A Long Road Back: Final Dawn: Book 8 Read Online Free PDF

dragged on until late afternoon, when many of Sarah’s friends started a vigil outside her door.
         Bryan finally left the couple’s room and went to the kitchen to fix the two of them a sandwich.
         On his way back he reached out to Debbie, and asked her to join them.
         “Is she opening up yet?”
         “No. No change at all, except that her eyes are tearing up a bit now. I’m wondering if a female presence will make a difference.”
         Debbie went to her and more time passed.    
         Debbie stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her.
         The crowd had grown since she’d gone in. There were now almost a dozen people gathered around to hear whether she’d made any progress.
         Many of them were in tears.
         They were looking to Debbie for answers. But she had precious few to give them.
         “I gave her a sedative, so she’ll sleep comfortably for several hours. Bryan hasn’t slept well in days, so I expect they’ll sleep peacefully together.
         “After she wakes up, it’ll begin again. She’ll likely be combative, even violent. Right now she doesn’t like Bryan very much. She doesn’t know him, and considers him the bad guy. Not the animal who brainwashed her.”
         Sami asked, “What made her that way? What made her forget all of us? What made her forget who she was? What could possibly do that?”
         “I examined the back of her head. She said she fell down the stairs at the farmhouse, but the wound looks to be at least a week old. I think in all likelihood he attacked her in the forest, then carried her through the woods to where his truck was parked or his horse was tied.
         “It’s impossible to say for sure whether she suffered a concussion without x-rays or a cat-scan, but I’d bet my life that she did. Probably a bad one. One that can leave blood clots behind. I gave her a blood thinner, just in case, as well as an antibiotic because the back of her head is still swollen. A week after impact the swelling should have gone down but it hasn’t, which probably means an infection.
         “Since the swelling on the outside of her skull hasn’t gone down yet, it’s a safe bet her brain is still swollen as well. And that’s what we need to worry about the most. I talked to the surgeons at Wilford Hall to see if they’d be willing to remove part of her skull to relieve whatever pressure is there.
         “They said that after this many days that may cause more harm than good. They’re sending a team tomorrow morning to examine her and make that decision.”
         Karen seemed especially distressed by the news. She considered Sarah the daughter she never had.
         “Oh, my… please tell us… she’ll be okay and her memory will return at some point.”
         “I wish I could tell you that, Karen. But at this point we can’t even say for sure she’ll survive. Her brain had to have suffered a lot of damage. She’s still subject to hemorrhage or stroke, or a blood clot despite the medication. Let’s just pray she survives, and anything more will be gravy. Even if she has to relearn everything she ever knew all over again, we should settle for that and be happy we still have her.”
         “How’s Bryan taking the news?”
         “I haven’t told him the worst of it yet. He’s in a mild state of shock himself. He said he’d been trying to prepare himself for the possibility she’d be found dead. And he was praying constantly that she’d be found alive and well. He said he never considered there might be a third possibility… that she’d be alive but wounded, and would reject him completely.”
         Three doors down the hallway Brad and Bryan Too were furious.
         And they were covertly making plans.
         “When do you want to head out?”
         “Why waste time? The sooner we get it done the better. How about first