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As if she felt the force of his frown, Summer turned her head. Her gaze met his and held longer than could be considered polite.
Yeah…she was fierce, all right. Unafraid.
Who was going to look away first? Defusing tension was a skill that came automatically for Zac. He might have had to learn it for all the wrong reasons when he was too young to understand but shades of that ability still came in handy at times. All it usually took was turning on the charm. He summoned his best smile and, for a split second, he thought it was going to work because she almost smiled back. But then she jerked her head, breaking the eye contact.
A deliberate snub? Zac tamped down a response that could have been disappointment. Or possibly annoyance. Neither would be helpful in establishing a good working relationship with this unexpectedly prickly young woman.
‘You should get a good view of the Pinnacles on your side in a few minutes,’ Summer said.
‘Might get a bit bumpy going over the mountains,’ Monty added. ‘I’ll get an update on scene info as soon as we get over the top.’
When he’d first started this kind of work, Zac would be using this time to go over all the possible medical scenarios in his head and the procedures that might be needed to deal with them. A chest decompression for a pneumothorax, perhaps. Management of a spinal, crush or severe head injury. Partial or complete amputations. Uncontrollable haemorrhage. But the list was long and he’d learned that there was no point expending mental energy on imaginary scenarios.
He’d also learned that it was better to start a job without assumptions that could distract him from the unexpected. And that he could deal with whatever he found. This time was better used to relax and centre himself. The view of the spectacular bush-covered peaks below them was ideal—and definitely better than trying to make conversation with someone who clearly had no intention of making his life any more pleasant.
‘ETA two minutes.’
‘Roger.’ Summer leaned forward in her seat to get a better view of the ground below. ‘Vehicles at eleven o’clock. I can see a fire truck and ambulance.’
‘Copy that,’ Monty said. ‘Comms? Rescue One. On location, on location.’
The chopper tilted as they turned. Monty was using the crew frequency now. ‘Turning windward,’ he advised. ‘I think the road’s going to be the only landing place.’
‘Got a bit of a tilt to it. No wires, though.’
‘No worries,’ Monty said. ‘Be a bit dusty, folks. Okay…right skid’s going to touch first.’
They had the doors open before the dust cloud had cleared. Zac released the catch of his safety harness first and hoisted one of the backpacks onto his shoulder as they climbed out.
Summer picked up the other pack and a portable oxygen cylinder and followed. Weirdly, it felt like she was used to working with this guy already. Maybe that was because he seemed to know exactly what he was doing and he wasn’t waiting to follow her lead. At least he stood back when they reached the knot of people standing by the side of the road near the fire truck so it was Summer that the fireman in charge of the scene spoke to first.
‘We’ve got the vehicle secured but haven’t got the driver out. It’s a bit of a steep climb.’
‘Single occupant?’
‘Yes. An eighty-three-year-old woman. Frances.’
‘Status?’
‘I’d say two.’ An ambulance officer joined them. ‘GCS was lowered on arrival. She’s confused and distressed. Airway seems to be clear but we haven’t got close enough to assess her properly yet and, given the MOI and her age, there’s every probability she has serious injuries.’
‘Access?’
‘Ladder. It’s a few metres short of the target, though. You’ll have to be careful but there’s plenty of trees to hang on to.’
‘Cool. We’ll go down and see what’s what.’ Summer glanced at Zac. Tall and broad-shouldered, his size and weight would make the climb and access to the vehicle much harder than it was for her. It would probably be sensible for him to suggest waiting up here on the road while she did an initial assessment and made their patient stable enough to be extricated by the fire crew.
‘Want me to go first?’ he asked. ‘And test the ladder?’
‘If you like.’ Summer passed her backpack to a fireman who was ready to secure it to a rope and lower it down. Not that it was needed, but she had to give him points for thinking about her safety.
Looking at the narrow ladder lying on the crushed and probably slippery ferns of the bush undergrowth on an almost vertical cliff face, she had to acknowledge those points.
‘Yeah…you going first is a good idea, Zac. There’ll be less damage done if I land on you rather than the other way round.’
‘Impersonating a cushion is one of my splinter skills.’ Zac handed his pack to the fireman and then turned without hesitation to climb onto the ladder. A rope attached to the top and anchored to the back of the fire truck was preventing it sliding downwards but it couldn’t control any sideways movement. Another rope was attached to the back of the small car that could be seen protruding from the mangled scrub and ferns a good fifteen metres down the bank.
‘She was lucky the scrub cushioned the impact,’ the fireman said. ‘Probably why she’s still alive.’
Zac was halfway down the ladder now and climbing carefully enough not to make it swing. Summer caught the top rung and turned her body to find a foothold. She loved the kind of challenge this sort of job presented. The ladder was easy. Getting down the last stretch when you had to slide between trees was harder. There were fire crew down here but it was Zac who was moving just ahead of her and every time he caught himself, he was looking back to make sure she’d reached her last handhold safely.
It was Summer who needed to take the lead as they got close enough to touch the car. A small hatchback well buried in undergrowth left virtually no room for a large man to see much. The front passenger window had been smashed. Summer put her head in the gap.
‘Hi there… Frances, is it?’
The elderly woman groaned. Her voice was high and quavery. ‘Get me out. Please…’
‘That’s what we’re here for. My name’s Summer and I’ve got Zac with me. Are you having any trouble breathing, Frances?’
‘I…I don’t think so.’
‘Does anything hurt?’
‘I…I don’t know…I’m scared…’
Summer was trying to assess their patient visually. Pale skin and a bump on the head that was bleeding. She could see the woman’s chest rising and falling rapidly. The more distressed she was, the harder it would be to assess and try to move her.
The window on the driver’s side was broken too and suddenly there was movement as the prickly branches of scrub got pushed aside. The face that appeared was wearing a helmet. How on earth had Zac managed to get down that side of the vehicle?
Not only that, he was reaching in to touch the woman. To put a calming hand on her forehead, probably to stop her turning her head to look at him in case she had injured her neck.
‘It’s okay, sweetheart,’ he said. ‘We’re going to take good care of you.’
Sweetheart? Was that an appropriate way to address an eighty-three-year-old woman?
‘Oh…’ Frances didn’t seem offended. ‘Oh… Who are you?’
‘I’m Zac. I’m a doctor.’
‘Do I know you?’
‘You do now.’ He leaned in further, a lopsided smile appearing as he make a clicking sound like someone encouraging a pony to move. The sound was accompanied by a wink.
‘Oh…’ The outward breath sounded like a sigh of relief. There was even a shaky smile in response. ‘Thank you, dear. I’ve been so scared…’
‘I know.’ His voice was understanding. Reassuring. Was he holding a hand or taking a pulse in there? ‘Summer—are you able to open the door on your side? It’s jammed over here.’
With the assistance of a fireman and a crowbar, the answer was affirmative.
With the new space, Summer was able to ease herself cautiously into the car. The creaking and slight forward movement of the vehicle made her catch her breath but it terrified Frances.
‘No…help…’
This time it was Summer as well as their patient who took comfort from Zac’s confident tone. ‘The ropes just needed to take up the extra weight. You’re safe. There’s a great big fire engine up on the road that’s not going anywhere and the car is very firmly attached to it. Relax, sweetheart…’
There it was again. That cheeky endearment. Summer wouldn’t want to admit that skip of her heart when it seemed like the car was beginning to roll further down the cliff. She most definitely wouldn’t want to admit that warm feeling the use of the endearment created. How powerful could a single word be? It could make you think that someone genuinely cared about you.
That you were, indeed, safe.
Suddenly, it was easy to focus completely on the job she needed to do. Summer unhooked the stethoscope from around her neck and fitted it into her ears.
‘Take a deep breath for me, Frances.’
There was equal air entry in both lungs and a pulse that was a little too fast and uneven enough to suggest an underlying cardiac condition, although Frances denied having any. The worst bleeding from lacerations in papery skin needed pressure dressings for control because blood pressure was already low and Summer eased a cervical collar in place as Zac held the head steady.
‘Sorry, Frances. I know this is uncomfortable but it’s to protect your neck while we get you out. We can’t examine you properly until we get you up to the ambulance.’
‘That’s all right, dear.’ But it was Zac that Frances was looking at for reassurance. His hand she was holding through the window as Summer worked quickly beside her in the car.
‘Are you sure nothing’s hurting, Frances?’
‘My chest is a bit sore. And my arm…’
‘We can give you something for the pain.’
But Frances shook her head. ‘I can bear it, dear. It’s not that bad…’
Summer glanced up at Zac, who was still supporting the elderly woman’s head and neck. ‘We can reassess after we move her but I think we can probably wait till we get up to the top before worrying about IV access.’
‘Absolutely.’ Zac nodded. ‘The tubing and trying to carry a bag of fluids will only create a complication we don’t need. Bit of oxygen might be a good idea, though, do you think?’
‘Sure.’
They explained how they were going to get her out of the car, using a backboard to slide her towards the passenger side and then turning her to lie flat as they lifted her out onto a stretcher.
‘You’ll be quite safe,’ Summer said. ‘We’ve got lots of strong young firemen to carry you up the hill.’
‘Oh…I’ve caused everybody so much trouble, haven’t I?’
‘It’s what we do,’ Zac told her. ‘If people didn’t have accidents or get sick, we’d be out of a job.’ He was smiling again. ‘And we love our job, don’t we, Summer?’
This time, she really couldn’t help smiling back so she tilted her head towards her patient. ‘Indeed we do. Okay, Frances. You ready to get out of here?’
Getting her out of the car had to be done as gently as possible because there could be fractured bones or internal injuries that hadn’t been recognised due to position and limited access but if there had been any increase in pain during the procedure, Frances wasn’t complaining. Cocooned in a blanket and strapped securely into the Stokes basket stretcher, she looked almost relaxed as the rescue team began the slow process of inching the stretcher up to the road.
In the relative safety of the ambulance, it was Zac who led a more complete examination while an ambulance officer filled in some paperwork.
‘Next of kin?’
‘I haven’t got any. Not now.’
‘Is there anyone you’d like us to call?’
‘Maybe my neighbour. She’ll take care of the cats if I don’t get home tonight. Oh…that’s why I was driving today. There’s a special on in the supermarket at Whitianga. For cat food.’
Zac got an IV line through fragile skin with a skill that was unlikely to leave so much as a bruise and Summer hooked up the IV fluids, aware of how meticulous and gentle the rest of his survey was, despite being rapid enough to get them on their way as soon as possible. ECG electrodes, blood pressure and oxygen saturation monitors were in place and Zac was keeping an eye on all the readings. A raised eyebrow at Summer had her nodding. The heart rhythm wasn’t dangerous but was definitely abnormal and would need treatment.
‘You don’t get dizzy spells, do you, Frances?’ Zac asked. ‘You weren’t feeling sick before the accident?’
‘I don’t think so. I really can’t remember…’
‘What medications are you on?’
‘I don’t take anything, dear. Apart from my calcium tablets. I’m as healthy as a horse. Haven’t needed to see a doctor for years.’
‘Might be a good thing that you’re going to get a proper check-up in hospital then. Bit of a warrant of fitness.’
‘I don’t like bothering a doctor when I don’t need to.’
‘I know. My gran Ivy is exactly the same.’
‘How old is she?’
‘Ninety-two.’
Summer found herself sliding a quizzical glance in his direction as she gathered dressings and bandages to dress some of the superficial wounds more thoroughly. It wouldn’t occur to her to think about, let alone tell others, anything about her own family. What was it with him and his grandmother? Nobody could miss the pride in his voice and it just didn’t fit with the whole cheeky, bad boy vibe. And it certainly didn’t fit with his reputation.
‘She still swims every day,’ Zac added. ‘Has done her whole life. Reckons she’s half-mermaid. Does it hurt if I press here?’
‘Ooh…yes…’
‘Can you wiggle your fingers?’
‘That hurts, too…Have I broken something?’
‘It’s possible. We’ll put a splint on it and keep it nice and still till you get an X-ray. We might give you something for the pain, too. You don’t have to be brave and put up with it, you know. Sometimes, it’s nice to just let someone else take care of you.’
Frances got a bit weepy at that point but the transfer to the helicopter and their take-off a short time later was enough of a distraction.
It didn’t quite distract Summer. Was Frances stoic and uncomplaining because there was no point in being anything else? Was there really nobody who needed to know she’d had a bad accident other than her neighbour?
The thought was sad.
Maybe more so because it resonated. As the chopper lifted and swung inland to head back to Auckland, Summer watched the people on the ground get smaller and a cluster of houses in the small township of Coromandel where Frances lived become visible. They vanished just as quickly and Summer turned, wondering if the elderly woman was aware and distressed by how far from her home they were taking her.
‘Morphine’s doing its job.’ Zac’s voice sounded loud in her helmet. ‘She’s having a wee nap.’ His eyes were on the cardiac monitor. ‘She’s stable. Enjoy the view.’
But Summer still felt oddly flat. What if she’d been the one to have an accident in such an isolated location? Who would she call if she was about to be flown to an emergency department a long way from her home?
