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The door opened and the EMT poked his head inside. “Dr. Manchester, you well enough to be the transport medic if I stay and ready other patients for air evacuation?”
“Absolutely. I’m right in my element here.” She smiled.
So did the EMT. “Any questions on where stuff is?”
She looked around, catching sight of the most important things. Oxygen. IV equipment. Code meds, though none of these children would need any of that. She searched for a seatbelt for the booth. “How do I secure them in?”
The EMT whose nametag read “Cole” tugged a clasp from a crack between padded benches. “Any other questions?”
“Why yes, in fact I do. Did you know fist bumps are in and hi-fives are old news?”
Cole laughed. “I’d heard fist bumps were a wave of the future.” He lifted his hand and touched gentle knuckles to each child, then Mandy’s. “Thank you.” He cast a deeply thankful look to her and closed the door.
Past him, through the windows, she could see men dressed as Nolan had been, assisting other paramedics with stabilizing those who would be flown to other hospitals. Probably those specializing in head and spinal trauma. The thought made her want to leap from the ambulance and help her fellow medical workers.
Likewise, the thought that Nolan, though unseen, could be on the other side of the doors made her want to bolt out and see him. Hold him. Catch up. Connect. Recapture something, anything. The sensation of being the only person in the world who knew the other so profoundly. They’d had a bond like nothing she’d ever known.
Then, one day, nothing.
Hands fisted, Mandy pressed them beneath her thighs and tilted toward the children. “So, what was your field trip?” The bus driver had explained it was an end-of-the-year gig but hadn’t said where. Chitchat would keep the kids’ minds off missing their parents, and her mind off missing Nolan.
Reece grinned. “We went to a science museum. It was fun.”
As the children chattered on, Mandy stacked pillows under her elbow and leaned back. Her wrist throbbed like crazy. But she didn’t want to trouble Cole or any others for pain meds. From some of the serious injuries she’d passed on her way to the ambulance, she definitely sat at the bottom of the triage totem.
Through the windows, a tawny-haired man with a military buzz came back into view. She didn’t have to strain her eyes to know it was Nolan. Nor did she have to see his eyes to know they were the most brilliant shade of blue.
As if sensing her stare, he shifted and looked around. She stiffened, then relaxed and craned her neck. He couldn’t know she was in this ambulance. Nor that she could watch him unaware. She could only see him from the shoulders up, and he was totally out of sight of the children, who would undoubtedly bombard her with questions should they notice her noticing Nolan.
He conversed with someone she couldn’t see, but his gaze kept coming back to sweep the line of ambulances.
She grew enthralled watching him. The lithe motions. Firm jaw. That lopsided grin that had graced her almost daily growing up as he’d walked her home from school because they lived in a bad neighborhood. The familiar yet now mature animation on his face elicited a sense of loneliness that made her miss him.
He bent and lifted something, probably a patient. He looked utterly in his element. Like he was born to do this.
Just like you were born to be a doctor.
Unfortunately their dreams were like two strong arms tugging them apart and in opposite directions. Yet they’d championed one another’s hopes and goals practically since the day they met.
IV bag in hand, Nolan shifted something and raised his arm.
“Miss Mandy, why do we gotta go to the hospital if we aren’t hurt?” Caden asked, breaking the bittersweet trance.
Metal clanked together as Mandy secured a seatbelt over him. “Because that’s where they’re telling your parents to come pick you up. And because the doctors and nurses will want to check you out and make sure you didn’t get any bumps and bruises that might need Band-Aids.”
He nodded. “Miss Mandy, do you have any Band-Aids?”
She spread fingers on her good hand. “Sadly, I’m fresh out. But the nice doctors and nurses at the hospital will have Band-Aids and stickers. Maybe even lollipops. How about that?”
Mandy laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Reece asked.
“Just thinking about how nurses give the shots and doctors give the lollipops.” Mandy wiggled her nose at Reece, who grinned. “But my office will be different.” She might call the shots and have her nurses give them, but she’d let them also dole out stickers.
Nolan moved from her line of sight. The air inside the ambulance vacuumed all hers in a sudden panic. She resisted the urge to push open the door.
Focus. Focus on the children. Forget about Nolan. Focus.
Caden grinned, revealing lost teeth. “I wanted the Band-aids for Bearby. Looks like he could fall apart.”
Reece clutched the brown bear appendage to her. “He does not! It’s just that his fur falls out because I love on him so much.” She sent a harsh scowl at Caden.
He blinked at her like she was an alien. Then tilted his face up. “Miss Mandy, why do you want to be a doctor? Our teacher says it takes lots of school. School’s boring.”
Mandy chuckled as she brushed a hand along Bearby’s disheveled fur and contemplated the question.
Jayna leaned her head against Mandy’s side and hugged her arm. “You were right, Miss Mandy. They came for us.”
“And got us all off,” Caden said. “Every single one.”
Mandy forced a calm, convincing smile. These precious children did not need to know that not everyone had made it off the bridge or out of the water alive. As sure as she lived, she would take those horrific images of the collapse to her own grave.
Reece leaned close to Mandy’s other side. “And you kept us not afraid anymore. Thank you.” She pressed her stuffed animal’s ebony nose to her ear. “What? Oh.” She turned his smooshed-in face toward her ribs, like the toy was being shy. She leaned in and whispered, “Bearby says he thinks he loves you.”
Emotion lodged words in Mandy’s throat. She’d noticed Reece projecting thoughts and emotions onto the toy earlier. Mandy couldn’t have spoken if she’d wanted. So she smiled. Deeply, at each little expectant face.
This is why. These children. This feeling of accomplishment and knowing she could make a difference in the life of a child and their family in a difficult season.
She wrapped an arm around the two girls, and reached over to bump a gentle fingertip playfully on Caden’s nose.
“Children like you are why I do what I do.”
Leaning in, Mandy knuckled her hand and lightly fist-bumped Bearby’s tattered paw. “And for the record, Bearby, I think I love you, too.”
Chapter Four
“Mommy! That’s Miss Mandy, the nice doctor lady who helped us,” a familiar voice pealed through the hospital corridor.
Mandy rose from her chair in the hallway outside the bustling Refuge E.R. waiting room. She smiled at the woman walking toward her with Reece and her stuffed bear in tow.
“C’mon!” Reece tucked Bearby beneath her arm and dragged her mother faster.
Upon approach, deep gratitude glistened from the young woman’s eyes. Uncanny how much she looked like an older version of Reece.
The woman breached the space between them like a close family member would and grasped Mandy’s uninjured hand. “I’m Amelia North, Reece’s mom.”
“I’m Dr. Manchester. Please call me Mandy.”
“Thank you for watching over our children on the bridge.” Amelia’s grip tightened when the words strained from her throat. The heartfelt tone put a sting to Mandy’s eyes. What’s with that? She hadn’t cried since she was a teen.
“I’m thankful they weren’t hurt. Truth is, they kept me brave.” It wasn’t a lie. Being responsible for them had lessened her fear and panic.
Reece plopped onto a chair. She danced Bearby on her knees.
“That couldn’t have been easy with you being injured.” Amelia eyed Mandy’s splint. “How did you stay strong for them?”
“Imagined myself in a parent’s place. Kept in mind they were depending on me. Acted as I’d want mine treated if I had any.” Mandy brushed fingers through Reece’s curls.
“You’re not a mommy?” Reece wiggled close to Mandy’s lap.
She leaned eye level. “Not yet.”
Reece lifted her comfort toy. “Bearby wants to know why not.”
Mandy faced Bearby. “I still have some doctor training left so I can learn how to take the best care of people.” She started to add that she’d also like to find a husband first, but the words caught in her throat.
She discreetly eyed Amelia’s left hand. A heart-shaped diamond winked back, but no wedding band. Gaze averted, her mind zeroed in on Reece. Thankfully Mandy hadn’t said anything. Wasn’t her place to judge or wonder about the situation.
“Bearby thinks you’ll make a good doctor, and a good mommy.” Making engine noises, Reece puttered Bearby in the air.
Mandy tilted her head. “Thank you. On both counts.”
“Is your hand in terrible pain?” Amelia set her purse on the chair beside her near the E.R. waiting room door.
TVs blared from different stations, all filled with images of the collapse. Her chest hurt at the sights playing out. Mandy turned away. But she could still hear the announcer describing the ordeal. Sweat broke out over Mandy’s brow. She tried to dab it but her arms felt robotic and numb.
Concern flashed across Amelia’s face. “Are you okay?”
Mandy stood on legs that felt as rubbery as the business end of a reflex hammer. As quickly as possible, she turned the TV volume down, ignoring caustic looks from waiting room patrons. “I am now,” she said to Amelia as she returned to the seat beside her.
The smells of antiseptic and sickness hung in the air. Call lights rang down the halls, and a hacking cough emerged from the room beside her that made Mandy want to whip out a prescription pad.
Reece peeped at the temporary splint Nolan had applied.
“Is it broken?” Reece blinked up at her.
Hesitation hovered inside Mandy’s thoughts. She wanted to be honest yet tread lightly. “I think so, but no one’s looked at it yet. They’re taking care of the worst injured first.”
“How will they tell?” Reece asked.
“They’ll take special pictures called X-rays.”
“Will they hurt?”
“If they have to straighten out my hand it might. Otherwise, X-rays usually don’t hurt at all.” She smiled at Reece.
“Mommy could go with you and hold your hand. She’s good at that. She holds my hand when I get shots. And you could hug Bearby during it. He makes people brave.”
“He sure does.” Mandy kneaded Bearby’s fuzzy misshapen head.
“Then him and Mommy will go with you.” Reece’s expression declared the matter settled.
Amelia fingered Reece’s curly brown hair. “I’m sure Dr. Manchester has someone who can sit with her.”
Mandy shifted uncomfortably. In the confusion, she had left her purse which contained her cell phone, in her car on the bridge. An officer had left a message with the nurses’ desk saying he’d recovered it and would bring it by when he had a moment. Not that she had anyone here she could call once she had it. Miss Ivy didn’t drive.
Perceptive awareness entered Amelia’s eyes. “Need to borrow my phone to call someone?” She pulled her purse onto her lap and extracted a cell phone.
Heat of a blush crept over Mandy. “No, I’ll be all right. Besides, I’m fairly new in town and really don’t know anyone. My mother lives in a different state.”
Called Oblivion.
“Would you like us to sit with you while you wait?” Amelia tucked her phone back in her purse.
“No, it’s fine.” But a thought struck her. Who would take her home? She’d be unable to drive herself if she took pain medication or if she had a sling on her arm. “Does Refuge have a cab service?”
“No. Small town. We could give you a ride if they let you go.”
“I’d hate to make you wait. I imagine it will be past Reece’s bedtime before staff get to me.”
“It won’t hurt her to get to bed late one night.” She gave Reece’s ponytail an affectionate tug. “Will it?”
Mischief alive in her eyes, Reece grinned like she’d just gotten away with something big. “I like staying up late!”
Mandy and Amelia laughed.
“We live at the Refuge Bed and Breakfast on the edge of town. It only takes thirty minutes to get here,” Amelia said.
Mandy shifted. “I don’t know…” Thirty minutes there, then here then to Mandy’s and back would take at least two hours out of Reece’s sleep time.
Despite Mandy’s hesitation, Amelia handed her a card. “Here are my numbers. I doubt they’ll have school tomorrow with what’s happened.” With what’s happened.
Knowing she meant the bridge collapse, Mandy studied the chic business card to block horrific images that threatened in her mind’s eyes. “You do caricature art?”
“In my spare time. I also manage Refuge’s B and B. Promise you’ll call if you need a ride?”
Suddenly, she didn’t feel embarrassed about being needy. “I will.”
“Maybe we can meet for coffee next week, too?” Amelia asked.
“I’d love that.”
Her face lit up. “Say goodbye, Reece.”
“Bye, Miss Mandy. I don’t like how we had to meet but I’m glad we did. So is Bearby.” Reece hugged Mandy.
Mandy reciprocated the hug. “I’m glad we met, too. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
