Roping The Cowgirl's Heart

Chapter 17

Savannah

As we waited, the minutes ticked by agonizingly slow, Ethan filled us in on what had happened. The storm had raged on, the wind and rain battered the Rusty Spur, until the roof had started to give way. Grace had been standing near the window, trying to get a better look at the storm. When a large piece of debris came crashing down, she got spooked and ran back to where we were sitting. And she fell and hit her head on a table. Then she started bleeding and she fainted. I don't know if it was because she saw the blood or because she hit her head. It was just a lot of confusion.

Ethan's voice shook as he recounted the details. "I should have made her stay away from the windows. This is all my fault."

"No, Ethan, this isn't your fault. It was an accident."

He nodded, but the guilt and anguish in his expression told me that he wasn't convinced.

Time seemed to stand still as we waited. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach grew with each passing minute.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the doors to the ER swung open. A weary-looking doctor emerged. My heart leaped into my throat as he approached us.

"Grace McKinley's family?" he asked, his voice calm and professional.

Ethan and I both jumped to our feet "Yes, that's us," I replied, my voice trembling. "How is she, doctor?"

The doctor paused, his gaze shifting between us. "She was lucky. She had no internal bleeding or swelling in her brain. However, she has a quite big bump in her head and a nasty cut that we stitch back together. Miss McKinley is resting. We'll be monitoring her closely, during the night and at least during the day tomorrow. Sometime tomorrow we will reevaluate to see if anything changed..."

"Thank you, god it was not something more serious. Can we see her? Please, we need to be with her."

"I will send a nurse soon to let you know when you can come to see her."

The doctor turned to leave.

A little later a nurse came. Her gaze was sympathetic. "You here for Grace McKinley?" We nodded. "Follow me, and I'll take you to her room."

Wyatt and I followed Ethan and Rogerio.

"Grace," I whispered, next to her. "Are you okay?" She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Hey. I'm fine... just tired..." She said as she gave me a droopy stare.

"Grace..." Ethan started to say, "I am so sorry. If I had known_"

"It's okay, Ethan," Grace answered with a small smile, "Don't beat yourself up too much."

Just then, the nurse came in. "Visiting hours will be over in 30. You all can come back tomorrow.

Looking at Grace lying in a hospital bed, I couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for my little sister. She looked so small and fragile lying there. The bandage on her head. A stark reminder of what she went through. I wanted nothing more than to stay by her side and make sure she was okay. But the nurse had been firm—visiting hours were nearly over.

Just as we were about to head for the exit, Grace looked at Rogerio, surprising us all. "Can you three wait outside for a minute as I speak with Rogerio alone, Please?"

Rogerio moved close to the bed and held Grace's hand.

I stared at Rogerio and then at Grace and then at Ethan and Wyatt... My brow furrowed in confusion. What was this cowboy and Grace up to? What was going on? Him holding Grace's hand? Ethan and Wyatt seemed just as taken aback by the request, exchanging a puzzled glance.