understanding her words impossible.
“Don’t cry, honey. I’ve got you now, and you’re going to be fine. Oops…” By paying attention to the child, and not where she headed, Sara smashed into a rock and took a good hit to her knee.
A strong back and good muscle tone kept her from dropping her passenger and going down altogether, but her blasted heels kept giving way so her ankles wobbled back and forth like a kid in her first pair of skates. “My name is Sara Hanson and this mutt is my dog Pegi. What’s your name?” Sara knew she had to keep the girl talking.
“I’m Amy Watson. My dad is the new director for the Oceanside Clinic. He’s also a doctor.”
“We need doctors in this community, so I’m very glad to welcome you both. Look, you can see the headlights which means we’re almost there. Hopefully we’ll have cell phone access, but out here it’s not great at the best of times. And with this storm, who knows?” Slithering and sliding, bent almost in half, and often leaning on her oversized dog, after a good fifteen minutes, Sara finally got them to where the car sat lopsided in the ditch.
Amy slipped off Sara’s back and balanced on her good foot, using the car as a leaning post. It took precious moments to pry open the back door, but finally the latch gave, and she helped Amy slide onto the car.
“Lay back, honey. Put your feet up on the seat. That’s good.” It took only moments to get herself and Pegi into the front and to start the engine so the heater blasted warm air. Once settled, she removed her coat and took off the fuzzy sweater underneath and piled both on Amy whose teeth chattered incessantly.
Despite the chapped lips and reddened cheeks, Sara could see the girl was a beauty.
Auburn hair, naturally curly, had escaped from a ponytail and formed tiny ringlets around her pretty face, highlighting her drenched emerald eyes. Thank goodness her slender body hadn’t weighed overly much, or Sara wouldn’t have been able to carry her.
“Thank you. Your sweater feels warm. I can’t stop shaking. Wow, I never really understood how cold—cold could be.” Amy’s chattering sounded weird with her teeth clicking continuously.
Agile from years of yoga, Sara manoeuvred herself past the floor console and into the back seat where she checked Amy’s swollen leg. “Can you move your foot? I think it’s best to leave the boot on. It’s keeping the leg from swelling worse.” Not being great at first aid, Sara had always relied on her nursing neighbour to bandage Kai’s scrapes and wounds most active boys suffered. “I wish your father was here.”
Even though the words “me too” were whispered, Sara heard them distinctly." Dad is going to kill me when I get home. He’s so busy with his new job; he hasn’t had time for me at all. I miss my friends in Vancouver so much, and I only wanted to spend a few days with them over the holidays, but he refused to consider it. ” Amy sniffed.
“ Said he had no time to bring me there. Like I couldn’t take the ferry myself. Treated me like a kid, and freaked out when I pushed him on it. You know, I’ve tried to understand about his work, really I have. But he doesn’t care that my life is over. That I have no friends here. That I’m miserable.” Tears gushed and streamed, drenching her cheeks and pouting lips.
Immune to displays of self-pity, Sara added. “So to fix him, you ran away in a snowstorm to hide in the woods. Where you could have died rather than sit the foolish man down, explain your feelings, and talk to him like an adult.”
“He doesn’t listen.”
“Do you talk? Or scream and pout?”
The silence was telling. “I’m a brat, aren’t I? I’m so sorry.” She held her hand toward Sara, pleading for comfort, and Sara could no more ignore the gesture than stop the hug that followed. Pegi, bounding over to land on top of them, broke up the moment and had them laughing.
“Get into the front Pegi. Amy’s fine
“Don’t cry, honey. I’ve got you now, and you’re going to be fine. Oops…” By paying attention to the child, and not where she headed, Sara smashed into a rock and took a good hit to her knee.
A strong back and good muscle tone kept her from dropping her passenger and going down altogether, but her blasted heels kept giving way so her ankles wobbled back and forth like a kid in her first pair of skates. “My name is Sara Hanson and this mutt is my dog Pegi. What’s your name?” Sara knew she had to keep the girl talking.
“I’m Amy Watson. My dad is the new director for the Oceanside Clinic. He’s also a doctor.”
“We need doctors in this community, so I’m very glad to welcome you both. Look, you can see the headlights which means we’re almost there. Hopefully we’ll have cell phone access, but out here it’s not great at the best of times. And with this storm, who knows?” Slithering and sliding, bent almost in half, and often leaning on her oversized dog, after a good fifteen minutes, Sara finally got them to where the car sat lopsided in the ditch.
Amy slipped off Sara’s back and balanced on her good foot, using the car as a leaning post. It took precious moments to pry open the back door, but finally the latch gave, and she helped Amy slide onto the car.
“Lay back, honey. Put your feet up on the seat. That’s good.” It took only moments to get herself and Pegi into the front and to start the engine so the heater blasted warm air. Once settled, she removed her coat and took off the fuzzy sweater underneath and piled both on Amy whose teeth chattered incessantly.
Despite the chapped lips and reddened cheeks, Sara could see the girl was a beauty.
Auburn hair, naturally curly, had escaped from a ponytail and formed tiny ringlets around her pretty face, highlighting her drenched emerald eyes. Thank goodness her slender body hadn’t weighed overly much, or Sara wouldn’t have been able to carry her.
“Thank you. Your sweater feels warm. I can’t stop shaking. Wow, I never really understood how cold—cold could be.” Amy’s chattering sounded weird with her teeth clicking continuously.
Agile from years of yoga, Sara manoeuvred herself past the floor console and into the back seat where she checked Amy’s swollen leg. “Can you move your foot? I think it’s best to leave the boot on. It’s keeping the leg from swelling worse.” Not being great at first aid, Sara had always relied on her nursing neighbour to bandage Kai’s scrapes and wounds most active boys suffered. “I wish your father was here.”
Even though the words “me too” were whispered, Sara heard them distinctly." Dad is going to kill me when I get home. He’s so busy with his new job; he hasn’t had time for me at all. I miss my friends in Vancouver so much, and I only wanted to spend a few days with them over the holidays, but he refused to consider it. ” Amy sniffed.
“ Said he had no time to bring me there. Like I couldn’t take the ferry myself. Treated me like a kid, and freaked out when I pushed him on it. You know, I’ve tried to understand about his work, really I have. But he doesn’t care that my life is over. That I have no friends here. That I’m miserable.” Tears gushed and streamed, drenching her cheeks and pouting lips.
Immune to displays of self-pity, Sara added. “So to fix him, you ran away in a snowstorm to hide in the woods. Where you could have died rather than sit the foolish man down, explain your feelings, and talk to him like an adult.”
“He doesn’t listen.”
“Do you talk? Or scream and pout?”
The silence was telling. “I’m a brat, aren’t I? I’m so sorry.” She held her hand toward Sara, pleading for comfort, and Sara could no more ignore the gesture than stop the hug that followed. Pegi, bounding over to land on top of them, broke up the moment and had them laughing.
“Get into the front Pegi. Amy’s fine
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