time.

 “Holly,” Tessa said, grabbing hold of her sister’s hand, “how are you holding up?”

She heard the words, but didn’t respond.

“Sweetie, let me get you some coffee. I’m sure the doctor will have him back as soon as possible.”

Oh, how she wished that was true. “As they rushed him in,” Holly said, slowly turning her red and swollen eyes toward her sister, “the doctor …” She stopped, not sure she could say the words out loud.

“The doctor what?” Tessa asked.

 “He told me I should be prepared to say good-bye to my husband,” she continued. “Before you got here, the hospital clergy came by to help me pray.”

“Oh my God,” Tessa said, her voice wavering with fear. She wrapped her arms around her sister. “But he’s in surgery. He has been for a while. That means there’s hope. They wouldn’t be working on him this long if they didn’t think there was a chance.”

Nodding, Holly’s expression remained stoic. “Yes, there’s a slight chance.”

“Okay then,” Tessa said, sounding more like her self-assured self. She softly stroked Holly’s trembling arm. “Okay. We just have to be strong and hold on to that … together … for Ben. Because he’s a fighter. We both know that. I mean, look at all the things he’s fought for over the years for both of us, and now he’s going to fight for himself. I know he can do this, and you know this, too. Right?”

Before Holly could respond, two weary looking doctors, still in surgical scrubs entered the room. “Mrs. Oakes?” one of them asked.

“Yes?” Holly said, willing herself to stand up.

“Your husband is resting in the ICU. He had substantial internal bleeding which we were able to control. He also has several significant fractures in his right leg. We were able to do some temporary repairs. However, he’ll need an orthopedic consult as soon as possible. He’s still unconscious, but you can see him now. Just briefly though, he’s quite weak.”

Ben lay in the hospital bed, eyes closed, tubes and wires coming out of him. Around him machines rhythmically beeped, displaying numbers and graphs … the only confirmation Holly had that he was actually breathing. His face was barely recognizable under the blood and bruises covering his swollen skin.

Leaning over, she kissed his forehead, taking a moment just to silently thank God. Then, in the strongest voice she could gather she said, “Ben? It’s me, Holly. I love you, sweetheart. You’re banged up pretty good, but I know you’re going to pull through this. You
have
to pull through this.” She ran her fingers through his hair and continued, “They told me earlier I needed to say good-bye to you.” Wiping her tears with her hand, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Now was not the time to break down. She needed to be strong for the man she loved. “But I told them no. It’s not your time, babe. We’ve got big plans together, you and me. Remember what we were talking about in the car? We still have so many memories to make together and so many more milestones to celebrate. I know you can hear me, Ben. I know you’re strong enough to fight this. I’m going to fight with you. I promise. We’re a team. Don’t ever forget that. Don’t ever forget how strong our love is.” She backed away and nodded to the nurse who was waiting patiently to check his vitals. “I love you, babe,” she said quietly while she backed out of the room. “You got this.”

Tears flowed down her face as she turned around and buried herself in Tessa’s shoulder.

“Come on,” Tessa said, putting her arms around her sister. “Let’s go find that coffee.”