by Sue MacKay
‘That one’s hot.’ Becca twisted to look back the way they’d come. ‘Haven’t seen him around here before.’
‘He’s still in diapers.’ Kayla laughed. If he was hot, she was so out of date she might as well be old. But it didn’t matter, she wasn’t looking. ‘Here we are.’ Backing onto the verge well out of the way, she stopped the engine and undid her safety belt. ‘I guess opening up the back’s not a good idea with all that smoke.’ She leaned forward, forearms crossed on the steering wheel. ‘Now we watch and wait.’
Firemen were spread out, their hoses pumping water onto the fire engulfing the massive shed. One member loomed above the rest, wide shoulders in heavy fireproof yellow gear enhancing the picture. Jamie. His face was invisible behind breathing apparatus, but his defined movements spoke of control and power.
He’d dwarfed her hospital room, and out here where the spreading fire and billowing smoke made others appear smaller, he seemed taller, broader than ever. Must be the protective clothing. He was a big man but not huge. He’d been wearing jeans and a dark T-shirt under a thick jacket when he’d visited, clothes that had accentuated his virility.
She sucked air through her gritted teeth. Why remember that four months later? Like it was important? It wasn’t, never had been, and wouldn’t be. Yet she was thinking of what he’d been wearing that day and how much space he’d taken up. She tapped her forehead. The doctors had never mentioned that her concussion could suddenly return to wreak havoc with her mind, but something was causing these images to fill her head. That near kiss.
Even weeks later, just remembering it sent heat throughout her body. Jamie hadn’t phoned, despite saying he’d be in touch. She obviously hadn’t affected him as he had her.
So she could forget noticing how solid he was and get on with why she was here—hopefully to wait out the fire and go back to town without any patients.
‘What are they doing?’ Becca asked.
‘Are they going in?’ Kayla’s mouth dried. ‘This doesn’t look good.’ She took a big gulp from her water bottle. ‘Have they heard something? Surely it’s a bit late for someone to be yelling out?’ As if they’d hear anything above the roar of flames. She leaned further forward but the scene unfolding at the burning building didn’t get any better. ‘I’m counting three going in.’ Including one large frame. ‘That’s Jamie on the left.’ He shouldn’t be putting himself in danger if he had kids to go home to. None of the crew should. Their families came first.
‘I think the short one’s Kate. No idea who the third person is.’
‘They’d better be careful.’ She knew Kate and her husband from when she’d lived here before. ‘Sometimes it was easier living in Auckland. I hardly knew a soul.’ Unable to watch any more, Kayla slipped out of her seat and squeezed through to the back to go over the equipment, even knowing everything was topped up and whatever she might need if they got a patient would be easy to lay hands on. ‘Please, please, please, be safe, everyone,’ she murmured. ‘Jamie, that means you, too.’ Especially you.
‘Trouble. The overhead beams are falling outwards,’ Becca called back to her.
So much for pleading for nothing to go wrong. A lot of yelling was happening. She shoved through to the front and stared at the horrific scene, her heart pounding. ‘The framework’s landed where Jamie and Kate were standing.’
Please, please, please, come out, Jamie, Kate and whoever.
‘There, someone’s at the edge of the fire.’
Unable to sit still, Kayla shoved her door open and dropped to the ground, grabbing the medical kit before running closer but not so close as to be in danger. She had to know if anyone was injured, had to be as near as possible without getting in the way in case her skills were required urgently. She had to know Jamie was safe.
Why Jamie and not the others? Of course she wanted to know if everyone else was safe. But she needed to know about Jamie. Kayla stumbled, righted herself, carried on, ignoring the questions popping up in her head. Jamie was one of the crew. No, he was more. He’d seen her weak and vulnerable. It was hard to forget that.
‘Kayla.’ Ash waved at her. She now realised he was the other firefighter who had gone in with Jamie and Kate. ‘Over here. Jamie’s taken a blow. Those beams came down as we were about to go around the other side. Got Jamie fair and square.’
She swerved in Ash’s direction, shocked to see a firefighter on the ground at his feet, even when she’d half expected it. A big firefighter gasping for air, his face mask pushed aside, his chest rising and falling as he struggled to breathe. Smoke inhalation. Her knees weakened. Deep breath, straighten up, get on with the job; forget who this was other than a patient. A man she knew got no more help than anyone else because she gave her all, and then some, every time her skills were required. Turning, she yelled, ‘Becca, bring the oxygen.’
‘I’ll help her with anything you need,’ Kate, the other firefighter who’d been with Jamie, said.
‘Thanks.’ Dropping to her knees beside Jamie, ignoring the shaft of pain in her right leg, she said to Ash, ‘Get on the other side and help me sit him up. He’s got to breathe.’ This was a role reversal, her turn to help Jamie, to do all she could for him and make him safe.
‘The mask was knocked off when he hit the ground,’ Ash told her.
‘Jamie, it’s Kayla. Did you inhale smoke?’
‘A little,’ he gasped.
A little was more than enough. ‘We need to get your helmet off. I’ll be careful but it might hurt. I don’t know what we’re going to find under there.’
‘Do it.’
With Ash’s help they eased the helmet away. When Jamie groaned, Kayla’s stomach tightened. He must be in agony to make that sound. ‘Sorry. I’ll get you onto oxygen shortly. That’ll help. Ash says you took a hit.’ She began to feel his skull for indentations or soft spots.
Cough, gasp, cough.
Jamie nodded slowly.
‘Back?’
Nod. Cough.
‘Head?’
Cough, nod.
Jamie dropped back. If not for them holding him up, he’d have hit the back of his head on the ground.
‘Careful. Here’s the oxygen. I’m going to keep you upright until we’ve got you attached, then we’ll lay you down on your side so I can examine your back. Okay, Jamie?’
You’d better be.
‘Yeah.’ Cough.
‘A nod does fine. Save your breath.’ Her mouth lifted into a smile of its own accord. Then she saw blood running down the back of his neck from his head and she deflated. ‘Becca, get the oxygen happening.’
With her latex-covered hands, Kayla continued checking his skull. ‘You’ve got a cut behind your ear that’s bleeding but I can’t find any bone damage.’ It was the best she could hope for without an MRI scanner on hand and it wasn’t her place to order a scan.
Jamie flopped left, then right. The moment the gas was flowing into his throat, they lowered him full length on the grass. He tugged the mouthpiece aside. ‘Why do I feel woozy?’ Cough. ‘Like I’m going to faint any minute?’
Placing her hand on the mouthpiece to press it back in place, she asked, ‘Did the beam hit you on the head?’
‘A glancing blow.’
Really? When something solid had hit him? ‘You’re possibly concussed. I’m going to examine your back.’
His chest was easing, the oxygen helping so that his breathing wasn’t such hard work. Jamie tapped his left shoulder, tried to lift his arm and winced. ‘Here.’
‘Your shoulder copped it? Are you hurting anywhere else? Lift a finger if yes.’
‘No,’ he answered. Not very good at following instructions, then.
‘Save your breath,’ she growled lightly. ‘I have to see if there’re any obvious injuries elsewhere on your body.’ Body. As in Jamie Gordon’s body.
Hey, t
his is a patient. Not a man to get in a fix about.
She wasn’t.
Tell that to someone who’ll believe you.
‘Then we’re taking you to hospital.’
No nod this time. Instead he glared at her and took a deep suck of oxygen.
Kayla held up her hand. ‘Don’t talk.’ She might’ve laughed if she wasn’t worried about his condition.
He continued glaring.
‘I get the message. You don’t want to go, but I’m in charge here. That head wound needs stitches, and you need to be seen by a doctor.’ There were some well-honed muscles under her hand as she examined his chest. She pulled away, growled to cover her embarrassment, ‘Take a long slow breath.’
Jamie winced when he did as told.
‘Pain in your chest?’
He nodded.
‘Did you hurt your ribs when you fell?’
His eyes darkened as he gave that thought. ‘Don’t know.’ Then his gaze closed over and his head dropped forward.
Kayla felt certain Jamie was concussed. The left shoulder was slightly out of line, suggesting possible dislocation. Her teeth ground together at the thought of having that put back in place. It wouldn’t be a picnic, even for a tough man like Jamie. Heavy sedation would be required, and the sooner she got him to hospital where a doctor could perform the procedure the better. Too long a delay and he might need surgery. ‘Becca, how’s that pulse?’
‘Strong.’ The other woman nodded. ‘Heart’s good.’
No surprise there. Jamie was one tough guy, but having a beam hit him, even a glancing blow, was no easy thing. Reaching for his hand, she gave it a gentle squeeze. ‘You’re doing great, Jamie.’ The relief was immense. She never wanted a patient to suffer, but this one... Even a scratch was too much.
* * *
‘I’m doing great,’ Jamie repeated under his erratic breath. ‘Tell that to someone who believes you, Kayla. I’ve got a raging headache, pain in my shoulder like I’ve never known, and nothing looks very clear right now.’ A freaking beam had wiped him out, and he was doing fine? Had to be something good in there, but he wasn’t getting it. He felt like hell. Except for Kayla’s hand wrapped around his. Being held like that softened his heart.
‘Yeah, you are.’ She’d leaned closer, like it was only the two of them in this conversation. ‘Hang in there. I’ll give you a shot to take the edge off the pain before we put you on the stretcher.’
‘I hate admitting this, but bring it on.’
‘I won’t tell a soul.’
Her smile rolled through him, touching him softly, gentle and understanding. Right now he didn’t care that he wasn’t interested in getting close to a woman. It wouldn’t hurt to bottle her smile so he could take it out during the night ahead and feel a little less uncomfortable and alone. He was surrounded by people intent on helping him, and he felt lonely—except for Kayla. Something was definitely not right, but he didn’t have the energy to work through the idea, so he went with it.
‘I’ll get the stretcher,’ Becca said, stepping away.
They weren’t alone, despite Kayla making him feel like they were. He watched her dig into the kit and bring out a needle and bottle, saw her draw up a dose and waited for the prick as she injected him. ‘You’re good at this.’ Anything to distract his banging head and maybe earn another smile. He must be in trouble if he was trying to win smiles from the paramedic.
‘Had plenty of practice.’ There. Another smile.
A man could get to like those. Except he wasn’t supposed to be looking for them. Today he could be a bit lax. He was injured and hurting and therefore entitled to some tenderness as long as she didn’t think he was a soft touch. ‘I bet.’ He glanced away from her endearing face, looked beyond to the destruction behind them for distraction. ‘What about Kate and Ash? Did they get out without injury?’ How selfish could he get? He’d been thinking only about himself. What sort of leader did that make him? Not a good one.
‘Relax. They brought you out and, no, they didn’t get hit by the beam. Neither did they inhale smoke.’
‘They brought me out?’ His head was in a bad way if he hadn’t realised that. In fact, he couldn’t remember being carried out at all. ‘My memory’s not flash,’ he admitted grudgingly. Best to be honest with the medic even when it was Kayla. He didn’t want anything worse happening all because he’d been reticent over letting her see he wasn’t always strong. It was more important that he get home to the boys than to lie around in a hospital bed so the sooner they were through checking him over the better. ‘Is that because of concussion?’
‘Possibly.’ Kayla nodded. ‘But only the doctors can confirm it.’
‘Your highly qualified medical opinion is?’
She took a moment to answer, then shrugged and smiled. ‘That you’ve had a hard whack on the head and you’re more than likely concussed. That’ll mean time off until your mental faculties are up to scratch.’
‘Bet that’s not a medical phrase found in the textbooks.’ How could he be talking like this when his memory was on the blink and he felt as though he was on another planet?
‘I’m currently rewriting those.’ There was a definite twinkle in the golden eyes watching him. Looking for his reactions to his injuries?
Bet she was. From what he’d seen, she never relaxed on a job. The smoke tasted gross as the air whooshed out of his tight lungs in a wave of relief. He was in good hands. And liking it. He gasped, coughed, then pain struck his chest and shoulder as his muscles tightened. So much for relaxing. It wasn’t good for him.
‘Careful, Jamie. Your lungs are super sensitive at the moment.’
He closed his eyes, blotting out the sight of a lovely, caring face. But her concern for him got past his eyelids and into his mind, settling in as though it intended to stay for as long as he needed her there. ‘I don’t need a woman at my side. Not now, not ever.’
‘Only till we get you to the emergency department.’
Jamie groaned. He’d said that out loud? She’d think he was ungrateful and trying to shove her away. Wasn’t he? Not now he wasn’t. Fingers crossed, she’d blame it on the concussion and think he was hallucinating. More fingers crossed that he did have a concussion. Had to blame something for his random mutterings. What he’d said was true, but that didn’t mean saying it out loud for everyone to hear. He wasn’t that crazy. His head was getting foggy. Foggier. His body felt as though it was bobbing on water. ‘Kayla? Where am I?’ What was happening?
‘It’s all right. I’m here.’ Her hand touched his. ‘You’re in shock, and about to be loaded into the ambulance and taken to hospital. I’ll be watching you all the way.’ She sounded so comforting. Her voice was soft and smooth, not worried something terrible might be happening to him.
He clung to that. Believed her. Trusted her not to tell lies, not to let him down.
He what? Trusted this woman? Something was wrong here. But then he’d had a beam bang his skull. Give it time and everything would be back to normal. Wouldn’t it? Something else was nagging at the back of his mind. Something he needed to be doing. Like what? Putting out a fire was beyond him. ‘Ash?’ he croaked.
‘He’s gone back to the fire,’ Kayla told him. ‘Looks like he’s taken charge.’
It’s what he was trained for. ‘Good.’
‘Right, let’s do this.’
‘Do what?’ Jamie tugged his eyes open and looked around, saw a trolley coming his way.
‘Get you onto the trolley,’ Kayla answered.
He shook his head, immediately regretted the movement. ‘I can walk,’ he muttered.
‘You’re light-headed, attached to oxygen and a heart monitor. You’ll go by trolley.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’ Kayla was no pushover. He’d been put in his place and given in too easily. Be warned, he thought. This woman was one tough cookie.
She was also knowledgeable. His head was pounding fit to bust, and he couldn’t see himself carrying his helmet let alone even one piece of the equipment she’d mentioned. So much for being in charge on this job. It seemed he’d handed himself over to Kayla, and she was going against his wishes. Typical woman, and why he stayed clear of them these days. Except she wasn’t that bad. Not from what he’d seen so far, but he barely knew her. Neither did he intend to other than working together occasionally in the future.
‘Glad you understand,’ she retorted.
If not for the slight uplift at the corner of her mouth he’d have believed she was being grumpy with him. ‘Guys, help me up onto my feet,’ he said to the two cops standing by.
Kayla spun around. ‘You are not walking to the ambulance.’
‘No, ma’am. But I am standing to sit on the stretcher trolley and save everyone’s back trying to lift it from the ground with me on board.’ It was the most he’d said since this mess had happened and he ran out of breath on the last words and had to gasp hard at the oxygen mouthpiece while ignoring the glint of ‘told you so’ in Kayla’s eyes.
She was at his side, holding the oxygen tank, making sure he had the mouthpiece in place. ‘Slowly, don’t gulp or you’ll start coughing.’ She leaned closer and said quietly enough for no one else to hear, ‘Don’t ever call me ma’am again.’
Or what? There wasn’t enough air in his lungs to talk. Damn it. Even feeling like he’d been run over by the fire truck instead of having ridden in it, there was a certain element of enjoyment tickling him on the inside at this silly game of words with Kayla. For a moment she made him forget the pain enough to think clearly, or clearer than he had been. Or that might be because of the jab she’d given him. For whatever reason, she was good at her job and he was grateful it was her who’d been called out. Speaking of which, ‘How’s the fire going?’
‘It’s looking more under control than it was twenty minutes ago,’ a cop replied. ‘Let’s get you upright. Tobin and I will take an arm each and haul you up.’
‘Won’t be easy.’ Tobin grinned. ‘He’s not exactly a nipper.’
