Ever After

brady

Brady had laser focus. He grabbed his truck keys and stormed out of the Inn. He had to catch up to Lindy. He had to stop her. Regardless if the ranch was paid off or not, he needed her. He didn't care about Khloe, the bank. Nothing. His dad would tell him he was stupid for letting it go on this long.

Brady knew Lindy wouldn't have lied about Khloe. Everything made sense. The ranch was doing good, Brady never understood where all the money was going.

"Where are you going?" Khloe yelled, chasing after Brady.

"We're done Khloe." He said, opening the door to his truck.

"What?" Khloe gasped, "you can't do that."

"I just did." He growled, getting in the truck. "I know what you've been doing. Your stuff better be gone by the time I get back."

"What are you talking about?" Khloe played dumb.

"You've been stealing money from the ranch. Playing innocent." Brady explained, starting the truck. He was in a hurry and Khloe was wasting his time.

"I just wanted to go back to New York." Khloe whined, "I knew you wouldn't have went with me if the ranch was still running."

Brady shook his head. He should've known. She was doing all this on purpose. She was trying to make the ranch go under. "Well, now you can go. Get your stuff out of my house."

"Daddy isn't going to be happy about this. You owe him a lot of money, you know." Khloe said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No, I don't. It's been taken care of. Now move, I need to find Lindy." Brady said, trying to shut his truck door.

"Oh, this is about her?" Khloe scoffed. "I should've known."

"Move, Khloe. Now." Brady growled, jerking on the truck door again. Khloe stepped back and yelled something about Brady regretting this decision as he shut the truck door. The truck tires spun as he floored it out of the Inn parking lot. He wouldn't regret it. What he did regret, was letting Lindy get away. He pushed her away.

As Brady started on the winding road heading toward the interstate, his phone began to ring. He almost ignored it, thinking it was Khloe. He pulled it out and seen it was Sheriff Hoskins.

"Hello?" Brady asked, wondering why Dave was calling him.

"Brady, finally." Dave sighed in relief. "It's Lindy."

Brady's heart sank. "What? What's wrong with her?"

"We found her just out of town. Her car flipped. They're taking her to the hospital now. It's not good, Brady. You need to get there fast." Dave pleaded. Brady ended the call and pushed his truck as fast as it could go, turning around in a driveway to speed back towards town and towards the hospital. As he did, lights and sirens came around the curve and an ambulance blew past Brady's truck.

"No." Brady sobbed. This was all his fault. If he hadn't told Lindy to leave, she'd been safe. He shouldn't have got so angry with her. He loved Lindy so much it made his bones ache. He couldn't lose her. He'd been so stupid, so mean.

Brady followed the ambulance, matching its speed all the way to the hospital. Brady froze in his spot as the stretcher was pulled out of the back, an EMT on top of Lindy furiously pounding on her chest.

Just like the night she first night came back home, the wind was knocked out of Brady. He gripped the hood of the truck to steady himself from passing out. He couldn't hear, couldn't think, couldn't breathe.

"Brady." A voice said, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Baby, look at mama." It was Heidi. Dave had called her after Brady hung up on him, fearing Brady would wreck trying to get to the hospital.

The stretcher flew into the ER doors and Brady tried to follow but Heidi grabbed his arm, "No, baby. You don't need to see that." Heidi sobbed, pulling Brady's head down to her shoulder.

"Mommy, it's Lindy." He croaked out, sobbing into her shoulder. Brady's strong exterior cracked, his strong arms gripping onto his mom like he was a baby again. "What do I do?"

"Pray." Heidi cried quietly, saying a silent prayer to herself.

The doctor got Heidi and Brady out of the waiting room. "She's stable, for now." He warned. "She's beat up pretty bad. Her lung collapsed. We've got her on the ventilator to give her lungs a break."

"She's alive." Brady cried, finally breathing for the first time since Dave called him.

"She's alive." Doc repeated, "But not out of the woods." Brady nodded. She had hope. They had hope. "You can see her, however. She can hear you, son." Doc placed a hand on Brady's shoulder. "Tell her whatever you need to say."

Heidi let Brady go first. He swallowed hard and entered the ICU room. Lindy was laying on the bed with a tube down her throat, all kinds of wires and lines connected to her body. Her beautiful face was black and blue. Her gold heels and her purse, laying in the chair next to the bed. Brady sobbed as he walked up to to the bed and took Lindy's cut up hand in his.

"Lindy." He cried, rubbing a calloused thumb over one of the cuts in her hand. "I'm here, baby." He whispered, holding her hand in both of his and bringing it to his mouth. He kissed it gently and cried. "I'm so sorry, Lindy. I love you so much. I didn't mean anything I said. I need you, Linds. Please don't leave me." He held her hand to his forehead and cried. He felt so helpless. So out of control. So guilty. "You have no idea how much you mean to me. How much you drive me crazy. I can't live without you, Lindy."

Lindy's heart rate intensified as Brady spoke and the monitor behind his head began beeping rapidly. The nurse came in quickly and listened to Lindy with her stethoscope. "Sir, we need to let her take a break."

"I can't leave her. I won't leave her." Brady argued.

"She's in a lot of pain, sir. A lot of stimulation can frustrate these patients, even if you don't mean too. She can hear you, but can't see you. She's scared. We need to let her rest." The nurse tried to explain but that only made Brady want to stay more. He wanted Lindy to know he was there, she was safe. The nurse persisted, waiting for Brady to move. "Just a few minutes. Let her rest and you can come back."

Brady stared at Lindy and kissed her forehead. "I'm not leaving you, Lindy. I'll be right outside the door. I'll be right here when you wake up."

Brady finally went out to the waiting room where Heidi was waiting with Gentry and Sadie. "How is she?" Sadie asked, biting her fingernail. Brady just shook his head. His eyes swelled from crying. He didn't saying anything, he just took off down the hallway.

Brady knew where he was going. He knew the only thing he knew to do. Pray. He hadn't believed in God in years, but if there was a God he had to hear Brady. If there was any hope for Lindy, a higher power had to intervene.

Brady walked out onto the breezeway and leaned over the rails. He closed his eyes tightly and began to whisper a prayer. "Lord, I haven't talked to you in a while. If You're out there, if You're listening.. please bring Lindy back to me. I'm sorry I've doubted. Forgive me. Help Lindy forgive me. Please, give me another chance with her." He whispered a quiet "amen" and rested his head in his hands.

"Brady." Heidi called from the doorway. "She's awake."