"Me too," he smiled down at his future sister-in-law.
"Okay munchkin, let's boogie." Catherine stuck her hand out to her daughter.
"Do we have to?" Despite the question, the little girl was already on her feet and accepting the proffered hand.
“Yes, we have to." Almost out the door, Catherine called over her shoulder, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." And then the door closed behind her and Stacy.
"Come on." Allison stood, moved to where Ethan was and pulled out the chair. "Sit."
Ethan plopped heavily in the large wooden chair.
"And foot up." She slid the nearby chair under his foot. "And—"
"Bend my knee, yes, I got that one." He smiled at her and the twinkle in his eyes made her want to smile back at him.
"All right. What would you like to drink? Cola, tea, water?"
"Nothing right now." He reached out and snatched her hand in his with a gentle tug. Allison landed in his lap with a squeal.
"Ethan."
"Sit," he repeated in the same tone she'd used on him earlier. "You won't let me stand and I have something I want to say."
All she could do was nod. The nearness of so much of him had her feeling like a giddy teen—even if she herself had never been anything close to giddy before.
"Every time I think about how you just stepped into a crazy household that isn't your responsibility—"
"It's not crazy, believe me."
"Okay, busy, is that better?" He smiled again.
"I can accept busy." This time she didn't stop herself from smiling back.
"Good. How you stepped into this busy household that isn't your responsibility and kept us all from starving—"
"All I did was heat up a few casseroles your aunt made, and I have it on good authority that said aunt has taught all of you how to cook."
"Yeah, but you saw us that first morning. We might know how to fend for ourselves, but we don't do as well with crowds."
She chuckled at the memory. "You guys did look a little bewildered."
"Would you please let a man say thank you?" Exasperation clung to his words.
"I'm sorry." Her voice came out low and meek.
His gaze latched onto hers. "You really are beautiful inside and out, Beatrice Allison Monroe." His finger reached up and ran down the tip of her nose. "Just accept the compliment and say thank you."
Allison swallowed hard. That was twice he'd told her she was beautiful. She wasn't quite sure if she'd eased forward or he leaned in her direction, but by the time the word you had followed thank, her lips were against his and her arm had snaked around his neck.
"Oh, Allison," he mumbled against her lips seconds before pulling her tight against him and plundering her mouth, sending spikes of electricity shooting to every nerve ending.
"Allison." The back door slammed open and Connor stormed inside, Sean on his heels.
"What's wrong?" She scurried up from Ethan's lap, only the panic in the two men's eyes staving off the mortification that now coursed through her. "Oh, God. Catherine—"
"No. She and Stacey are fine," Connor said hurriedly. "DJ just called. There's been an accident."
Ethan stood up and positioned himself behind her, his strong hands on her shoulders.
"Youth group coming home from a church outing. The driver blacked out, the van sped up and then flipped off the road."
Allison was already moving to her room, wishing she'd brought a full medical bag. "Any other injuries?"
"We don't know. The Brady boy used the driver’s cell phone to call for help. Esther said kids were screaming and shouting and the Brady kid was trying to keep them calm and talk to Esther at the same time."
"Is Brooks on his way?" Allison asked.
"Yes, but they're coming from the opposite direction of town."
"How far out are the kids?" Ethan asked.
The head of the family looked to his son. "There's the other problem."
Ethan's spine straightened.
"None of the kids know. They think they left the ghost town maybe twenty minutes ago but one of the ground rules for the retreat was no electronics. Not a single kid has a cell phone on them. They could have been on the road for twenty minutes or an hour. And we're not even sure which route the driver took."
"Shit," Ethan mumbled.
Allison tossed scissors and clean kitchen towels into a bag. In the jungle she could be out the door in five, here she might need ten. "I'll need all the first aid supplies you've got in the house. Bandages, antiseptic, If you've got some splints you use for the animals, I'll take them. We may have people in shock. I'll need blankets."
"On my way." Sean tore off for the stairs. "I'll get you a pair of boots too. You look to be about the same size as Grace."
"Boots?"
Connor shrugged apologetically. "Rattlesnakes."
Oh Lord. She nearly cringed at the thought. This was one more thing she was not going to let herself worry about. Supplies. She needed to gather supplies. She'd probably need backboards, neck braces…Blast. "Better bring towels and duct tape if you have it. We may need to stabilize some injuries."
"It might be too late, but we have a defibrillator in the barn." Connor was already moving to the back door. "I'll bring back some supplies for doctoring the horses. Adam always said people and animals aren't all that different."
"Connor," Ethan called, his voice like ice.
Connor grabbed the side of the door jamb and skidded to a halt. "Yeah?"
"How long since anyone's taken the helicopter up?"
"Last month. Jed Carrington came in and helped us locate some lost steers." He glanced down at his brother’s boot. "You up to it?"
“Ethan, no." Loading ice into a cooler, Allison froze.
He didn't respond to her. "I'll take it up, report back with coordinates. If we need to evac the driver to the hospital, the helo will be the fastest way."
"Surely there's an air ambulance service at the nearest hospital?" Allison understood why Ethan wanted to help, but still…
Connor nodded. "Once they're notified we need them, the hospital is forty-five minutes away as the crow flies."
Chapter Nineteen
In order to operate the helo Ethan had to remove the boot. When Allison found out, he had a feeling she was going to kill him. Thinking of possible ways to distract her was the only thing that helped him ignore that his leg now hurt like a son of a bitch.
He'd been in the air almost twenty minutes when he spotted the van and radioed his brother. "We're in luck."
"Where are they?" Connor responded. He and Catherine and Sean had all taken a truck to help transport the children back to town. Allison was in Connor's truck.
"Off FM3610. What's your location now?"
"Coming up on 3610 in about two clicks."
"You should be less than twenty minutes out. Clock your speedometer. In about twenty miles, look for fresh skid marks to the left. The van's hidden by a crop of mesquite."
"Mesquite?"
"Yeah. I'm going to put this bird down and see what the damage is. See you in twenty."
"Fifteen."
Ethan almost laughed. If anyone could put the pedal to the metal and shave the most time off a run, it was him or Connor. He certainly hoped Allison had a little race driver in her blood.
Willing his bad leg to do as his mind instructed, Ethan set the bird on the ground with a bit less grace than he would have liked. Leaving the helo set for a quick start, he strapped the boot on and hopped out, landing mostly on his good foot. Mostly.
He'd disregarded doctor's orders flying out, no point in being careful now. Doing the closest thing to running possible with a non-flex orthopedic boot on, Ethan dashed to the crash site. On his left a handful of young teens huddled near the mesquite. "Everyone all right here?" He slowed but didn't stop.
A few voices said yes, a couple of heads nodded, and Ethan kept moving.
From the looks of it the van had dipped into a drainage ditch
at full speed and momentum pitched it over a few times away from the road. Closer, he braced himself. A man didn't make it through years in the Marine Corps without losing his share of buddies, but nothing prepared someone for dealing with injured—or worse—children.
"Mr. Farraday." A boy who Ethan figured had to be the Brady kid since he looked just like his dad, held one arm against his ribs, flagged him to the driver then returned that hand to the driver’s head.
The kid had taken off his t-shirt and was applying pressure to a gash on the man's forehead. Ethan was no expert, but he knew head wounds bled like old faithful and figured this kid had things under control. Except… "What happened to your arm?
"Bumped it." He shrugged, then winced. "I didn't want to move him. He hasn't come to, but he is breathing."
Ethan put his finger to the guy's carotid and blew out a sigh of relief. Weak but, yeah, the guy was still breathing.
"I also found a small bottle of aspirin in his pocket. I figured he must have a bad heart so I put one under his tongue. He almost bit me."
How old was this kid? Ethan was impressed. "Smart move, son. What else do we have here," Ethan mumbled to no one in particular.
Another gal who he thought might be a Rankin, yelled to him. "Sarah Sue is trapped. We tried moving the seat but it won't budge." Ethan surveyed the situation. "How are you doing, sweetie?"
"My foot hurts." The poor kid's voice cracked. She was trying so hard to be brave and not cry.
"I bet it does. We'll have you out of here in a minute." A crowbar and brute force would do the trick. He didn't like what he saw next. At the back, a huddle of kids, a couple of puddles of blood, and sobs.
"Anybody home?" Allison's voice sounded behind him and not a moment too soon.
"Over here, Doc."
Her eyes widened a split second before she cut her way across the van, pausing only one second to check the driver's pulse as he had. He hadn't really given it any thought, but before now he'd never called her anything but her given name.
He reached the children about the same time as Allison did with the same alarm in her eyes as his must have had.
"Debbie's not waking up," a fragile blonde said through a sob, and Ethan's heart stuttered to a near stop.
Another older teen said, "She's not dead. But she groaned and tried to move so we've been holding her in place."
At first Ethan didn't quite understand the concern and then he saw it. A piece of metal long and sharp enough to do some serious damage protruded from the girl's side.
"I remembered from a TV show when I was a kid…"
A kid? What was he now?
"…Not to pull a lodged sharp object out because it might be acting as a plug. Was I right?"
Allison ran her hand across the worried teen's brow and brushed a loose lock of hair away from his face. "You absolutely did the right thing in not pulling it out and not letting her move."
Ethan looked back at the girl trapped under the seat. "I need to get a crowbar."
Allison nodded and opened her bag. "Why don't you take the kids who don't need treatment with you."
"I don't want to leave my sister," the frightened girl whined.
"Me too?” The other teen helping with Debbie asked at the same time.
"No,” Allison addressed her first. “I need you and your friend to continue to make sure Debbie doesn't move until I can get a backboard and strap her down."
The first young man's chest puffed slightly with pride, though the worry was still deep set in his eyes.
"Why don't you come help me find a crowbar for Sarah Sue?" He held his hand out to the young girl, who didn't budge. She seemed quite a bit younger than the other kids. "And when we get you back to town I'll have Miss Abbie give you a double scoop of chocolate ice cream for helping."
The child looked to her sister and bit on her trembling lower lip.
"She's going to be okay," Allison reassured the little girl. "It's okay for you to go help Mr. Farraday."
Ethan wondered how he'd gotten that wrong. How stupid to think the kid cared more about ice cream than her sister. To his surprise her small hand slipped into his. "I'm going to pick you up," he said, "it will be easier to get you out of here."
The little girl nodded and Ethan didn't miss the concern on Allison's face as her glance dropped briefly to his boot and then shifted to where she was seriously needed. He was almost out the door when Allison called back to him. "Tell Brooks to step on it, and have DJ order that air lift. Now."
Ethan nodded. Shifting the little girl onto one arm as though she were as light as Brittany, he used his free hand to call DJ. The medivac ordered, he continued to where the others were gathered. All the kids had a blanket and a bottle of water and Connor and Catherine were putting ice on sprains and cleaning small cuts and bruises.
His father came walking toward him from his truck carrying a three foot flat bar and bolt cutter. "I got a look inside while you and Allison were dealing with the kids in the back. Is the young girl going to be okay?"
Ethan nodded. He hoped Allison wasn't just saying pretty words to the little sister.
"Let's get Sara Sue out. From the way that foot's swelling, the sooner the better."
By the time they'd broken Sarah Sue free, Brooks had arrived in his suburban, the closest thing to a country ambulance. He'd put the driver on oxygen and an IV and then together he and Allison maneuvered the still unconscious girl onto a backboard and strapped her in.
The look of sheer anguish on Allison's face as the air lift EMTs loaded the young teen onto the helo tore at something deep inside Ethan. Over the past week he'd learned more about her life, how hard she worked, and how much she cared. He didn't like the idea of her going home to California and him not being there for her. Of her working herself to death for the sake of a patient and then going home exhausted and drained to an empty house. Or worse, to give her all and lose a patient only to bear the pain alone in silence.
"Good thing the hospital dispatched the air lift as soon as we put them on standby." Brooks brushed his hands and looked to the second helo landing across the street. "This guy's lucky we could get an Air Evac from another hospital here this fast. I don't think he'd have lasted the drive."
"What I want to know," Connor rolled his neck, "is how the hell did that mesquite get all the way out here?"
Sean Farraday shook his head. "Someone's crazy grandmother probably got the bright idea to plant the thing by the side of the road."
"Oh yeah," Ethan chuckled. "Like that's going to shade West Texas."
His dad shook his head and walked away mumbling, "Crazy grandmothers."
A few of the parents who lived closer to the accident location than to town drove out to pick up their kids. The ones with cuts, bruises, sprains, or like the Brady kid who had broken his arm trying to get the driver's dead weight foot off the gas and press the brakes, were being transported back to town for Brooks to treat properly. Since the kids fit in the Suburban and the squad car, the rest of the Farradays were heading home.
Allison turned to face him. "I wish you didn't have to fly that thing home again."
"No problem. It's what I do." Or did.
"How much does it hurt?" She pointed to his foot with her chin.
He considered lying. "On a scale of one to ten? Eleven."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. But without you we wouldn't have known which road to take."
"The important thing is it all turned out well."
Connor trotted up beside them. "You coming with me or riding back with Ethan?"
"Go with Connor. Someone has to keep him from drag racing. The cops are pissy about that sort of thing."
Connor rolled his eyes. "Good thing for you we're in mixed company."
"Actually," Allison lifted her gaze to meet his, "I'm not sure I'm up to my first helicopter ride tonight."
Ethan nodded and resisted the temptation to pull her into his arms and beg her to stay. He was totally crazy. A gazillion w
omen who would throw themselves at his feet to play Mrs. Farraday and he had to fall in love with this woman. And wasn't that a laugh and a half. Ethan Farraday in love.
***
Holding her eyes open seemed like a monumental challenge. Not unusual after the adrenaline rush of emergency medicine. Either Allison was so wound up there was no coming down or, like a spinning top, she went full speed ahead one second and flopped over at a full stop the next.
"We're almost home." Connor pointed to the tiny glimmer of light in the distance.
Allison blinked. "How did that happen?"
"You fell asleep."
"Oh." She pushed herself more upright. "Sorry."
"Don't be. You needed the rest. You did good."
"I didn't do much."
"More than you think. Had any one of us, or some passerby, arrived first, they might have done the wrong thing by that girl."
That was true. Most people's instinct was to remove the offensive object and if proper medical care wasn't handy, the patient could easily bleed out. "Do you think Ethan's back yet?"
"Oh yeah. The helicopter goes twice as fast as a car and I'm not booking it."
Connor led the parade of trucks into the long Farraday drive. One by one they all exited the vehicles and dragged themselves into the house.
"Mommy," Stacy came running at Catherine and practically flew into her arms.
"Did you have a good time with Aunt Eileen?"
"And the baby too." Stacy beamed at her mother. "Can we have one of our own?"
Connor coughed, and Catherine smiled. "We'll have to think about it, dear."
The little girl frowned. "That's the same as no."
"Not necessarily." Connor got down on his haunches, and tucked the little girl into his shoulder. "After the wedding your mommy and I can…discuss it." Connor's smile lifted at one side in a cheeky grin and immediately Catherine's face brightened.
Is that what all women in love looked like? She'd seen that same beam of happiness in Meg and Toni and Becky. Did she light up like the proverbial Christmas tree whenever Ethan flashed her a sexy grin or said something nice?
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