Long Way Home by Ann Vaughn Read Free Book Online

office, Luke radioed for dispatch to
call his wife and let her know what happened, that he was taking Shane to be
checked out and to bring Shane a change of clothes.
             Tessa
watched Shane’s profile as he turned to look out the window.  She knew he
was worried about his mother’s reaction since she hadn’t wanted him associating
with Tessa in the first place, because of her father.  At this point,
Tessa couldn’t blame her.  Shane had been hurt because of her.
             At
the clinic, she winced when Shane groaned as his dad helped him from the
truck.  His knee was swollen to nearly twice its normal size and there
were bits of gravel embedded in his skin, making her feel even worse.  If
his knee was messed up he wouldn’t be able to play baseball, which she knew he
loved.
             They
were taken immediately to an examination room.  Nurses took their
vitals.  Concussion was ruled out for both of them.  Tessa was given
an ice pack for her face while Dr. Curtis and the nurses got to work on
Shane.  A cut under his eye required stitches and his nose was broken but
the knee was of the most concern. 
             “Ladies,
we need you to wait in the lobby, now. His jeans have to come off,” Dr. Curtis
told them.
             Tessa
caught Shane’s eye briefly before she left; knew he was in pain. A lump sat
tight in her throat, robbing her of breath.  As soon as they were safely
out of the room, she let her tears fall free.
             “Oh,
baby,” Mary cried, embracing her.  “I’m so sorry.”
             “He
was hurt because of me,” she whispered.
             “Don’t
think about it, sweetie.”
             “His
knee...”
             “What
about his knee?” Susie McCanton asked, her harsh voice interrupting them.
             “He’s
in room four,” Mary told her.  “Dr. Curtis was just beginning to look at
it.”
             Susie
puffed up as if she was about to say something but thought better of it and
rushed past them.  Tessa held her breath until Susie was out of sight then
released it slowly, wiping tears from her cheeks.
             “What
are we going to do about the wedding?” she asked her mother, in an effort to take
her mind off of Shane.
             “I’m
going to call Linda and see if she will come get me and help me finish and see
if Lauren will take you home.”
             Tessa
shook her head.  “No, I’m fine and four of us will get done faster.”
             Shane
looked up when his mother came in, bracing himself for her reaction. 
Thankfully, though there were tears in her eyes, she merely kissed his brow and
stepped back to let Dr. Curtis continue cleansing his knees.  He knew she
had to have passed Tessa and her mother on the way in, he just hoped she hadn’t
said anything to them.
             “The
left one needs stitching and I want to get an x-ray and an MRI to make sure
nothing is fractured.  Give me just a minute to get everything set up.”
             “Thanks,
Doc,” Luke said, shaking his hand.
             “All-in-all,
I’d say Shane’s an extremely lucky young man, considering.”
             When
they were alone, Luke again squeezed Shane’s shoulder.
             “I’m
proud of you, boy,” Luke told him.
             “Thanks,”
Shane murmured, but he didn’t feel proud.  He was angry...and ashamed,
because he kept seeing that bastard hit Tessa and he wanted to kill him.
             “Are
you hurting?” Susie asked, lightly stroking his hair.
             “The
doc gave me a shot of...something.  I’m not feeling much right now.”
             “Doc
said it would make him groggy,” Luke told her.
             “What
happened?” she asked.
             “I
was inside the church and they were getting supplies from the van.  I’d
just finished