Every Storm Runs Out of Rain

Chapter 2

Stetson sat in the waiting room. The doctor had said that it would take several hours for the surgery to be completed so he'd driven down to one of the clothing stores nearby and grabbed a change of clothes. He felt much cleaner now that he had taken a shower and didn't look like he'd been swimming in a pool of motor oil. But he certainly didn't feel any better. Stetson's phone rang. He was pretty sure that sound would forever give him anxiety after the last call he'd answered. He looked at the caller ID—Matthew Hunt. Why would his old buddy contact him now? He walked from the waiting room and into the corridor so he wouldn't disturb any of the other people.

"Matt?" Stetson said as he answered the phone. His name was technically Matthew but he preferred to go by Matt and Stetson had always respected that.

"Hey, man!" He sounded upbeat—as always.

"Hey." Stetson said, still a bit dazed by the unexpected phone call.

"Geez! You sound like your favorite dog just died. Thought you might actually be happy to hear from me." His voice sounded almost dejected but Stetson knew it was all an act.

"Well. My daughter almost died so you could say I have a reason to sound a little down. And I'm just shocked to hear from you." There was a long pause.

"You have a daughter? Wow. I'm so sorry that she was injured. Is she okay now?" Concern was evident in his voice. And then it hit. Momma put him up to this.

"Yeah, I do. And she's in surgery. The doc said she," he felt his voice break and hated himself for being so weak. It wasn't like he was the one who was injured. But he felt his daughter's pain as surely as if it had been his own.

"The doc said she what?" Matt's prompt was quiet. He sounded so different from the crazy teenage boy he'd been years ago. Stetson took a deep breath.

"He said she'd never walk again." There. He'd said it. And yet, he still couldn't accept it. Not his sweet little daughter. She didn't deserve this. He just sat there waiting for his longtime best friend to say something.

"Poor kid. I'm sure that's gotta be rough." Matt said.

"Matt, you have no idea. I don't even know how I'm gonna tell her. It'll break her heart." His throat clogged up at the remembrance of her sweet little grin. Would it fade entirely with this new revelation?

"One day at a time, man. Have you ever thought about bringing her back here? The ranch would be good for her, ya know." Stetson paused because he'd thought just that. But he wasn't sure how it would work out.

"It's only crossed my mind a thousand times since my wife died. But, man, you have no clue the kind of stuff I said to my dad that day. It's a miracle I'm still alive and breathing right now." he said jokingly. Stetson let out a humorless laugh. It didn't faze his friend.

"You could always call your dad and talk. The worst that could happen is that he could still hate your guts. Although I really don't think he does."

"Why would you say that?" Stetson asked. Matt knew something.

"Can't say why. Just a feeling." his buddy replied. Mm-hmm. He'd bet his last dollar, if he had one to spare, that it was more than "just a feeling".

"I don't know. I'll see how things are when she gets out of surgery." Stetson said. He wasn't about to commit to anything. There was a pause.

"Okay, buddy. Stay in touch, alright?" Matthew asked. He agreed before hanging up. That's when he realized he had over ten missed calls from Willa. How did I miss that? He wondered. She was probably worried sick. He dialed her number. After two rings, she picked up. He never even had a chance to speak.