I’m whistling as I grab my pup tent and sleeping bag. “I’ll be home soon, Cami,” I murmur, “and I’ll be bringing Mama back with me.”
“Maybe I’m getting too old to sleep on the ground,” I mutter as I stretch to work out the kinks from the night before. I swear I feel every single injury my body ever suffered during my fighting and competition days, plus the pollen and humidity has me slightly congested.
Since I know my things won’t be messed with, I head to the RV and knock on the door, only to hear Ella yell, “Come on in, we’re moving slow this morning.”
Opening the door, I see the two of them rushing around as they finish getting ready. Both are in clean company shirts, with heavy-duty cargo pants and what I presume are steel-toed boots. That makes sense in my mind since they’re going into areas that are likely treacherous. “What do you do about any wildlife you see?” I ask, my curiosity roused.
“We both carry weapons and tranquilizer guns, because with all the rain, as well as the unstable terrain, there’s a good likelihood that we could come across wounded animals or even snakes,” Phoebe replies, shuddering when she says snakes.
“Not a fan of the nope ropes myself,” I tell them both. “Do y’all carry radios or anything like that?”
“Actually, yes, we have two-way radios in case we come across someone that we need help with,” Ella says. “Neither of us is what I’d call strapping, and we’re both pretty strong, but some of these mountain men are gigantic!”
Phoebe giggles and adds, “At least Elmer was somewhat mobile. Hopefully anyone we come across today will be as well. Now come on, I missed out on the hashbrown casserole yesterday and I have a feeling we’re going to need every single calorie we can ingest.”
I follow the two of them out then tug Phoebe’s arm until she understands I want to hold her hand. Fuck, despite my age, right now I almost feel like a teenaged boy with his first crush. Honestly, though, even though I’ve had long-term relationships in the past, including with Rosa, I’ve never felt the need to hold hands with them. As I lace our fingers together, it dawns on me that it’s because my heart has never truly been involved. Because I love her, we fit, plain and simple.
CHAPTER
FOUR
Phoebe
After breakfast,we go our separate ways, but not before I get a thorough kiss from Eli after he helps Brandon load extra supplies on our ATVs. I mean, that’s what we’re calling them, but they’re actually Rangers, with enough room to haul us, our medical bags, and also things like water and blankets. I don’t know how Thelma managed to get her hands on them, but she has contacts everywhere and I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Ready, Freddy?” I ask Ella as we both start our ‘cars’ for the day.
“Punch it, Judy,” she teases, grinning at me.
That’s definitely one of the pluses of working alongside my best friend. We’re both highly skilled and even though neither of us would ever risk our license, we’ve both seen enough that we are often able to put our impressions in the notes as far as a patient’s situation and condition. Thelma decided years ago when she started offering the disaster services that she wanted us to be able to do that, and after a lot of meetings, the powers that bedecided to allow it with the caveat that we werenotdiagnosing, merely giving our clinical observations so that when we got the patient to a doctor they could scan what we’d done in the field and then complete their assessment.
I mean, some things we had yesterday were obvious, like the man who had a compound fracture and wasn’t able to get to his phone to call for help. While I can mentally presume all day that he ended up having to have surgery, as well as a course of IV antibiotics, I didn’t verbally say anything. Ella and I stabilized the leg, cleaned the wound as best as possible since we weren’t near running water, got an IV started with fluids since he was visibly dehydrated, then transported him to base to take an ambulance ride to the hospital. I make a note to ask Thelma if she knows how he’s doing, since he’s like Elmer; elderly and alone.
As we drive to the next area we’ve been assigned, my thoughts drift to Eli. I’m not surprised that he read my letter. What did catch me off guard was him leaving Cami behind and coming to where I’m temporarily staying to see me and clear the air.
The pain wracking my body has me nearly vomiting as we head back to base after our last house visit. Ella has the patient in her Ranger while I try to keep from passing out. Leave it to me to smell like day old sewage with an open wound on my left arm. After we got the latest patient stabilized and ready to transport, Ella and I cleaned it to the best of our ability, but I know I earned myself a trip to the hospital for professional debridement and stitches. Once we park and hand off the patient, I shake my head at Ella when she attempts to get me to the treatment tent. I needa shower first and that’s absolutely non-negotiable as far as I’m concerned.
As I walk toward the RV, my intentions clear at least in my own mind, she yells out, “Phoebe Alanna Cortez, you get your ass over herenow!”
Without turning, I holler, “Miss Ma’am, you know why I’m doing what I’m doing. Now, either shut up and help me or go find something else to do.” I finally get back into the RV and head to the bathroom. I’ll deal with getting a fresh set of laundered clothes after I get clean. My soiled clothes go into a pile, and I step inside the shower stall, uncaring that my gauze is getting soaked. I don’t take it off because it’s pretty bad, instead I focus on washing my hair and body as quickly and efficiently as I can.
“Stupid spike,” I mutter as dark spots dance in my peripheral vision. “C’mon, Fee, you can do this.”
Our last call plays on rewind as I pull on my inner strength to get what I need done. It should’ve been a simple job, but I’ve come to realize that nothing up here is that easy.
“Oh, my God,” Ella whispers as we make our way to the front porch of Otis Smith’s house. “How are we going to do this?”
“The way we do everything else,” I reply before calling out, “Mr. Smith, It’s Phoebe and Ella from Traveling Care. We’re here to help you, sir.”
“Y’all sure are a sight for sore eyes,” the elderly man replies. His voice is weak and thready, and Ella immediately gets busy taking his vitals while I assess the scene itself.
He was apparently clearing debris based on the pile of broken limbs off to the side, but it’s the structure next to it that has myeyes widening. Who in the hell uses railroad spikes as nails? I mean, the gazebo or whatever it originally was, is well-built, but seeing spikes instead of wood nails is a bit disconcerting. However, one of the things I’ve noticed since being here is that the people are resourceful as hell. They’re not preppers, per se, but each home we’ve gone to has evidence that they utilize everything they have to eke out a living. Shaking my head, I walk closer to where Otis is wedged in a hole with boards all around him, several spikes evident. He’s got multiple lacerations from what I can see, but it’s what I can’t that has me concerned based on his physical demeanor. He’s pale, cool, and clammy, so I suspect he has injuries on his lower extremities.
“Kind of got myself in a pickle here, girls,” he says as pain scores his features. “Been trying for a few hours now to get out, but I’m stuck.”
“Well, let’s see what we can do about getting you unstuck,” I reply, looking around to see if I can find anything to use. “Got a crowbar? I’ll see if I can get more of these boards pulled away, then we’ll use the Ranger to pull you free. Gotta say, though, you’re probably looking at a hospital trip.”
“Y’know, I’m an old man, girlie,” he says, “but even I think you’re right on this account. Hell, I ain’t ever sick but they say you need new experiences to keep yourself young, right?”
