CHAPTER 136

I stepped beside Christian’s bed, my legs trembling, tears clouding my eyes. I signed the forms where the doctor indicated, anxious to get to Christian. The doctor had explained how much machinery Christian was hooked up to and warned me not to panic. “It’s all there to help him, Mrs. Walker. The machines are doing the job his body can’t do right now.”

I heard what he said. I carefully processed it. So I thought I was prepared, but I wasn’t.

The room buzzed with activity, the entire team focused on getting Christian upstairs to the OR. I knew I only had mere seconds before they whisked him away. I stepped forward, laying my hand on his forearm—one of the few areas not covered in wires or bandages. He was cool to the touch…and unresponsive. I stared at him, the tears streaming down my cheeks. His handsome face was a mass of bruises, barely recognizable with the swelling. A jagged cut stretched horizontally over his left eyebrow and disappeared into his hair that had been shaved. A brea