A Doctor's Trust (Lifeline Air Rescue Book 4)

by Scott, Laura

  “Listening to music on the sound system in the living room.” Jenna lifted a brow, since she didn’t hear a sound, and he added, “Headphones.”

  “Good thing.” She knew Zane had found a pair of headphones for Rae, because when he’d come home the other night, the entire condo had been shaking with the volume of the music her sister had been listening to. He’d made a comment about hoping the neighbors wouldn’t call the cops to report them for disturbing the peace.

  Adjusting to the new living arrangements was taking a toll on both of them, but so far, other than their argument yesterday, things were going better than she’d expected. They’d had a great time at Rainbow Summer, a phenomenon she hadn’t known took place every June. Zane had even offered to eat dinner at a cheap custard stand just to make her happy.

  Jenna fetched Rae from the living room. As the three of them walked outside together, she was struck by how they resembled a proper family. She slanted a glance at Zane. When he laughed at something Rae said, she stumbled, the truth hitting her in the chest.

  She loved him. The reason she’d been so upset with him yesterday had been because she loved him. And despite the depth of her feelings, she still had a sneaking suspicion that he didn’t know the meaning of real love. Of what it meant to care about someone more than you cared about yourself.

  Lost in the realization, she didn’t notice they’d reached her house until she heard Zane’s voice. “Jenna? Is something wrong?”

  “Huh?” She drew herself from the emotional fog. “I’m fine, just lost in thought.” She barely remembered dropping Rae off at Claire’s.

  His brow furrowed. “Are you worried about the insurance coverage?”

  “A little.” She wasn’t willing to let him in on her true dilemma. To prevent him from asking more, she opened the car door and jumped out.

  A bald guy wearing thick, black-framed glasses and sporting a round stomach hurried over to meet her. “Hello. You must be Jenna. I’m Richard Packard.”

  She shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Richard.” They walked toward the wreckage of her house, which frankly looked even worse in the bright light of day.

  “Oh my.” Richard tsked under his breath. “The tree certainly caused a lot of damage.”

  “Yeah.” She sighed and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. She was aware of Zane standing behind her. He’d wisely let her take the lead. “I’m very thankful no one was hurt.”

  “Me, too,” Richard hastened to agree. “Although, that tree doesn’t seem to be on your side of the property line.” Richard made the observation with a frown.

  “No, it’s my neighbor’s tree.”

  “Hmmm.” She didn’t like the way his frown deepened. “Not a very responsible neighbor—see all those dead branches? This tree could have fallen on your house at any time.”

  “Yes, well, the tree didn’t fall down, it was struck by lightning in the height of a thunderstorm.” Prickly fear etched under her skin.

  “I’m afraid your neighbor’s insurance company is going to have to pay for the damages.” Richard didn’t look sorry at all.

  “What?” Jenna couldn’t believe it. “It’s my house that’s damaged. Why do I pay insurance premiums each month if not for repairs like this?”

  “I sympathize with your plight, but this incident is your neighbor’s fault. His homeowner’s insurance company will need to pay for the damages.” Richard tucked the clipboard under his arm as if the issue was closed.

  Zane stepped forward. “Really? Seems to me your company would pay for the damages, then go after the neighbor’s insurance to recoup your costs. If that’s what you need to do.”

  “Yes, exactly.” Jenna was grateful for Zane’s cool logic. She certainly wasn’t thinking clearly at the moment.

  “I don’t know about that. I’ll have to ask my supervisor.” Richard apparently wasn’t going to cave under Zane’s additional pressure. “I’ll be in touch, Ms. Reed, after we make a final decision.”

  Jenna seriously doubted it. A wave of panic choked her. What if the insurance companies dragged this battle out indefinitely? What if her neighbor didn’t even have insurance? What if both of the insurers refused to pay for the repairs? She and Rae couldn’t stay with Zane forever.

  Could they? No, of course not. She wasn’t going there.

  “Why don’t you give me the name of your supervisor? Or better yet, give him my name and tell him to call me. Dr. Zane Taylor, T-A-Y-L-O-R.” He spelled his last name as if he were talking to someone of questionable intelligence. “Once I explain the situation, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

  “Um—all right. I’ll do that.” Richard’s stance changed, and he abruptly looked nervous. He glanced at Jenna. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Jenna bared her teeth in the semblance of a smile. “Thanks for meeting me here, Mr. Packard.”

  “Good day.” The bald insurance agent turned and hurried back to his car. She noticed he pulled out his cell phone and was speaking rapidly into the device as he drove away.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll come through.” Zane put his arm around her shoulders.

  “Only because you pulled rank on him.” The knowledge was a bitter pill to swallow. She grimaced. “Apparently having MD behind your name helps.”

  Zane’s expression grew uncertain, and he pulled away to look down at her. “Are you upset with me for butting in?”

  “No.” She sighed and ran her fingers across his arm. It wasn’t Zane’s fault Packard was a jerk. “Don’t mind me, I’m grumpy.”

  “Your house was crushed by a tree. You have a right to be grumpy.” Zane’s tone lightened.

  “Thanks. You’ve been really wonderful through all of this.” She went up on her toes to brush a quick kiss across his cheek, then turned toward his car. “I guess it’s time to get my car repaired.”

  “Really?” His expression was wary.

  “Yes.” She’d actually been thinking about what he’d said, about Rae showing maturity and wanting to help pay for the repairs. The longer they had to stay with Zane, the more inconvenient it would be to be limited to one car. Especially with Rae working. “Since we have time, would you mind dropping me off at the garage up the street?”

  “Your car is at the garage?”

  She nodded. “Miguel towed it there for me last time it died. It’s still there, unless Hank sold it on me.”

  “Let’s take a look, then.”

  The ride down the street didn’t take long. Sure enough, her rusty old car was still sitting in the same spot. For a moment, a sense of shame washed over her. The old Jetta looked way worse than she remembered. Or maybe it was the fact that she was currently riding in a Lexus. Avoiding Zane’s gaze, she spoke to Hank, the garage owner, about the repairs.

  “I already did them.” Hank lifted his shoulders in a wry shrug. “Figured if you didn’t show up soon, I’d sell the thing to get my money back. You left the car here longer than usual.”

  “Sorry about that. How much do I owe you?” Jenna held her breath. Would the repairs cost more than he’d originally told her?

  “The same as before.” Hank didn’t look concerned.

  “Great.” She let out her breath in relief and reached for her purse.

  Zane stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Would you let me take care of the bill? Please?”

  “No.” She shook her head for emphasis. Why did he always want to rescue her? She wasn’t looking for a knight in shining armor, but a partnership. Did he think she couldn’t handle things for herself? “Thanks for the offer, but I intend to make Rae pay for half the bill. You were the one who told me she needed to take on more responsibility, remember?”

  She could tell he wanted to argue, but he simply watched as she took out her checkbook and wrote out a check. Hank reached a long arm back to grab the keys from a ring behind the counter.

  “Here you go.” He dropped the keys into her hand.
“Take care, Jenna.”

  “Will do, Hank.” She would take care of herself, and Rae, the way she always did.

  Too bad Zane didn’t seem to have the same faith in her.

  14

  Zane waited for Jenna in Lifeline’s debriefing room while she changed into a spare flight suit. The ones she owned were in her damaged house, which remained off-limits. Thankfully, they stored plenty of extras here at the hangar and had laundry facilities.

  “How is Jenna?” Kristin Page, one of their newest nurses joining the crew, came over as he helped himself to a cup of coffee. “We heard about what happened to her house.”

  “She’s good.” Zane tried to sound nonchalant but wasn’t sure he pulled it off. “Her sister was trapped in the upper level, and Jenna attacked the wreckage, almost causing the whole roof to collapse on top of her.”

  “I was worried about Rae.” Jenna scowled when she walked in, obviously overhearing his comment.

  “I know, we both were.” The last thing he wanted was to start another argument, especially when things had been so good.

  Nate gave them a brief rundown of what had transpired during the previous six hours of the split shift. As he finished, their pagers went off simultaneously.

  “Farm accident in Clover Hill. The farmer got his arm trapped in hay baler.” Jenna winced as she read the message. “That sounds awful.”

  “We always get at least one farm accident every year.” Zane’s stomach clenched. “And they are always bad. Let’s go.” He led the way out to the landing pad where the chopper was fueled and ready to go.

  Zane grabbed the flight bag as Jenna reached for her helmet. They both climbed into the back while Nate settled into the pilot’s seat.

  He listened as Nate communicated with the base during takeoff. Jenna met his gaze with a tentative smile. He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up signal. She was trying hard to keep things smooth between them. He’d been totally amazed when she’d agreed to the car repairs. Of course, she hadn’t let him pay for them, but still, she’d taken the first step.

  The flight to Clover Hill took fifteen to twenty minutes. After what seemed like forever, Nate landed the chopper. Between them, he and Jenna fell into a comfortable rhythm, pulling out the gurney and wheeling it over to where two ambulances stood with their red lights flashing.

  The patient, a farmer who looked to be in his midfifties was lying on the gurney. A woman about the same age stood next to him, wringing her hands, her eyes puffy with recently shed tears. He was glad the EMTs had started one IV for fluids and had placed the breathing tube. The farmer’s right arm was a mangled mass, and the two EMTs were attempting to bandage it.

  “Here, let me.” Zane pulled out a handful of dressings from the flight bag and knelt beside the patient. “What’s his name?”

  “Gerald Small.” The EMT backed away. “This is his wife, Louise, who found him. His arm was degloved from armpit to wrist. We had a heck of a time getting it out of the hay baler.”

  He could only imagine how awful that had been. “Hold his arm up for me, Jenna.”

  She did as he asked, and Zane went to work. After spreading out several large abdominal pads over the arm, he wrapped gauze around it to keep them in place. Jenna watched, mesmerized, and he thought again about how she should go back to school. Granted, he understood a little better now that it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. He knew Jenna would always put Rae’s education first. When he’d finished with the gauze, he took out several ace wraps and wrapped them tightly around the gauze.

  “All right, that will have to do for now.” Sweat dripped down his back, and he swiped his forehead with his sleeve. Jenna flexed her arms as if holding Gerald’s for so long had strained her muscles. “Jenna, make sure he has plenty of pain meds on board and give him some antibiotics.”

  She stared down at the array of antibiotics they carried in their flight bag. “What exactly do you want me to give?”

  “Mrs. Small, does Gerald have any allergies?” Zane addressed his question to the farmer’s wife.

  “No.” The woman sniffed and struggled to control her tears. “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “We’ll start with penicillin. When that’s infused, give cefoxitin. He’ll need all the help he can get.”

  Jenna caught his gaze, then glanced at the clumps of manure stuck in the spreader. Clearly, she understood farm accidents carried a huge risk of infection. She dug the penicillin out of the bag and hung the mini bag a little higher than the main IV fluids. Then she went to work, switching their patient to their portable equipment. Gerald’s eyelids fluttered open, and he turned his head toward her.

  Jenna took his uninjured hand in hers. “Mr. Small, my name is Jenna. I’m a paramedic for Lifeline Air Rescue. Dr. Zane Taylor is here, too. We’re going to transport you to Trinity Medical Center.”

  The farmer stared at her for a long moment, then closed his eyes. Again, Zane noticed his fingers didn’t let go of hers. With one hand, she reached into the flight bag for some pain meds.

  “How much morphine have you given?” She glanced at the EMTs expectantly.

  “A total of eight milligrams over the past hour.” At her surprised expression, the EMT quickly explained, “He was writhing in pain when we found him. We also needed to get him calmed down so we could intubate him.”

  “I get it. How much you want me to give, Zane?”

  “Let’s wait until we get him on the chopper, then give two milligrams.” Zane finished securing the straps over their patient. “Let’s get him on board.”

  “Wait, you’re taking him to Trinity?” Louise tried to follow them. “Can I come with you?”

  “I’m sorry, there isn’t enough room.” Zane felt bad for her. “Get someone to drive you to Trinity. There’s no rush, I’m fairly certain they’ll take him to the operating room as soon as possible.”

  “Okay.” Fresh tears welled in her eyes.

  Jenna gave her a sympathetic glance as they pushed the gurney over the bumpy farm field to where Nate waited with the helicopter. Once they had Gerald safely stashed inside, Jenna carefully placed the earphones over his ears so he could hear them.

  “Mr. Small, you’re on the Lifeline helicopter now. In about fifteen to twenty minutes, we will be at Trinity Medical Center where the plastic surgeons will take a look at your arm.” As she spoke, she gave the two milligrams of morphine Zane had ordered, then took his hand again. “I’m right here if you need anything.”

  Zane noticed Gerald’s fingers closed around Jenna’s as Nate lifted the chopper off the ground.

  “Are you all right?” Jenna stared at him with concern. “Is your pain worse?”

  Gerald couldn’t speak with the breathing tube in place, but he didn’t let go of Jenna’s fingers either. Normally, Jenna filled out the flight record, but Zane quickly took over the task, making note of the vital signs. In his opinion, it was far more important for her to comfort Gerald.

  Zane watched as Jenna used the power of touch to convey reassurance to their patient. He could almost feel the guy’s fear begin to ease as she cradled his hand in hers.

  In that moment, he realized what she’d meant about him pulling away emotionally. It hit him hard. In those weeks after they’d found Eve, he hadn’t touched her. Not because he hadn’t cared, but because he’d been afraid she wouldn’t want to be touched.

  What was wrong with him? He should’ve asked Eve rather than making an assumption. Likely a wrong assumption.

  Maybe Jenna was right. Maybe he had subconsciously pulled away from his sister.

  “Thanks for doing that, Zane.” She’d cued her microphone so the patient couldn’t hear her speaking. “I appreciate you filling out the flight report. Gerald is so scared.”

  “I don’t blame him.” Zane offered a lopsided smile. “I don’t mind. The next time he wakes up, let him know his wife will be waiting for him at Trinity. Maybe that will help him feel better.”

  Jenna nodded and stroked a hand over G
erald’s uninjured arm. “I will. I’m sure he’ll be glad to know how much his wife will be there for him.”

  Zane had to glance away, stunned by the truth. He loved her. Zane had known all along that what he felt for Jenna was different from his relationship with Lynette. But not until he opened his heart to her had he realized the truth. He loved her, even the way she was overprotective with Rae.

  Now that he had her in his life, he couldn’t imagine living without her.

  Reeling from the revelation, he didn’t notice Nate had landed until Jenna gave him an odd glance. He felt bad when she took her fingers from Gerald’s hand, but they soon had him out of the chopper and inside the emergency department, where the plastic surgeon waited.

  The trauma team didn’t keep Gerald in the ER long but whisked him straight to the operating room. Zane stood back as a group of nurses and doctors wheeled him away. As always, there was a strange sense of letdown when their job was finished.

  “Hey, are you all right?” Jenna closed the gap between them.

  “Of course.” He wasn’t, but now wasn’t the time to tell her how much he loved her.

  They returned to the helipad where Nate waited. Back at Lifeline, the rest of their shift remained quiet. They didn’t get any other calls, and he was anxious for their shift to end.

  “I need to make a quick stop on the way home.” Zane walked her toward her rust bucket of a car. “I’ll pick up something for dinner, if you’d like.”

  “Sure, but don’t go to any trouble. Pizza or something else easy is fine.” If she thought he was acting weird, she didn’t let on. “I wanted to stop at the drugstore again anyway. Rae wants more cosmetics.”

  “Meet you at home, then.” Home. The words sounded good. They had two cars now that Jenna had paid for the repairs to her old Jetta. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Rae’s face when she discovered the vehicle sitting in his parking spot. Although the car was old and falling apart, he remembered his first car. Pretty exciting. No doubt, Rae would be just as thrilled.