Healed by the Single Dad Doc

by Annie Claydon

  Kate quirked the corners of her mouth down. ‘It doesn’t sound like it. I’m so sorry, Ethan.’

  ‘Nonsense. Do you want a hand?’

  She stopped so suddenly that Ethan almost bumped into her. ‘Well...are you sure?’

  ‘A doctor might come in useful.’

  ‘Well, we hope not, but...’ Kate started walking again. ‘Let’s go, then.’

  * * *

  Ethan drove to his house first, and Kate waited outside while he quickly found a pair of walking boots, stuffing them into a rucksack along with a waterproof jacket. He put his medical bag into the boot of the car and they drove to her cottage to pick up her gear. Then he took the short cut along a dirt track to Coleswittam.

  ‘Is everyone at the Old Ford?’

  ‘Yes, that’s the meeting point.’ The car got to the brow of a hill and she pointed ahead of them. ‘There they are.’

  The group of men and women seemed well organised. A sandy-haired man who was obviously in charge was splitting everyone up into search parties and showing them which area they should cover on the map. Kate walked towards him and he smiled.

  ‘Thanks for coming.’ His gaze flipped towards Ethan.

  ‘This is Ethan Conway. He’s a doctor. Ethan, this is Grant, our team leader.’

  ‘Good to have you on board, Ethan.’ Grant shook his hand firmly. ‘Kate, I want you and Ethan to go with Mike. You should know that the husband has dementia, so he may have wandered off somewhere and got lost. His wife might be looking for him. We don’t know. I want you to go up to the Kettle—Mike knows where that is—and maybe Maisie can get a scent there.’

  The Kettle. Ethan had played there himself when he was a kid, and in the summer it was a great place to bathe, to explore the rocks and caves which surrounded the pool. At night, and with the weather closing in, it wasn’t somewhere he’d want anyone to be lost and alone.

  Kate nodded. ‘I’ve got flashlights. Do you have a spare hard hat for Ethan, in case we need to go into the caves?’

  ‘Back of my truck. We have a medical kit too.’ Grant flashed a querying glance at Ethan.

  ‘That’s okay, I have my own in the car.’

  ‘Great. Good luck, then. Keep in touch.’

  ‘Will do.’ Kate hurried over to the open back of an SUV, which bore the logo of the mountain rescue team, leaning in to find what she wanted. Then she joined Ethan as he transferred the contents of his medical bag into his rucksack. Mike joined them, leading Maisie, his dog, and Kate bent to greet the Border collie with a pat on the head.

  ‘Maisie will find them if anyone can. She never gives up.’

  Ethan was sure she was right. He knew that no one would stop looking until the elderly couple was found, but it was a matter of time, as well. An elderly couple might not survive a night out in these hills.

  They walked away from the circle of car headlights into the gloom, only flashlights to light their way. After the heat of a summer’s day the evening was cool and the spattering of rain on Ethan’s face would have been refreshing if it wasn’t another worry to add to all the others for the missing couple.

  ‘Oh!’ They’d walked in near silence for half an hour, concentrating on the uneven ground at their feet, and Kate’s quiet exclamation as she stumbled sounded somehow louder.

  ‘Okay?’ He caught her arm, steadying her.

  ‘Yes, thanks.’ She stopped, shining the flashlight around her, and Mike bent to Maisie, taking a plastic bag out of his pocket which contained a folded item of clothing.

  ‘No scent yet?’ Kate’s words were more of an observation than a question. They’d know when Maisie caught a scent of the old couple.

  ‘Maybe she’ll get one a little further on.’ Mike fondled Maisie’s head briefly and got to his feet.

  ‘Another three quarters of an hour to the Kettle?’ Ethan knew these hills well, but the darkness was disorientating.

  ‘Yep. Bit less, maybe.’ Mike pointed the beam of his flashlight in the direction they were going in and started walking.

  ‘You know this area?’ He heard Kate’s quiet voice next to him.

  ‘Yes. I spent half my time out here when I was a kid. It’s a bit different at night though.’

  At night. A thought struck him suddenly and he called to Mike. ‘The couple we’re looking for. They’re local?’

  ‘Yes, lived here all their lives.’

  ‘Then they’ll know the Kettle, right? We’re headed for the east side, but on the west side...’

  Mike stopped suddenly, scratching his head. ‘Yeah. You’re right. I’ll call Grant and suggest we take the western approach.’

  ‘What?’ He could see Kate’s eyes, wide in the darkness, looking up at him.

  ‘Anyone who’s lived here all their lives will know that the place for couples is the west side of the Kettle. The east side’s a lot prettier, and that’s where the walkers and tourists go. On the west side, there are caves and a bit more privacy.’

  ‘And you think that they would go there—like a courting couple?’

  ‘Maybe. Makes sense to me that they might. We used to come up here in the evenings all the time, when we were teenagers.’

  Mike ended his call, putting his phone back into his pocket. ‘Okay, Grant agrees. We’ll go this way.’ Mike shone his torch up an incline, and they made their way over the rough, stony ground.

  ‘Surely they couldn’t have managed this?’ Kate was stumbling in the darkness, and Ethan took her hand to steady her. When she regained her balance she kept hold of him, her fingers warm in his.

  ‘There’s another way round, much flatter and easier to walk. If they knew where they were headed, then they could have taken that route.’ Ethan remembered that there was a bus stop too, along the road on that side of the hill.

  ‘You think they knew where they were headed? It must have been a long time since they did any courting.’

  ‘For someone with dementia, those memories of their youth become more vivid, as the intervening memories fade. They often recreate their early memories, because they seem more real to them.’

  ‘And you used to come here? Was it where you first kissed a girl?’ It seemed that, despite the rugged terrain, Kate still had enough breath left to tease him.

  ‘Yes. That was a very long time ago...’

  Ethan heard Mike laugh and remembered suddenly that he and Kate weren’t alone, however much it felt that she was the only other person in the world right now.

  ‘Me and the wife used to go there, too. Her father didn’t think too much of me.’ Mike remarked.

  There was no more possibility of talk as they toiled up the hill, but Kate kept her hand in Ethan’s.

  * * *

  They were keeping up a punishing pace, uphill and in the darkness. But Ethan’s dark presence beside her, his hand to guide her, was helping Kate keep up with the two men.

  Then the terrain levelled out, onto what seemed to be a wide causeway. Easy to traverse, it seemed a lot more likely that an elderly couple might come this way.

  A sudden bark from Maisie and a quiet exclamation from Mike. ‘She’s got the scent.’

  Maisie ran ahead, the lead playing out behind her, and Mike quickened his pace to follow. Ethan broke into a jog and Kate followed him, keeping her eyes on the ground in front of them, which was lit by the beam of his torch.

  ‘There. Up ahead...’ Ethan grabbed her hand, switching off his torch, and in the darkness Kate could see... She wasn’t quite sure what she saw. A faint glimmer, maybe, in the darkness.

  ‘Yes! I see it.’ Mike’s voice. Maisie had disappeared ahead of him in the darkness, but Kate could hear her short, sharp barks indicating that she was following a scent.

  The grass gave way to smooth rocks, and they scrambled across them. The light was becoming stronger now, yellowish, not white l
ike the light from their torches. Mike was reeling in Maisie’s lead and Ethan led Kate across the boulders in their way, into the mouth of a small cave, the rocks around them smooth and rounded.

  Kate gasped. There was a fire, well-built and burning brightly. Beside it sat an old man, and on the other side a woman was lying, covered with a couple of coats. And the man was waving a burning brand from the fire, as if to fend them off.

  Maisie trotted over to Mike, sitting at his feet, and he gave her a reward from his pocket. Ethan was suddenly still, holding on to Kate’s arm to stop her from approaching the man.

  ‘Hello. You must be Mr Fuller.’ His voice was quiet, without any of the urgency that all three of the searchers were feeling.

  ‘What are you doing in my house? You’re not my son.’ Fred Fuller waved the branch ferociously, obviously confused and angry.

  ‘No, I’m his friend. Ethan.’

  ‘And is this your girl?’ Fred pointed at Kate, seeming a little mollified by Ethan’s words.

  ‘Yes, that’s right Mr Fuller.’ Kate smiled, disengaging herself from Ethan’s grip, and stepping forward. ‘I’m Kate.’

  ‘Let’s take a look at you, then.’ Fred lowered the branch, putting it down onto the rock floor of the cave.

  She walked towards him, kneeling down beside him, and Fred peered at her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ethan behind her, quietly sliding the burning branch away from Fred’s reach.

  ‘You must be cold, Mr Fuller.’ Fred was wearing a shirt and tie, with a V-necked sweater, but his coat was covering his wife. ‘I’ve got a cup of tea.’

  Fred brightened visibly. ‘Yes, we could do with a cup of tea. Eh, Edie?’

  ‘Is Mrs Fuller all right?’ Edie Fuller seemed to be asleep, and Ethan was working his way round to take a look at her.

  ‘She’s...’ Fred shrugged. ‘What’s he doing?’

  ‘My...boyfriend’s a doctor.’ Kate kept the subterfuge up, feeling herself blush. ‘He’s going to see if Mrs Fuller’s awake.’

  ‘A doctor, eh?’ Fred nodded in approval. ‘You’ve done well for yourself, girl. Don’t throw that fish back into the sea.’

  Kate could feel her ears burning. But Ethan was taking advantage of Fred’s sudden interest in her love life, and taking the opportunity gently to examine Edie.

  ‘No, I won’t.’ She wriggled out of her backpack, opening it with one hand and pulling out the light thermal blanket. ‘Here, would you like this around your shoulders?’

  ‘What’s that thing?’ Fred looked at the shiny reflective blanket, pushing it away roughly. ‘Where’s my tea?’

  ‘In my bag. I’ve got a thermos flask.’

  Mike had stepped back, away from the mouth of the cave, and Kate could hear him on his phone, quietly calling their position in. There would be others here soon, but in the meantime they had to keep the old couple warm.

  ‘I could do with a cuppa. I’m cold.’ Fred’s voice seemed suddenly thin and frail. Ethan turned for a moment, taking off his coat and leaving it on the ground beside him.

  ‘What about this, then?’ Kate reached forward, picking up the coat and wrapping it around Fred’s shoulders. He seemed to like it a bit better than the blanket, and tried to push his arms awkwardly into the sleeves. Kate helped him, fastening the zip at the front.

  ‘When he asks yer to marry him...’ Fred leaned forward ‘...don’t say no, now. You girls...you play hard to get and a man can get the wrong idea.’

  Fred seemed to have no regard for the fact that Ethan must be able to hear every word of their conversation, and Kate wondered what he was thinking. Probably just the same as she was, that keeping Fred warm and quiet was the main thing right now.

  ‘He hasn’t asked me yet. I think he might, though.’

  She pulled the flask out of her rucksack, hoping that tea might divert Fred’s attention a little. Pouring a mouthful into the lid, she handed it to Fred, steadying it as he raised it to his lips.

  ‘I can do it.’ Fred glared at her but he drank his tea. ‘Not much there. What are you going to say when he asks you?’

  ‘Yes. I’ll say yes. Here, have some more tea.’ Kate poured another mouthful into the beaker and gave it to Fred, watching as he drank.

  Ethan had his back to her. Edie wasn’t moving.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  THE SMALL FIRE in the cave was burning brightly and had been well tended. Fred was obviously intent on protecting his wife, and in his confused state he could so easily have jabbed the burning branch in Kate’s direction.

  But she hadn’t faltered. She’d calmed Fred, her smile charming the old man into allowing her to tend to him while Ethan concentrated on Edie.

  Fred had done a good job there, too. His memory might be patchy, but the details of how to make a warm bed had somehow stuck. Edie was lying on a makeshift bed of soft bracken and when Ethan felt her hand it was warm under the coats.

  ‘Edie, Edie.’ He spoke to her softly and Edie didn’t respond. Her pulse was strong, though, and she was breathing steadily. In the torchlight, he could see that a dark bruise was forming on the side of her face and it looked as if she’d taken a fall. Ethan didn’t dare move her.

  Suddenly her eyes fluttered open. ‘Fred?’

  ‘It’s all right, Edie. Fred’s right here.’ He smoothed her tousled hair back from her face, trying to give some comfort to the old lady. It was a wonder that she and Fred had got this far and she must be confused and in pain.

  ‘I’m Ethan, and I’m a doctor. My friend Kate is with Fred and he’s okay.’ Ethan wondered whether he should get his story straight with Kate’s and call her his girlfriend. It was tempting. ‘Are you in any pain, Edie?’

  ‘My arm.’ Edie looked up at him placidly.

  ‘Okay, let’s take a look.’ He carefully moved the coats, looking at Edie’s arm. It was bruised and swollen, almost certainly fractured. ‘Anything else, my love?’

  ‘No.’ Edie tried to move and Ethan gently stilled her. Glancing quickly at her legs, he saw that she seemed to be able to move them without pain. That was a good sign.

  ‘Can you do something for me? I just want you to lift your leg a little.’ He put his hand gently under Edie’s knee to support it. Edie obligingly lifted her leg an inch and he nodded. ‘That’s great. Perfect. Now the other one.’

  No symptoms of a hip fracture. Edie was breathing and, when Ethan pulled his stethoscope out of his rucksack and listened to her heart, it was beating strongly.

  ‘Are you bleeding anywhere?’ The notes which Grant had handed him included a reference to Edie being on warfarin for a blood clot.

  ‘No.’ Edie’s soft gaze found his. ‘I know I mustn’t bleed. I take warfarin, you know.’

  It seemed that Edie was a lot more aware of her situation than Fred was. Ethan wondered what it might be like, knowing that they were stranded and alone and that her husband was unable to remember what they were doing here.

  ‘Okay. I’m just going to check you over a bit. Make sure everything else is all right.’

  ‘What about Fred?’ Edie lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘He can’t remember, you know.’

  ‘Yes, I know. And he’s fine. Kate’s looking after him. Just relax and let me look after you.’

  Edie nodded, tears forming in her eyes. ‘He just got off the bus and I followed him. He wanted to come here, and... I fell. He kept me warm.’

  ‘Yeah, Fred did a good job, Edie. He looked after you really well.’ Ethan turned quickly, tears blurring his eyes, and found Kate’s gaze. In the flickering firelight he thought he saw her eyes bright with tears too.

  ‘All right, Edie?’ Fred was looking at his wife, his eyes tender now.

  ‘Good enough, Fred.’ Edie smiled towards her husband and he nodded, turning his attention back to the tea that Kate was holding.

 
‘He always knows me.’ Edie murmured the words quietly, and Ethan nodded, his fingers suddenly clumsy with emotion as he fumbled in his backpack for the inflatable splint.

  * * *

  Ethan had been so tender with Edie. He’d glanced back in Kate’s direction more than once as he’d worked, a silent ‘are you okay?’ and Kate had responded with a smile. Fred was confused, reacting sometimes to reality and sometimes to what was going on in his head, but he was calm now, watching Ethan tend to Edie.

  ‘What’s that?’ The sound of a steady beat in the distance promised that the helicopter would be here soon.

  ‘They’re coming to take you to the hospital, Fred.’ Kate wondered whether she should mention the intended mode of transport just yet.

  ‘I want to go home. Tell them to take me home.’ Fred frowned suddenly.

  ‘Okay. But don’t you think they ought to make sure that Edie’s all right first?’ She nodded over to where Ethan was carefully putting Edie’s arm into an inflatable splint.

  ‘She’s all right.’ Fred turned to Edie. ‘You’re all right, aren’t you, girl?’

  ‘Yes, she’s going to be all right. But she needs to go to the hospital so that they can look at her arm.’ Ethan turned, speaking gently but firmly.

  Fred turned his mouth down, as if he wasn’t quite in agreement, but wasn’t going to argue. ‘They’ll do well to get a car up here.’

  ‘They’re sending a helicopter for you.’ Ethan grinned.

  ‘Helicopter? Hear that, Edie? We’re going in a helicopter.’ Fred sounded almost excited.

  * * *

  The paramedics took over from Ethan and he helped Kate get Fred to his feet and out of the cave. The helicopter pilot climbed down, supervising as they guided Fred into the helicopter, and strapped him in securely. It was all quickly done but Kate saw Ethan find the time to jog up to Edie’s stretcher, taking her outstretched hand and bending to exchange a few words with her.

  Another party of mountain rescue volunteers, who had been combing the area next to theirs, arrived and Mike went over to talk to them briefly, before re-joining Kate and Ethan.