“You really think it was good?” TJ’s eyes widened, almost begging for affirmation.
“Clear out of the park.” Ian glanced toward Andre. “I think you have a home-run batter here.”
Andre grinned and shook Ian’s hand.“Glad to see you here, Ian. You’ll have to come back and watch them play next week.”
Ian glanced toward Leigh with a proprietary air, and once again jealousy stung Ben. “I might just do that. How’s your dad? I miss seeing him at the plant since his surgery.”
“He’s good.” Andre cradled his glove in his arm. “He’s about ready to return to work.”
Ben turned to Leigh, his eyebrows raised. “I thought we agreed—”
“No, you made the decision. After I thought about it, I decided an impromptu ride to the ballpark wouldn’t hurt anything. Who would know I’d be here? Besides, I’m not staying long.”
Ian slipped his arm through Leigh’s. “Come on, Ben, she’s safe—she’s with me.”
That was what worried him. He hadn’t forgotten Phillip Maxwell’s remark about Ian being a lady’s man. He turned as Andre lifted his whistle to his lips and blew hard.
“Okay,” Andre yelled. “Let’s give the other boys a turn at batting, and then I’ll hit you some fielders.”
Ben took his place on the mound as daylight slipped into the dusky part of the day and one boy after another took his turn at bat. Leigh yelled encouragement to each of them. The night-lights flickered on as the last boy finished his stint at bat. Andre gathered the boys around him. “Okay,” he said. “First game, Saturday night, here on this diamond. Be here at 6:00 p.m., and we’ll practice for half an hour and then let the other team have the field for their warm-up. Maybe Ben will help us out again.”
Andre held up his hands for high fives then sent them out to practice fielding under the lights while Ben walked toward the bleachers. Wade better show up next time since there was no way he’d fill in for his chief deputy again. At least one of his pitches hadn’t broken an arm or tooth. But the evening was young, and he couldn’t shake the dark clouds hovering in his head.
“Think they’ll win?” Leigh asked when he got within earshot.
“Maybe, but probably not. Andre said the other team’s coach has the state championship in his sights.”
“You don’t think Andre does?” Ian sounded skeptical.
“I don’t think he wants to put that kind of pressure on the kids. He wants baseball to be fun for them. . . besides, it’s not whether you win—”
“Or lose, it’s the way you play the game.” Ian snorted. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“Doesn’t matter what I think—I’m not the coach.”
“Andre seems like a really good coach, but it looks like he needs help,” Leigh said. “Anyway, TJ had fun tonight. I need to thank your deputy for letting him play.”
Ian tapped Leigh with his elbow. “Quick, a fly ball to TJ.”
Ben turned as TJ got under the ball and snagged it. Then he hurled it back to Andre.
“Way to go, TJ!” Leigh pumped her fist into the air.
“Where’d he get all that talent? Pitching and fielding,” Ian said. “From his dad?”
“Yeah?” Ben said. “TJ has a good arm, and I don’t remember you being too good at sports.”
Even under the lights, Ben could see the two red circles that appeared on Leigh’s cheeks as she pressed her lips together. “I played tennis, but if you remember, Tony was a great pitcher, and TJ is his nephew.”
On the field, Andre blew his whistle and called an end to practice. Within minutes, thirteen boys surrounded him, clamoring for ice cream. “Not this time. But I do want you boys to police the area.”
Leigh waved to her son then turned to Ian. “If they’re finished, maybe TJ can ride back with us.”
Ben stuck his hands in his pockets. “Or you could ride back with us. I doubt TJ will want to leave the twins.” He didn’t say it, but he doubted Ian would want three sweaty boys in his Escalade.
Evidently the idea occurred to Leigh as well because she shot an uncertain glance toward the SUV. “That might be a good idea.”
Ian squared his shoulders. “I brought you, I’ll take you home, the boys too, if they want to ride. But are they ready to leave? I think I just heard the coach tell them the area needs policing.”
Ben had heard that as well. “We’ll probably be here another half hour.”
Frowning, Leigh glanced toward the field. “I really do need to get back.”
Ben shrugged. “I’ll bring the boys home.”
He walked toward the team, stopping to look over his shoulder as Ian and Leigh picked their way through the grass to Maxwell’s fancy SUV. Ian’s hand rested on the small of Leigh’s back.
TJ tugged on Ben’s arm, and he turned to see what the boy wanted. He stood with Andre’s little brother. “Martin and his family are going to the lake this weekend for a picnic. Could we have a picnic sometime? Go to the lake? We could swim.”
Ben’s whole body stiffened.
Martin elbowed TJ. “Sheriff don’t swim, doofus. Everybody knows that, on account of that boy that drowned. Ain’t that—”
“Hey, Martin.” Andre’s loud voice overrode his brother’s words. “Go round up the bats and start picking up the trash.”
Martin looked up and ducked his head under the scowl on his big brother’s face. He grabbed TJ’s arm. “Come on, you gotta help me.”
The two boys sauntered to the fence where bats lay scattered like pick-up sticks, Martin’s mouth moving like a magpie’s. Once TJ looked back at Ben, his eyes wide. No explanation needed for what Martin had shared with TJ. Ben’s stomach churned, the meal he’d eaten earlier souring. How did Martin know unless . . . He glanced at Andre.
His deputy averted his gaze. “Who needs rides?” he yelled. “And who has parents picking them up?”
Only two hands went up for rides. “Okay,” Andre said. “I’ll text your parents that we’re done. And while we’re waiting, the rest of you help Martin and TJ.”
The boys scattered over the field, picking up wrappers and anything else that’d been dropped. Ben slipped the bat carrier on his shoulder, and he and Andre walked toward the fence where the two boys had stacked the bats in a semi-neat order.
Andre held the bag while Ben slid the aluminum clubs into it. “Sorry about what Martin said.”
“He only repeated what he’d heard.”
“My parents asked why you didn’t help coach . . . I guess he heard us talking, but Ben, nobody blames you for Tommy Ray’s death.”
“Billy Wayne did. His old man still does.”
“Well, I was there. Everybody thought Tommy Ray was horsing around. You couldn’t tell he was in trouble.”
“Thanks, Andre, but you’re my friend, and you might be a little prejudiced. I should’ve gone in after him right away instead of throwing him the inner tube.”
His deputy palmed his hands. “But that’s what a lifeguard is supposed to do. We took the same training. It was a terrible accident, and it’s been three years. It’s time to let it go.”
If only he could. “I was in charge, and I let Tommy Ray and his family down. I keep thinking if I’d just—”
“Ben, turn it over to God. It wasn’t your fault. But if you’re convinced it was, just remember God has already forgiven you—forgave you the day it happened. Let. It. Go.”
Not one day in the three years since the Gresham boy died had Ben felt God’s forgiveness. “Look, let’s talk about—”
“Coach!” Yells rent the air.
“Come here quick!”
“There’s a snake!”
“Martin got bit!”
Ben jerked in the direction of the screams. Martin sat on the ground near the center field fence, holding his leg. Ben sprinted toward him with Andre right behind him. “Don’t move!”
Martin rocked on the ground, holding his leg to his chest with the other boys huddled around him. Andr
e knelt beside his brother while Ben yanked out his cell phone and speed-dialed Leigh. “Can you get back here? We have a boy with a snakebite.”
Ben knelt at the boy’s feet. He’d known something bad was going to happen.
Andre pocketed his phone. “An ambulance is on the way. They said to keep him still and for him to lie down.”
“It . . . hurts. My leg h-hurts.”
Ben used his glove as a pillow for Martin, then he turned to his deputy. “Get the boys to the bleachers, then see if the snake is still around here. All of you, watch where you step.” He turned back to Martin. “I’m going to look at your foot, okay? You just lay there and be still.”
Martin’s small body jerked as Ben gently turned the swollen ankle. “I’ll try not to hurt you.” He unbuckled the cleated shoe and slipped his shoe and sock off, dread filling him at the sight of two puncture wounds above his ankle, usually a sign of a poisonous snake. Maybe it was a dry bite, one where the snake hadn’t injected much venom. “Do you remember what the snake looked like?”
Martin shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. “I didn’t see it. It just jumped and bit my leg.”
“I did,” TJ said.
Ben snapped his head around. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to go with Andre.”
TJ blinked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave my friend.”
“Well, what did it look like?”
“It was reddish brown and had some kind of round pattern on it.”
Ben’s stomach tightened. Copperhead. He examined the boy’s leg. The swelling extended up the leg. “Martin, I need you to be really still until the ambulance gets here, okay?”
He looked over his shoulder as Ian’s SUV screeched to a halt, and Leigh jumped out. In seconds she knelt beside the boy while Ian leaned over her shoulder.
“Has anyone called 911?” she asked.
“They’re on the way.”
Leigh examined Martin’s leg. “What happened?”
“Snake bit him. What TJ described sounded like a copperhead.” The look she gave him didn’t make him feel better.
“Those bites can be nasty,” Ian muttered.
Martin wailed, and Leigh’s eyes narrowed as she shot Ian a warning glare over her shoulder before she turned to Martin. “How are you feeling?”
“It hurts. Am I gonna die?”
“Look at me, Martin.” Leigh lifted the boy’s chin. “You’re going to be okay. Ben, do you have a first aid kit?”
He tossed Ian his keys. “Would you mind getting it? It’s in my truck, under the seat.”
“Passenger side?”
Ben nodded as his cell phone buzzed.
“Ben!” Andre’s voice sounded panicky. “You gotta get over here!”
Ben turned and scanned the field for his deputy. Andre stood with his back against the center field fence.
Leigh glanced up. “I don’t need you. Go.”
“Ben!” His deputy’s voice quivered. “I really need you, but keep the boys away.”
Ben glanced toward his truck. Ian had found the kit and hurried back toward them. “The ambulance should be here any second.”
He grabbed TJ’s hand and led him to the bleachers before jogging toward center field, where his deputy waited. “This better be—” Ben’s heart stilled. He tried to breathe, but icy fingers wrapped around his lungs, locking them down.
“Don’t come any closer,” Andre warned. “But I’d appreciate it if you’d get rid of these things.”
Five copperheads slithered on the ground between Ben and his deputy. “Don’t move,” Ben said.
“Don’t you worry.”
With the fence at Andre’s back, there was no way for the deputy to walk around the snakes. Ben was going to have to shoot them.
Two snakebites in three weeks? Leigh hoped it didn’t become a pattern. If only she’d stuck her medical bag in Ian’s SUV. She smoothed her hand over Martin’s forehead. His dark skin had a chalky tone to it. Sweat beaded his face. Signs of low blood pressure. Mentally, she hurried the ambulance.
A tear squeezed from Martin’s eye, and he brushed it away. “I don’t feel so good.”
“You’re going to be fine.” Leigh had found that if a patient knew what was going on, it kept them calmer. “You’re going to the hospital to get some medicine that will fix you up. Now, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly.”
Ian squatted beside her and opened the first aid kit. A man she didn’t recognize hovered behind Ian. “Shouldn’t you suction the venom out?” the stranger asked. “I use to drive an ambulance, and that’s what those guys did.”
“Must’ve been years ago,” she muttered, shooting him a quick glance before turning to Ian. “Do you see any alcohol wipes?”
Ian handed her a small, sealed packet, and the other man butted in again. “Look, there’s a surgical steel blade in this here kit if you need it.”
She’d gone through eight years of medical school, and this guy knew more than she did? “I think I know what I’m doing.”
His face turned red. “Just trying to help. Sorry, lady.”
He probably was, but she’d battled mentality like his her whole way through med school.
Ian turned to him with a frown. “Look, she’s a doctor, so if you don’t mind . . .”
“Oh.” He stepped back. “Guess you don’t need my help, then.”
“I think she has it under control.”
Leigh tore open the wipe packet and gave Martin a reassuring smile. “This will burn, but not for long.”
She gently cleaned the wound, noting the bruising and small puncture wounds that were turning dark. “Got another wipe?” she asked as the sharp wawa of the ambulance reached her ears. A minute later, two paramedics raced toward them. David, she recognized from the ER. His partner was new to her.
David set his bag on the ground. “Dr. Somerall? What do we have here?”
“We have Martin. And he’s been bitten by a snake.”
“And it hurts.” Martin’s voice cracked. “Real bad.”
“You’re being mighty brave.” The medic glanced over the boy’s head at Leigh. “Poisonous?” he mouthed.
“Probably. Let’s get his vitals and then get him to the hospital where we can do blood work.” She turned to Ian. “Could you find out if anyone has called his parents?”
“Andre is his brother. He should be able to give permission for any procedure you need to do.”
“Ian, please. I’d rather have it from the parents. You seemed to know them. Would you please call for me?” She stepped out of the boy’s hearing range and dialed the hospital. “I have a nine-year-old black male with a witnessed copperhead snakebike to his right lower leg who will soon be en route to the ER. Prepare to draw a CBC and a PT and INR and have antivenom ready to administer. One more thing. He was a patient in the ER around the middle of June. Martin Stone. Would you pull his records?”
Ian stepped toward her. “Martin’s dad, Samuel Stone,” he said, holding out his phone.
“Thanks,” she said. “Mr. Stone, this is Dr. Leigh Somerall. I’m not sure if Ian informed you, but Martin has incurred a possible poisonous snakebite, and I need your permission to treat.”
“Doc, you do whatever you need to do. My wife and I will meet you at the hospital.”
“I know Martin’s tetanus shot is up-to-date from when I saw him in the ER a couple of weeks ago. I have to ask again if he’s allergic to anything.”
“Let me ask Adrian.”
Leigh waited as she heard Stone relay the question.
“My wife says he’s not. Is Andre there?”
“I think he’s trying to find the snake to ascertain what type we’re dealing with.”
“Thanks, Doc, glad you were there.”
She handed the phone to Ian and then turned to the paramedic who was helping to load the gurney. “How are his vitals?”
“BP is 85/40. Pulse is 120.”
Possible mild shock. “Let’s t
ransport. I’ll ride in the back with the boy.” TJ. She jerked her head around, searching for her son. “Where’s TJ?”
“Ben took him to the bleachers where the other boys are,” Ian said. “I think he called in more deputies to help with them until their parents get here. Do you want me to take TJ and the twins to the Logans’?”
Leigh hesitated. If she took TJ with her, he’d have to hang around the ER waiting room until she was finished. Finally, she nodded. “Tell him . . . tell him Martin is going to be okay.” She started to climb into the ambulance but turned back to Ian. “Thanks.”
“Don’t worry about TJ. I’ll keep him safe. After I drop the boys off at the Logans’, I’ll pick you up at the hospital.”
Five shots rang out, and Leigh jumped. Frantically, she searched for TJ, but the boys had deserted the bleachers. Finally she found them crowded near the dugout fence, staring in the direction of the shots. She followed their line of sight to Ben and Andre, and she grabbed the side of the ambulance to keep from falling. Ben held out a snake that reached from his waist to the ground.
Martin moaned, and Leigh motioned to the medic for them to leave. “Take care of TJ,” she called to Ian as the ambulance door closed.
Fifteen minutes after arriving at the hospital, Leigh studied the first lab report on Martin’s blood panel. A slightly elevated white count, but everything else looked normal. Antivenom or not? She had yet to decide. After speaking with Ben about the snakes that had been killed, she’d learned all five had been copperheads, females about to birth. Of all the poisonous snakes in their area, perhaps the copperhead was the least lethal. She turned to her RN, thankful that Cathy was on duty. “Would you accompany me to Martin’s room?”
When they stepped inside the room, Adrian Stone looked around. “I’m tired of meeting you this way, Dr. Somerall. But this boy can’t seem to keep out of trouble. Is he going to be okay?”
Leigh had met Martin’s mother the first time she saw the boy in the ER with the cut on his arm. She patted her shoulder, hoping to erase the worry lines around her mouth. “I think he’s going to be fine.”
Mr. Stone stood. “Did Andre and the sheriff find the snake and identify it?”
A Promise to Protect (Logan Point Book #2): A Novel Page 14