Emergency: Parents Needed

by Jessica Matthews

  “Maybe not, but she certainly needs more than two days.”

  As he saw the frown on Maggie’s face, he conceded. “OK, I’ll talk to the Captain, but I won’t put an extra burden on the department.”

  “But you will call him?” she pressed.

  “I will,” he promised. With luck, Captain Keller would need him on duty and he could have a normal day in the middle of the chaos his life had become.

  “Great.” She headed for the hallway. “You two have fun while I take my turn in the bathroom.”

  He wanted to protest, but he couldn’t demand that she never leave him alone with Breanna. Instead, he watched her disappear, heard her feet pad down the hall until the bathroom door clicked in the distance. Fortunately, her honeysuckle fragrance remained to remind him that he wasn’t the only adult in the house.

  “OK, kid,” he said as he eyed the little girl. “It’s you and me.”

  Breanna looked at him. “Mama?”

  The hope in her voice made him feel completely inadequate. “Mama’s gone,” he said softly, reaching out to stroke her fine curls. “I’m here.”

  Apparently satisfied that he would fill the gap, at least temporarily, she raised her arms and wiggled, her signal that she wanted to be picked up.

  After a few struggles with the tray latch, he extricated her from the highchair and carried her into the living room where he held her on his lap. Immediately, she squirmed and he set her on the floor, next to the laundry basket containing her toys.

  For the next fifteen minutes he watched her as she squeezed her squeaky toys, chewed on others, and played with some contraption that made various animal noises when he pulled the string. By the time Maggie returned, he’d been so intent on watching over the little girl so she didn’t hurt herself on anything that he felt as if he’d gone ten rounds with a prizefighter.

  “How are you two doing?” she asked.

  “No blood, no bruises and no tears, so I guess we did OK.” It was ridiculous how relieved he was to see her, even though she’d only been a few feet away. How would he manage if she ever left them alone for hours? Or, worse yet, an entire day?

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “MAGGIE, a word, please.”

  At Captain Keller’s command, Maggie looked up from her task of disinfecting their ambulance equipment after their last call involving a formerly spry eighty-year-old woman who’d tripped over another resident’s cane at a nearby nursing home and broken her hip. The old gal couldn’t have weighed more than her age and she’d barely made a wrinkle in their sheets, but protocol was still protocol.

  She clambered out of the back of the ambulance to find her boss waiting for her, his expression serious. “Sir,” she acknowledged cautiously. “What’s up?”

  Keller motioned her to the opposite of the ambulance where they wouldn’t be visible to anyone passing by. “Watch Joe’s back today, will you?”

  She studied her superior, surprised by his request. “Sure, but that’s something we always do,” she pointed out tactfully. She didn’t mention that this unwritten rule had caused friction between the two of them in the first place. Joe had watched her a bit too closely and found fault with everything she’d done while she’d become defensive and suspicious, but that was in the past and she hoped they’d turned a new page.

  “I know, but if he looks like he’s not able to function, let me know.”

  “OK,” she said cautiously, surprised that the captain, who normally frowned on telling tales on coworkers, was apparently breaking his own rule.

  “As you’re aware, he’s under a lot of stress right now,” he continued. “I would have given him the day off, not to mention rushed through an emergency paternity leave, but…” he shook his head “…with so many people on medical waivers and one person gone for arson training, I’m in dire straits.”

  “So he said.” Joe had relayed his conversation with Keller yesterday and although he hadn’t expressed his relief about being needed on duty, Maggie sensed that he was pleased to be back on familiar ground. Yet, while it was less than ideal for both Breanna’s and Joe’s adjustment, Maggie understood the captain’s position. In her opinion, though, this was a no-win situation for everyone.

  “I know he’s going through a rough patch with this baby,” he continued. “A man who can count his hours of sleep on one hand over the last seventy-two hours isn’t functioning at peak efficiency. I’m counting on you to be extra-vigilant.”

  “I will.”

  “And if you see something…”

  “I’ll tell you,” she promised, although she wondered what he’d do if she did catch Joe making a mistake. Would he send Joe home? Talk to him? Demand that Maggie act as the senior paramedic for every case?

  However, worrying over the captain’s decision on a nonevent was pointless. The patients were her concern and they would remain so, regardless of Joe’s personal issues.

  As she turned away, Keller stopped her. “Oh, and, Maggie?” She paused. “Joe told me what you’re doing to help him out.”

  “He did? I’m surprised.”

  “In fact, he called you a godsend.” Keller’s serious expression suddenly became jovial. “Quite a change in a few days.”

  “Yeah, well, if it weren’t for your lecture, I wouldn’t have gotten embroiled in his family problems in the first place,” she said wryly. “But I want you to know I’m only doing this because he’s my partner. And he’s helpless around kids. I couldn’t leave him to muddle through on his own.”

  She’d wanted to. Still did, in fact, but she’d agreed to help him and that was that.

  “I know this isn’t easy for you,” he began.

  “You can say that again,” she said fervently.

  “Does he know about Arthur and the boys?”

  “He’s heard the basics.”

  His eyebrows furrowed slightly. “As glad as I am to have you two working together like a team instead of sniping at each other, I also don’t want you to crash and burn like you did last time.”

  After Arthur had left town with Zach and Tyler, she’d done her best to carry on as if her world hadn’t fallen apart. She’d been reasonably certain she’d hidden the worst from the guys at the station but apparently she’d been wrong. Those nights when she’d roamed the dark hallways because she couldn’t sleep, those times when she’d stiffened as someone mentioned their kids’ antics or recited a funny story, those mornings when she’d got up with her eyes weary and bloodshot instead of bright and sparkly, obviously hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  “I won’t,” she promised. “The situations are totally different. Helping him with Breanna is like helping my brothers with their kids. Good old Aunt Maggie to the rescue.”

  He nodded, seemingly satisfied by her answer. “I’m glad to hear it. Meanwhile, if there’s anything the rest of us can do for Joe, let me know.”

  “I will.” Yet, as she went back to work, she knew she’d only been lying to her captain. Helping Joe wasn’t the same as helping her family because her thoughts concerning her partner weren’t brotherly at all. His kisses were too potent to even remotely put him in the same category.

  As she returned to her task, two more firemen, Gary Shepherd and Jim Bowman, affectionately known as Shep and Jimbo, stuck their heads in the back of the ambulance. “Yo, Maggie. Do you have a minute?”

  She paused once again. “Only until Joe gets back.”

  “He’ll be a while. The lieutenant has him looking up some report.”

  “Then what can I do for you?”

  “Is the story true? He’s got a kid?” Jimbo asked.

  “Who told you?”

  “No one. We overheard him talking to the Captain.”

  Maggie chose to carefully edit Joe’s story. If he wanted to give specifics and more details, he could do it himself.

  “He does,” she agreed as she sprayed, then wiped down the gurney railings. “Remember the lady whose car slid into the tree? She was a friend of Joe’s. Being a sin
gle mom, she’d appointed Joe as her daughter’s legal guardian if anything ever happened to her.”

  “So now he’s a daddy.” Shep shook his head. “Man, oh, man. Poor dude. I know how petrified I was with our first one and I had nine months to get used to the idea before we brought her home. It has to be worse for Joe, being a single guy and all.”

  Jimbo nodded. “It’ll definitely cramp his style.”

  Maggie concentrated on cleaning the stainless-steel surfaces. She wouldn’t ruin Joe’s reputation as a ladies’ man. If he wanted to admit he spent most evenings alone, that was his secret to divulge, not hers.

  “Nah, it won’t,” Shep said, sounding like the forty-eight-year-old voice of experience that he was. “Women flock to single fathers. It’s all part of that nurturing, nesting instinct they have. He’ll be married within the year, mark my words.”

  The idea stung, although it shouldn’t. Their off-duty relationship revolved only around Breanna. If not for the little girl, they wouldn’t even have an off-duty relationship. But Breanna or not, this arrangement would only last for a few weeks.

  “Whatever happens, he’ll need your support,” she said. “He’s feeling overwhelmed right now.”

  Both men nodded. “Understandable.”

  Shep’s gaze landed on her. “You’re his partner. Are you giving him a hand?”

  It was an unspoken rule—partners covered for each other, followed by the rest of the shift’s crew, then the entire department. Letting her “other half” bear a burden alone was like a betrayal of their code of honor. But even if she wanted to minimize her role because of the potential for ugly gossip, she couldn’t deny the truth—everyone would eventually discover it.

  “He’s asked me to help him for a few weeks,” she admitted, “until he gets his feet wet.” She purposely kept the paternity-test issue to herself. That information was also Joe’s to share, not hers. “It seemed the least I could do.”

  Satisfaction appeared on Shep’s lean face. She got the distinct impression that he approved, and if he approved, no one else would dare argue with the most senior firefighter on their crew. “Yeah. You’re perfect for the job. If you ask me, this shows there’s a Man Upstairs orchestrating behind the scenes. Heaven help Donatelli if he’d gotten stuck with Klaxton as his partner.”

  George Klaxton was a nice enough fellow, but he had problems. Financial, marital, family—it didn’t matter. He moved from one crisis to another and as such, needed more support from his coworkers than he gave. He wouldn’t have been much help to Joe except to share horror stories and drag him to bars so they could cry in their beers together.

  The two men moved off, but oddly enough Shep’s comment about marriage burrowed under her skin. Why, she didn’t know. Their kiss hadn’t been a declaration of romance, or implied any interest on his part. Joe had simply gotten carried away with his gratitude.

  As for the way it had knocked her sideways, she could only claim celibacy as her excuse. She’d been telling herself to start dating again, but she’d dragged her feet. Her response to his kiss was a simple case of her hormones reminding her that she was a woman and he was an attractive man.

  “Squad Two. Engine Two,” the dispatcher announced over the intercom. “Respond to a single-vehicle accident with a train at the railroad crossing of McKinley and Pine. Be advised injuries are reported.”

  Immediately Maggie sprang into action, shoving aside her cleaning supplies before she jumped out the back and latched the double doors. As she slid into the driver’s seat—it was Joe’s turn to ride shotgun—he came tearing into the vehicle bay with the rest of the crew. Within seconds, they were on their way.

  Exactly eight minutes later they arrived at the intersection in question to see a red compact car crumpled beside the railroad tracks, apparently having been dragged several hundred feet by the impact with the train’s engine. Two police cruisers were parked nearby, their lights blazing. The officers were huddled around the wrecked vehicle and a small group of bystanders had gathered a short distance away.

  “It doesn’t look good from here,” Maggie said tersely as she braked hard near the scene, aware of the fire truck pulling up beside her. “Are there two people in that car?”

  “Looks like only one,” Joe said as he unlatched his seat belt before he opened his door, “which is one too many. Trains and cars just don’t mix.” While he grabbed the medical kit from the back of their ambulance, Maggie retrieved the backboards.

  “The driver has been unconscious since I arrived,” the officer directing traffic told them as they approached. “She’s now responding, but she isn’t doing well.”

  “Thanks,” Joe said. “We’ll take it from here.”

  The officer moved away while Joe took his place next to the victim. Maggie stood beside him, noting the woman’s bruised face, the small trickle of blood out of her nose and mouth.

  “Ma’am,” he began, “we’re from the fire department and we’re here to help you. Can you tell me where it hurts?”

  The woman moved her mouth, but nothing came out. Joe repeated his question as Maggie watched him check her pulse and respirations.

  “My…head,” the woman managed to say.

  “Don’t worry,” Joe told her, “we’ll get you to the hospital.”

  “My…daughter.”

  Joe visibly stiffened. Clearly he was experiencing déjà vu. “Your daughter?”

  “She’s…at…dance class. Pick…her up. Late.”

  The relief in Joe’s eyes was clear as he glanced at Maggie. “Let’s get her immobilized and out of there.”

  Minutes later, the rest of the fire crew was swarming the vehicle. “Status report?” Captain Keller asked briskly.

  Joe answered. “We’ve got to get her out fast,” he said in a low, worried voice. “We’ll need the Hurst equipment.”

  Keller nodded. “OK, then. Get her ready,” he said, referring to the victim.

  But as Maggie was helping Joe position the protective tarp to cover them from any possible flying debris, the woman’s head fell lifelessly to one side.

  Joe muttered an expletive that Maggie silently echoed as he checked her carotid pulse. “Hurry up,” he yelled at the men surrounding them. “We’ve got to get her out of there now!”

  Although Shep and the rest of the crew worked efficiently, each second seemed to last an hour as they revved up the jaws of life to pop apart the twisted metal and extract the victim. At long last they were lifting her away from the shell of the car and strapping her to the gurney.

  “We have an ID,” one of the officers came alongside them to announce. “Angela Merton. Her husband’s been notified and he’ll meet you at the hospital.”

  In a corner of her brain Maggie noted the name, but the woman’s condition was deteriorating before their eyes.

  “We’re losing her,” Joe said tersely as he bent over the gurney while Maggie and three others carried her to the ambulance. “As soon as I insert an airway, let’s go.”

  Maggie slid behind the wheel and prepared to press on the gas pedal once Joe gave the word.

  “Ready,” he yelled.

  Maggie called in their ETA as she raced to the hospital in what seemed like record time. When they arrived, a trauma team stood on the ambulance bay dock, ready to take over as Joe gave his report.

  “I hope this isn’t an indication of how our day will go,” Maggie commented later, still feeling jittery from her adrenaline high as they wheeled their now-empty stretcher past the lounge to the exit.

  “Yeah. Me, too. Do you mind if we stop for a cup of coffee? I can use one.”

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  But before they could detour to the ever-ready urn, their radio squawked and the dispatcher sent them on another call.

  “No rest for the wicked,” Maggie quipped as Joe helped her load the gurney before they sped toward a home with a potential heart attack patient.

  Forty minutes after that they were back at the hospi
tal, delivering a fifty-nine-year-old man for a cardiac evaluation.

  On their way once again to the ambulance, the same ER physician who’d received Angela Merton passed them in the hall.

  “How’s the car-crash victim?” Joe asked. “The lady with the head injuries?”

  The doctor shook his head and shrugged wearily. “There was nothing we could do.”

  Joe’s expression fell. “I see. Thanks, Doc.”

  Maggie sensed Joe’s withdrawal. “What a tragedy,” she murmured.

  “Yeah, it’s too bad. I wonder what Shep’s fixing for dinner?” he asked.

  Maggie stared at him incredulously. They’d just lost a patient and he was worried about lunch? But as she opened her mouth to scold him, she noticed the grim set to his mouth and the slump to his shoulders, as if the death of this woman had affected him more than he cared to admit.

  Surreptitiously, she studied him as they trudged back to the ambulance. It was humbling to realize that during the three weeks they’d been paired together, she’d never looked beyond his placid expression and quiet demeanor to the emotions below. At first glance, and even second, he’d always appeared cool, unflappable, and as steady and emotionless as a rock.

  Idly, she wondered if everyone else had fallen into the same trap of seeing only what he wanted them to see. She’d initially thought him cold-hearted and distant, but the events of the past two days had proven her wrong—he was simply a master at hiding his deepest emotions in order to protect his tender heart.

  Joe’s first day back on the job hadn’t been so busy that he felt as if he and Maggie were run ragged but busy enough that he hadn’t found time to dwell on his personal life. However, as the night deepened and he lay on his bunk and listened to the gentle snores of those sharing the common sleeping area, the memories he’d held at bay all came to the forefront of his mind.

  Look after the baby. You’re all she has…Promise.

  Dee’s request tumbled over in his head, making it impossible to rest. He grabbed his ever-ready flashlight and padded to the basement where he planned to wear himself out with exercise until he was simply too tired to think.