by Scott, Laura
“I will.” She gave him a curious look, and he belatedly realized she may have expected him to come along. In an instant, the expression was gone and she turned to leave.
Against his will, his gaze clung to her curvy figure, flatteringly displayed in her flight suit. Pulling himself together, he did his best to ignore the emptiness of his office after Shelly left.
He didn’t understand what was wrong with him. He’d met plenty of beautiful women, but none had captured his interest the way Shelly had. He pulled out his list of restaurants and nightclubs to call regarding any former employees named Leigh Wilson.
But despite his best intentions, his thoughts continued to return to Shelly. She was a toucher, a nurturer. He liked being the recipient of her caring a little too much. Especially when he knew she had troubles of her own, a weight that she carried across her shoulders. She deserved to have someone share the burden.
As soon as the thought entered his mind, he shoved it away. The mere image of another man offering comfort and support to Shelly depressed him more than the possibility of never finding his brother’s fiancée and child.
3
Jared worked on reviewing Lifeline’s financial statements until another call came in. He read the display on the pager, then called dispatch for more information.
“A semitruck jackknifed into multiple motor vehicles on the interstate. At least one family with kids involved,” the dispatcher told him.
“Flight conditions?”
“Rain has stopped for the moment; you’re good to go. One Lifeline crew is already on scene.”
“Got it.” Jared hung up the phone and headed outside to the hangar.
Shelly was already there, once again talking to Reese. Even as he watched, Shelly gave the pilot’s arm a quick squeeze, before stepping away. Jared frowned. Maybe there was something going on between Shelly and the pilot after all?
“Ready?” He couldn’t help the sharp bite to his tone.
Shelly glanced up in surprise. “Of course.”
Reese took his cue and gave them a quick rundown of the location and flight plan. Within minutes, they were airborne.
Jared wanted to ask Shelly how Amy was doing but forced himself to stay quiet. Reese was keeping in contact with the base and getting information on where they could land. Through the chopper’s window, Jared could see swarms of paramedics and firefighters amidst the smoke rising from the crash scene. The first Lifeline helicopter was still there, too. For a moment, he was strongly reminded of the night his brother had died.
Shaking off the unwelcome memories, he followed Shelly out of the helicopter the moment Reese landed. They were instantly flagged down by one of the paramedics.
“There are three kids trapped in the green van,” he said, waving a hand at the crushed vehicle. “We’re still trying to get them out.”
“Any kids in the other wrecks?” Jared asked, unable to tear his gaze from the destruction. There were crushed and mangled cars everywhere, tossed around as if they were mini toy cars dropped by a child.
“No, thankfully. But we have one dead victim, the driver of the first car the truck hit. The van was the second vehicle hit by the trailer, and the kids’ parents are in bad shape.”
As the paramedic spoke, Jared saw a badly bruised and battered man lying on a stretcher, his neck covered in a C-collar. He was being wheeled to the first helicopter. Mark? He took a hesitant step forward, then abruptly pulled himself together.
No. Not Mark. His brother was dead. Just like the driver of the first car was dead. He shook his head to dislodge the painful memories. Why were they suddenly haunting him now? Because of his father’s decline and his renewed promise to find Leigh? He blinked and realized Shelly had already dashed over to the green van. There were kids inside that needed him. He quickly followed.
Shelly crouched beside the firefighters who had already sawn off the door. Then she crawled inside through the small opening.
“What are you doing?” Panic surged, and he rushed forward to grab her arm, preventing her from going further.
She shot him an incredulous look over her shoulder. “Those kids are scared and crying. I’m the smallest one here, therefore the most logical person to get them out.”
He didn’t like it, didn’t like the potential danger. But if the situation had been reversed, he would have done the same thing. And technically, flight staff were considered first responders. From inside the van, he heard the muffled sounds of crying. At least that much was a good sign. Complete silence would have been much worse.
“Okay, I’ll see what else we can do to help.” Jared let go of Shelly’s arm. She wiggled through the space and disappeared inside the van. He turned to the firefighter still working on enlarging the opening with the saw.
“Need a hand?” He waited until the guy took another chunk of metal out of the van.
“Nah, I have it.”
Helpless, Jared couldn’t do anything else but watch. And wait. He remembered the twisted metal wreck that had been Mark’s car after the accident. Had the first responders worked like this to get him out? Had they known it was already too late? That Mark had died on impact?
“There, that should be large enough to do it.”
Jared realized the firefighter was talking to him. Come on, man, focus, he lectured himself. Mark is gone. Those kids need you to rub a few brain cells together and think.
“Yes, it works.” He climbed partially inside the van. There wasn’t enough room to get all the way in with Shelly and the kids already inside.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim interior, he could see Shelly was wedged between the seats, trying to free the kids. “How are they?”
“Not bad. Thankfully, they’re all in car seats and booster seats. I’m freeing up the smallest one now. Get ready, I’ll hand her over to you.”
Jared didn’t know how Shelly could move, much less wiggle around enough to free the smallest child’s car seat from the back. The little girl looked to be about two years old. There was some blood on the girl’s head where she was cut, but her lungs worked well enough. She bellowed louder as Shelly handed her car seat over.
“Shh, it’s okay, I have you.” Jared held the car seat close as he backed out of the van. “You’re going to be fine.” He set the car seat on the gurney, hoping that being out of the car would calm her down.
It didn’t.
Her crying meant that he couldn’t hear much as he listened to her heart and lungs. After a quick neuro exam and a brief physical exam, he let out a soundless sigh of relief. The girl must have been nicely cushioned by the car seat because, other than the cut on her forehead, she appeared to be fine.
He turned to the firefighter. “Where are the parents?”
“Already on their way to Trinity Medical Center.” The firefighter nodded toward the first helicopter that was lifting off from the scene. “They were both unconscious and badly injured. Took the brunt of the crash.”
“I hope they make it,” he said, more to himself than to the firefighter. “One of you needs to hang on to this cutie for me, she needs to stay in the car seat until we get her to the ER.”
“I’ll take her.”
Jared handed the girl over to the paramedic. “Tape the cut on her forehead with butterfly tape.”
“Jared?” Shelly’s voice called him from deep inside the van.
“Yeah?” He crawled back through the opening. “What is it?”
“There are twin boys back here, and one of them has a broken arm. They were belted in booster seats on either side of the car seat. I’m worried about possible neck injuries. Grab a couple of C-collars and a longboard.”
“Got it.” Jared shimmied back out and grabbed the pediatric longboard from beneath the gurney mattress, then set two small C-collars on top. The board would only fit so far through the opening. “Can you reach it?”
Shelly didn’t answer, but Jared could see her forehead wrinkled in concentration as she unstrapped one twin and
fitted the C-collar into place. The boy, whom he estimated to be five or six, didn’t like the restriction and started to cry. Shelly talked to him soothingly and kept his spine in alignment as much as possible when sliding him onto the board. Jared reached in to help stabilize.
“I have him.” Jared summoned a reassuring smile. “Hey there, big guy. I bet you’re hurting, aren’t you? Well, we’re going to fix you right up. Now hold very still so we can get you out of here, okay?” He eased the child down the board, then strapped him on. Backing out of the van, he pulled the longboard out with the firefighter’s help.
They set the boy on the gurney as the little girl was still being held in her car seat by a paramedic. He slid the longboard out from beneath the child so they could use it on the other twin. Jared saw that Shelly was right. The boy’s left arm was broken. He was also covered in minor cuts and bruises. Internal bleeding? Possibly, but he really hoped not.
“What’s your name?” Jared tried to distract the boy as he started an IV.
“K-Kevin.” He answered the question between hiccupping sobs.
“What’s your brother’s name? And your sister’s?” Jared kept up a steady stream of questions.
“Kyle is my b-brother. K-immy is the baby.” Once Jared had given Kevin a very small dose of pain medication, the child settled down enough so Jared could splint his arm. Kevin would need to be taken to Children’s Memorial as soon as possible.
Shelly emerged with Kyle who didn’t appear to have broken bones but cried whenever anyone touched his foot. Between them, they discussed with Reese the possibility of transporting both kids at the same time.
“We can make it work,” Reese assured them.
“What about their sister?” Shelly asked. “We can’t leave her here, not when her parents are at the hospital as well.”
Jared signaled for the paramedic holding Kimmy to come over. “Can you bring her to Children’s Memorial?”
“Wait.” Shelly’s face betrayed her distress. “Reese, what if the paramedic sat up front with Kimmy on his lap? Would the additional personnel impact the weight limit? She’s a peanut, and the car seat isn’t much more.”
“How much do you weigh?” Reese asked.
“One eighty-five.”
Reese considered it for a moment, then nodded. “We can do it. Let’s keep the kids together.”
“Thank you,” Shelly said.
He and Shelly hefted the twin boys and their respective gurneys on board. It was a tight fit. Normally the chopper was designed for one patient at a time, but since these patients were just little kids, he was determined to make it work.
“It’s a short ride,” Shelly pointed out as if reading his mind.
He nodded and donned his helmet. They could only talk to the boys one at a time through their communication devices, but it didn’t matter since they were landing on the rooftop helipad of Children’s Memorial in less than fifteen minutes.
They hadn’t called for a hot unload because the kids were stable, but the news of their arrival with three kids had already reached the emergency department. Several staff members were waiting for them when they jumped down from the helicopter.
“Let’s get these kids inside,” the ER physician took Kevin, the more seriously injured of the two under his wing.
“Have you notified social services?” Shelly asked.
Jared knew what she was getting at. With the kids’ parents’ condition so tenuous, they would need to find extended family to take care of the little ones, and soon.
“Yeah, they’re on it.”
Within the hour, they had the boys checked out, confirming Kevin did have some internal bleeding to go along with his broken arm, resulting in a quick trip to the OR. Kyle had a broken foot, but no other injuries. Kimmy was the least injured of the three.
As they were getting ready to leave, he noticed Shelly’s gaze lingered on the kids as she reluctantly followed him out.
“Are you okay?” He held the elevator door open that would take them back up to the roof.
“Fine.”
He didn’t believe her. Maybe he wasn’t the only one with ghosts haunting him. “You did an amazing job back there, getting those kids out of the wreck.” He couldn’t help but admire her ability to connect with kids. Maybe he should be envious about her possible relationship with the pilot. She certainly deserved to have a family of her own.
And he wasn’t interested in going down that path. Not now, not when he had a missing woman and child to find.
“No braver than anyone else,” she contradicted. “Those firefighters are probably still out there. We have the easy job, get the victims out and bring them in. Those guys will be clearing the scene for hours yet.”
“Maybe so, but we have the responsibility of making life and death decisions.”
“They do, too.”
“All set?” Reese asked as they walked out onto the helipad.
“Yeah.” He tried not to notice the way Reese looked at Shelly. “The three kids should be fine, but I’m wondering how the parents are doing.”
“I can’t bear the thought of those kids being orphaned . . .” Shelly’s voice trailed off.
Jared rested the palm of his hand on her back. “I’m sure they’ll find other family members to take them in.”
Her gaze furrowed. “But what if they don’t have other family?”
“They will.” He spoke with confidence, hating to see her so distraught. “Those little kids will win anyone’s heart.”
Shelly just stared at him for a long minute, then grabbed her helmet and plunked it on her head, preventing further conversation.
But Jared sensed her thoughts remained troubled as Reese flew them back to the chopper base.
THOSE KIDS WOULD WIN anyone’s heart. Jared’s words reverberated over and over in her head. Despite her efforts to remain professional, she couldn’t help but compare the three kids’ situation with her son’s.
If she were suddenly injured, who would take care of Tyler? Oh, sure, Ellen would step in to help out, as would Kate or Reese, but long-term? Who would adopt him? How would anyone know who Ty’s father was, to find his family? She didn’t have any siblings and hadn’t told anyone the truth about her past.
The idea of Ty being left alone in the world troubled her for the remainder of her shift. Maybe she needed to do something, like leave some sort of will requesting Mark’s family be contacted if anything happened to her.
The idea didn’t sit well, but it was better than doing nothing or leaving the decision regarding Ty’s care to complete strangers. She glanced at her watch for the third time in ten minutes. Still an hour to go before she was off duty. Jared must have noticed her antsy behavior because he crossed over to sit beside her.
“Hungry? We can get something to eat at the hospital café across the street,” he offered. “It’s close enough that we can still respond if there’s a call.”
Flabbergasted, she stared at him for a moment. “Oh, no thanks. I, uh, want to get out of here on time. I need to get home.”
Jared frowned. “Do you need to leave early?”
She wanted to do exactly that, but that would mean asking the night shift nurse to come in an hour early. “No, I can wait for Christine to come in.”
“There’s a paramedic here that can cover for you,” Jared said softly. “The minimum flight crew for peds is a physician and nurse or paramedic. Go on home, you look exhausted.”
Hesitating, she inwardly debated. Jared was right about the minimum flight crew requirement, but she took her responsibilities seriously. Leaving before the end of her shift didn’t seem right. But the desire to see her son was strong, so she nodded.
“Thanks, Jared.” She hurried to grab her stuff out of her locker. Back in the lounge, Jared seemed to be waiting.
He caught her arm as she brushed past. “Shelly?”
She stopped swinging around to face him. “What is it? Change your mind?”
His eyes were
so close, so amazingly blue. Almost against her will, she moved a step closer. His hand cupping her elbow was strong yet gentle.
“No. I—nothing.” His hand slid up her arm to her shoulder, his fingers tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. “If you need something, let me know. I can help.”
His feather-light touch sent her pulse skipping into triple digits. Her eyes widened in surprise when he took another step closer.
Her breath tangled in her throat, and she caught herself mesmerized by his intense gaze.
Shocked at the unwelcome attraction, she took a step back, breaking the intangible connection between them. “I . . . don’t need any help. But thanks for the offer.”
“Anytime.” Was that disappointment she saw in his gaze?
Shaking her head at her foolishness, she left the hangar. Outside, she released her pent-up breath in a rush. What in the world was wrong with her? She didn’t gaze longingly into the eyes of a man. Especially not one she worked with.
Jared was her boss for heaven’s sake!
Disappointed in herself, she hopped into her car and headed toward home, stopping at a small gas station long enough to grab something to eat. She knew Ellen would have already fed Ty, so she tucked the sandwich away for later.
She was forty-five minutes early picking up Ty, but Ellen didn’t mind. Shelly took Tyler home and made an effort to spend some quality time with her son. Emma’s birthday was coming up, so she helped him painstakingly color a birthday card for her. After he’d finished, she ran him a bath before tucking him into bed.
Eating her sandwich with one hand, she surfed the internet with the other, seeking an online will. When she found the one she liked, she hit the print button. It didn’t take long to fill out the information. She needed to have it witnessed but felt better after taking action to make sure Mark’s family would be notified if anything happened to her.
Halfway through her sandwich, she realized it tasted awful and tossed the rest of it out. She downed some milk, hoping to kill the aftertaste.
Still restless, she picked up her journal again. Normally she didn’t write in it every night, but there was nothing normal about Tyler’s situation.
