Cabin Fever: A New Adult and College Romance (The Billionaire Romance Redemption Series Book 2) Read online

  Cabin Fever

  ~~*****~~

  The Billionaire Redemption Series, Book 2

  A Contemporary, New Adult and College Romance

  Bella Love-Wins

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  CABIN FEVER

  First edition. April 14, 2015.

  Copyright © 2015 Bella Love-Wins.

  Written by Bella Love-Wins.

  ~ Do you believe in love at first sight? And can the look in her eyes redeem him from his past?

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  Bella Love-Wins

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  Cabin Fever

  Chapter One

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  To Be Continued

  Chapter One

  ABBY, Barb and Ruth looked on in horror as Andrew and Rob brought John’s limp body into the house. The angle at which they each held him seemed precarious. Abby noticed the bloody bandages on his arm. It couldn’t be good. Trina’s eyes revealed only terror, shock, and fear. She looked to be in a daze. Abby didn’t have to wonder too much about what she might have seen out there that made her practically catatonic.

  “Someone get me some blankets!” Andrew roared in haste as he and Rob lowered John to the rug in the middle of the living room.

  Barb and Ruth moved off at the same time, but Barb motioned for Ruth to stay.

  “I’ll get it,” she said, taking off in a brisk walk, and then an all-out run through the hallway and up the stairs.

  Andrew kneeled over John, taking his pulse on the injured arm. All signs pointed to John’s arm likely being fractured, as a best case scenario. She also understood from her training that Andrew needed to check the pulse beyond the injury; they needed to be sure that good blood flow was still getting through it. As curious as she was about what had happened, the priority was to stop the bleeding and wake John from his unconscious state.

  “Ruth,” he called out. “How quickly did they say they’d be here?”

  “Twenty minutes,” she answered.

  “He doesn’t have that long!” he said between gritted teeth. He looked up at everyone left in the room. “Ruth. Rob. Abby. I’m going to need your help. ”

  Abby knew what needed to be done, as she had worked a few stints at the trauma ward in Sparks. She instinctively picked up all the pillows her arms could carry from the couch to the floor beside John.

  “Okay, Abby,” he said with a stiff nod. “Lay those in as high a stack as you can. We need to elevate his arm and try to slow the blood loss.”

  He looked around the room at the others, knowing he’d need Abby to assist.

  “Ruth, you keep those pillows steady. Rob, go into my bedroom closet. You’ll find a large first aid kit inside. We’ll need the sterile water bottles and a few other things. Bring the whole kit in here. Then, get me all the ice you can from the fridge. Put it in a large bowl, and bring two more empty bowls for me.”

  Ruth and Rob moved quickly with their respective tasks, and Andrew turned to Abby.

  “Abby, you’re going to help me temporarily realign his ulna and radius. I have no way of telling how bad it is in there, other than by feel. Depending on how far out of place the pieces are, we’ll just do what we can until help arrives.”

  “Understood,” she answered, watching Andrew unwrap the bandages on John’s arm.

  Ruth could not watch. She sat with her hands stretched out to hold up the pillows, and averted her eyes far away from John.

  “Should we try to wake him first?” Abby asked.

  “I’d prefer not to,” Andrew said. “He only went under a few minutes ago. I don’t have strong pain medications here at the house, so let’s get at this arm while he’s out.”

  “And to confirm, are we doing a reduction?” Abby wanted to be sure. The non-surgical procedure involved manually moving the broken pieces of bone back into place. It would typically be completed with the patient under strong medication.

  “Yes,” he confirmed, and turned to Barb, who had brought down a pile of blankets. “Abby. Take those and…”

  “Got it,” she answered.

  She took the pile from Barb and placed a few of them over John, right up to his neck. She was careful to avoid the arm they were working on.

  “Barb, put a blanket over Trina and take her up to her room, please. It’s best if she doesn’t see this.”

  Barb nodded and went over to Trina, who was still standing in the same place looking just as dazed as when she came in. She guided her out of the room with what Abby could swear was actually compassion. Maybe there’s hope for Barb, Abby thought.

  Once Rob returned with the med kit, ice and bowls, they started the procedure. Andrew and Abby quickly ran to the bathroom with latex gloves and two bottle of sterile water. They washed their hands thoroughly, and Andrew needed his to be as sterilized as possible. He stood with arms outstretch and dripping as Abby poured the sterile water over them. She dried them off before putting latex gloves on him. The two of them rushed back to the room with a single focus—John.

  She and Rob looked on as Andrew gently peeled back John’s already mangled flesh. It was time to find and reposition the protruding bones. She knew it was not going to be an exact science, but it was the best anyone could do outside a hospital, and without the needed surgical equipment and conditions.

  When instructed by Andrew, Abby placed her hand on John’s neck to monitor his breathing and heart rate. For a split second, as she looked on, she noticed Andrew had frozen. It was not long enough for her to be alarmed, and she was certain no one else had noticed, but she saw a look in his eyes. It was as though he was not present.

  Of course, the look was gone before she was forced to do anything about it. She wondered what it was that had caused him to stop mid-procedure. If she had to bet, her guess would be he was suffering from a mild to moderate case of post-traumatic stress disorder.

  She had volunteered in a veteran’s hospital for two summers while she was completing her undergraduate degree. She knew the look that would come over their faces when they experienced flashbacks or hallucinations. She parked the thought away to attend to the item at hand. Maybe, if he was comfortable enough with her, he might open up about it after they were done.

  When Andrew was finished molding the bones in John’s arm, he did what he could to reconnect the largest of the broken blood vessels, and closed up the wound. He applied two new medical splints to the forearm, and wrapped new bandages over them. Abby could appreciate how important it was to control the movement of the broken bones. It would help to avoid further injury, especially to nearby blood vessels, nerves and other tissues surrounding the bone. He
concluded the procedure by spreading a sling under the arm, and placing a thick layer of ice on it to reduce the extent of the swelling.

  “Okay, we did everything we could,” Andrew announced as he stood up. “The paramedics will have the equipment to do more when they arrive. Abby, are you okay to keep monitoring his pulse and breathing?”

  “Yes, I’m fine,” she answered.

  “And I’ll keep his arm propped up,” Ruth chimed in, her face still turned away from John’s arm.

  “Good,” Andrew answered. “Rob, keep an eye out from the dining room, will you?”

  “Sure,” he answered, clearly confused. “What am I looking out for?”

  “The air ambulance chopper,” Andrew explained, looking down at the gloves on his hands. “That’s who Ruth called on the sat phone. They should be here any minute.”

  “Oh, okay.” Rob headed for the hallway. “I’ll give a holler when they get here.”

  “I’ll be back,” Andrew said to Abby, holding out his arms in front of him. “I’ve got to wash off all this blood. I’ll be a couple of minutes.”

  “No problem,” Abby said with a nod. She couldn’t avoid the tug she felt in her chest as he left. It was part admiration, part sympathy and part immense gratitude. God, I could so love this man.

  From what she had seen of his ability as a medical doctor, Abby struggled to understand how he could have left his practice. He had such talent and compassion. What could have happened to cause him to leave it all behind? Maybe it wasn’t all over yet. Maybe they met each other for a reason.

  “Is he going to be okay?” Ruth looked at Abby with questioning eyes.

  “I’m not sure, Ruth. I hope so.”

  “What you think happened out there?”

  “John’s arm was badly injured. It has to be some type of animal bite or attack.” Abby winced and shook her head as she thought about what John must have gone through. “His forearm is broken in multiple spots. Still, he’s so lucky Andrew could help minimize the damage.”

  “Yeah. Andrew was amazing, the way he took control and got us all helping him and working together. And he knew exactly what to do. He’s on the quiet side, but he’s a kind man. You’re really lucky, Abby. You’re both lucky.”

  Abby nodded but didn’t answer. She was still distracted by her thoughts about Andrew’s past when Barb returned to the room.

  “How is Trina?” Abby asked.

  “Not great,” Barb answered, plopping herself down into the nearest armchair. “I gave her a drink of water, and managed to get her to go to bed. She could barely talk, you know? She cried a lot before she fell asleep.”

  “Well it’s good that she is resting.”

  “So what happened out there?” Barb asked.

  “We still don’t know. Maybe Rob does.”

  “Right. So where is he?”

  Abby could see Ruth’s tense reaction to Barb’s question. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. “He’s looking out for the air ambulance. He’s in the kitchen or dining room.”

  “Ruth, I can hold those pillows steady, if you need a break.” Barb’s offer was met with widened eyes. Both Abby and Ruth were surprised.

  “Really? Okay sure. Thank you, Barb. I’ll go check on Rob.” The two carefully traded places and Ruth left.

  “That was really nice of you, Barb,” Abby said.

  “It was nothing. She looked tired, and a little scared of John’s injury, to be honest.”

  “Yes. I think she has a problem with the sight of blood.”

  “If that’s the case, she did really well.”

  Abby was taken aback by Barb’s apparent behavioral turnaround. She was calm, thoughtful and gracious. She hoped it would last.

  “You were great too, Barb. The way you helped Trina, it was exactly what she needed. I think we were a good team.”

  “Yeah.”

  Barb looked down at John, intently studying his face. “You think he’ll be alright?”

  “What I can say is Andrew did everything he could with the tools he had here. John’s breathing is stable. I don’t see fresh blood coming through these bandages, so the bleeding has slowed considerably. All we can do now is wait and hope.”

  “True, I guess. Is it one of those helicopter paramedics coming for John?”

  “I think so.”

  “Hmmm. I wonder if they have room for us?”

  “It’s hard to tell. It sounded like a private service, so I’m not sure what kind of capacity it has. And remember, my car is still at the side of the road out there. I can’t leave it and fly out. If there’s room, some of you can, but you’d have to figure out transportation back to San Francisco.”

  “Right.” Barb looked pensively at the pillows, like she was processing some complex thoughts. She looked up at Abby. “And what about you, Abby? How are you feeling?”

  “Me? Oh, I’m fine.”

  Finally, Barb turned quiet for a few minutes. It gave Abby the time to think. Except the only thought swirling around her mind was whether they all had to leave with John—and without Andrew.

  Chapter Two

  ANDREW looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He didn’t see his face. He couldn’t. What he saw was his fear. He saw the way his face looked two years ago, in the midst of the rubble, twisted metal, and broken bones from that tragic night on that icy overpass. He saw Emma’s face. He saw the other driver slumped over the wheel of the car that hit his own, blood dripping from his head. It was too much blood.

  For some reason, that driver’s airbag did not deploy. And although the man was wearing a seatbelt, his head had slammed violently into the steering wheel. Andrew saw the despair on his own face, distorted in the reflection of that driver’s car window. Despite his desperate efforts to pull him from the vehicle, he was not able to save them. That was the problem—he tried to save them both, and he couldn’t save either.

  He willed himself back to the present. That time two years ago was still too much to bear. As he washed the blood off his arms, he could barely slow his racing heartbeat, or his shaking hands, or the slick cold sweat creeping up his back and neck. Everything he had just done to help John was a crystal clear reminder of what had happened that night.

  He wondered what he had done to cross the Gods. It couldn’t be coincidence. Only punishment from above could set out the past hour’s sequence of events, and make Andrew the only person for miles in any direction capable of dealing with the emergency.

  “Fuck,” he heard the word escape his lips as he gripped on to the counter. Waves of anguish flowed over him. Misfortune had followed him all the way from Manhattan. It had tricked him into thinking things were beginning to turn around. With these young people’s unexpected visit, it had even added an amazing woman to the mix. He had finally found a sliver of hope begin to rise from the ashes of his mind. Now this? Haven’t I been through enough?

  Unresolved feelings, disturbing images, misplaced energy, and unrelenting questions surged through Andrew’s mind and body. He could cry just as easily as he could curse and punch in a wall. But he didn’t do either. He had company. He had to keep it together until they left. He had to be strong for himself and for them. And for Abby.

  It was bad enough she had seen the tear fall down his face when she touched his scar. That was the most honest moment he had shared with anyone since Emma died. And he was sure Abby had just seen him have a flashback. It was the protruding radius on John’s arm that triggered it. The bone stuck out at almost exactly the same angle as his arm had been after the accident. He was mesmerized by John’s limb, just as he had looked down in disbelief at his own, two years ago.

  When it had happened back then, it felt like his mind had left his body. He had been looking down at his broken arm as though it belonged to someone else. He had watched the blood pooling around the bone that jutted out precariously from where it had broken flesh and skin. There was no concept of time as he had looked down at it. It felt like time had slowed down. It was
the paramedic who had been first to arrive on scene that had to forcefully drag Andrew out of his haze to perform first aid on the arm, or Andrew would have bled out that night.

  How could a doctor sworn to preserve life freeze up like that? How could a doctor be on scene and become so powerless? There were many nights since then, where Andrew had been enraged by his state of shock. He had cursed the paramedics and swore at the gods for keeping him alive, instead of attending to everyone else needing help on the scene. For this new disaster to land on his doorstep didn’t just add insult to injury; it was damned near unbearable.

  It was only sheer will that kept him from calling his other chopper service now. The one that would take them all back to Sparks so they could be out of the elements, out of his cabin, and out of his life. It was sheer will, and he had to admit, it was Abby too; she had something to do with it. Fuck! To have an event simultaneously bring new pain at the same time as it probably brought the best thing in his life since Emma passed; well, if there was a god, he or she was cruel and insane.

  Would it even be so bad to send them all packing? He could have them home that same night, Abby’s insurance company would arrange a tow and a replacement vehicle, and their families could take care of the rest. If Abby was remotely interested in getting to know him better, she could stay back. She could stay as long as she wanted, or she could come see him when her schedule freed up. Heck, he could probably go see her, eventually. So what was it about letting these kids take responsibility for themselves that made Andrew feel he was shirking?

  He knew the answer to that. He could not ignore people’s needs. He just wasn’t that kind of man. This was exactly why he had chosen to live as the billionaire hermit of Lake Tahoe. He cared too much, where people were concerned. He would probably put animals before his own needs too, if it came down to it. His distance from society was best for everyone. It was best for the sliver of peace he would get in every sunset. But then, like the monkey wrench of fate, along came Abby.