by Amy Ruttan
“It’s not like I’ll be doing much,” Evelyn mumbled as she went through a chart at the front desk before the clinic opened, totally oblivious to Tim’s interest in her.
Good.
“Still, Dr. Saunders, I would be keen to learn from you,” Tim said eagerly.
Evelyn looked up. “Of course—and call me Evelyn. It’s fine. We’re all working together here. Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I have to prep for a possible emergency C-section. We need to get a lot more blood stocked in the fridge here.”
“Emergency C-section?” Tim asked, intrigued.
“Yes, one of my patients here has intrauterine growth restriction. She’s on her way back from Juneau, where I performed an amniocentesis which I’m still waiting on results for. I have everything I need—including an incubator which was generously donated by Juneau General just in case.”
“How nice of them,” Derek teased and Evelyn grinned at him.
They both knew that it was a bribe to get her to consider working at Juneau when her time was up in Wolf’s Harbor. Still, they weren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“If I can help in any way, Evelyn. I’m here to assist you,” Tim said eagerly. “I would love to assist you.”
“I’m good for now—but, thanks.” She wandered away, seemingly totally clueless about his compliments.
Derek chuckled to himself. She probably wasn’t clueless to Tim’s subtle flirting with her—she probably didn’t care. And that was what he liked so much about her.
The phone rang and Tim answered it. “Wolf’s Harbor Medical.”
Evelyn blushed as Derek shared a look with her. They had both agreed in the morning that they wouldn’t mention it anymore. That it had been just a weak moment. They would carry on as they always had. But still, watching her now in the clinic, being so close to her, it was hard not to think of her in his arms.
“How bad?” Tim asked, with an edge of concern in his voice.
Derek turned and watched as Tim took down information and then ended the call.
“What’s wrong?” Derek asked.
“A young woman on the island up the channel—possible miscarriage and bleeding heavily.” Tim handed the notes to Derek.
“Okay—you man the clinic and I’ll get Evelyn out to Yashee Island.”
“I can take Evelyn out to Yashee Island,” Tim offered. “I would love to assist her.”
Derek cocked any eyebrow. “Do you know where Yashee Island is? Do you have a boat?”
“Yes, I know where it is. I grew up here. But no boat.”
“Then you stay here,” Derek said.
Tim laughed. “I’m trying too hard, aren’t I?”
“Just a bit. Stay here at the clinic and I’ll get Evelyn out to the island.”
“Okay, Derek.” Tim chuckled.
Derek picked up his coat from the rack and went to exam room one, where Evelyn was preparing everything necessary for an emergency C-section.
“You’re needed,” Derek said.
She spun around. “Oh?”
“Possible miscarriage and heavy bleeding out on Yashee Island in the channel.”
Evelyn frowned. “I’ll get the gear ready. Is there a boat I can hire to take me out to the island?”
“I have a boat. Or rather the clinic has a boat for instances like this. I can take you and Tim will man the clinic.”
“Great.”
Evelyn went about packing everything she could need. She packed the Doppler, and Derek packed the cooler with some universal blood.
“Is there anything else we might need?” Derek asked as he loaded the last of the gear into his car to take down to the docks.
“Well, if it’s early on in her pregnancy a Doppler might not be able to pick up a heartbeat under ten weeks. An ultrasound would be best—but we can’t transport that.”
“No, we’d have to get her to the clinic for that.”
“If she’s hemorrhaging I’ll need to get the bleeding to stop, but if it’s a miscarriage I can usually tell in the pathology.” She frowned. “This is the worst part of my specialty. Or one of the worst parts. We’ll get the bleeding controlled and if the pregnancy is lost we’ll get her back to the clinic to do an ultrasound and a dilation and curettage.”
It was a short ride to the docks and they’d soon loaded and secured all the gear and headed out of the harbor toward the bay where Yashee Island lay, about five miles off the coast.
“It’s really choppy today,” Evelyn shouted over the roar of the engine.
“Storm is brewing somewhere. I’ll check the radar tonight. It’ll probably miss us. Good thing Joe and Jennifer are heading back right now. I would hate for them to be delayed or stuck somewhere.”
“Well, if she was stuck in Juneau she’d be in good hands, but Joe texted me early this morning to say that they were catching the first ferry from Jordan Springs to Hoonah. They’ll be here by dinnertime. What I’m waiting for is the results of that amnio.”
Derek nodded. He could tell she was worried. He wanted to tell her it would be okay, but he was concerned too. He didn’t say anything, though, because with the roar of the boat engine and the rough water, and the cold wind whipping up, the best course for Evelyn was to hunker down and keep warm.
It took him about twenty minutes to navigate the channel and then head out into the bay and deteriorating conditions towards Yashee Island. There were only about four families who lived on the small island, but all the homes were within walking distance of each other, and there were people waiting at the docks when they moored the boat there.
“Robert!” Derek called out as Robert Marshall, one of the island residents, helped him tie up his boat and bring the gear off.
“I got my ATV with a wagon loaded for your gear. Saves lugging it over to the Washingtons’ house.”
Derek’s stomach fell. “Martha?”
Robert nodded solemnly. “She came home from university about a month ago, pregnant, and this morning she woke up bleeding. Pretty bad too.”
“This is Dr. Saunders, the OB/GYN currently on rotation in Wolf’s Harbor.”
Robert nodded curtly and then paused. “Thorne Saunders’ girl?”
“Yes,” Evelyn said, smiling. “Did you know him?”
“He was my doctor before.... A good man.”
A strange expression passed over Robert’s face as he helped carry the medical supplies up to his ATV. Derek couldn’t help but wonder what that was all about.
He shook his head. He didn’t have time to worry about it.
They secured the gear and then climbed into Robert’s ATV. He drove them away from the docks, up the winding path to the house furthest from the landing: a log house high up the hill, hidden in the trees of Yashee Island. It boasted beautiful views.
The door opened and Derek saw Martha’s mother Jocelyn standing there, waving.
“I’ll bring up the rest of the gear, Docs. Go on and take care of your patient.”
Robert handed Evelyn her medical bag and Derek led Evelyn up the path.
“So glad to see you, Dr. Taylor,” Jocelyn said nervously. “I’ve been so worried. It hasn’t stopped. The bleeding is so heavy.”
“Well, thankfully our clinic has one of the best OB/GYNs from the eastern seaboard in service this month. Dr. Evelyn Saunders—this is Jocelyn Washington.”
Jocelyn froze, her face paling, and Evelyn’s mouth dropped open as they just stared at one another.
Derek was confused. They knew each other. Or it appeared that way.
Evelyn snapped her mouth shut and looked as if she was staring at a ghost. “I would like to see the patient now, if I could. If she’s bleeding she needs medical attention.”
“Of...of course. This way,” Jocelyn said just as nervously as she led them into the house.
> “You okay?” Derek asked.
“Leave it,” Evelyn muttered under her breath as she took off her boots and followed Jocelyn upstairs.
Derek stood there, still confused. It was apparent that Jocelyn and Evelyn knew each other, but the tension simmering under the surface was thick.
What was going on? What had happened?
* * *
Evelyn felt as if she was going to throw up. It had never occurred to her that she would run into Jocelyn again. She’d always been afraid of running into her. She’d ruined Jocelyn’s life too.
It figured that just when Evelyn had found some sort of small happiness in Derek, karma had to remind her of what she’d done all those years ago.
Her father had wanted to marry Jocelyn. Jocelyn had wanted to replace her mother. And when she was a kid she’d hated Jocelyn. Now she had a hard time looking at her. Evelyn was ashamed of her past behavior.
“My daughter is in here,” Jocelyn said quietly.
Evelyn barely acknowledged Jocelyn—because she couldn’t look at her. She was having a hard time keeping her composure and she needed to have control. There was a young girl suffering and she needed help. She couldn’t let her guilt overpower her and stop her from doing her job.
That was why she was here in Wolf’s Harbor.
Evelyn walked into the room and saw a young girl of about nineteen on the bed, sweating. Her skin was gray and she knew just from the glassy expression in the young woman’s eyes that she was bleeding and a lot of blood had been lost.
“Martha, I’m Dr. Saunders. I’ve come to help you.”
Martha nodded, but clearly couldn’t speak.
Evelyn pulled off her jacket and sanitized her hands. “Do you know how far along your daughter is, Mrs. Washington?”
“Sixteen weeks,” Jocelyn answered, sitting next to her daughter.
“She’s nineteen?” Evelyn asked.
“Yes,” Jocelyn responded.
Well, it didn’t take Jocelyn long to move on from my father.
She pushed that bitter thought away. At least Jocelyn had got some happiness. She deserved it.
“I’m going to examine you—okay, Martha? I’ll take care of everything and then I’m going to have Dr. Taylor set up an IV for fluid and pain relief, okay?”
Martha nodded and closed her eyes.
Evelyn ignored the fact that Jocelyn was in the room. There was no time to think about that. She had to help this poor girl.
She had a job to do.
* * *
Evelyn came down the stairs, carrying her equipment. She was exhausted, but she’d managed to stop the bleeding. Now she just wanted to put some distance between her and Jocelyn.
There was so much she wanted to say to Jocelyn but couldn’t. She was terrified. Terrified of having her apology rejected. She couldn’t deal with that today.
Derek was waiting for her.
“Well?” he asked.
“Bleeding has slowed down and she’s hooked up to some packed cells, but I need to get her into the clinic and do an ultrasound.”
“Why?”
“I think she was pregnant with twins and she only lost one, because the Doppler picked up a heartbeat. I couldn’t do anything else because I didn’t want to jeopardize the baby, but she definitely miscarried just one. Her father has a boat and they’re going to get her down to the docks. We should get back to the clinic now and prepare for her arrival.”
Derek nodded. “We can do that.”
“Good.” Evelyn slipped on her coat and then picked up a couple of boxes.
“Whoa, what’s your rush?” Derek asked as he grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. “Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Mrs. Washington?”
“I already have.”
“You’re so in a rush. Why?”
“I told you—we have to get the clinic ready.” She walked out of the door.
Derek caught up to her as she made her way down the path toward the docks. “What’re you running from?”
“I’m not running from anything.”
Liar.
“Oh, come on, Evelyn, you were positively rude to Jocelyn Washington and you’ve never, not once, been rude to anyone in town.”
Evelyn glared at him. “Derek, if the other twin is currently alive I have to prepare everything back at the clinic to make sure it stays that way. Martha was absolutely devastated that she lost one. I promised her and her mother I would do everything in my power to save the other twin. I’m not running from anything. Honestly? I’m still a bit tired from our trip to Juneau.”
“Fine,” Derek said, but she could tell from his tone that he wasn’t fine.
Evelyn was relieved when he dropped it. He didn’t need to know that Jocelyn had been going to marry her father. Or that her father had been killed on his way to visit her. Part of her felt guilty about the whole thing, because her father had gone out that night to propose and he’d died. But the adult version of her wanted to know more.
Her gut reaction to Jocelyn had been cold. Now she was ashamed with herself for her behavior. Would Jocelyn have said yes? Jocelyn had lost someone that night too.
They loaded the boat and headed back to Wolf’s Harbor. There was a fog over the water so thick it was hard to see, and she hoped that Martha’s family would be able to get her into the clinic.
Derek wasn’t saying anything to her and that was for the best.
She really didn’t want to talk about it.
When they got back to the clinic Evelyn dried off and got the exam room ready, prepping the ultrasound with Janet.
Thirty minutes later Martha Washington was brought in on a stretcher by the paramedics, who had been called and had been waiting for the Washingtons’ boat when it moored at the town’s docks.
Jocelyn followed Martha in, but didn’t look at Evelyn.
Evelyn couldn’t blame her. She was so embarrassed over her behavior. She’d acted badly. She deserved Jocelyn’s cold shoulder.
They got Martha transferred to the exam table, and when the paramedics had left Evelyn examined Martha. The bleeding had subsided.
“Give her another unit of packed cells, Janet,” Evelyn said as she covered Martha up and wheeled the ultrasound machine over.
“She’s stopped bleeding?” Jocelyn asked.
Evelyn met Jocelyn’s gaze and nodded. “Yes, you can see for yourself. Her color is returning to normal. Martha, how is your pain?”
“It’s a five now, Dr. Saunders.”
Evelyn smiled warmly. “Better than the ten it was before. I know your belly is tender, but I’m going to do an ultrasound. I heard a heartbeat on the Doppler and I want to confirm that you were indeed carrying twins and that the other twin is fine.”
Martha nodded.
Evelyn got the gel ready. “It’ll be cold... Here we go. Janet, can you get the lights?”
“Yes, Dr. Saunders.”
Janet dimmed the lights and Evelyn placed the wand on Martha’s belly. She soon found what she was looking for. There was the strong flutter of a heartbeat for the other twin. She grinned and turned the monitor.
“There you go, Martha. You were pregnant with twins. You lost one, but this one right here has a strong heartbeat.”
Martha began to cry, and Jocelyn bent down and kissed her daughter on the head.
“Now what, Dr. Saunders?” Martha asked nervously. “I don’t want to lose my other baby.”
“Bed-rest, and I’ll want to check on the baby tomorrow, so you guys should stay here for the night. I want to monitor your bleeding and do another ultrasound before you head back to the island. You’ll have to come in for regular check-ups for a while.”
“Can she do that on bed-rest?” Jocelyn asked.
“Yes, but she needs to take it easy and rest wherever possible.�
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“We can stay in town, Mom, at our old house.”
Jocelyn bit her lip and then smiled nervously as she glanced at Evelyn. “Yes. Of course.”
“Well, it’s good you kept two residences.”
“Well, Mom didn’t marry my stepdad until I was ten. My real father was killed in an accident before I was born. In fact, come to think of it, we have the same last name, Dr. Saunders.”
Jocelyn’s eyes were wide with fear as Evelyn’s world teetered out of control. And as she looked at Martha for the first time—really looked at Martha—she saw her father’s eyes. Saw her father’s ruddy hair and freckles.
Evelyn favored her mother, and had missed out on her father’s freckles, but she’d inherited his hair. Except hers was auburn—red mixed with her mother’s dark. Martha looked like pictures of her late grandmother when she was young.
This was her half sister.
Oh, God. I ruined this girl’s life too.
She had to get out of here.
“Well, it’s a common surname. Now, I have to check on something—Janet will make sure you’re comfortable.”
Evelyn peeled off her rubber gloves and disposed of them as she quickly left the room.
Jocelyn followed her. “Evelyn, wait!”
Evelyn spun around. “No. We’re not talking about it.”
“I think we should talk.”
Evelyn was shaking—with anger, pain, and just about every raw emotion she could think of. She didn’t know what to think. What to believe. Everything inside her was telling her to run, which would save her from getting hurt.
“No. I can’t... I can’t talk about it now. I’m sorry.”
She grabbed her coat and walked out of the clinic and straight into the rain. She wandered along the main street, not really knowing where she was going.
Her mind was screaming at her, telling her to pack a bag and leave.
She needed to protect her heart. When her father had died and she’d lost her home and the only family she’d ever known she’d sworn to herself that she would never feel that kind of pain again.
She didn’t want a family. Families got shattered, broken, and people ended up alone.
You have one, though. Why can’t you see that?