The Best Of The Year - Medical Romance. Carol Marinelli
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through her veins, she felt wide awake. Her hair was still wet, but it would have to stay that way for now. She hauled it back into a quick bun and secured a rubber band around it. She’d just pull a hat on and then her parka hood over the top of that. She could blow-dry it when she got back to her room later.
She knocked Chessie back upright. “Watch the room for me, okay?”
Five minutes later, she hurried out the door, telling the front desk where to reach her. She snapped on her skis. It would be faster to go up the lift and then ski down to their position. Slope number two. A little harder than the bunny slope but still an easy ride for beginners like Jack.
Sliding past those in line with an occasional murmured “Excuse me”, along with the fact that there was a medical emergency on one of the slopes, she cut to the front and allowed the next chair to scoop her up and carry her on her way. Her eyes scanned the area. There. About halfway up there was a small crowd of about five people. The one at the center of the group, nearest the patient, was Jack, the sun glinting off the lighter strands of his hair.
Her heart squeezed again.
At least the injured woman had someone capable helping her. As a sports medicine doctor he’d have specialized in orthopedics and be well versed on serious breaks. There could be no better person attending that patient, and that included her.
Impatient to get down there, she had to wait another three or four minutes for the lift to reach the top of the slope. Then she was off and with a couple of pushes from her poles was heading down the mountain at a good clip, mentally playing through her mind how far she had to go before she reached the scene. Thankfully the trip down was a lot faster than the trip up. She turned her body and skis sideways and skidded to a halt next to the little group.
Robert nodded at her from the edge of the ring, where his job was to keep gawkers at bay. She’d really have to say something to him about using Number Five when referring to Jack. Yeah, yeah, she’d referred to him that way in her head as well, but that was so she could keep some emotional distance.
A lot of good that had done.
Right now, though, that was the least of her worries.
She knelt beside him, noting that he had several splints laid out and was currently binding one to the patient’s arm. The girl— Oh, Lord, and that’s all she was. A teenager. On her back, with her eyes open wide, she whimpered in pain as Jack worked on her. The sleeves on both her jacket and her sweater had been slashed up past her right elbow, revealing a bloody spot on her forearm that looked ominous.
Compound fracture. A hint of pearly bone protruded from the site.
Dragging in a shuddered breath, she murmured, “What have you got?”
He glanced up, and his lips tightened for a second then he said, “Stacy Painter, sixteen. Broken right radius, compound at the ulna, and two fractured femurs—both at the neck, from what I can guess, based on her leg position. And she has tenderness on her right side as well...possible fractured ribs.”
She closed her eyes at the mention of the femur fractures. “At the neck” meant the bones had broken off at the ball where they went into the socket. And if those sections went too long without oxygen, it could mean a double hip replacement. In a teenage girl.
Now wasn’t the time to think of that, though. They needed to have her ready to transport once the EMS crew arrived. “What do you want me to do?”
“I’m stabilizing the compound fracture and need to protect it. But I’ve got her radius and hips to deal with.” He glanced up at her again. “We have to do this without any meds. Can you talk to her while I work?”
No pain meds. She knew that was protocol when they didn’t know what a patient’s other injuries might be, but it had to agonizing for Stacy to have Jack manipulate her bones. It was one of the worst parts of being a doctor. Once again, she found herself glad he was there.
She didn’t argue about what he’d asked her to do. Didn’t say she was a doctor too so she should be doing some of the work. She simply scooched over until she was by the girl’s head and then leaned down. “Hi, Stacy. My name is Mira. Dr. Perry is going to get you all fixed up.”
The girl blinked, a few tears breaking free and sliding down her cheeks. Then her eyes focused on Mira. “He—he said to call him Jack.”
Mira glanced up to find that the man’s eyes were on her. She pulled her attention back to the patient. “Is that so?” She forced a smile. “You’re lucky. He doesn’t let just anyone call him that.”
In fact, some of us call him Number Five.
She pushed that little voice away and continued. “What happened?”
The girl’s chin wobbled and another tear escaped. She wouldn’t quite meet her eyes. “I—I fell. Off the ski lift.”
Had she hesitated before using the word “fell” or was that her imagination?
There were witnesses.
Mira glanced up at the chairs going overhead—people in them were now staring at the scene below. It seemed like a long way down from here. The teen had to have tumbled a few feet once she hit, to have broken so many bones.
“Was the safety bar down on your seat?”
The girl winced as Jack touched her leg. “No. I—I forgot.”
Another coincidence.
Oh, honey, what would drive you to do something like this?
She forced out her next words. “Do you know where your parents are?” Had anyone contacted them yet?
Stacy started to shake her head and then screamed, the sound ending on a group of sobs.
Jack had slid a long splint beneath her right leg and hip and was strapping it in place.
Sliding onto her side, so that her head was as close to Stacy’s as possible and blocking the view of what Jack was doing, she said, “I know it’s painful, honey. Dr...er, Jack is putting something called splints on your legs so they won’t hurt as bad once the ambulance comes.” Mira wanted to squeeze her hand, do something to comfort her, but she couldn’t. The girl had bones broken in both arms. She settled for murmuring to her instead.
The girl closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again, looking at Mira. “It was so stupid, you know?”
Jumping? Oh, God...
She was afraid to ask. Afraid the girl would clam up. So she settled for asking her earlier question again, while Jack secured her leg. “I know. Can you tell me where your parents are?”
“At home. I’m here with my cheerleading squad.”
A cheerleader. It just kept getting worse. An injury like this could be life-changing for anyone, even more so for a high-school girl who needed strength and agility in order to do something she loved.
Down below, the sound of a siren came through.
Thank God. The EMS team was here sooner than she’d expected, despite the icy road conditions. She touched Jack’s shoulder. He didn’t look up from what he was doing but said, “I hear them. I want to get this other leg in place so they can take her right away.”
He glanced up, his eyes meeting hers. Mira saw her own fear and horror reflected back in his gaze. “Last one. Can you keep her calm?” he asked.
“We’ll be fine.”
He nodded then pulled a second long splint toward the girl. Thank heavens her father kept a full array of those on the premises for times like this.
“Get ready.” He took hold of the teen’s leg to stabilize it.
“Ahhhh!” The agonized shriek tore right through Mira’s insides, leaving her trembling. “It hurts,” the girl sobbed. “It hurts so bad.”