Built and Bearded: Bearded Bros Series Page 12

  “What about the wedding?” I asked Brad. “Everyone is here.”

  I knew it wasn’t that late so the wedding should still be going on.

  The Stones are having dinner now. Michel is there to make sure they’ve got everything that they need. The bars are still open, as well,” Brad told me.

  I nodded.

  He continued, “They understood that we had to leave for a while. They said to say thank you to you and Oakley for saving the guests; especially Mrs. Baker and her kids. The kids are the Congresswoman’s great niece and nephew,” Brad informed me.

  “They aren’t upset?” I asked him.

  Not that I was too concerned about the Stones being upset, but I knew that the press was probably all over the incident. The last thing the resort needed was bad publicity over the whole thing.

  Brad read my mind. “The press is naming you and Oakley as heroes. So are the Stones. You saved Mrs. Stone’s niece and grand niece and nephew. It’s all good,” Brad assured me.

  “That’s good,” I replied.

  The sliding door to the room slid opened and a nurse rolled Oakley’s bed back inside the room. Everyone stood to the side and waited for the news.

  Her doctor came into the room with her chart. He was looking it over and then turned to face us.

  “There is a good amount of brain activity. So, that’s good news. She has a severe head injury, however. She could stay like this for a fewdays or...,” he paused.

  “Or, what? Forever?” I asked him.

  “It’s hard to put a time frame on something like this,” he answered.

  “When she wakes up will she have any lasting brain damage?” I asked.

  “Again, I can’t say right now. We will know more when --or if -- she wakes up” he replied with a sad smile. “I’ll be back in to check on her a little bit later,” he said and left the room.

  I went over to the big armchair that was in the corner of the room and pushed it beside Oakley’s bed. I planted my ass in the chair and grabbed onto her hand. She looked so peaceful, as if she was sleeping. They had bandaged her head wound. I leaned over and kissed her temple.

  “Oakley, I’m here,” I whispered into her ear. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  My family said their goodbyes. They knew that I wasn’t going to leave Oakley’s side. Cole said that he would be back with some clothes and other things that I might need from home.

  I did give Hailey some space to visit with Oakley before my family took her back to the resort.

  “I called her parents and sister,” she told me. “They will come as soon as they can.”

  “Thanks, Hailey. Hey, I know that you will want to stay for a while, so you can keep the cabin as long as you need to,” I told her. “I’ll tell Brad. I know that Oakley would want you to be here. We’ll find you a car to use so you can get back and forth,” I told her.

  “Thanks, Dax. Oakley is strong, you know. She’s the strongest person that I know. She’ll beat this,” Hailey told me.

  Tears were falling down her cheeks as she said her goodbyes to Oakley. “I’ll be back tomorrow,” I heard Hailey tell Oakley. “I’ll make sure the rest of the wedding is perfect. I promise,” she added and kissed Oakley on the cheek.

  Finally, I was alone in the room with ,my girl. I talked with her for a while in a soft voice. I thought that she could hear me and I wanted her to know that I was with her.

  That I’d stay with her for a long as it took for her to wake up.

  Dax

  I spent every waking -- and sleeping --moment with Oakley for the next week. I only left the room when her parents and sister showed up and when Hailey visited every day.

  Brad offered Oakley’s family rooms at the resort when they arrived the next day. Oakley’s mom and stepfather came first. Then her sister arrived and her dad came in late the previous night.

  I was sure that they didn’t understand who I was to Oakley. I didn’t even understand, so how could I tell them. I just introduced myself and left it at that. I was just the guy who never left Oakley’s side.

  I think that Hailey filled them in some because they stopped giving me strange looks on the second day and began to accept my presence in Oakley’s room. I wasn’t leaving Oakley’s side for anyone. Not even her family.

  An entire week went by and there was no change in Oakley’s condition. She never stirred. They did some more tests and there was nothing different to report. The nurse came in every day to bathe her and change her bandages. I took it upon myself to brush her hair and Hailey did her nails.

  Oakley’s sister, Alice, seemed the closest to Oakley out of her entire family. She came in with Hailey most days and had brought Oakley some things from home. A pillow, her favorite blanket, and a small radio that we could play Oakley’s favorite music on.

  Her mom and step dad came in briefly every day, and her dad did too for the first several days, but then he said that he had to go back home for work. He couldn’t afford to lose his job and this was all the time off they would give him. He promised Oakley that he'd be back soon.

  After the week went by, the same thing occurred with Oakley’s mom and stepdad. Her mom came to me and asked if she should move Oakley to a hospital in Utah. She told me that they would have to go back because her husband owned a general store and he can’t stay away any longer.

  There was absolutely no way I was going to let her take Oakley. Funny thing was, I wasn’t really family and had no legal say in it. Her next of kin was her mother and father and they legally could make any medical decision for Oakley.

  It killed me. I wasn’t sure how to go about the situation. I decided to talk to Alice about it. I told her my true feelings for her sister.

  “I’m in love with her,” I sincerely confided in Alice. “I know that that sounds crazy. We are still getting to know each other. But it was love at first sight. That’s the only explanation that I have.”

  Alice was several years younger than Oakley. She was a lot like her and was kind to me.

  “I believe you. Any man who will sit beside a woman’s bed day in and day out must be in love. Or insane,” she joked, smiling.

  That made me smile. Was I insane? No. My mom had told me the story about how she and Dad had met. She said it was love at first sight for her too. And, my father would always be her only love. And, look at Brad and Angela’s story. Cole and Lindsay.

  “Love at first sight runs in my family,” I told Alice.

  “I can appreciate that,” she answered. “And Hailey approves of you, as well. Hailey and Oakley have been friends since we were kids. So her approval will go over well with my mother. I’ll talk to her. Don’t worry about it, Dax.”

  “Thank you, Alice. You know you can stay at the lodge as long as you like. You don’t have to leave because your parents are leaving. I’m sure Oakley would like you to be here. I understand if you can’t, though,” I replied.

  “Thanks, Dax. I really appreciate it. I’m actually a student and I’ve talked to my Dean and he approved to transferring me to online classes for the rest of the term. So, I can stay for a bit longer,” Alice informed me.

  “Great,” I replied happily.

  “Plus, Mom will be more willing to leave Oakley here at this hospital if she knows that I’m staying.”

  Hearing that made me happy. I was already considering what I’d do if her mom decided to move Oakley to Utah. I’d try to go with them. But they could stop me so I was hoping that Alice and Hailey would convince her mom to let her stay here.

  I was relieved when the decision finally came in to allow Oakley to stay. At least that was one less thing that I needed to stress over.

  Cole showed up every couple of days with fresh clothes for me.

  “Man, you need to eat better,” he told me. “You’re losing weight. You are not doing Oakley any good by becoming weak. And, what about a shower? Why don’t you come home for one night?” he pleaded with me.

  “No,” I told him. I wanted to be
here when Oakley woke up. Nothing would change my mind.

  Brad came one evening with the same song. Dax, you need to eat. You need to shower. You need to shave.

  No. I didn’t.

  Finally, Brad convinced the hospital that if they didn’t want an unshowered guy stinking up their room, that they should tell me to take a shower and allow me to use the one in Oakley’s room.

  So. Fine.

  The only way I would agree to it was if Alice or Hailey were sitting with Oakley, and if she woke up, they promised to knock on the door and get me.

  They agreed and I got several two-minute showers in.

  Harley showed up with a big bag of take-out boxes from the restaurant that my mom had packed up for me. I nibbled on it only because I knew that my brothers were right. I needed to keep my strength up for when Oakley woke up.

  She would need me.

  Dax

  Week two. No change.

  I could tell that others were starting to give up. How could they do that?

  To pass the time, I brought in my laptop and did some work. I didn’t want to worry my family too much, so I started to eat more. But all I wanted was for Oakley to wake up.

  Oakley’s head wound healed up nicely and the doctors removed her bandage. The other bruises on her body began to fade as well. I had more hope than ever that her body was healing and that she would wake up soon.

  Week three: No change.

  Until early one moring just as the sun was coming up. I had been working on my laptop all night. I had found that keeping a journal of the events and Oakley’s condition helped me.

  I posted it, at first, on my own social networks. I didn’t want to bombard the resort’s sites with personal stuff. But, since the wedding was so publicized, so many people had seen the incident take place. And since then, I’d had all kinds of people writing to me asking about Oakley’s condition. So, I decided to start posting occasionally on the resort’s page, as well.

  Brad thought it was a good idea because he was getting a lot of phone calls and emails about Oakley, too. Everyone was rooting for Oakley’s recovery. I wished that I could show her how many people she had on her side.

  One early morning during the third week, I had just finished up with a new post. I closed my laptop and spent a few minutes holding Oakley's hand and talking with her. I had noticed that there seemed to be some more color in her cheeks this morning. But I chalked it up to the lighting in the room.

  I was exhausted from being up all day and night so I decided to close my eyes for a few minutes. I leaned back in the chair and I was out like a ligtht within a minute.

  Oakley

  I opened my eyes and turned my head to see stark white walls and machinery around me. Where the hell was I?

  I tried to sit up but my body felt weak. And I was really tired. Then I noticed that the tubes and wires coming from the machines were attached to me. I started to panic but when I looked ove,r I saw Dax.

  He was in an armchair beside my bed sleeping. He must have been tired because he didn’t stir when I lifted myself up. I looked at him and was taken aback for a moment. He looked so different from what I rememberd.

  His beard was longer than I remembered it and was definitely shaggier. His mustache was longer, as well. And his usually well kept sideburns had grown in. His hair was unbrushed, and he was disheveled.

  I took another look around the room and quickly realized I was in the hospital.

  I closed my eyes and the avalanche came back to me in bits and pieces. The last thing I could remember was losing consciousness in that ice pit.

  How long had I been out? I looked back at Dax.

  Had he been sitting there beside me the entire time I’d been here?

  I took a closer look at him. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked as if he had lost some weight. I remembered that he’d had several bruises that were plainly in sight when we were on the mountainside after the first wave of snow had crashed over us.. I didn’t see any bruises now. They had healed.

  I felt my head. I distinctly remember having a bloody wound just under my hairline. I had hit my head the first time, then I was hit again in the same place again, causing a throbbing, bloody mess.

  I was shocked to feel that it had healed. I had clearly been here for some time.

  I took a hard look at Dax. Besides for is grown in facial hair, weight loss, and wrinkled clothes, he was still my Dax.

  As handsome as ever.

  He must have sensed my stirring or my gaze upon him because he opened his eyes. His clear, bright, beautiful blue eyes looked straight into mine.

  I smiled at him. I was so happy to see him.

  I saw his initial look of surprise, then his entire face brightened up.

  “Oakley! You’ve woken up!” he exclaimed.

  Tears started to swell in his eyes and then fell down his cheeks.

  “Dax,” I tried to say.

  My voice was hoarse from disuse and, later I would find out, from the ventilator I’d been on. I reached out to him and he came to me. He grabbed my hand and put his lips to mine. His crying made me cry and he wrapped his arms around me and we both hugged each other and cired.

  After a long while, I genlty pushed him away. I needed some answers.

  “How long have I been in here? Have you been here the entire time?” I asked Dax.

  “Over three weeks now. And, yes, I’ve been here the entire time. I haven’t been home since the accident,” he told me.

  I couldn’t believe that he just said that. Three weeks? He’d never left me.

  “Dax?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you.”

  “Oakley,” Dax smiled. I love you, too.”

  Dax

  Oakley had to stay in the hospital for another week. But her recovery was going well and she would be able to leave the hospital soon. The doctors told her that she needed to take it easy for the next couple of weeks until her brain fully healed from the trauma.

  Now that Oakley had awakened, Alice decided that it was time to go home. Oakley was happy to see her sister and to learn that she and Hailey had been here the entire time.

  Since I had't been home, I had no idea what was going on back there. I knew that Hailey was still staying in the cabin, but didn’t know that she had a guest staying with her.

  I had overheard her telling Oakley about Cooper Stone. I wondered why the Congresswoman’s son was still there.

  After Hailey went home for the day, I asked Oakley about it.

  “I wasn’t eavesdropping, I swear, but I thought that I heard Hailey say something about Cooper Stone still being at the resort. Now, he either loves the place,or something is up?” I asked Oakley.

  Oakley chuckled.

  I gave her a curious glance. “What?” I had to ask.

  “Hailey has a thing for Cooper.”

  “Really? I had no idea,” I replied, shocked.

  “I know,. I guess that they really like each other. I was surprised when she told me that he had decided to stay at the resort with her, I admit.”

  “Wow! Well good for her. He seems like a nice dude. I talked to him a little at the dinner party and at the wedding,” I told Oakley.

  “Yeah, I agree. He’s nice. Different from his snobby family, that’s for sure,” Oakley noted.

  “For sure,” I agreed.

  “Anyway, that brings up something that I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I started.

  Oakley’s look said that she knew what I was going to ask.

  “I know that your sister is leaving soon. And that you talked to your mother today. What are your plans?” I asked.

  Not knowing what Oakley was planning to do was driving me nuts. I couldn’t wait any longer for her to tell me.

  “What do you want me to do?” she asked me.

  I didn’t waste a breath. “Stay. Stay with me.”

  She smiled at me. “Are you sure? It’s kind of a big deal. I’ll still need time to recover,” sh
e reminded me.

  “Are you kidding me? You think that I would feel that you are a burden? I can take care of you better than anyone else,” I said a matter-of-factly.

  “Did I offend you, Dax Hunter?” Oakley joked.

  “Yeah, kinda,” I answered but with a grin. “You don’t know this but I put up a fight when your mom was here. She wanted to transport you to a hospital in Utah.”

  “Really?” she asked, surprised.

  “Yes, really. Here I was this crazy in love stranger who never left her daughter’s side beggin her not to take you away from me. Imagine what she thought?”

  Oakley chuckled.

  “I am imagining it,” she said laughing. “How did you convince her?”

  “Your sister took a liking to me. And Hailey talked to her. So they convinced her,” I said. “I owe them both.”

  Oakley nodded. “I can see Alice approving of you,” she stated. “And, I’m glad that my mom didn’t move me. I’d be pissed to wake up and not see my man by my side,” she told me, smiling a sweet smile.

  For the first time in weeks, I felt my cock get hard.

  “Come stay with me,” I asked her.

  “Okay,” She agreed. “But you do know that I have a house back in Alta? At some point, I have to go back,” she reminded me.

  “I know. But get well and then we’ll talk about it,” I suggested.

  “Alright, it’s a plan.”

  And it was settled.

  Oakley

  We finally got back to Dax’s place. The hospital was reluctant to discharge me but I talked them into it, and Dax promised that I would want for nothing. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

  Dax and I were settling in well. He was the perfect gentleman and took very good care of me. One night, he set up a romantic dinner while I was taking a bath. I had no idea how he pulled it off to make it the perfect, most romantic surprise.