Her neck was killing her now. The motorcycle might be a speedy and efficient mode of transportation, but it didn’t offer a smooth ride.
Glancing down at the baby tucked against her chest, she saw that the little guy had been lulled to sleep by the movement and noise. Poor wee thing. Please let him be okay.
Beneath her left hand, the cop’s shoulder felt rigid. Strong. She couldn’t resist leaning her head against his back for support. He didn’t seem to mind, so she let herself relax against him. It was lucky for her—and this baby—that he’d been on the scene so quickly.
She wondered what his name was, whether he had a family. She guessed he was around her age. She hadn’t thought about his looks earlier, but they had registered in some far corner of her mind. Now she recalled light-brown eyes, a high forehead, a mouth that would look fabulous when he smiled.
So far he hadn’t had much reason to smile. But she guessed by the faint lines around the corners of his lips that he usually did.
But why was she thinking about him like this? He was probably married. Weren’t most people by the time they turned thirty?
She had been married when she was twenty-five.
With lights flashing and sirens blaring, they were attracting quite a lot of attention. People on the sidewalk paused to stare. Cars pulled over to make room and drivers stuck their necks out open windows.
She’d never been so glad to see the pale stucco facade of Courage Bay Hospital. Fortunately the bay driveway to emergency was clear, except for a large white van. As the cop cruised in closer, she noticed the call numbers of a local TV station, KSEA, painted in bold colors on the back of the van. Just then, a camera flash went off in her eyes. She winced and held the baby closer. The cop glided his bike past the reporter, over the sidewalk, right up to the ER doors.
Turning to her, he asked, “You okay?”
She nodded.
“Sorry if that was a little rough.”
The journalists were back, this time with video cameras. The cop put up an arm to block her from their view. “Excuse me, ma’am…sir,” he said in a polite but firm tone, “but we’ve got a medical emergency here.”
“Is the baby okay?”
“Are you the baby’s mother?”
“What’s the situation back at the accident scene? Anybody killed?”
From under the cop’s protective arm, Jackie did her best to ignore the questions. Inside the ER, she was finally on home turf and knew exactly what to do. She raced to the admittance desk. Stout, gray-haired Izzy was working triage today.
“What’s wrong, Jackie?” She eyed the bundle in her arms. “Who is that?”
“I have no idea.”
“Oh, my Lord. Here.” Izzy passed a clean tissue for Jackie to mop up the fresh blood on the baby’s face. “What happened?”
“I was in a car crash on the PCH.”
“We heard about that. We’re expecting the ambulances shortly. So you got caught in the pileup? How terrible. And the poor baby…Oh, my Lord, he doesn’t look older than a couple of months.”
Jackie lowered her voice. “His mother died in the crash. I think he may have a glass shard embedded in his right cornea. I haven’t had a chance to examine him properly yet.”
Izzy gave her another clean tissue. “We’ll get a pediatrician right away. How’d you get here so fast?” Izzy’s gaze slid over to the police officer.
He nodded and held out his hand. “Officer Guthrie.” He turned to Jackie and added, “Casey Guthrie.”
She had to swallow before she could reply in kind. “I’m Jackie Kellison.”
It only took a few seconds to exchange their names, but Jackie had the weird sense of falling into a time vortex where the moment felt long and heavy with importance. Then the baby stirred in her arms.
She faced Izzy again. “Officer Guthrie was the first one on the scene. He gave us a ride on his motorbike.”
“Well, that explains the hairdo.”
Jackie supposed more hair was out of her ponytail than in. She’d also lost her sunglasses in the fray and her cotton shorts and blouse were smeared with blood. None of that mattered at the moment.
Izzy shoved aside the paperwork she’d been dealing with. “Come on, we’ll get that little one into an examining room.” She glanced back at the cop still standing by her desk. “Nice to have met you, Officer Guthrie.”
The baby started crying again and Jackie hurried after Izzy. She managed one last glance at the motorcycle cop, regretting she’d had no chance to say a proper goodbye. They’d made a good team.
He smiled at her, and his smile was nice, just as she’d thought. Too bad she probably wouldn’t see him again.
IN THE SMALL examining room, Jackie was finally able to take a good look at her patient. While waiting for the physician, she cleaned the abrasions on the baby’s face and hands, ensuring that she hadn’t missed any tiny pieces of glass. Tenderly she undressed the fussing infant, inhaling with mild surprise when she unfastened the diaper. Well, the baby was a girl. And her diaper was sodden. When had her mother last changed it?
Jackie cleaned the bright pink bottom gently, noticing an oval-shaped birthmark on one chubby thigh. The child was working herself into a frenzy again. Would the damn doctor never get here?
CASEY LINGERED IN THE ER waiting room for a while. He made a call to the station and confirmed that since he’d been officially off duty for the past hour, he wouldn’t be part of the team investigating the collision.
He passed on the information about the burning sedan, how there’d been a second explosion following the first. He’d seen cars catch fire because of a leaking fuel line before, but this one hadn’t fit the pattern.
After he’d concluded that call, he made another, leaving a message at the hotel where his friends were staying. “Sorry, something came up at work. A collision on PCH. I won’t be able to join you guys tonight.”
There was really no reason for him to cancel. He still had time to get home and shower and go out tonight. But he didn’t want to leave the hospital.
He wanted to make sure the baby was okay. Yeah, that was part of it, but he didn’t try to kid himself that that was the whole reason.
Truth was, he wanted to see that nurse again. Jackie Kellison. Hell, she sure was something. She’d been unstoppable at the accident scene. He was willing to bet she’d saved more than one life today with her quick thinking and fast action.
Never mind that she’d been a victim in the accident herself. Beyond the emotional distress of the experience, she’d obviously suffered whiplash. He’d noticed her holding her head tighter and tighter as time went on. That ride on his bike must have been murder.
He’d liked the way she’d rested her head on his back, though. He had a feeling Jackie didn’t lean on many people and he was glad he’d been one of them.
Anyway, she’d been in the accident and helped all those people at the scene, and now it appeared she was prepared to put in her full shift. Which only made him admire her more.
The desperate crescendo of sirens told him the accident victims were finally about to arrive. Tired after his long day, yet unable to relax, Casey began pacing. He wished there was something he could do to help. Waiting wasn’t his strong suit.
Perhaps he ought to go home and have that shower, and maybe a good long nap, too. But he couldn’t take the chance of missing Jackie, so he bought himself a coffee from the vending machine, then found he couldn’t drink