Spring Into Love

by Chantel Rhondeau

  “My decision to get involved in that scene was due to the fact that a human being was in need of assistance—not to mention all of the other innocent bystanders. The media has turned this into a circus. Every single one of you have put Mr. Palmer up on a pedestal as a movie star god. He’s not. He’s a human being. What you all have seemed to forget is that while Mr. Palmer was a victim that day, there were other people’s lives that have been forever altered due to this situation.” I stopped for a second to take a calming breath and allow that to sink in.

  “Not only has Mr. Palmer’s life been affected, but Mr. Patrick’s life has forever changed, too, along with the lives of his family members. I am not a hero. I did what I was trained to do, and that is all.” I scrutinized the crowd, and the reporters started to raise their hands to ask questions.

  “I do not understand how the media can make such a big deal about this one incident when tragedy strikes everyday all over the place, and none of you care to report about it. Just because Mr. Palmer has his name up on the silver screen, you seem to think he is better than others. He’s not.” I stopped for a second and more hands went up. I had already decided I was not entertaining questions.

  “I will not be answering any questions. In fact, after I leave this podium, I will not speak about this incident with reporters again. I would like to request that all of you pack up your things and leave our township in peace. There are residents and other situations that need our undivided attention. There is no further story here. Thank you for your time.” I nodded once and turned to walk away from the podium.

  As I began to step down the stairs, I heard one question in particular yelled at me. It made me stop, and I considered the crowd for just a moment. I turned and walked back to the podium. “Who just asked if I really did not fear evil?”

  A man from the left side of the room raised his hand. I looked squarely at him. “That is the one question I will answer. Yes,” I said quietly, “I fear evil every single day. That was ink printed on the back of my T-shirt. It was just ink.”

  I turned and walked away quickly, shutting out the rest of the questions and not making eye contact with anyone as I exited the room.

  “Jack, you did well.” My Chief put his hand on my shoulder as we made our way down the hallway. “Now, get out of here. I want you to take today off. Go relax.” I was going to say no, but then I thought about the fact that I really did need to get away from here.

  “Mind if I take Susan with me?” I asked as I peered up at him.

  He laughed. “No, she could probably use the time off, too.” He knew where we would end up—a small dive of a bar where we could hide in the corner. I nodded and went to find Susan.

  Chapter 4

  December – Jacquelyn

  Crime never stops, and around the holiday season, it usually picks up. That is why I found myself at the station at ten o’clock at night two days before Christmas.

  I put the case file away in my stack to work on when I came back in three days. I was actually going to try to take two full days off; try being the operative word. It had been a while since I took a couple of days off. It wasn’t like I had much to celebrate, or even anyone special to celebrate the holiday with. I simply needed a few days of peace and quiet.

  Things finally calmed down after my press conference, and for that, I was grateful. The flowers continued to come for a few more days, but even they eventually stopped. Mail still arrived, and I looked behind my desk as I stood up; hundreds of letters had been sent to me, and I had never even read one of them.

  I reached over and picked up a handful, flipping through the envelopes and taking in the return addresses. They were from all over the world, and I shook my head in amazement. I was about to drop them back in the mail tray when I saw an envelope with the words “PLEASE READ” written boldly on the front. There was no return address on it.

  I put down the other envelopes and looked at that one as I held it in my hand. It was a card envelope, and from the weight of it, I could tell it did contain a card. I opened the envelope and found a plain greeting card with just “Thank you” printed in a soft script on its front.

  When I opened the cardstock, the simple pre-printed message on the inside said, “You will never know how much you did for me.” The card was signed with blue ink and read, “Please call me…Ryan.” Under his name was a telephone number. I inspected the card for a few minutes and ran my fingers over the dried ink. I checked the postmark on the envelope and saw it was dated just last week. I wondered how many other cards he might have sent with this same message.

  He had called several times over the last couple of months. I knew that he wanted to say thank you, but I didn’t feel it was necessary. I had put the incident behind me and I wanted to move on with my life.

  I shoved the card back into the envelope and instead of tossing it into the pile; I dropped it into my backpack and walked out of my office, turning the lights out as I went. It was quiet on this side of the station, but I could hear some of the guys on duty talking in the patrol room, so I worked my way over there to say goodnight to them.

  When I walked in, they were having a mini party. They were all kicked back in their office chairs drinking eggnog, that I could only assume was not spiked, and nibbling on cookies. I smiled at the warm scene in front of me; these guys were my family.

  “You want some ’nog, Jack?” Brad asked as I walked into the squad room. He sat with his feet up on a desk, a Santa cap lopsided on his head.

  “No thanks, I’m gonna head out.” I smiled at everyone and wished them all a Merry Christmas. Before I left the squad room, I snagged a candy cane from the table.

  “Be careful out there; it started snowing, and the roads are getting slick,” Mark said as I made my way to the rear door that led to the parking lot.

  “Thanks for the heads up. You guys be safe, too,” I called out as I opened the back door.

  The wind swirled around me while a cold blast of air hit my face making my eyes water. Damn, it was cold for so early in the season. As I climbed into my Jeep Commander, I thought about how it was really just the start of winter, and it already felt as though it was going to be a long, cold one. I pushed the button for the seat warmer after I started up the truck. In my opinion, it was the best option you could have in a car. Before I pulled out, I unwrapped the end of the candy cane and put it in my mouth.

  I didn’t live that far from the station, but with the way the roads looked, it might take me twice as long to get home as normal. Good thing it was late. I didn’t see any other cars out on the roadway as I pulled out of the station’s parking lot.

  About three miles away, I started to round a curve, and felt my tires start to slide. I took my foot off the gas, but didn’t touch my brake. I didn't need my tires to skid. As I came around the curve, I saw headlights bouncing off the trees at a weird angle. I was able to get control of my vehicle and allowed myself to slow down as I continued around the bend in the road. When I came out of the curve, I found a vehicle lying on its side in the middle of the asphalt.

  “Damn.” I stopped as quickly and safely as I could and put my car in park. I didn’t see anyone outside of the vehicle, and pieces of it were scattered all over the roadway. I dropped my candy cane in my cup holder and climbed out of my Jeep cautiously to make sure my footing was secure before I moved too fast.

  I grabbed my cell phone off my belt and hit the county dispatcher’s phone number. They answered on the first ring. “Emergency Services,” an intense male voice said on the other end of the line.

  “This is Twenty-Six David Sixty-One. I have an accident with an overturned vehicle in the twenty-one hundred block of Hill View Road. I’m not sure of injuries yet. Advise my officers to respond and tell them to get our road crew out here immediately with salt. They’re gonna need to close off this section of the roadway, too.”

  “Okay, Jackie. Advise on injuries when you can,” answered the guy on the other end of the phone.

&
nbsp; Since the guy called me by name, I knew it had to be one of the older dispatchers who knew exactly who Twenty-Six David Sixty-One was. It was my radio call sign, and told the dispatchers what department and officer was calling in, either over the radio or by phone.

  I walked around to the front of the car and found the windshield almost entirely smashed out. I could see a man inside the vehicle, and my heart started beating faster. He wasn’t moving. “I have someone inside the vehicle; start Medics, EMS, and fire for extrication,” I stated quickly into the phone. “I’m hanging up so that I can try to get to this guy. I’ll call back if I need anything else.” I didn’t wait for a response; I pressed the End button and slid the phone into my jacket pocket.

  Luckily, I had leather gloves on for the cold, or I would have cut my hands when I grabbed the front windshield and pulled it back. Auto safety glass was great because it usually stayed intact. You could easily pull it out of the way when you needed to, but it could still cut the hell out of you.

  I dropped down on my knees and looked into the vehicle. There was only one person that I could see, and it didn’t look like there were any car seats in the back to worry about. The driver of the vehicle was a man, and his head was hidden in shadows, so I couldn’t see his face. I shimmied into the vehicle through the windshield and felt glass and rocks crunch under my elbows, knees and hips.

  I pulled one of my gloves off so that I could reach out and feel for a pulse. As I touched the side of his face, I saw his eyes flutter. “Oh, thank you, God!” I said to myself softly. His eyes didn’t open, but they didn’t have to. He was alive, and that was all that mattered.

  As I wiggled closer, I tried to get a better look at him. I was halfway through the window when the smell of his cologne caught my attention and I inhaled deeper. The random thought of how sexy it smelled crossed my mind, but I brushed it aside immediately. The man’s eyes fluttered again, and he tried to move.

  “Don’t move. Just stay still. We have help coming.” As I spoke, the man’s eyes opened, and he turned his head the last bit. My eyes had adjusted to the darker lighting inside the car and it was when his eyes found mine, that I froze. It was Ryan Palmer.

  “Quen? Is that really you?” he asked groggily. I felt practically paralyzed seeing him there like this, and then I blinked when I realized he had called me Quen, a name I had not gone by in many years. Why did he call me that?

  “Ryan, yes, it’s Jacquelyn. Ryan, can you hear me?” I lay down on my side, not concerned about the glass or snow or anything else that might be beneath me. I reached over and pulled my other glove off, taking both of my hands and putting them on the sides of his face.

  His eyes fluttered again as I touched him. “Can hear you,” he said very quietly.

  “Ryan, I need you to stay with me I need you to stay awake. Can you do that?” I held his head so that he wouldn’t move his neck. There was a laceration along the side of his face; a small puddle of blood pooled at his side. Normally, I would have been concerned, but I didn’t have time to worry about having my hands in his blood. I was more worried about him staying conscious until the EMS and Medics arrived.

  “Trying,” he mumbled, attempting to open his eyes again.

  “Ryan, you don't need to open your eyes. Relax, and just stay with me. I’m right here, I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to make sure you get help.” My heart was beating hard against my chest, and as I lay there staring at him, I couldn’t help but think back to when I had first seen him in October. He was so vibrant looking, tall, smiling, and full of humor—not to mention totally freaking gorgeous.

  He managed to open his eyes, I was only about eight inches from his face. It took him a second to focus, and I could see him trying. “I need to see you,” he said quietly as his heated breath vaporized in the cold air between us. I felt him start to move.

  “Ryan, stay still. I need you to stop moving. Can you tell me what hurts?” I was so afraid that he might have hurt his neck. I already knew he probably had a concussion, but I was praying it wasn’t something more serious.

  He didn’t listen to me, and his arm slowly made its way up along my side. I felt his hand touch my shoulder and then his hand came to my face. He cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes. Even in the dim light, with pain etched across his face, I could see the flecks in his blue eyes. “Jacquelyn,” he said softly. “I knew I would see you again.”

  I heard sirens in the distance, and I knew it would be some of my guys. “Yeah, well I never thought I would see you again.” I couldn’t tell him that I had dreamed of seeing him, but I never actually thought that I would be face to face with him again, and sure as hell not like this.

  The sirens grew closer and cut off. Someone would be here in a minute and the fact that help was on the way soothed me. I was afraid of how Ryan looked. His eyes seemed to be going in and out of focus.

  A very small smile was on the edge of his mouth, and then he winced. “Ryan, what hurts? Can you to tell me what hurts?” I was getting more worried about him by the second.

  “My head,” he said quietly.

  “Okay, anything else?” I asked, looking his face over. He closed his eyes and winced. Sometimes pain was easier to deal with when you shut your eyes. I knew that from experience.

  “My left shoulder.”

  He was lying on that shoulder, I wasn’t surprised it hurt. I could hear multiple sirens in the background now, and the sound of booted feet moved toward me. I wanted to look to see who it was, but I couldn’t tear my gaze from Ryan’s face.

  “Why didn’t you call me?” he asked when he got his eyes open again.

  I didn’t know how to answer that, so I was glad when I heard Brad behind me.

  “Jackie, what do you have?” he said as he bent down behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder to look at Brad; he still wore the Santa cap. “Head injury, possibly neck and shoulder injury. He was unconscious when I arrived.” I saw Brad nod. “And Brad,” I stopped, not sure how to say this. “It’s Ryan Palmer.”

  His eyes popped wide open. “You’re kidding me?”

  “No. We need to keep this quiet. Make sure no one snaps any photos or gives anything out over the radio. Tell the Incident Commander for the fire department they are not to take any photos. We can supply them with pictures if they want to put them on their site later. I don’t want anything showing Ryan. Got it?”

  “Yeah sure, Jack.” We both heard car doors closing, and Brad turned from me to go talk to the emergency responders who had finally arrived.

  While I was talking to Brad, I noticed Ryan began to shake. Whether it was from the cold or the shock I wasn’t sure, but it worried me more.

  “Jackie, can you slide just a bit so I can get in there to him.” I heard Scott, one of our medics, speaking to me from outside the car. I shifted to move over and felt something jab me under my right shoulder blade. I winced when pain stabbed through my back, but I didn’t make a sound. Ryan’s eyes were closed, his breathing was steady, but he was shaking violently now.

  Scott slithered in beside me with a collar. “Keep his head still while I put this on.” I was glad that he was getting the collar on, my arms were starting to get tired from the position I was holding them, and I felt my body shaking, too. I knew mine was from a mixture of adrenaline and the cold.

  After the collar was on, I pulled my hands away. Ryan popped his eyes open. “Don’t let go,” he pleaded.

  “I need to move out of the way so that they can help you. I’m not leaving; I’ll be right here.”

  “What’s your name?” I heard Scott ask him.

  “It’s Ryan, Ryan Palmer,” I told Scott. He looked at me, eyes opened wide.

  “Seriously?” he asked.

  I took a deep breath. “Yes, seriously. You need to keep this as quiet as you can, Scott. No one needs to be near him unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

  He glanced at me, then back to Ryan. Ryan’s eyes were open, but they didn’t look cle
ar. He was staring at me.

  I turned back to Scott as he spoke. “Then you need to stay here next to me and help. The less people near him the better; besides, you know what you’re doing here, you can help me with this.”

  I nodded. Scott gave some orders to people behind us, and someone brought a sheet in to cover Ryan up while they cut up the car to remove him safely. As the motor of the Jaws of Life started, Ryan’s hand grabbed my arm. I reached out and held his hand tightly. The sheet metal cried out as a firefighter pried it apart. The joints popped as the roof and car body separated. It was almost surreal being here, under a sheet with Ryan, as they cut the car apart around us. I had seen this done two dozen times from the outside, but I’d never experienced it from within the confines of the work area. It was intense.

  Ryan crushed my hand in his grip, and his breathing became strained the longer they worked on the car. Once they had it apart enough that they could get access to him, I told them to keep him covered. I already heard some buzz behind me about who this was. Who said something, I don’t know; but it wouldn’t be long before everyone here knew the guy with me was a movie star. Not that he was with me.

  They worked quickly. I stayed as close to Ryan as I could, talking to him to explain every step along the way about what was going to happen next. At some point, Ryan lost consciousness again, and I prayed that he would make it.

  As they pushed his stretcher into the ambulance, I heard someone say behind me, “Jackie, did you know you’re bleeding?”

  I looked over my shoulder and shook my head. “Not mine, it must be his.”

  “No, it’s yours. There’s a cut in your jacket and your back is all bloody.” Scott went to touch it, and that is when I felt the sting. I winced.

  I must have pushed up against something when I was lying on the ground. The cold from the asphalt must have chilled me enough to dull the pain. Of course, the fact that I was so focused on Ryan probably helped me ignore it, too.