“He’s suffering from smoke inhalation too. I’m sure you noticed he was disoriented and coughing and how his lips were a bright red. These are all signs of smoke inhalation. I’m afraid his is much worse than the other young man’s.”
Her legs trembled, and she reached for Jimmy’s arm to steady herself. “How much worse?”
The doctor pursed his lips and stared into her eyes. “I wish I could tell you. Right now it’s a wait and see game. He’s coughing up a lot of the phlegm that’s settled in his lungs, and that’s good. One of the dangers, though, is that the airways will start to swell and he won’t be able to breathe or to cough up the phlegm.”
Her eyes grew wider. “Is there anything you can do?”
“I’ll watch him closely for the next twenty-four hours. If I see that his throat is closing up, I can run an endotracheal tube down to keep the passageway open. That’s quite uncomfortable for the patient, so I hope I don’t have to do that.”
She nodded. “I see. So in the meantime we just wait.”
“That’s right. My nurse will sit with him tonight and will let me know if his condition changes.”
“Can I stay too?”
He regarded her with a smile and shook his head. “You need your sleep so you can help him recuperate. Go back to the hotel and come back in the morning. If he’s better then, you can sit with him all day. You might even be able to take him back to the hotel tomorrow.”
Laurel looked at the closed door and then at the doctor. “Can I at least see him before I go?”
“Yes, for a few minutes, but he may not be awake.”
“That’s all right. I just need to see that he’s alive. I’d almost given up hope he’d make it back.”
The doctor smiled, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I understand. Come with me.”
As she started to follow him, Jimmy touched her arm and stopped her. “I’ll go make arrangements for Glenn to be transported, but I’ll come back and check on you.”
She nodded and walked behind the doctor into the small exam room. Andrew and Glenn lay on beds at opposite ends of the room. She rushed to Andrew and stared down at him.
The soot had been washed away, but his red lips reminded her of the seriousness of his condition. A lightweight quilt covered him, and his bandaged right arm lay on top of it. She dropped to her knees beside the bed and wrapped her hand around his fingers. “Andrew,” she whispered. “It’s Laurel. You’re safe now, and you’re here with me.”
The doctor leaned down and whispered. “I’ve given him a light sedative. He probably can’t hear you.”
She scooted closer to the bed, bent over, and kissed him on the cheek. He stirred in his sleep, and his mouth twitched in a slight smile. “That’s all right. He knows I’m here.”
“Help!”
Andrew bolted to a sitting position. Frantically, he turned his head from side to side and looked for the person who had called for help, but he couldn’t see anything in the dark cave. A hand touched his arm, and he recoiled.
“Mr. Brady, you’re safe.”
He scooted up in the bed until his back touched the headboard. He pulled the covers up to his chest and cast a terrified glance at the figure leaning over him. “Who are you?”
“My name is Millie Prescott, Mr. Brady. I’m a nurse at the infirmary in Tremont. You’ve been brought here because you were injured in a fire.”
He frowned and tried to focus on the kind voice in the darkness. Why couldn’t he see? He blinked his eyes and then rubbed his hands across them. “Who screamed for help?”
“You did, Mr. Brady. You cried out in your sleep.”
“In my sleep?”
“Yes.” A cool hand touched his forehead. “I’m here to help you.”
He blinked again and tried to concentrate on his surroundings. Now he saw that he wasn’t in total darkness at all. A small lamp sat on a table a few feet away and it gave out a warm glow. Objects about the area began to come into focus, and he realized he was in a room. The voice belonged to a woman who was dressed in white. What had she said? He was in an infirmary?
“I’m not in the cave?”
She put her hand on his shoulder and urged him to lie back down. “Is that where you were? We wondered how you survived the fire. But you’re safe now. You need to rest so you’ll feel better.”
Her kind words made him want to obey, and he slid back down in the bed. His head had just touched the pillow when a new thought crossed his mind, and he sat up again. “Laurel? Is she here?”
The nurse shook her head. “Not right now. She’s been here, but she went back to the hotel to sleep. And that’s what you need to do too. She’ll be back in the morning, and I promise I’ll wake you when she gets here.”
He closed his eyes and settled his head on the pillow once more. A cough shook his body and sent pain racing through him. As the spasm subsided, he swallowed and winced. He didn’t remember any childhood sore throat hurting like the one he had now. And his arm burned. The memory of his shirt on fire flashed in his mind, and he groaned.
The nurse’s face appeared above him again. “Are you in pain, Mr. Brady?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “My throat and arm hurt.”
“You have quite a nasty burn on your arm, and the sore throat is because you inhaled so much smoke. I’ll get something to make you feel better.” Her footsteps tapped on the floor as she walked away from the bed, but she returned minutes later. A cool swab rubbed his arm, and then he felt a prick. “This will help with the pain. Relax and go to sleep. You’re safe now.”
He heard the words, but he couldn’t get the memories out of his mind—trees exploding and shooting fire bombs off like rockets, a wall of fire that stretched as far as he could see, a cave in the side of the mountain, and the desolation of a great forest.
“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help,” he whispered.
“What did you say?”
He wanted to speak the words to her, but his thoughts were becoming fuzzy. The medicine must be taking effect, he thought. He welcomed the drowsiness that was overtaking him. There was no fire pursuing him now. He was safe, and he could rest.
Laurel had been sure she wouldn’t be able to sleep last night, but she’d been wrong. Probably her sleepless night before and the relief at Andrew’s safety had been the reasons for her drifting off the moment her head touched the pillow and not awakening until well after sunup this morning. Now as she approached the infirmary, she could hardly contain her eagerness to see Andrew and tell him the fire that had almost taken his life was slowly being brought under control.
As soon as she stepped through the door into the waiting room, she spotted the nurse she’d seen yesterday. She sat at a desk in the corner of the room and looked up when Laurel entered. Her tired smile and the dark circles under her eyes told Laurel the woman hadn’t gotten much sleep last night.
“Good morning, Laurel. You must be here to see Mr. Brady.”
Surprised that the woman knew her name, she gave a slight nod. “Yes, I am.”
“I saw you yesterday when you were here. My name is Millie. I’ve been taking care of Mr. Brady. When I was feeding him his breakfast, I could hardly get him to eat for talking about you. I’m glad to meet you.”
A wave of relief rippled through her body. “If he’s eating, he must be better. That’s good news. May I see him?”
The nurse shook her head. “Not right now. Dr. Caldwell and a man from the Park Service are in there with him.”
Laurel’s eyebrows arched. “A man from the Park Service? What does he want?”
“I suppose to talk about the fire.” She glanced at her watch and frowned. “I’ve been here all night and was about to leave when you came in. I’m sure the doctor will let you go in when they’ve finished talking.”
“All right. Thank you for taking good care of Andrew.”
“You’re very welcome. It was a pleasure.”
Laurel walk
ed over and eased into a chair after Millie left the infirmary. The room had a hushed atmosphere, and she could almost hear herself breathe. She wondered what could be going on behind that closed door. She wished they would hurry. She wanted to see Andrew and assure herself that he really was alive.
It frightened her to think how quickly life could change. A few days ago she thought her relationship with Andrew had come to an end. The next thing she knew she stood beside a train accepting his proposal. Then the fire, and now his return. But he was alive, and that was the important thing.
The door to the exam room opened, and the doctor and a man she’d come to know well since he’d been in the mountains stepped into the room. His smile made her heart leap into her throat. She jumped up from her chair and stared at the man who’d spent many hours at their home talking to her father about buying their farm. “Superintendent Eakin, what are you doing here?”
He smiled and walked toward her. “Miss Jackson, it’s nice to see you again. I’ve been in the area ever since the fire began, but I didn’t know until this morning that Andrew had been injured fighting the fire. I thought he was still in Virginia. I came as quickly as I could.”
“That was nice of you. I’m sure Andrew was glad to see you.”
He pointed toward the door to the room. “That’s a brave young man in there. I’m proud to have him on my team. His dedication to his job has impressed me from the start, and this act of heroism has confirmed my confidence in him. I wanted to let him know and tell him how thankful we are that he survived what was a horrible experience.”
“I don’t know all the details yet, but I’m eager to find out how he escaped.”
Superintendent Eakin chuckled. “It’s quite a story. Yes, quite a story.” He turned to the doctor and shook his hand. “Thank you for taking care of Andrew. Have you heard from the young man he carried out of the fire?”
The doctor shook his head. “Not this morning. They transported him to a hospital in Knoxville last night. I hope to hear something today.”
“Well, let us know how he’s doing.” He turned back to Laurel. “And you take care of that boy in there. He’s a good man.”
Laurel’s heart raced at the respect for Andrew she saw in his boss’s face. “I will, sir.” He nodded to the doctor and strode out the door. Laurel watched as he closed the door behind him before she turned back to the doctor. “Now tell me how he really is today.”
“I’m happy to say he’s better this morning. He’s lucid. In fact he remembers everything that happened on the mountain. He told the whole story to Mr. Eakin and me, and he knows he’s in the infirmary at Tremont. There’s no swelling in his throat or nasal passages, and he’s not coughing as much as he was. In fact he wanted two things when he woke up—some breakfast, and to see you.” He leaned over and winked at her. “He didn’t necessarily ask for them in that order. I think you were his first choice, but he got the food instead.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, doctor, that’s good news. When can I take him home?”
“Where is home?”
“Cades Cove. I want to take him to my parents’ house so he can recuperate.”
He thought for a moment before he answered. “I want to observe him for a day or two. There’s really not any treatment for smoke inhalation except to replenish the body with oxygen, so he needs to rest and let nature take its course. So I’d say you might be able to leave the day after tomorrow if he continues to improve.”
She glanced past him at the closed door. “When can I see him?”
“Right now.” He smiled, opened the door, and led her into the room. “Mr. Brady, you’ve got another visitor, and I expect you’re more than ready for this one.”
Laurel stopped just inside the door and let her gaze travel over Andrew. He sat propped up in bed with two pillows behind his back. Soot no longer covered his clean-shaven face and his dark hair was combed neatly in place. His lips weren’t as red as yesterday, a good sign she was sure. He smiled and held out his hand.
“Laurel.”
She dashed across the floor to his bedside and fell on her knees beside him. She grasped his hand in both of hers and looked into his eyes. There was so much she wanted to say to him—to tell him how much she loved him, how thankful she was he was alive, how she had prayed for him—but her voice had deserted her. Huge tears began to roll down her face, and she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against their clasped hands. He reached over with his injured arm, and his fingers caressed her braid. “Don’t cry,” he whispered. “It’s all right now.”
Her body shook with sobs for several minutes before she finally remembered the doctor. Had he witnessed her breakdown? She straightened and glanced over her shoulder, but he had left and closed the door behind him. “Oh, Andrew, I’ve never been so frightened in my life.”
“Neither have I. But then I realized God was with me. He took care of Glenn and me, Laurel. It was like His voice spoke in my head and told me what to do.”
Her eyebrows arched. “What do you mean?”
He motioned to a chair across the room. “Drag that chair over here and sit down beside the bed. I want to tell you everything that happened after I got on the train and left you at the station.”
For the next few minutes she listened to the story of his experience on the mountain. When he told of facing the wall of fire, her heart raced at the thought of how scared he must have been facing the danger he’d feared since childhood. Tears pooled in her eyes when he told of the Scripture popping into his mind and finding the cave. She couldn’t start to imagine the torment he and Glenn had endured as they lay on the floor of that dark cavern and wondered if they had climbed into their final resting place. But it was his words about how he struggled with exhaustion every step of the way back to the base camp as he tried to get them to safety that wrenched her heart.
He reached for her hand and wrapped his fingers around it. “I couldn’t have done any of it if God hadn’t been walking with me. He brought me back to you.”
“And now we’re here together.”
He scooted over in the bed and motioned for her to sit beside him. She got up and settled on the edge of the bed. He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed each of her fingers. “Do you remember what you promised beside the train?”
She smiled. “Yes. I said I’d marry you.”
He nodded. “You did, and I’m holding you to that promise. I told you I went to see my father, but it didn’t go well. I told him I’d accepted Christ and that I wasn’t going to come home and enter politics.”
Her eyes grew wide. “What did he say?”
“He ordered me to leave and not come back.” She started to speak, but he held up his hand to stop her. “It’s all right, Laurel. He’ll come around in time. When I asked you to marry me, I had no idea what I would do to support us. I knew the job I had with the Park Service was about to come to a close because nearly all the Cades Cove land is bought. And when I came to work for Superintendent Eakin, he wasn’t too happy about having me as an employee. He felt like he’d been forced to take me. Naturally, I expected him to ask them to terminate my job.”
“Andrew, please don’t worry about this now. We have plenty of time to figure out what we’re going to do.”
He shook his head. “No, I won’t get married until I’m settled in a job that will support us.”
She swallowed. “What do you want to do? Go back to Virginia and look for a job?”
He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t have to. When Superintendent Eakin was here, he offered me a new job.”
Her pulse raced, and her eyes grew wide. “Here? In the mountains?”
He nodded. “How would you like to be married to the Assistant Chief Park Ranger?”
“Really?” she cried. “Where will we live?”
He put his arm around her waist and scooted her closer to him. “In Gatlinburg.” His eyes danced with excitement. “I didn’t know how I would ever be able to leave
here, and now I won’t have to. We’ll be in Gatlinburg with your folks. What do you think about that?”
“Oh, Andrew,” she squealed, “it’s too good to be true! When do you start the new job?”
“He wants me to take over right away. He’s contacting the office in Washington, and I’ll start as soon as I’m recovered.” A look of dismay crossed his face, and he frowned. “We’re talking about getting married, and I haven’t even asked your father yet. What if he doesn’t agree? He may not want me for a son-in-law.”
Laurel threw back her head and laughed. “Don’t be silly. Of course he’ll agree. All he’s ever wanted is for me to be happy. And I am.”
“Well, if you think so, then when do you want to get married?”
She thought for a moment. “My folks will be moving to the new house in Gatlinburg in the spring. With Poppa sick I really need to be home so I can help Mama get ready to move. If we get married then, we can all move at the same time. How does that sound to you?”
He exhaled a long breath. “That sounds wonderful to me.”
She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. “A spring wedding at the church in the Cove. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Then it’s settled. That is, if your father agrees. I still don’t know how he’s going to feel about this.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry. He’s liked you since the day you came to the Cove.” A sudden thought made her pull back and stare at him. “But what about your father, Andrew? How do you think he’ll take this news?”
Sorrow flickered in his eyes, and he shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ll write and tell him. He probably won’t answer, but I’ll write him every week. And when it’s time for the wedding, I’ll invite him. I want to keep in contact with him, but it’s up to him if he wants to do the same.”
She cupped his chin with her hand. “I’ll pray he does.”
He slipped his hand to the back of her head and drew her down until their lips almost touched. “The day I saw you on the street in Gatlinburg I would never have believed how much you would change my life. I’ll always be indebted to your family for showing me what it means to be a member of a family who loves each other and who depends on God to lead them. I want to be a husband and father like Simon and Matthew. I promise you I’ll try, Laurel, and I’ll always love you.”
Beyond These Hills Page 29