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"Gabe, I found Star. He’s guarding a woman in the grass on the west end of the parking lot. She's unconscious. I can’t get close enough to her to check for a pulse.”
I heard the instant Gabe started running. "Call an ambulance. I'm on my way!"
The line went dead, and I immediately called 911. Gabe was an EMT, but we would need an ambulance ASAP. After giving the dispatcher the pertinent information, I hung up my phone and rolled closer to Star and the woman.
"Stand," I commanded the dog, and this time he stood, then put a paw on the woman's arm that lay in the grass. I noticed she held a set of keys with a candy cane keychain and the truth hit me in the gut. I’d found my missing colleague. Star whined low in his throat as though that would make the woman pay him some attention.
Gabe came tearing out of the woods and was beside the woman in a heartbeat. “What happened?" he asked as he assessed Hazel.
"I have no idea. I heard Star barking and finally found him here, standing over her. An ambulance is on its way."
"Excellent, thank you. She's breathing and has a pulse but is out cold."
"I'm no expert, but I don't think hands are supposed to lay that way." I motioned at her left hand, and Gabe immediately looked down and grimaced.
"Nope," he agreed just as we heard the siren headed toward us. "That's going to leave a mark. I don’t recognize this woman.”
“She’s new to town,” I said. “That keychain tells me we just found Hazel Cane, the social worker for New Beginnings.”
Gabe’s eyes widened. “Listen, I need you to take Star and get him away from here. We’ll need room for the stretcher. Then, you need to call Mayor Tottle.”
"Star, come," I said, grabbing his collar. When he didn't, I growled the command by his ear. "Leave it and return."
With a whine still low in his throat, Star finally returned to my side. "Get dressed," I said, and he sat, allowing me to put his vest on just as the ambulance pulled into the lot. "Over here!" I yelled when I heard the doors to the rig open. I grabbed Star's lead, and we backed up, leaving room for the EMTs to do their work.
A crowd gathered, and I turned my chair, motioning everyone back by pushing the chair forward. When I turned my chair back around, the EMTs had my colleague on the stretcher as they ran with her toward the ambulance.
A strange sensation filled me. I couldn't explain it, but the only word that came to mind to describe it wasprotect. I hadn’t met her yet but something told me she needed protection.
"Come, car," I ordered Star, and he ran along on my left side until we reached my SUV. I let him into the backseat, rolled around to the driver's side, and transferred into the vehicle. By the time I got my chair apart and stowed next to me, the ambulance had pulled out of the parking lot with the sirens blaring and the lights flashing. At the park exit, I should have turned left and headed to city hall to find Mayor Tottle, but I didn’t. I flicked the right turn signal on and followed the ambulance. It was time for an official meet and greet with Miss Hazel Cane.
∞∞∞
Why does my head hurt?
When I opened my eyes, the bright lights above the bed made them burn. I blinked a few times to get my bearings. That was when I realized my left hand burned far more than my eyes.
“Help!” I yelled, surprised when it came out like a whisper. “Help! I need help!” I strained to yell loud enough for someone to hear me.
A woman I didn’t know came running into the room and stopped at the bedside. “What’s the matter?”
“Where am I?”
She held her hand out, and I noticed her name badge. It said, ‘Sandy.’ Good, I could still read even though my head felt like someone hit it with Thor’s hammer.
“You had an accident and you’re in the Bells Pass Hospital. Can you tell me your name?”
I was in Bells Pass, but they didn’t know my name?
“I’m Hazel Cane.”
“Can you tell me how old you are?”
“I’ll turn twenty-eight on Christmas Eve.”
Sandy messed with a machine by my bed before she answered. “Do you know what month it is?”
“It’s September. I’m the social worker and programs director for New Beginnings. I was supposed to meet Mayor Tottle—oh, my goodness, I need my phone! Where's my phone? I have to call Mayor Tottle!” I tried to pat the bed, but my left hand was encased in something. I held it up in front of my face. “What’s wrong with my hand?”
