Sara slipped on her gloves, her eyes never leaving Ben. “Penlight?”
He fished one out of his bag.
“Pupils are equal and reactive,” she said.
“Can you squeeze my hands?” Ben asked.
Eddie complied.
“Great,” Ben said. “Where do you hurt?”
“My left leg hurts like you wouldn’t believe.”
Ben slipped two fingers under the tongue of the boot to gently palpate the pedal pulses. “I’d like to leave the boots on if we can. Tell me if you can you wiggle your toes inside them?”
“Yeah,” Eddie answered.
Sara nodded to Ben as she pulled a utility knife from her cargo pants. Eddie’s jeans were already torn, and a five-centimeter area on his thigh was saturated with blood. Sara quickly sliced through the denim fabric at the ankle.
Ben reached out and tore the denim until the entire leg was exposed. He released a breath at the sight.
Eddie had sustained a ten-inch ragged laceration with abrasions on his thigh in the fall on the rocks and gravel. The entire area was studded with dirt and gravel.
While the area was bleeding, it didn’t appear that he’d severed any major blood vessels. The penetration was thankfully not deep into the muscle tissue. His gaze met Sara’s, and in an instant they silently agreed on treatment. Rinse the site, cover and apply pressure until they got to the E.R. where it could be properly cleansed and evaluated.
She nodded to Ben as she twisted open two bottles of water. “This is going to be cold.”
“Yeah, it is,” Eddie said. He jerked as the water splashed against his skin.
“Sorry about that.” Sara poured a continuous stream of water over the cut until the bottles were empty.
When she finished, Ben tore open a box of sterile gauze pads and reached forward to hold pressure at the site. “Lower extremity fracture,” he observed, assessing the angle of the leg. “Impossible to tell the degree of damage without an X-ray.”
“Ice,” Sara said. She wasted no time as she raced to the Land Rover.
“Sara’s a doctor too, right?” the young man asked.
“She sure is,” Ben said. “One of the best.”
Sara returned with a T-shirt wrapped around a bag of ice.
“We’re going to need a splint to stabilize the leg,” Ben said, still observing the site.
Sara handed Ben the ice and glanced around. “I’ll get some sticks. I’ve got hiking boots on, and you don’t.” She gave him another slow look. “You’re sure you’re all right?”
“I’m good.” And he was. The initial panic symptoms had abated. “I’ll stay with Eddie and continue to monitor his vitals.”
“Be right back, then,” she said.
“Are you from around here?” Ben asked. He shifted positions, continuing to maintain pressure on the thigh wound.
“Paradise. My dad runs the feed store.”
Ben used his other hand to recheck Eddie’s pulse, counting as the kid kept talking.
“I work there part-time when I’m home on summer breaks from college.”
Ben nodded.
Without warning, Eddie’s face crumpled. “My mother is going to have a fit.”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’ll vouch for you.” Ben gave him an awkward pat on the arm. “This wasn’t your fault.”
“Tell my mother that.”
“So what happened?” Ben asked.
“The rabbit came out of nowhere. I knew I was going down, so I tried to slide out and roll away from the bike. I don’t know what happened, but my leg turned wrong when I rolled, and I hit something solid on the side of the road.”
Ben looked over at the helmet. “That helmet probably saved your life, and that leather jacket protected you from some serious road rash.”
“Be sure to tell my mother that, too. The helmet cost a week’s pay.”
“I will,” Ben agreed.
“Got ’em,” Sara said, out of breath as she dropped the bundle on the ground.
Ben turned, his eyes widening as he stared at the pile of sticks. “That’s a lot of branches.”
“I have plans for the big ones.” Sara stood. Selecting two sticks, she began to cut away the knots from the branches, wrapping gauze rolls around the bumps in the wood to provide smooth splints. Kneeling down, she measured them against the outside and inside of Eddie’s leg.
Ben pulled back the 4x4s and peered at the wound. The bleeding had slowed enough to secure the site with medical tape while they fashioned the splint.
“There are more gauze rolls in my bag,” Ben said.
“We can use that to fill in the voids. Can you grab that big towel from the duffel and position it around his foot for stabilization?”
Ben checked Eddie’s pedal pulses once again before cradling the towel around his boot. “All set.”
Sara pulled a long-sleeved T-shirt from the bag and pulled out her knife again. “Let’s cut this into strips.”
“Got it,” Ben said as he began tearing the fabric.
“I’ll hold his leg, you slide the strips underneath and shimmy them up his leg. We’ll secure the splint above and below the fracture and at the ankle to hold the towel.”
Ben began to thread the strips under Eddy’s leg. When he finished, he looked up. “So no chance of medical response?” he asked Sara.
“No signal until we get down the mountain. The irony is that by then, we’ll be close enough to the Paradise Hospital E.R. to take him ourselves. So we may as well transport.”
“Transport.” Ben repeated the word. Suddenly the value of the new clinic and thinking outside the box for medical response to meet the needs of the community became very, very real.
“Yes. And soon, the temps at this altitude start to drop much faster than the valley.”
“You know, I think I can walk,” Eddie said.
“No.” Both he and Sara said the word in unison. Ben’s eyes met Sara’s, and he lowered his voice. “So you’re sure you don’t have a backboard and a collar in that duffel?”
“Don’t I wish. But I do have a plan.”
“I never doubted it,” Ben said.
She gave a small chuckle. “The sleeping bag.”
“What?” Ben asked.
“We turn it inside out and position those two branches I collected, securing them to the zipped bag with duct tape to make a blanket stretcher. Eddie’s not too tall. He’ll easily fit into the back of your Land Rover with the seats down.”
Ben glanced from the victim to his vehicle. She was serious. “You’re amazing.”
“Wilderness training.” She shrugged. “It’s really not a big deal.”
“Yeah it is,” he said. Ben stepped away from Eddie for a moment and turned his back on their victim, his next words for Sara’s ears only. “We better move fast. I’m concerned about the possibility of internal injuries. Let’s change that gauze on the laceration once more. You can hold the pressure while I drive. Right now he’s stable, but if he loses any more blood he may get shocky.”
Sara nodded in agreement.
“I’ll move seats down in the Land Rover.” Ben jogged to the car and tossed the supplies to the front passenger seat floor. Moving fast, he shoved down the passenger seat and the middle three seats as Sara began to tape the branches around the sleeping bag.
“Ready,” she called.
“Let’s log-roll him onto the stretcher. You take his head, shoulders and chest. I’ll handle the lower extremities.”
Sara turned to Eddie. “Let us do the work.”
Eddie nodded.
“Okay, pull him over,” she instructed.
“That’s it,” Ben said as they carefully moved Eddie. “Now let’s shove some of that extra cl
othing you brought around his head to immobilize him for the ride.” Working together, Ben balled the clothing and Sara added duct tape.
“Good,” Ben said. “Ready to lift?”
Sara nodded.
“On three. One. Two. Three,” he directed.
“Let me get in the vehicle, and we can slide him in,” Sara said as she scrambled into the rear of the vehicle.
“Eddie, how are you doing?” Ben asked.
“Oh, I’ve been better.” He gave them a weak smile.
“Yeah, I imagine,” Ben returned.
“Okay if I take a nap?”
“No,” Sara answered. “We want you awake and talking until we get to Paradise.”
“All set?” Ben asked as he prepared to close the back of the vehicle.
“I am,” Sara said. She pulled her cell from a pocket. “Eddie, what’s your folks’ number? I want to get it in my cell before we get to the E.R.”
“Do we have to call them?” Panic washed over his face.
“Is there a problem with calling your parents?” She paused and looked at Eddie.
“My mom is going to kill me.”
“I’m thinking not. She’s going to be pretty happy you’re in one piece,” Ben commented.
Eddie grimaced. “I really don’t think it’s a good idea to call them.” He opened his mouth and closed it, struggling for words. “Look, my...my sister died five years ago. I’m all they have, and my mom was totally against me getting this bike. They’re going to freak out. I don’t want to upset them.”
Sensing Eddie’s mounting agitation, Ben motioned for Sara to get out, and he climbed in the rear of the Land Rover.
“Eddie, take it easy, man,” he soothed. “It’s going to be okay.” Ben took a deep breath, knowing he had to say the words. This kid needed to know he wasn’t alone. “Look, I get it. I lost my sister six months ago.”
“Yeah?” Eddie said, his eyes searching Ben’s. “I’m real sorry.”
“Me, too.” Ben paused, maintaining eye contact. He swallowed hard, his mouth dry. “Why don’t I go tell your parents in person? Would that help?”
“Yeah, it would. Especially with you being a doctor and all. They’d believe you if you said I was okay.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do.” Ben nodded. “So we’re good?”
“Yeah. We’re good.” Eddie smiled. “Thanks. Thanks a lot.”
“No problem.”
“You know what?” Eddie said.
Ben turned back and raised his brows in question.
Eddie lowered his voice. “You and that cute doctor, Sara—you two make a good team.”
“You think?” Ben gave a small chuckle.
Eddie nodded.
Ben jumped out of the SUV. When he turned, his gaze slammed into Sara’s. Her eyes were moist, the green irises clouded with compassion.
“Ben, I...” She released a breath. “I didn’t realize you’d lost your sister. I’m so sorry. ”
“Thanks.”
Her lips formed a grim line. “I feel so foolish for joking about your stethoscope.”
Reaching out, he put his hand on her shoulder and gently squeezed. “Sara. It’s okay.” He glanced toward the back of the SUV. “We need to get going.”
She simply nodded.
Ben slowly exhaled, and as he did the paralyzing pain that had gripped his heart for so long lessened a little bit.
* * *
The doors of the E.R. burst open as they approached. Medical personnel were already running toward them with a gurney.
“Dr. Sara Elliott,” Sara said to a nurse in blue scrubs, who was carrying a very official clipboard. “We have a twenty-one-year-old male, motorcycle accident. Laceration and abrasions to the right thigh with probable lower extremity fracture. Mental status is stable. No indication of head trauma. Pulse seventy-two, regular. His name is Eddie Connealy. Family notification is being done by Dr. Ben Rogers.”
“Great. You’ve covered everything. Thanks.”
“My bike? What about my bike?” Eddie called out as two orderlies transferred him to the gurney.
“I’ll take care of it,” Ben said from behind her.
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem.”
“I’m going in with him,” Sara said.
Ben nodded. “I’ll go talk to his folks, and then I’m going to pick up his motorcycle.”
“But how?” Sara asked.
“My buddy Orvis Carter has a truck. I’ll take the bike to Eddie’s parents’ house,” Ben said. He got back in the Land Rover. “I’ll call you when I’m done. Okay?”
“Okay,” she answered, still perplexed at his sudden departure.
“Sara?”
Sara turned and grinned. “Hey, Sam,” she greeted Sam Lawson, Paradise’s local law enforcement. Tall, dark and lean, Sheriff Sam Lawson was one of the few men in Paradise without a senior discount card. That made him a target for every eligible female in town. Sam handled it well, with a no-trespass sign and tall fences around his personal life. Sara respected that, especially since she knew he still mourned the loss of his wife.
“Nice work,” Sam said. He removed his sunglasses and smiled.
“I had help.”
“So I heard. Dr. Ben Rogers. He’s number one on Bitsy’s most-wanted list these days.”
“Oh?”
“She claims he’s hiding from her.”
Sara laughed. “That’s just hilarious.”
“Yeah. I like the guy already.” Sam’s grin widened. “You want to tell me what happened with Eddie?”
“He was avoiding an animal in the road. There were no indications that another vehicle was involved, and I don’t think he was speeding.”
“Okay, good, but I’m going to need you to fill out some paperwork on the accident.”
“Oh, Sam, can it wait until tomorrow? I’m exhausted.”
“Sure. Bitsy takes lunch at twelve-thirty. Might be a good time to stop by.” He winked and gave her a nod as he opened the door to his patrol car.
“Got it,” Sara said. She moved swiftly through the E.R. automatic doors, where she found her uncle waiting in the lobby.
“What are you doing here on a Saturday, Uncle Henry?”
Henry Rhoades blinked. His white hair was mussed as usual. “Me? Oh, I was catching up on some paperwork for the clinic. They called me to say you were coming in with an accident victim. Nicely done, dear.”
“Thanks, but we were just in the right place at the right time. The victim is Eddie Connealy. His parents run the Feed & Seed downtown. He has a leg fracture and a laceration, and hopefully that’s all.”
Henry nodded and glanced around. “Where’s Ben?”
“He’s notifying Eddie’s parents and taking care of Eddie’s motorcycle.”
“So Ben didn’t actually go into the hospital?”
“Into the hospital? No.” Sara narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“Just a theory I’m working on.”
“Are you going to tell me?”
“Not right now, dear.” He smiled. “So you two were out today?”
“Yes. I was showing him the community. Didn’t you get my message?”
“Yes. I believe I did.” Henry wagged his brows.
“Don’t get any ideas, Uncle Henry. You know I didn’t come back to Paradise for anything like that.”
“If you say so.” He wheeled his chair around.
“I mean it, Uncle Henry. We were only out because Ben said you inspired him to get to know Paradise and the needs of the community.”
Henry stopped and turned his head. “I like that young man.”
Sara laughed. “Yes. I know. Which is why it’s going to be
very interesting to see what you decide when the clinic opens.”
“What makes you think I haven’t already decided?”
She blinked and shook her head at her cagey uncle. “I am much too tired to figure out what you mean by that. I think I’ll go check on Eddie.”
“You look tired, Sara. Go home. I’ll have the staff call you and let you know how he’s doing.”
“Thank you so much, Uncle Henry.”
She searched her phone contacts for Ben’s number and hit Send.
“Sara?”
“Yes. Ben, did you take care of the bike?”
“I did. I got a hold of Orvis, and one of his sons is picking it up and taking it to the body shop in town. Eddie can claim it there. Oh, and his parents are on the way.”
“That was awfully nice of you.”
“Least I could do after watching you in action.”
She paused. Had she been too assertive, taking over the situation?
“How’s Eddie?” Ben asked.
“In X-ray. My uncle will have the hospital call when they know more.”
“Nice to know people in high places.”
“Sometimes,” she agreed.
“So our day was interrupted,” Ben said. “What are your plans for dinner?”
“I hadn’t thought about it.” She glanced at her watch, surprised at the time. “It’s getting late.”
“Yeah. I’m hungry and I want to eat, but I sure don’t want to eat in Paradise and run into the Ladies’ Auxiliary.”
“They’ve got a good restaurant in Four Forks up the road.”
“Four Forks? That’s a town?” Ben asked.
“Yes. Four forks in the road and four stoplights. Get it?”
“I do. But how about we throw some steaks on the grill at my place. It’s closer.”
Taken off guard, Sara hesitated before answering. “Sure. I’ll get my car and meet you at your place.”
“Great.”
“Do you want me to pick up anything on the way?”
“No. I went grocery shopping on Wednesday night this time, per your instructions. Not a single member of the Ladies’ Auxiliary in sight.”
She laughed. “Now you’re getting the hang of things.”
“Yeah. That should worry me.”
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