by Dianne Drake
“I saw a common side-blotched lizard a while ago,” Kevin said. “It was standing up on a rock, watching us. Didn’t even move when we went by.”
“Maybe he was too afraid to move,” Carter said. The way he’d been so often this past year.
“Or maybe he just liked watching. Some people do, you know.”
“You’re not a watcher, are you Kevin? Because standing off to the side and watching what other people want you to see isn’t much fun—especially if you have a list of things you want to do.”
“I do have a list. Next thing on it’s the Statue of Liberty.”
Carter admired this kid, and he admired the parents who were fighting hard to give him the very essence of life that sustained him. In so many ways he was braver than Carter was. But not braver than James. His brother had written up his own wish list. Unfortunately, their parents had only allowed small wishes and dreams, while James had wanted to conquer the world.
“Would you believe I’ve never seen that? I’ve been to New York City, but only long enough to change planes and get to my next destination. I’ve always thought I would go back, but so far it hasn’t happened.”
“You should go, Doc Carter. Going to see it is better than just sitting around thinking about it. Right, Dad?” Kevin addressed his father, who was walking on the other side of the donkey.
“We do our best to give Kevin the world. It’s not always easy, but we manage. And as far as the Statue of Liberty goes...maybe in the spring?”
Kevin drew in a breath that sounded a little wheezy. Nothing to get alarmed over in the world of a child with CF, but still...
Carter motioned Sloane forward with her medical supplies, pointed to his own chest and mouthed the word wheezing. Immediately she dropped back, sat her bag on the ground and shuffled through the supplies for an inhaler. She also pulled out her stethoscope, then stood and rejoined the party.
“Can we stop for a minute?” she called to the rangers, who responded immediately. “Kevin, I need to have a listen to your chest while Doc Carter takes your blood pressure. You OK with that?”
The child nodded—but he was anything but OK with what was happening, as could be seen by the scowl on his face when the rangers lifted him from the donkey.
After taking Kevin’s blood pressure and finding it lower than he liked, Carter stepped around to talk to Kevin’s parents. “I’m not going to tell you that something serous is going on, because he’s only showing mild symptoms of respiratory discomfort. But I’m also not going to tell you that he’s good to keep going—because I don’t know yet.”
“He told us he wants to fight through this,” Kevin’s father reiterated.
“But if he’s on the verge of having problems...”
Kevin’s mom took a good, hard look at her son. “It’s not worth it. He’s had his donkey ride, and it was the ride of his life. But I don’t want it to be the ride that costs him his life.”
Carter recalled the last time he’d taken James on an adventure. He really hadn’t been feeling very good, but he’d wanted it so badly. He’d had friends at the park, who were going to meet him there, so Carter had taken him. After that, James had gone to bed for the rest of his life—which had been a grand total of seven days.
That was when he’d made that promise to fix his little brother, and that was also when his seven-year-old brother—with more profound wisdom than a child that age should ever have had—had taken his hand and said, “That’s OK, Carter. Sometimes things don’t get fixed.”
And damn. Here he was with Kevin now. He was older and wiser, and yet still very much the nine-year-old who took all the blame on his young shoulders.
“You OK?” Sloane whispered, coming to stand next to Carter.
He shook his head. “My brother once told me some things don’t get fixed.”
“But this isn’t your brother. It’s Kevin, and he’s fighting to get through this donkey ride.”
“And the decision is up to me. Break his heart or take the risk.”
Sloane laid her hand on the small of his back and began a circular rub. It felt good. Too good. Too distracting. Because right now the only thing he wanted was to get lost in her touch. Pretend that nothing else existed.
Except it did.
“Would you loosen his clothes, give him the inhaler, then get some oxygen in him?”
“Then the decision’s made?”
Carter nodded. “For Plan A. But I do have a plan B, so keep your fingers crossed.”
“It’s the right thing,” she said. “Kevin may not see it now, but next spring, when he goes to see the Statue of Liberty, he’ll remember the doctor in Forgeburn who made the hard choice that gave him another shot at his list.”
Sloane walked forward to inform the rangers, while Carter had a quick talk with Kevin’s parents. Naturally they were disappointed, but they understood that a little caution exercised now was for the best.
“Well, Kevin,” Carter said, stepping to the side of the big flat boulder where the rangers had lain the boy. He was drinking water, and sweating too much. “As much as I’d like to take you out of here on Henry, it’s not safe. You’re running a little bit of a temperature and your lungs are wheezy. You’re also looking a little too tired. So, while I hate to do this, I’ve got to get you out of here quicker than Henry can.”
Kevin didn’t say a word. Instead he turned his head and didn’t acknowledge Carter at all.
“But I do have another plan that may be more fun than this.”
Kevin still didn’t acknowledge him, and that was understandable. He was breaking the kid’s heart the way his brother’s heart had been broken so many times.
“Ever flown in a helicopter?”
“No,” said Kevin, sniffling back tears of frustration.
“I have, and it’s pretty neat. But what’s even neater is the way you’re going to get into that helicopter.” He looked up and saw Cruz coming into position. “Can you see the helicopter up there?”
“Uh-huh...”
“Well, it can’t land. There’s no place safe around here.”
This was beginning to pique Kevin’s interest. “If it can’t land, and I can’t go up there to get on, how am I going to get to it.”
“Easy. Cruz is going to drop a basket out the door. It’s been well-secured inside, so it won’t fall or do anything crazy. Once it reaches the ground we’ll get you in it, and you’ll be pulled up through mid-air, until Cruz’s father and sister can pull you inside.”
“You mean I’ll be suspended in that basket for a little while?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. And I’ll go along beside you, just to make sure you don’t get scared.”
“Scared? Heck! I never knew I wanted to do this until now, but you have to let me do it, Doc Carter. It’ll be like I’m flying all by myself.”
Kevin’s face took on a slight glow of excitement, but his eyes told the real story. Another adventure—another way to live outside his disability.
“Well, then, let me signal Cruz to drop the basket for you and the harness for me and we’ll get this party started.”
He looked over at Kevin’s parents, who both seemed mortified.
“It’s all good,” he reassured them. “Kevin gets a new adventure, and once he’s in the chopper we’ll simply fly him to the nearest hospital.”
Not Whipple Creek. While it served as a fine first aid station, and did take care of minor problems, Kevin’s condition warranted more. Especially now, before anything major occurred.
Within a minute the orange stretcher basket was floating through the sky, being watched over by the very capable Cruz family.
“Which hospital?” Cruz asked.
By now Sloane was in charge of the radio, as Carter and the rangers got Kevin into position in the basket. “Whatever you think is best.”
“Then it’s north, to Salt Lake City. I’ll radio through to let them know what we’re bringing in. Is he OK?” Cruz asked.
“Kevin? I think he’s having the time of his life.”
“I meant Carter. How’s he doing?”
Sloane glanced over at him, watched the way he was strapping himself into the harness like it was an everyday thing.
“He’s doing great, Cruz,” she said. “Better than I’ve seen him do in a long, long time.”
“It’s Forgeburn. I tell you. There’s something curative here. Good for the weary soul.”
“Maybe it is,” she said, and walked over to Carter. “Hospital’s being taken care of and Cruz is ready to ride.”
“Hear that, Kevin? We’re getting ready to fly.”
“Um...can I have a drink of water first? My throat seems like it’s beginning to close.”
Carter and Sloane exchanged worried glances, but it was Carter who came to the rescue. “It’s nerves. Once you get off the ground and relax you’ll feel better.”
He handed Sloane the water bottle while he did a double-check on both the basket and his own harness. Then he looked up, waved to Cruz, and in the blink of an eye both Carter and Kevin were lifted off the ground. Carter’s harness kept a little lower than Kevin, to prevent tangling of the lines, and in mere moments Cruz’s family was pulling Kevin to safety. Then Carter.
“So, how was that?” Carter asked as he divested himself of the safety gear.
“Awesome,” Kevin said, giving Carter the thumbs-up once his arms were unstrapped from his body. “Freaking awesome.”
Down below, Sloane watched everything, and sighed a sigh of relief when both Kevin and Carter were safely inside the helicopter. It hovered for another couple of minutes, until everybody inside was either secure or in a position to respond should Kevin have problems.
“I heard he has PTSD,” Mrs. Mallory commented as the rangers led Henry back to his owner and the rest of them cleared the area of the various bits and pieces of medical debris.
“He does.”
“And he’s allowed to practice?”
Sloane couldn’t help but smile, She was so proud of Carter. “Not only is he allowed, he’s very much needed.”
“Well, what he’s done for Kevin goes above and beyond, so I’m glad he’s the doctor we got to see. Even something as insignificant as a donkey ride has changed Kevin’s life, and that’s what his father and I try to do as much as we can. You never know when...”
She choked on tears that couldn’t be held back.
“It’s difficult living with someone who wants so much but has time for so very little. I hope Doc Carter will stay in touch with Kevin. He’d love that.”
“I’m sure he will,” Sloane said. She said that because she was getting to know Carter again. And the Carter she knew now would do something like that. She was sure of it.
CHAPTER TEN
BY THE TIME Sloane woke up it was well into the morning. Something about this place made her relax in ways she’d never relaxed before. Sleeping as late as she had—that wasn’t like her.
Her first thought was Carter, of course. He hadn’t come back last night, but he had texted to let her know he was going to stay with the Mallory family for as long as they needed him, and that he’d be back first thing this morning.
Which meant he must already be at work.
Yesterday—watching Kevin being airlifted out and seeing Carter dangling from the helicopter in that harness, completely in control—was an awesome thing. Another reason to be proud. The crowds who’d gathered to send them off on the trail had been waving and cheering as the helicopter had flown overhead. And more people had gathered, waiting for news. and stayed gathered well into the night, until the first report on Kevin came back. It was a good one, too. Kevin’s setback was only minor and he’d be out of the hospital in a couple of days. And again, the people cheered and partied even farther into the night, toasting the absent Carter off and on the whole time. She only wished he could have been there to see it—to see the impact he’d made in such a short time.
There was such camaraderie here Sloane almost couldn’t see Carter working anyplace else now. To her, he’d always been big-city, big-hospital material. Someone who thrived where the odds were greater and the demands harder. But this little area was so—him. Every bit of it.
She wondered if he saw that. She hoped so. Because the thing she wanted most for Carter was for him to be happy. Here in Forgeburn, he was happy, and Sloane was beginning to see that.
Her phone rang and the identification came up with Carter’s name. “You up?” he asked after her hello.
“Barely. People got together last night and, well...”
He chuckled. “Let me guess. You partied with them?”
“A little more than I should have.”
“Well, if you’re up for a little adventure I’ve got to make a call about thirty miles away from here—all of it on one of the cowboy roads. There’s a hiking party out there and the trail guide’s collapsed. He’s alert now, but a little disoriented, and definitely not in any condition to bring the people back in. So, I thought one of us could tend to the guide while the other gets the hikers back safely. Are you up for it?”
“Do you know why he collapsed?” she asked, heading toward the shower.
“My guess is he was doing the same thing as you last night—except you don’t ever drink very much, and he did. He’s probably dehydrated. I told the man who contacted me to get fluids into the guy, so with any luck by the time we get there the crisis will have been averted.”
“And this is in your job description?” She reached into the shower, turned it on, then waited for the water to adjust to the right temperature.
“Everything is in my job description. What Matt told me when he hired me is that the diversity is the best part. As good a surgeon as he is, he loves being out here, where one minute he’s chasing down a cowboy and the next he’s delivering a baby.”
“Well, you seem to be thriving here as well.”
“Maybe not thriving so much as coming to terms with the idea that I don’t belong in a hospital setting anymore. It’s not easy when that’s all you know. But people change, and I have to accept the fact that I’m one of them.”
Carter sounded so good. It was hard to believe that this was the man who’d walked out on her just a little over three months ago.
“You’re getting there, Carter,” she said, wiggling out of her shorts and top while trying to balance her phone. “Look, let me grab a quick shower, then I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”
“Gear up,” he said.
“As in motorcycle?”
“As in that’s the only form of transportation I’ve got.”
She smiled, thinking about riding behind him again. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be sexual, but being in that kind of contact with him was as sexual as it got. And while it was too early in the morning to be having those kinds of thoughts, she couldn’t deny them. And she never had, when they’d both awakened together in the morning with the very same thought.
“Great, just great,” she said, reaching over to adjust the shower temperature to something a little colder, then bracing herself for the jolt of it. Which came. But, didn’t take away those feelings.
So, she hurried through, got dressed, then by the time she opened her hotel door, Carter was standing out in the hall, waiting.
“Something wrong with your back?” she asked, noticing the way he was leaning against the wall, gingerly rubbing his lower lumbar.
“Twisted it a few days ago. Nothing serious. Not even worth getting x-rayed.”
“But you’re up to another hike into the desert?”
It hurt him worse than he let on. She could see it in his eyes.
“Because I could grab one of the tour guide
s here and we could go out.”
Carter waved her off, then stepped away from the wall.
“Like I said, nothing serious.”
“When was the last time you saw a doctor, Carter? Weren’t you supposed to be checked every two or three months?”
“I’m fine, Sloane,” he said, sounding a little bit annoyed. “Not sick, not injured. Just adjusting to more activity than I’ve had in a while.”
She wasn’t convinced, but she wasn’t going to argue the point. Why bother, when Carter didn’t want that kind of intrusion from her? So, instead of continuing in that direction, she grabbed up her backpack which, little by little, had filled up with medical supplies, and stepped into the hall.
“This is the new me—no mincing of words. It is what it is, Sloane. I don’t mean to be harsh, but I don’t want to argue about my physical condition, either.”
She stopped and simply stared at him for a moment. “It wouldn’t hurt you to find a nice comfortable spot in the middle. Especially if you’re holding on to any thoughts of staying here.”
“I am leaning in that direction,” Carter said, as he stepped aside to let her through the elevator door first. “A lot of things are hinging on how well I do with the last two parts of my program, so for now nothing is set in stone. I’m still at the stage where I’m getting myself through day by day. But I do like it here.”
As the elevator doors closed, he took his place on the opposite side from her, then continued, “It’s not easy going from being someone who has his life planned out every step of the way to someone who’s only able to take it a day at a time, or one challenge at a time. But I’m working at it. Not always successfully, though.”
“What do you mean?”
Carter creased his face into a frown and leaned back against the wall. “I do have this idea—but it may be too far out there to consider. I’ve been wondering what would happen if I did come back here after I’ve finished the program, resume practice, maybe even buy it from Matt. Then set up a recovery program much like the one I’m going through, only with horses. Everybody around here has a horse, and there are wild horses everywhere. I know there are a couple programs already working with horses, teaching people how to handle them and even become farriers, and they’re getting a lot of notice in the PTSD communities. So why not here, in Forgeburn?”
