seat.
“Hello?” he called again. “If you can hear me, I’m here to help you.”
No response.
Grant hurried around to the other side of the car and carefully worked his way down the muddy embankment to get closer to the driver. His boots hit the bottom of the gully and water sluiced over his feet. Even this close, it was still too dark to see much. He grabbed his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and hit the button to illuminate the screen, holding the phone out toward the closed driver’s side window. The faint light from the phone spilled onto the profile of a woman, head slumped against the head rest, eyes closed.
His stomach flipped—a familiar sick feeling that never failed to show up no matter how much injury or death he’d seen in his life.
No. Come on. Be okay.
He wedged open the door, the soft earth only allowing him to get it halfway open, and leaned into the car to put fingers against the woman’s neck. The strong
thump, thump, thump
of her pulse touched his fingers.
“Thank you, God.” He touched her clammy cheek. “Ma’am, can you hear me? You’ve been in an accident. We’re going to get you some help.”
Though, with the nearest hospital forty-five minutes away, he wasn’t exactly sure when said help might get there. He hit another button on his cell phone.
Marc, one of his managers, answered on the first ring. “Hey, Grant, what’s up?”
“I need you to find Dr. Montgomery. I think he was playing with Janessa tonight in a cabin on the west side.”
“You want me to interrupt a scene?” Marc asked, the surprise in his voice evident. “Is everything okay?”
Grant quickly explained what was going on and told him to also put in a call to 911 to get an ambulance headed this way. Once he’d given Marc his marching orders, Grant returned his focus to the woman in the car. He’d learned first-aid skills in the military so knew not to move her neck or try to get her out of the car. But he checked her breathing to make sure nothing was obstructed.
Her seat belt was on, so she’d had some protection in the crash. But based on the swelling knot on her forehead, she’d hit her head on something—most likely the steering wheel. With gentle fingers, he brushed her hair away from the tender spot to examine it closer and make sure it wasn’t bleeding. He leaned in to get a better look, but a low moan made him halt.
He turned his head and the woman’s eyelashes fluttered. Another garbled sound passed her lips.
“Shh, easy now,” he soothed, using the tone he employed when dealing with skittish horses. “Try not to move, darlin’. We’re going to get you some help.”
Her entire body went rigid, and her lids flew open, her eyes going wide with fear.
He backed out of the car a bit, so as not to freak her out more, but put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You’ve been in an accident. I need you to stay still until the doctor gets here to check you.”
She blinked, her lips parted as if to say something, but then she winced and her hand went to her head. “Dizzy.”
“You’ve hit your head. Try to take some nice, slow breaths.” Grant kept his voice coaxing as he watched her follow his directions. “Can you tell me your name, darlin’?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, continuing to take deep breaths. “Uh . . . Charlotte, no . . . Charli.”
“Okay, good, Charli,” Grant said, relieved to hear she still knew her name. “Do you know where you are or what happened to you?”
“I’m . . . I . . .” A crease appeared between her brows as if she were trying hard to locate the information. “I can’t remember.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “That’s all right. We’ll worry about that later.”
The sucking sound of feet hitting wet earth drew Grant’s attention back toward the ditch’s embankment. Dr. Theo Montgomery was making his way down, wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and an open oxford shirt, and holding one of the
“Hello?” he called again. “If you can hear me, I’m here to help you.”
No response.
Grant hurried around to the other side of the car and carefully worked his way down the muddy embankment to get closer to the driver. His boots hit the bottom of the gully and water sluiced over his feet. Even this close, it was still too dark to see much. He grabbed his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and hit the button to illuminate the screen, holding the phone out toward the closed driver’s side window. The faint light from the phone spilled onto the profile of a woman, head slumped against the head rest, eyes closed.
His stomach flipped—a familiar sick feeling that never failed to show up no matter how much injury or death he’d seen in his life.
No. Come on. Be okay.
He wedged open the door, the soft earth only allowing him to get it halfway open, and leaned into the car to put fingers against the woman’s neck. The strong
thump, thump, thump
of her pulse touched his fingers.
“Thank you, God.” He touched her clammy cheek. “Ma’am, can you hear me? You’ve been in an accident. We’re going to get you some help.”
Though, with the nearest hospital forty-five minutes away, he wasn’t exactly sure when said help might get there. He hit another button on his cell phone.
Marc, one of his managers, answered on the first ring. “Hey, Grant, what’s up?”
“I need you to find Dr. Montgomery. I think he was playing with Janessa tonight in a cabin on the west side.”
“You want me to interrupt a scene?” Marc asked, the surprise in his voice evident. “Is everything okay?”
Grant quickly explained what was going on and told him to also put in a call to 911 to get an ambulance headed this way. Once he’d given Marc his marching orders, Grant returned his focus to the woman in the car. He’d learned first-aid skills in the military so knew not to move her neck or try to get her out of the car. But he checked her breathing to make sure nothing was obstructed.
Her seat belt was on, so she’d had some protection in the crash. But based on the swelling knot on her forehead, she’d hit her head on something—most likely the steering wheel. With gentle fingers, he brushed her hair away from the tender spot to examine it closer and make sure it wasn’t bleeding. He leaned in to get a better look, but a low moan made him halt.
He turned his head and the woman’s eyelashes fluttered. Another garbled sound passed her lips.
“Shh, easy now,” he soothed, using the tone he employed when dealing with skittish horses. “Try not to move, darlin’. We’re going to get you some help.”
Her entire body went rigid, and her lids flew open, her eyes going wide with fear.
He backed out of the car a bit, so as not to freak her out more, but put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You’ve been in an accident. I need you to stay still until the doctor gets here to check you.”
She blinked, her lips parted as if to say something, but then she winced and her hand went to her head. “Dizzy.”
“You’ve hit your head. Try to take some nice, slow breaths.” Grant kept his voice coaxing as he watched her follow his directions. “Can you tell me your name, darlin’?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, continuing to take deep breaths. “Uh . . . Charlotte, no . . . Charli.”
“Okay, good, Charli,” Grant said, relieved to hear she still knew her name. “Do you know where you are or what happened to you?”
“I’m . . . I . . .” A crease appeared between her brows as if she were trying hard to locate the information. “I can’t remember.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “That’s all right. We’ll worry about that later.”
The sucking sound of feet hitting wet earth drew Grant’s attention back toward the ditch’s embankment. Dr. Theo Montgomery was making his way down, wearing a pair of pajama bottoms and an open oxford shirt, and holding one of the
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