Champion At Heart (Sequel of Breaking Ice)

Chapter Forty-Four

Marshall had run after the cab, his adrenaline spiking as he tried to catch up to it. All he could see was their silhouette through the back window as the vehicle got further and further away, leaving him standing in the middle of the gravel path, trying to breathe.

The drug Cassie had put in his drink was having some slight effect, and as the adrenaline was leaving his body, so was his strength. Feeling dizzy, Marshall collapsed on the ground, lifting dirt in the air as Bexley, calling him frantically, ran towards him.

"Sophia, call 911!" she shouted, crouching next to Marshall, who was unresponsive, and tried to feel a pulse. "Marshall, wake up. Sophia, hurry up!"

At that moment, Jeremiah's truck appeared at the entrance of the ranch, hitting his brakes hard when he saw his wife over his cousin, frantically trying to wake him up.

"What happened?" he asked as he tried to help Bexley with Marshall; the fear and concern for her future brother-in-law bringing tears into her eyes.

"I don't know. He arrived, and he and Brooklyn had an argument. Then she left, and he just collapsed! Please, help him, honey."

At her frantic pleas, he couldn't imagine if his wife was feeling this way, how would Brooklyn react when she found out Marshall just fell ill?

Not wanting to wait for an ambulance, and knowing he could risk killing his cousin, he lifted him with difficulty and dragged him towards his truck and with Bexley's help, they settled him on the back seat.

"Stay here, try calling Brooklyn as soon as you can."

She nodded, kissing his lips tenderly before he got on the truck. "I'll meet you at the hospital later," she mentioned, watching him reverse towards the main road, his truck making it to the hospital at a fast speed. Looking through the rearview mirror, he noticed Marshall was not moving, but he could still hear his faint breathing over the sound of the engine, which roared loudly.

"Don't you dare die on me, asshole," Jeremiah ordered, feeling his own frantic heartbeat, scared to lose him. With a quick call to his parents, he filled them in on what happened, letting them know where he was taking him so they could meet him there.

It was not long before he arrived, when a few nurses noticed his truck and quickly jumped into action, helping him take Marshall out of the truck and wheeling him to a room. As he tried to join them, one of them stopped him at the door.

"You can't go in there, sir. We'll let you know when we have news of his progress."

Running his hands through his hair in frustration, he slumped on a chair, waiting and praying his cousin would be okay. Jacob and Dolly rushed in shortly after, "What happened?"

"I don't know," Jeremiah replied, hugging his aunt. "They rushed him there and told me to wait."

Shortly after, a sobbing Sophia and a concerned Jonah walked in, Bexley following right behind, wrapping her arms around her husband, hoping to reassure him.

"Did you call Brooks?"

"I left her a voicemail. I'm sure she'll listen to it as soon as they land."

Minutes seemed like hours, when the doctor walked out of the double doors, approaching the family with a faint smile on his face.

"Dr. Pratt. How is my nephew?" Jacob asked, shaking his hands. They had been old friends since high school, and he had been the town's doctor for years, ready to retire, but his passion for what he does keeps him from doing so.

"Marshall will be fine. We had to flush his stomach. He might have overdosed, and it seemed like it accelerated his heart rate. Was there something going on at the moment he collapsed?"

"He was arguing with his fiancée. But we have reason to believe something happened to him last night while we celebrated after the rodeo. But he doesn't do drugs. You know us and you know him, doctor. He would never do that," Jeremiah mentioned.

"Well, it was a powerful drug, and he's lucky it didn't make it worse. A minute longer, he would have had serious complications. May I know what happened? We might have to contact the authorities."

"We don't know. But you said overdosed. Any chance he could have been drugged?"

"Probably. Maybe someone spiked his drink, or he took it by accident?"

Bexley scoffed and the anger on her face was as clear as the waters running down the river at the ranch. "No doubt it was that... Cassie. How convenient for her to send Brooklyn that picture. And she believed it."

"We have to contact her again. Let her know. Meanwhile, I'll call the sheriff," Jeremiah said.

"I'll try again. Hopefully she gets the message before she makes it home."

~~~~~~

Brooklyn stood at the baggage claim area with Abilene by her side, the tension on the atmosphere was thick; her daughter hadn't talked to her since they departed from Tennessee.

"We're taking a cab and surprise Grandpa and Grandma, okay?"

Abilene shrugged her shoulders and folded her little arms over her chest, waiting for her pink luggage to appear.

Brooklyn turned her phone on, ready to dial her father's number, when she saw several missed calls, and a few voicemails, all from her sister and Sophia. With a wrenching feeling creeping into her heart, she decided to listen to them.

As she went through each one, she couldn't bear how horrible she had been, especially on the last one, where Bexley explained what had truly happened to Marshall and who had done it.

Cassie Sanders would hear her one last time. She dared hurt the man she loved, the one she promised to be with forever–the one she had failed–and it was something she wouldn't let slide.

Hanging the phone, she looked at her daughter, who stared back at her with a curious expression. "Is everything okay, Mama?" she asked, talking to her for the first time in hours.

Brooklyn shook her head. "No, sweetheart. Your Daddy is sick."

"What? Mama, we have to go back! Grandpa and Grandma don't know we're coming, so we can just go back. Please, I want to see him."

Her cell phone pinged; a video message from an unknown number appeared on her screen. Curious to see what it was, she opened it, seeing the bar in it. The person that was recording was probably a few feet from them, as it was recording the exact spot where Marshall was talking to Cassie before he grabbed his drink.

And that's when she saw it. Marshall feeling sick, then rushing to the restrooms before fainting and being carried away by a big man. Cassie's smile was clear on the video, and that's when she realized she had made a huge mistake.

"Mama?" Abilene tugged at the sleeve of her top. "Are we going, or not?"

Brooklyn nodded and put her phone in her pocket, both of them grabbing their luggage in a hurry before making their way in quick steps towards a ticket counter, buying once again a fare, this time, back home.

"Yes, we're going back home. Because this time, nothing and no one will make me doubt your father."

"Forever, Mama?"

She looked at Abilene again and pinched her chin, giving her a teary smile. "This time is forever. No more doubting, no more running away. I promise."