MIDWEEK TEASE~22~LIVE! DAMN IT, LIVE!!
Happy Hump Day! As you are reading this, I'm on my way to New Orleans to enjoy some great music at Jazz Fest this weekend for my wedding anniversary. I'll be checking in and out throughout the day.
Super Excited about my current release, Chicks Dig Scars from the Prowlers & Growlers Paranormal Boxed Set which released yesterday. So, naturally, my tease is from this book's opening chapter. A special thank you to Angelica Dawson who puts this weekly blog hop together so we can all share our work with you guys!
Live! Damn it, Live!
Warm tears streamed down Rachel O’Dea’s face. She pumped on Seamus Jameson’s chest and tried to swallow past the lump of pain and helplessness that formed in her throat. She couldn’t even verbally count each concise, rapid chest compression out loud to the code team anymore. It was all she could do to maintain her composure and continue to assist.
The shrill alarms still buzzed loudly in her ears. Rachel’s gaze shot to the bedside heart monitor displaying his oxygen level, blood pressure, and heartbeat. All read zero.
No sign of life! Come on Seamus. Come on. I need something to work with here. Give me a signal. Beat, dammit!
“Let go, Rachel girl. Let go.”
Seamus’ Irish lilt gently washed over her and she faltered. She dared a glance at his grey face, void of his usual vitality. A sob wrenched from her parted lips. No! She refused to accept what her eyes told her. Rachel moved her gaze from Seamus’ body to the overhead monitor. Green, flat lines seemed to mock her from the flashing lights on the display. She restarted chest compressions with renewed vigor. “Come back, damn you,” she said in a pain-filled voice.
“Rachel.”
She ignored the compassion in her best friend and fellow nurse Laura Parker’s voice. That tone of finality fueled her efforts and she continued. Seamus couldn’t be dead. He’d only been sixty-five. Rachel loved him as much as her own father. He’d been a dear friend and confidant. Had she failed him when it mattered most?
“Rachel, stop. Dr. Morris called it,” Laura Parker said, gently laying a hand on her arm.
God, no. “Called it? No, we can’t stop now. What about another amp of epinephrine? Do we have any more sodium bicarb? Have his blood gases come back?”
It’s okay, Rachel girl.
Rachel hesitated, could almost hear his voice, the pet name he called her, like he’d already given up, but that was impossible. Only this morning they’d been talking about all the things he’d wanted to get finished before he’d pass into the great beyond as he’d referred to the afterlife. He’d missed his wife, Evie, and had told her many times over the last year that one day they’d be together again.
Laura’s lips moved, but it was Seamus’ voice Rachel heard.
Let me go, Rachel girl.
*****
Well, there you have it! Don't forget to check out the rest of the teases by clicking on the author's name at the end of this post. Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday!
Kathleen
No comments have been added yet.
