by Lucy Ryder
“Lorena,” Frank gasped, grabbing Adam’s wrist. “And...the kids. They...need...me.”
Adam gently but firmly replaced the mask. “Yes, they do but you have to breathe, Frank, or Lorena will have both our hides.”
“Hurts like I’ve been kicked in the chest, Doc. Promise you won’t let me die.”
“You’re not gonna die, Frank,” one of the other firefighters burst out angrily when Leah reappeared to thrust a stethoscope at Adam. “Dammit, Doc. Tell him.”
“Guys,” Leah said firmly, taking charge. “He’s not going to let Frank die but you need to give him room to work. Why don’t you get something to eat and drink? There’s plenty in the tent outside. We’ll take care of Frank.” She waited until they stepped out of the cubicle before asking, “Adam, what do you need?”
“How’s the lab situation?” he asked, fitting the stethoscope earpieces into his ears. He was fairly certain Frank was suffering nothing more than smoke inhalation but a few blood tests would confirm his suspicions. The student doctor gave a small headshake. “Sonar?”
“Dr. Kendal’s using it for a pregnant patient that was brought in a short while ago,” she explained. “We’ve been taking in patients for a few days and those brought in a few hours ago are ahead on the list.”
“X-rays?”
“We’ve got a queue there too, Adam, and the tech has been working overtime. Everyone is urgent so we can’t push him in.”
Adam removed the scope from his ears and pressed the thumb and forefinger of one hand to his eyes. “All right. Put him on the list for a sonar. I want a full chest, concentrating on the area around the heart.” He handed the chart to Leah before turning to the volunteer firefighter. “Frank, the sonar is just a precautionary measure, so don’t start reading too much into it.” He grabbed a tongue depressor and a penlight and gestured for Frank to open his mouth. Once he was done checking the airways, he replaced the mask. “Any headaches, numbness or tingling in your extremities?”
Frank nodded jerkily. “Feels like pricks under my skin and my head’s killing me.”
Adam gently probed the back of Frank’s neck up into the base of his skull to check for injuries he might be unaware of. “Nausea, double vision?”
“Some,” Frank rasped. “Eyes a bit blurry and I’ve had a couple dizzy spells.”
Adam reached for the pressure cuff on the wall behind the bed. “Leah will set up a drip with antibiotics and put you on a nebulizer while we wait for sonar. I don’t think we have anything to worry about, Frank. Your heart sounds fine but your lungs don’t. In the meantime, I’m going to treat you for smoke inhalation, so I need you to relax and concentrate on that breathing.”
“Need...to get...out there, Doc,” the man rasped, looking alarmed. He struggled upright, his breathing even more labored as he panicked. “Can’t stay. The fire... It’s bad. Lorena...the kids... Mrs. Kershaw?”
“The deputies can handle that,” Adam said firmly and quietly, expertly fitting the cuff around Frank’s arm. “I promise. What I can also promise is that you’re in no condition to go haring off to check on them. Let the deputies do their job.” He looked at a couple firefighters hovering outside the cubicle as he inflated the cuff. “And the rest of the team can handle things without you for a while. Right, guys?”
There was a chorus of consent. “They’re bringing in more guys from Portland and Seattle,” one grimy man said. “We’ll be okay, Frank. Just listen to the doc.”
At their words, Frank blinked rapidly, briefly looking away as though overcome with emotion. He waited until Adam finished taking his blood pressure before rasping, “My...chest...hurts real bad, Doc.”
“Your BP is elevated but that’s a normal response to smoke inhalation,” Adam assured him. “The chest pain is most likely related but we’ll check to be sure. Try to give your vocal cords a break. They’ve been scorched.” He turned to go and indicated with a slight head incline for Leah to follow. Once outside, he dropped his voice. “Give him two milligrams of midazolam and watch his breathing. If he gets too agitated, we might have to intubate him. Any luck on finding me some scrubs?”
“We sent one of the volunteers. Where should we bring it?”
Adam scrubbed his hands over his face and gave it a moment’s thought. “Any shower available?” He badly needed a shower, sleep and food. Oh, yeah, and there were a few things he wanted to say to Ms. Jefferies that were burning on his tongue.
Leah immediately led him away from ER, down a passage toward the back of the hospital. “The Incident Command Center brought their own ablutions, so I’m sure no one will mind if you use the employee locker room.”
“I know where that is,” Adam said, reaching out to touch her arm. “You go back to Frank. He needs those meds.” He was about to turn away when he thought of something. “Is it possible the volunteer can find me coffee? I’m going to need it black and strong. Really strong.”
“I’ll get right on it,” she said, her gaze searching his face. “But Frank’s right. You look tired. When last did you eat or sleep?”
He thrust a hand through his hair and gave her a grim smile. “It’s been a while. Wilbur Pass is— God, there’s nothing left,” he muttered, referring to the area around his cousin’s farm. “A lot of the folks up there have lost everything.”
Her face paled. “Ben?” she asked quickly, her hand going to her mouth in distress. “Is Ben okay?”
“A couple of minor injuries,” he told her, turning away. He didn’t think he’d be able to talk about the devastation he’d lived through the past few days. “We managed to save the horses and most of the house but a lot of others weren’t so lucky, Leah. Now would be a good time to pray for rain.”
She swallowed and gave a short nod as Adam placed a hand on the door, but before he could push it open, she said quietly, “She’s here.”
Knowing instantly whom she was talking about, Adam tried to pretend ignorance as he gave her a confused look across his shoulder. “Who’s here?”
Leah rolled her eyes and huffed out an annoyed breath. “Ms. Jefferies. But then you knew that, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t, but thank you for the heads-up.” He shifted his weight and stepped into the doorway, Leah’s quietly spoken words again stopping him in his tracks.
“What happened, Adam?”
After a couple of beats, he sighed and shoved impatient fingers through his hair. The previous burst of energy had drained away, leaving him exhausted. The last thing he wanted was to discuss Samantha—or his feelings—with anyone. “What do you mean?”
“She’s hurting, although she tries hard to pretend nothing’s wrong,” she said, tilting her head to one side as she studied him with sympathetic eyes. “Sam looks as bad as you do and I can see she’s heartsick and miserable. When she heard we hadn’t seen or heard from you, she looked—terrified.” Her eyes searched his. “I thought—”
“What?” he interrupted, suddenly furious at the shame that swamped him. Furious with Samantha for putting herself in harm’s way and ashamed because her confusion and misery was his fault. “What did you think, Leah?” he demanded. “That a beautiful, sophisticated woman like Samantha would give up her pampered, privileged lifestyle for a half-breed, hick doctor from a small backwoods town like Juniper Falls? A man who doesn’t have the time to give her what she deserves?” He exhaled in disgust, more at himself than at her. “Grow up,” he snapped. “This isn’t some inverted modern version of Cinderella.”
For an instant, he saw hurt flash in her eyes only to be replaced by anger. “You know what?” she snapped, scowling at him. “I never thought I would say this, Adam, but you’re a snob. You’re the only one who sees yourself like that. And if you didn’t have a chip on your shoulder, you’d notice that Samantha isn’t the least bit pampered like all those spoiled, rich debutantes you like to date. She’s warm and sweet and fun
ny and the most unspoiled person I know, as well as the most generous.” She paused to take a deep breath. “Not only did she donate a ton of medical supplies to the hospital and pushed the governor to establish Incident Control here in Juniper Falls, she organized water pumps and generators in case of a power failure and the tents out there for the firefighters and people who’ve been forced out of their homes. And no, she didn’t tell me about everything she’s done. I overheard the mayor and the sheriff talking. And aside from seeing that everyone out there has food, beverages and a place to rest, she’s been helping out with the ward patients and comforting the children affected by the fires.” She turned away from him and started down the passage, throwing, “Which one of your vain society princesses would do all that?” over her shoulder in a furious challenge.
Muttering a string of curses, Adam scrubbed his hands over his face. He didn’t need to explain himself to anyone. He and Samantha were a disaster waiting to happen. Just look at his parents. They should never have met.
“Look, Leah,” he said wearily to her departing back. “I don’t expect you to understand but—”
She spun around. “I understand perfectly, Adam. The fact that you don’t deserve her has nothing to do with who you are or where you’re from. It’s because you’re punishing her for coming from the same world as your mother. And just in case you haven’t figured it out. Samantha is nothing like the woman who handed you over to a man more interested in his broken dreams and the contents of a bottle than the innocent infant in his care.” She didn’t wait for a reply, her stiff back and stinging words leaving him with the sick feeling that she was right.
“Don’t tell her I’m here,” he called out gruffly.
Leah didn’t reply but he thought he heard her mutter something uncomplimentary. Something that sounded like, “You’re an ass.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
MAYBE HE WAS an ass, Adam told himself as he stripped out of his soiled clothes and stepped into the shower, but that didn’t discount the fact that he didn’t want Sam anywhere near Juniper Falls. Not near him—where she would remind him of everything he would never have—and definitely not near the approaching fire.
By the time he left the locker room, dressed in clean scrubs, he was feeling a little more clearheaded. At midnight, this section of the hospital was quiet, so he quickly headed to ER and stuck his head through the door. When he saw that things seemed to have calmed, he went in search of food and coffee. No sense expecting anyone to wait on him.
Since he’d seen Samantha exit the tent with coffee for the deputy, he headed in that direction himself only to come up short when he saw her, laughing and chatting away with a group of dirty, sweaty firefighters like she was hosting a high society banquet.
The sight of her never failed to affect him in the most physical way. His heart began pounding, his gut clenched and he was sweating. When he realized he’d lifted a hand to rub at the ache beside his heart, he lost his legendary cool.
“What the hell are you doing here, Samantha?” he demanded when he was within earshot, the suppressed anger in his tone surprising not just her and the men surrounding her but himself, as well.
She gasped and spun around so fast, the man closest to her made a grab for her before she lost her footing. The sight of another man’s hand on her, as well as the relieved joy filling her expression an instant before she masked her emotions, was like a blow to his chest. She hadn’t however masked them quickly enough to hide the stunned hurt his words and tone caused.
The sight of that hurt, knowing he’d caused it—again—just made him angrier. And because he was angry at them both, he turned to the man wearing the vest identifying him as Incident Commander.
“Commander, I want her on the next helo out of here.” He kept his voice low but she heard him, and her shocked gasp snapped his eyes back to her pale face and huge dark eyes.
She took a step backward and almost immediately, a couple of firefighters and a uniformed ranger surrounded her as though to protect her from his hostility. She ignored them, wide eyes on his as though she couldn’t look away from the disaster unfolding around her.
He couldn’t look away either. The instant they’d locked eyes, every emotion he’d struggled to deny came storming through him until he couldn’t breathe.
From him, dammit. They were trying to protect her from him, and he hated that he’d been reduced to a jealous, insecure lover.
“Stop it,” she hissed, finally pushing past the protective barrier of guys. “You’re causing a scene. Go away and let me do my job.”
No way in hell was he going away. Not now and maybe not ever. “And what job is that?” he demanded, unable to stop himself from wrapping his fingers around her arm and pulling her toward him. On some level, he recognized the over-large shirt as his, but the instant he drew her unique fragrance into his lungs, his mind went blank.
Through the roaring in his head, he heard a voice demand, “Who are you again?”
Someone stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder, breaking the tension. “This is Dr. Adam Knight,” Grey Larson, the new forest services area chief said, subtly nudging Adam away from Samantha. He’d gone to school with Adam, left for the military and returned to join the forest services. “He’s a surgeon from San José but he grew up in the area and provides regular specialist medical care for the county. He’s been helping out at Wilbur Pass.”
Ignoring Grey and the commander, Adam turned to Samantha and growled, “Dammit, Samantha, this is no place for you.”
“Why?” she demanded. “Because I’m some vain, useless debutante?”
Recalling Leah’s accusation, he shook his head. “I never said that, Samantha. I don’t think that.”
“Don’t you?” Her voice hitched alarmingly, making his heart clench in his chest. Damn. He hadn’t meant to make her cry. He just wanted her safe. Away from the inferno of that hungry beast heading in their direction. The thought of what those monstrous flames could do to her soft silky skin had bile rising into his throat, choking the life out of him.
When he didn’t reply, she took a deep breath and firmed her soft wide mouth. “You know what, Adam? Prejudice goes both ways.”
He blinked away the horrifying images he’d seen over the past few days. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
Looking mad, she snapped, “I’m busy,” and shoved past him. “You figure it out.”
Stunned by that uncharacteristic show of aggression, Adam turned to stare after her departing figure, her back ramrod straight, her jeans-clad hips twitching and the air surrounding her practically snapping with fury.
Finally becoming aware of the silence behind him, Adam turned back to see a mix of curiosity, censure and amusement in the expressions of the men around him.
“What?” he snarled, exasperated and a little embarrassed to be caught eyeing Samantha’s bottom in those skintight jeans when what he wanted was to bundle her up and put her on the first flight to safety. Okay, so maybe that wasn’t all he wanted to do but having her safe and out of danger was suddenly an overriding drive.
“You are one dumb ass,” Grey said sadly, shaking his head.
“Yeah,” Adam sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face, wishing he could rub away the heavy feeling in his gut. “That’s nothing new.”
“So, Knight,” the commander said, his eyes intent on Adam. “How’re you at field trauma?”
Struggling against the urge to follow Samantha and demand to know what she’d meant, Adam tried to focus on the IC’s words instead of the need to have her in his arms or kiss her until the anger and misery in her eyes turned soft and sleepy with desire. Until his anger and misery melted beneath the touch of her gentle hands and soft lips.
“I volunteered for the local search-and-rescue over the summer holidays while I was in med school. Why?”
“We have a situation,” th
e commander, a middle-aged man with military bearing informed him. “One of the rangers was checking the fire lines near Coopers Canyon and fell about fifty feet into a gulley. We’re fairly certain he’s injured, just not how badly. We’re short paramedics and no one trained in traumatic fall injuries.” Even as he spoke, they could hear the sound of an approaching helo. “You okay to fly out, Doc?”
Adam wasn’t okay but assisting on a rescue would be the perfect distraction. His emotions were out of control and he had no idea how to fix things with Samantha so she would leave. Glancing back over his shoulder, he caught the flash of long legs disappearing through the front entrance. He couldn’t blame her because he’d been irrational when he was always the cool voice of reason.
There was nothing cool or reasonable about his feelings for Samantha and maybe it was time to settle things between them. He couldn’t live like this anymore. Wanting her desperately and hurting them both because she was too good for him.
He sighed and accepted a cup of black coffee from Grey. There was always time after they’d brought in the ranger.
“Yeah,” he said, taking a healthy slug of the strong, sweet brew, “I’m fine.”
“Good,” the commander said briskly. “I want you on that team.”
* * *
The instant Samantha found herself in a quiet dimly lit hallway, she sank back against the wall and squeezed her eyes closed against the wild emotions swamping her—anger, hurt, love and joy all mixed up inside her, making her feel a little crazy.
And then because she needed to hide the furious tears slipping through her tight lids, she slapped a hand over her eyes and bit back a sob.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! Why on earth was she crying? What the heck was wrong with her that the mere sight of Adam—tall, darkly handsome and very much alive—had sent such joy and relief swamping her that her knees had almost buckled. Okay, so she’d nearly flung herself at him, but one glimpse of his furious expression had frozen her, the hurt slicing deep enough to wound.
