Weekend with the Best Man

by Leah Martyn

  ‘Lindsey, listen,’ Dan instructed firmly. ‘I want you to position yourself to receive Riley’s torso and support his head, OK?’

  Lindsey was put on her mettle. She reached out her arms. ‘Right, I’ve got him!’ Immediately, she began to equalise the position of Riley’s head and neck, which would automatically clear his airway. ‘How’s his pulse?’

  Dan’s mouth screwed tight. ‘It’s there but it’s faint. And no breath sounds. Damn.’ He dragged in a huge breath and in one swift movement bent to deliver five quick mouth-to-mouth breaths into their patient.

  The silence was deafening; seconds felt like hours as they waited. And then they heard Riley’s roughened cough. ‘OK, he’s breathing but still well out of it. Grab me the torch, Lindsey.’ Automatically, he took their patient’s weight so Lindsey could access the torch from the trauma kit.

  Dan’s face was set in concentration as he flicked the light into the boy’s eyes. ‘Equal and reacting,’ he relayed, feeling the tightness in his temples ease fractionally.

  So, no bleed to the brain, Lindsey interpreted silently. ‘His knee seems at an odd angle.’

  ‘I had noticed.’ Dan began feeling around for the clip gates attached to the runner looped over his shoulder. Riley’s injured knee was an added complication. The sooner they got the kid down and treated, the better. His gaze lowered to where Riley’s injury was just visible below the coloured band of his shorts. The matter of the scraped skin was of little concern but Dan’s instincts were telling him that the puffy state of the boy’s knee plus the blood seeping from the wound from the rock were a worry. ‘He’s obviously hit the rock with some force.’

  ‘Do you think he’s banged his head and lost control?’ Lindsey voiced her own concerns tentatively.

  ‘Quite possibly. Whatever, I can’t do much from here. We’ll need to get him down so I can look at him properly. Right, I’m about to try to anchor Riley to my harness.’

  Lindsey felt unease crawl up her backbone as she realised the logistics. It seemed a very big ask. Dan was going to try to align Riley’s body to his, chest to chest. ‘In practical terms, how do you want to work it, then?’

  ‘Slowly and carefully. We’ll endeavour to manoeuvre Riley upright now. I’ll help as much as I can but I’ll have to concentrate on getting him adjacent to my own body so I can link our harnesses together. OK, let’s do it.’

  It was useless. Lindsey shook her head in despair. It was like trying to steady a ton weight balloon with a piece of string. Riley was a well-built young man, his unconscious state only adding to their difficulties. And in their precarious position, it was nearly impossible to co-ordinate the lift so the two harness belts were close enough to link.

  ‘This isn’t going to work,’ Dan said concisely. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head. ‘This was a hare-brained idea.’

  Lindsey sensed his anguish but they couldn’t give up now. Riley’s young life could well depend on their teamwork. She pushed down her fears. ‘Give me the clip gates, Dan.’

  ‘That’s ridiculous!’ His brows shot up. ‘Riley’s way too heavy and you’re not wearing the right kind of harness.’

  ‘I didn’t mean I’d try to take Riley’s weight,’ Lindsey pointed out. ‘But we have to find a resolution here. What we’re doing is not working—when you’re steady, Riley’s either too high or too low.’

  Dan swore under his breath and slumped into his harness. ‘We’ll just have to wait until the SES guys get here. They can drop someone. Between us, we’ll be able to attach Riley and get him down.’ He reached inside his vest for the radio transmitter.

  All that could take precious time. Lindsey thought swiftly. It was time they didn’t have. Her confidence in her own capabilities kicked in. ‘Wait a minute. Could you try linking your hands under Riley’s behind and lifting him to your waist level? Then I could make a grab for his harness and snap you together.’

  Dan’s jaw tightened so hard it felt like snapping. He hated not being in control. Hated and loathed it. Nevertheless, he did what Lindsey had suggested, gripping Riley and lifting him as high as he could, his muscles straining with the effort.

  Lindsey’s nerves were stretched like the strings on a bass fiddle. She had only the barest window of opportunity to hitch the two harnesses together before Dan’s strength gave out and he’d have no choice but to abort his hold on the injured boy. She steadied her breathing, conscious of almost choreographing her movements.

  ‘Do it now, Lindsey...’ Dan gasped, pulling his torso back so Lindsey could use what little space there was between him and the boy. ‘Now!’ he yelled.

  ‘Do it—or I’ve lost him!’

  In a flash, remembering everything she’d been taught, Lindsey used her feet in a technique called smearing, where most of the climber’s weight was positioned over one foot to reduce the overall load on the arms. Twisting slightly, she turned her upper body so that her arm closest to the rock face could counter-balance her movement and give her other arm maximum extension. It took barely seconds to execute.

  But to Dan those same seconds felt like hours. The muscles of his throat and around his mouth were locked and sweat pooled wetly in his lower back. His mind was so focused he hardly felt the nudge of Lindsey’s fingers as she secured one then two more clip gates to link Dan to his patient.

  ‘Done...’ Her voice was barely above a whisper.

  * * *

  Lindsey hardly remembered how they got down. She only remembered the relief she’d felt when Dan had cut Riley’s rope and they’d been able to begin their descent.

  And there were plenty of hands to help them once they were safely on the ground. A subdued cheer even went up. Riley was released from his harness and placed on the stretcher.

  Lindsey divested herself of her own harness, vaguely aware her legs felt as unsteady as a puppet’s. She swallowed back the taste of bile. Surely she wasn’t about to disgrace herself and throw up here in front of all these macho men. Someone from the SES handed her a bottle of water. ‘Nice work, Lindsey. You’re a beauty.’

  She managed a weak smile before swallowing several big mouthfuls of water. Her equilibrium steadied and she pulled her thoughts together. Removing her safety hat, she shook out her hair and began making her way across to where Riley’s stretcher had been placed in the shade and Dan was bending over him.

  Dan looked at her briefly. ‘He’s come round. You’ll be fine, mate,’ he reassured his young patient. ‘Take it easy now. We’ll get you on some oxygen.’

  The portable oxygen unit appeared as if by magic. And a space blanket.

  ‘How is he, Doc?’ Toby Marshall hovered uneasily. He’d have some explaining to do to the kid’s parents over this.

  Dan folded his stethoscope away. Riley’s breathing was a bit raspy but this wasn’t the place to be passing that information along. It would right itself as the oxygen kicked in. ‘Riley has a fractured kneecap and possible lower rib injury. We need to get him to hospital.’ He turned to the paramedic and took him aside. ‘I’ll leave Riley in your capable hands, Terry. Cane it in, mate. His parents are probably wearing out the floor in the ED.’

  ‘No worries, Doc. Scratch us a few notes to take and we’ll be out of here.’

  * * *

  Late afternoon and the vivid sunset was rapidly being overtaken by the sweep of pearly grey evening sky and the wind that had risen had the sharpness of a whip crack. One of the SES crew had given Dan and Lindsey a lift back to the cliff-top and Dan was rapidly sorting his climbing gear and stowing it safely in his Land Rover.

  Arms wrapped around her middle, Lindsey stood watching him. It had been the oddest kind of day.

  Dan closed the tailgate on his SUV and turned, his gaze narrowing. He frowned a bit. She looked shattered. ‘Why didn’t you go and sit in the car?’

  ‘I wanted to
wait for you.’

  ‘Aw...’ He gave a goofy grin. ‘Need a hug, then?’ He opened his arms and she ran to him. She cuddled into his embrace and he held her. And held her. ‘You were amazing.’ He looped back a strand of hair from her cheek. ‘I couldn’t have done it without you. You had no fear at all, did you?’

  Lindsey bit back a snort. If only he knew. But a girl was entitled to warm herself in his male look of admiration for just a little while. ‘Climbing is practically a religion around here. We did lots of it when we were growing up and we were taught properly from the beginning. Today was the first time I’ve had to assist in an emergency situation, though.’

  Dan frowned and then said slowly, ‘Then I hope you never have to do it again, Lindsey.’

  She pushed her hands up under his T-shirt, feeling the clean sweep of his skin. And loving it. ‘I didn’t enjoy it much,’ she admitted. ‘But I was impressed by your skills.’

  ‘You were?’ His eyes glinted with dry humour. ‘You’re just saying that.’

  Lindsey bugged her eyes at him. ‘Stop fishing for compliments, Dante, and take me home.’

  ‘I’m going to have to head straight back to Hopeton, I’m afraid,’ Dan said as they neared Lark Hill. ‘The training day starts at six a.m. tomorrow.’

  ‘And you need all the sleep you can get. I’m heading back myself. I’m on an early tomorrow and we’ve a new member of staff joining us. I’d better look at least as though I’m awake and functioning.’

  Dan picked up her hand and raised it to his lips. ‘I would much rather have lain with you and held you all night.’

  ‘That sounds really poetic...’ Lindsey rested her head against his shoulder and smiled. ‘Perhaps you do take after your namesake.’

  He spluttered a laugh. ‘And perhaps not.’

  * * *

  ‘And here we are,’ Lindsey said as they pulled into the Lark Hill driveway and Dan coasted to a stop. Almost simultaneously, they released their seat belts and reached for each other. They kissed long and slowly, savouring every last stroke of the tongue, each lingering taste of each other.

  ‘I won’t come in.’ Dan pressed his forehead against hers. ‘Will you be OK?’

  ‘Mmm. I just have to throw my stuff together and take off.’ She moved to open the door. ‘Just one other thing, Dan.’ She bit her lip. ‘I don’t know what kind of crazy stuff you’ll be expected to do tomorrow. But...please...be safe. For me?’

  Dan felt his insides twist, the sudden swell of emotion hitting him like the force of a king tide. His heart was overflowing with love for this woman. He reached out, slowly drawing her gaze up so it was level with his. ‘I promise I won’t do anything reckless. And I’ll come back to you safely, Lindsey. For no other reason than I need to.’

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  LINDSEY LOOKED OUT at the landscape the next morning. It was raining lightly, the gentle, soaking kind that would have the farmers smiling and the mothers of young school children dredging up an endless supply of patience as they pushed reluctant little arms into raincoats.

  She pulled a face, making her way slowly from her bedroom to the shower, her leg muscles protesting all the way. So much for the abseiling lark yesterday, she vented silently.

  * * *

  Arriving at the hospital, she went through to the staffroom.

  ‘Well, get you!’ From her table near the window, Vanessa looked up, her eyes wide in laughing disbelief. She rattled the pages of Hopeton’s daily paper.

  ‘You and daring Dan in a cliff rescue. What else did you get up to, Ms Stewart?’

  ‘Oh, show me.’ Lindsey gave a tsk and leaned over Vanessa’s shoulder to read the report on the incident. ‘Why on earth would they have thought this was newsworthy?’ she dismissed.

  ‘Because the kid you rescued just happens to be the grandson of Angus Whittaker, the local MP. He was here at the hospital only last week, doing what they euphemistically call “a guided tour”. Ring any bells?’

  ‘No.’ Lindsey slammed the paper shut. ‘He didn’t come to the ED.’

  Vanessa’s mouth turned down. ‘Bit too confronting for him, I guess. I heard he went to Midwifery. He wanted to tell them personally he’d got funding for a new birthing suite.’

  ‘Well, bully for them,’ Lindsey huffed. ‘I could have given him a long list of things we need in Casualty.’ She made a cup of tea and came back to the table. ‘Riley’s surname is Dukes,’ she said, wanting to get things straight in her head. ‘So his mother must be Whittaker’s daughter.’

  ‘Correct.’ Vanessa pushed the newspaper aside. ‘So, what’s to prevent you from popping in on Riley at visiting time? I’m sure his mum would like to meet one part of the rescue team who got her son down from the cliff.’

  Lindsey’s eyes widened. ‘Are you suggesting I should go armed with my list for the casualty department?’

  ‘Well, not quite. But you could start opening doors, so to speak. If you get my drift? I mean, Mr Whittaker’s bound to be visiting his grandson some time or other.’

  Lindsey grinned. ‘You should be working for the UN. But I’ll definitely think about popping up to see Riley.’

  ‘Now, what about the second part of my question?’ Vanessa wasn’t about to be put off.

  Lindsey’s shoulders lifted in a resigned gesture. There was no use prevaricating. When Vanessa sensed intrigue, she was like a terrier with a bone. ‘Yesterday Dan spent the day with me at Lark Hill. He’s volunteered for the SES. They called him about the abseiling incident. The rest, as they say, is in the local paper.’

  ‘So...’ Vanessa moved her head closer. ‘You two are a couple, then?’

  ‘Yes.’ Lindsey took a mouthful of her tea and wondered what else you could call it. ‘Your hair looks amazing, by the way,’ she diverted skilfully.

  ‘Oh, thanks, Lins. Mimi’s had a cut-and-colour special.’ Vanessa swung her new choppy style as if to emphasise the all-shades-of-blonde highlights. ‘I thought I needed an update.’

  ‘Well, it’s gorgeous and it suits you.’

  A beat of silence and then, ‘Oh. My. God.’ Vanessa’s gaze was riveted on the doorway and the male who hovered there. ‘Now, that’s what I call a body...’

  Lindsey swung round. And blinked a bit. Wow. ‘That must be our new recruit.’ She got swiftly to her feet. ‘Let’s make him welcome.’

  ‘Wait for me.’ Vanessa almost catapulted out of her chair.

  ‘I’m in the right place, then?’ Charlie Weston’s sea-green gaze tracked between the two women after introductions had been made.

  ‘And on time as well.’ Vanessa took the lead cheekily.

  ‘Awesome. I’ve brought muffins,’ Charlie said, with a kind of eager-to-fit-in look.

  ‘Apple and blueberry?’ They were Vanessa’s favourite.

  ‘Tuna and mustard,’ he deadpanned.

  ‘Perfect,’ Vanessa shot back, already on the same quirky wavelength. ‘Come and I’ll show you where to put your stuff.’

  Lindsey just shook her head at the pair of them and went to take handover.

  When the team assembled, Lindsey allotted jobs, adding, ‘Vanessa, I’ll leave Charlie’s orientation in your capable hands. Yell if you need me.’

  ‘Thanks, Lins.’ Vanessa all but batted her eyelashes. ‘I’m sure we’ll be fine.’

  Watching the two walk away, Lindsey noted that Charlie’s longish sun-bleached hair was neatly tied back in a ponytail. And she’d already clocked his hands and nails were well kept and scrupulously clean. Good, she thought with satisfaction. He’d do nicely.

  By mid-afternoon Lindsey could hardly keep her eyes open. She discreetly blocked a yawn. Yesterday’s escapade had obviously taken more out of her than she’d realised. She wondered how Dan was faring.

  * * *

 
; Dan took some deep breaths, mentally clearing his thoughts for the umpteenth time. He could have done all this stuff standing on his head. But when in Rome...

  They’d completed all the physical training and now he just had to sit in on a lecture about handling hazardous materials, dealing with oil spills, chemical leaks and more. Then he’d be out of there. Tonight he and Lindsey were going to dinner with Nathan and Sami. And on Saturday he was going to Lark Hill to meet Lindsey’s family. It seemed they were out as a couple. Dan was amazed how good it felt.

  Friday...

  ‘Are you going to Greta’s working bee tomorrow?’ Vanessa propped herself on the counter at the nurses’ station.

  Lindsey glanced up. ‘I’ll come for a while. Dad’s just turned sixty. We’re having a celebration dinner for him at Lark Hill.’ And Lindsey had invited Dan. It was time he met her family.

  ‘From what I hear, it’ll be a good turnout for the working bee,’ Vanessa chirped. ‘Charlie’s coming along too. He’s brilliant at DIY.’

  Lindsey gave her friend a long look. ‘And you know this how?’

  Vanessa went pink. ‘He’s taken over Nathan’s old flat. I’ve been helping him tart it up a bit before Poppy arrives. He’s made such a cute job of her bedroom.’

  ‘You and Charlie have really hit it off, haven’t you?’

  ‘He’s fun.’ Vanessa shrugged. ‘And I can be myself around him. It’s...nice. Uncomplicated.’

  And he’s so different from Andrew, Lindsey interpreted, happy for her friend. And for Charlie as well, for that matter. Van was a gem.

  A week later...

  OK, so this was crunch time.

  Dan braced himself. He had clearance from the board. He was packed. Now he just had to tell Lindsey. He knew she’d hate it but it was something he needed to do.

  He looked at his watch. Still early. But she’d be up and he didn’t have much time.

  * * *

  The sound of her doorbell roused Lindsey. She sat up groggily. What the heck?