Melting the Argentine Doctor's Heart / Small Town Marriage Miracle

by Meredith Webber / Jennifer Taylor

  ‘We were just messing about, having a sword fight with a couple of sticks, when Jack slipped. I thought he was kidding at first when he didn’t get up, but then I saw all the blood.’ The boy gulped, obviously too shaken by what had happened to continue.

  ‘I see.’ Daniel didn’t press him for any more details as he carefully eased the boy’s blood-soaked T-shirt aside so he could examine the puncture wound in his chest. Although it wasn’t very large, it was obviously deep and had bled copiously. He could hear the boy struggling to breathe and placed his hand over the wound. Even if the lung itself wasn’t damaged, this type of injury—where air was being drawn directly into the chest cavity—could cause it to deflate ‘How long ago did it happen?’ he asked, glancing up.

  ‘I’m not sure. Half an hour, maybe longer—I seem to have been shouting for ages.’ The boy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘I didn’t know what to do. I tried to get Jack to stand up but he couldn’t, so I thought about going for help. But even if I’d managed to find someone, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find my way back here.’

  ‘You don’t have a mobile with you?’ Daniel queried, dragging over a haversack and using it to support the boy’s head and shoulders. He inclined the teenager’s body towards the injured side so that the sound lung was uppermost then dug in his pocket and took out a clean handkerchief plus the piece of crumpled cling film. Sealing the wound to stop any more air entering the chest cavity would help the boy to breathe more easily.

  ‘Yes, but there’s no signal out here. I’ve tried it dozens of times but my phone just won’t work!’

  ‘Typical.’ Daniel sighed as he placed the handkerchief over the hole in the boy’s chest. ‘Can you hold that there while I unravel this piece of cling film?’ he instructed. Once he had smoothed out the plastic wrapping, he placed it over the handkerchief, pressing it tightly against the boy’s damp skin. He was pleased to hear that the teenager’s breathing sounded a little less laboured after he’d finished.

  Standing up, he stripped off his jacket and laid it over the boy. Hypothermia was a very real concern in a situation like this and he needed to do whatever he could to avoid it. Once he was sure the boy was protected from the rain, he turned to his friend again. ‘What’s your name, son?’

  ‘Ryan.’

  ‘OK, Ryan. I’m Dr Kennedy. I work at the surgery in Avondale—do you know it?’

  Ryan shook his head. ‘No.’

  ‘So can I take it that you don’t live round here?’

  ‘No. We’re on a school trip. We’re staying at the outward bound centre near Malham.’

  ‘I see. So is there anyone who’s likely to be looking for you right now? Your teachers, for instance?

  ‘No. They don’t know we’re out here,’ Ryan mumbled, looking sheepish.

  ‘What do you mean, they don’t know you’re out here?’

  Ryan shrugged. ‘Most of the teachers have gone to Settle with the rest of the group. They’re going on a train ride. Jack and I weren’t allowed to go because we smuggled some beer into our dormitory last night. A couple of the boys were sick and things got a bit messy, so we had to stay behind to clean up as a punishment.’

  ‘Surely you weren’t left on your own?’

  ‘No, one of the teachers stayed with us, but he had to go to the office to deal with a query.’ Ryan looked even more uncomfortable. ‘Jack and I decided to sneak out while he was gone and that’s how we ended up here.’

  ‘And found yourself in an even bigger mess from the look of it,’ Daniel declared, sighing. He quickly considered their options but it was obvious what needed to be done. ‘We can assume you’ll be missed at some point but it could take a while before the alarm is raised and even longer before they send someone out to look for you. Quite frankly, we can’t afford to wait around too long so here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to stay here with Jack while you go for help. It’s better if I stay with him in case anything happens.’

  ‘But what if I can’t find my way?’ the boy exclaimed.

  ‘You’ll be fine,’ Daniel assured him, hoping he wasn’t being overly confident. ‘I’ll take you back to the main path and show you which way to go. So long as you stay on the path and don’t wander off it, you’ll be perfectly all right. It brings you out into the centre of Avondale and once you’re there, just ask anyone you meet to help you.’

  ‘But how about finding my way back here?’ Ryan asked anxiously. He glanced around and shuddered. ‘All this countryside looks the same to me.’

  ‘Have you got a watch?’ Daniel unfastened his own watch when the boy shook his head and handed it to him. ‘Put that on and use it to time how long it takes you to reach the town. That should give the search and rescue team a rough idea of where we are. You can also tell them that we’re about a mile or so from a large rock and that Dr Roberts at the surgery can probably help to pinpoint our location if they ask her. Think you can remember all that?’

  ‘I think so.’ Ryan took a deep breath. ‘Do you want me to go now?’

  ‘Yes. Oh, and also tell them that we’ll need an ambulance on standby and that they should inform the hospital to be prepared for a serious chest trauma. OK?’ He smiled when Ryan nodded. ‘Good. Let’s get going, then. The sooner we get your friend to hospital, the better.’

  Daniel led the boy back to the path and pointed him in the right direction, repeating his instruction to stay on the path and not wander off it. He frowned as he watched him set off, hoping he was doing the right thing by sending him for help, but what choice did he have? He couldn’t go because he needed to stay with Jack.

  He sighed as he made his way back to the injured boy. What was that saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions? Although his intentions may have been good five years ago, look how badly things had turned out then. Hopefully, there would be a happier outcome this time.

  Emma decided to go to the cinema in the end. Although it was a bit of trek to the nearest town that boasted a cinema, it would be worth it. If she set off early, she could do some shopping first and then watch the film. She may as well go for a meal afterwards too. Then she could keep out of Daniel’s way for the rest of the day.

  She groaned as she stepped into the shower. She couldn’t continue avoiding him. Whether she liked the idea or not, she and Daniel were going to have to get along for the next few weeks both in and out of the surgery. Maybe there was a lot of history between them but the key word in that statement was history. Their relationship was in the past and it shouldn’t have any bearing on what happened at the present time. She’d been out with other men in the past few years and remained on good terms with them too. If she could get it into her head that Daniel was just someone she had once dated, she could put it behind her.

  She got dressed and went downstairs. She was just unhooking her jacket off the hall peg when she heard a car pull up outside and frowned. She wasn’t expecting visitors and had no idea who it could be. Opening the door, she blinked in surprise when she saw one of the local search and rescue vehicles parked outside. Although her uncle had been a member of the team for many years, he had been forced to retire when his health had started to deteriorate. She couldn’t imagine what they were doing here and waited expectantly as Mike Harding, the team leader, hurried towards her.

  ‘Looks as though we’ve arrived in the nick of time,’ Mike observed jovially. A pleasant man in his forties who ran the local pub with his wife, April, he’d been leading the local team for the past ten years. ‘I take it that you were on your way out?’

  ‘I was,’ Emma agreed. ‘I was just about to head off to the cinema, in fact. Why? Is there a problem?’

  ‘Seems like it.’ Mike pointed towards a boy sitting in the front passenger seat. ‘According to that young fellow, his friend is out in the Dales somewhere, injured, and Dr Kennedy is with him.’

  ‘Daniel!’ Emma exclaimed. ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘As sure as I can be. The lad came stumbl
ing into the pub about ten minutes ago and told us that his friend was hurt and that there was a man with him who said he was a doctor.’ Mike shrugged. ‘April asked him to describe him and she said that it sounded very much like Dr Kennedy.’

  ‘She’s probably right,’ Emma said slowly. ‘Daniel did go for a walk this morning. In fact, I met him while I was out.’

  ‘And where was that?’ Mike said quickly. ‘Apparently, Dr Kennedy told the lad to tell us that he was about a mile from a large rock and that you’d know where it was.’

  ‘He must mean Pilgrim’s Point,’ Emma told him. ‘I was sitting there when I saw Daniel.’

  ‘Great!’ Mike beamed at her. ‘It doesn’t half help when folk are able to narrow down the search area. I’ll get on the radio and let the others know where we’re heading.’

  Emma followed him back to the car, waiting quietly as he put through a call to the rest of the team. ‘Do we know how badly injured the other boy is?’ she asked as soon as he finished.

  ‘Chest injury, apparently. Your Dr Kennedy told the lad to tell us to have an ambulance on standby and to inform the hospital to prepare for a serious chest trauma.’

  Emma felt her face heat. He wasn’t her Dr Kennedy; he never had been hers in any way, shape or form. It was on the tip of her tongue to point that out until she realised how silly it was to make a fuss. She was supposed to be trying to think of Daniel as just another ex-boyfriend!

  ‘It might be best to have the air ambulance on standby,’ she suggested, confining her thoughts to the matter at hand.

  ‘We’ve already done that,’ Mike informed her. ‘Air Ambulance Control has logged the request, although they can’t guarantee another call won’t come in in the meantime.’

  ‘Of course not,’ Emma agreed, shivering as she glanced towards the hills. The rain was much heavier now, a heavy blanket of clouds overhead stealing the light from the day. Although it was barely the middle of the afternoon, it looked more like evening. She knew that the longer Daniel and the boy were missing, the greater the risk of them not being found before night fell. The thought spurred her to a swift decision.

  ‘I’m coming with you.’ She held up her hand when Mike started to protest that it wasn’t necessary. ‘No, I want to come. I’ll be able to help with the boy if nothing else. Give me two minutes to change and I’ll be right with you.’

  She ran back into the house, quickly exchanging her lightweight jacket for something more suitable. Her walking boots were on the mat where she’d left them and it took only seconds to slip them on. She knew the team carried basic medical supplies as a matter of course so didn’t need to worry about that. Within a couple of minutes she was back at the Land Rover.

  ‘Ready,’ she told Mike as she climbed into the rear seat. She could feel her tension building as they drove into the centre of the town. The rest of the team was gathered outside the church. There were about a dozen altogether, all of them volunteers.

  Emma nodded hello then stood to one side while Mike spread an Ordnance Survey sheet on the bonnet of the car. He ringed Pilgrim’s Point in red then turned to the boy. Emma bit her lip when Ryan explained that it had taken him just over two hours to reach the town. It was already three o’clock, which meant it would be going dark before they got back to where Daniel was waiting and that was assuming they could pinpoint his location. Finding people lost in the Dales wasn’t easy, as any member of the team would confirm.

  She took a deep breath as Mike folded up the map. The thought of Daniel being at risk was more than she could bear, even though she refused to ask herself why.

  Without a watch to refer to, Daniel had no idea how much time had passed since Ryan had gone for help. It seemed to be hours since the boy had left yet he knew that it was probably his mind playing tricks. As he checked Jack’s pulse again, he found himself praying that help would arrive soon. The boy had lapsed into unconsciousness a while ago and there was no doubt that his condition was deteriorating. He needed to be admitted to hospital as quickly as possible if he was to have any chance of pulling through.

  The thought had barely crossed his mind when the boy suddenly stopped breathing. Daniel quickly rolled him onto his back and checked his airway. Once he was sure it was clear, he pinched Jack’s nostrils closed and breathed into his mouth, sharply, four times to inflate his lungs. He then checked his pulse and was relieved to find that his heart was still beating. He breathed into his mouth again and continued doing so for several more minutes until Jack started breathing for himself again.

  After placing the boy in the recovery position, Daniel stood up, groaning as he stretched his aching limbs. He was soaking wet, thanks to the rain, and freezing cold too. He jumped up and down to try to generate some warmth in his body, flapping his arms as well for good measure. It helped a bit but he knew that the effects wouldn’t last. Night was drawing in and the temperature would drop even lower then. What wouldn’t he give to be sitting in front of a roaring fire with Emma curled up beside him …?

  He blanked out that thought. He was feeling miserable enough without making himself feel even worse because the chances of Emma ever curling up beside him were nil!

  Although Emma must have walked along the route dozens of times before, she had never attempted it in such appalling weather. The rain was beating down now, turning the path into a sea of mud in places, so that it was difficult to keep her footing. It didn’t help either that some of the streams had burst their banks, forcing them to wade ankle deep through icy-cold water. It was only the thought of Daniel and the injured boy waiting for them that kept her going. They had to find them.

  ‘OK, let’s stop for a moment while we get our bearings.’ Mike called the group to a halt, waiting until they had formed a circle before he continued. ‘By my reckoning, we should be fairly close to where young Ryan here said he left his friend so we’ll split up into groups and see if we can find him and the doc.’

  Everyone nodded. Within a very short time they had formed four groups. Mike turned to Emma. ‘You and the lad can come with me. They can’t be far from here so let’s hope we can find them pretty soon.’

  He didn’t add anything else as he started walking again but he didn’t need to. Emma knew that once it got dark, the chances of them finding the pair were very slim. She and Ryan followed the others along the track, scouring the land to right and left in the hope of spotting them. They came to a slight rise in the ground and Ryan suddenly stopped.

  ‘I remember this bit!’ he exclaimed excitedly.

  ‘How far is it from where you left your friend?’ Mike demanded.

  ‘Not very far, I think … ten, twenty metres, something like that,’ the boy told him.

  ‘Right then, let’s start shouting and see if they can hear us.’ Mike cupped his hands round his mouth. ‘Hello! Can you hear us? Are you out there, Doc?’

  Emma held her breath. Ryan seemed so certain that surely he couldn’t have been mistaken? Mike shouted again but there was still no reply and her heart sank. They carried on for another few minutes and then Mike stopped and repeated the process. When a voice suddenly shouted back she didn’t know whether to laugh or cry because she felt so overwhelmed with emotion. It was all she could do to stumble after the others as they hurried towards where the sound had come from.

  ‘Am I glad to see you,’ Daniel began, standing up. He suddenly caught sight of her and Emma saw the shock on his face. It was blatantly obvious that he hadn’t expected to see her and all of a sudden she felt uncomfortable about her reasons for being there.

  Crossing the narrow strip of ground that separated them, she crouched down beside the injured boy, busying herself with doing his obs while Daniel conferred with Mike. Although she could hear what was being said, it seemed to be happening at one step removed from her. It was only when Daniel crouched down beside her that everything snapped back into focus.

  ‘I’ll set up a drip,’ she said crisply, starting to rise, but he caught her hand and stopped her.


  ‘I didn’t expect you to come, Emma.’

  ‘No?’ She gave a little shrug, hoping it would convince him that her reasons had had little to do with him. ‘I thought you might need help, that’s all. With the boy.’

  ‘That was good of you. Thank you.’

  His voice was low but she could hear the note it held and her heart reacted immediately to it. She stood up abruptly and hurried over to where Mike had left the bag of medical supplies. Saline, antiseptic wipes, cannula. She mentally listed all the things she needed because it was safer to concentrate on them than on anything else, far safer than letting herself think about the way Daniel had looked at her just now.

  She took a deep breath, held it until she felt dizzy, then let it out as slowly as she could, but the thought didn’t flow away with it. It seemed to be stuck in her head, neon bright and incredibly scary: Daniel had been pleased to see her, surprised but pleased. What did it mean?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  DANIEL could feel his heart thumping as he helped Emma set up the drip. It had been a shock to see her and there was no point denying it. Had she come purely to offer her services as a doctor, or because she had been worried about him?

  His heart beat all the harder at that beguiling thought and he gritted his teeth. He was doing it again, letting himself hope for the impossible, and it was stupid to behave this way. Emma’s reasons for being here had nothing to do with him and everything to do with their patient!

  He stood up abruptly and turned to Mike. ‘That’s about all we can do for him. The sooner we get him to hospital, the better his chances will be.’

  ‘The air ambulance is on its way,’ Mike informed him. ‘The problem is that it can’t land out here in the dark—it’s way too dangerous. We’re going to have to carry the lad to the nearest stretch of road and have him picked up from there.’

  ‘How long’s that going to take?’ Daniel demanded, his heart sinking at the thought of there being a further lengthy delay.