AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Allergic reaction,” says Trey. “I’ll grab the gurney, and you treat him with the epinephrine.” I do as I’m instructed and send up a small prayer. I pull out my pulse oximeter and place it over Joe’s fingertip to see his oxygen saturation level. When it flashes 92%, I immediately provide him with supplemental oxygen and monitor his breathing. It remains shallow, but it’s there, and that’s a good sign.
“I don’t see any drugs, which I expected from a guy like this,” says Bryce with a hint of disdain.
I cock my head wondering what he means by that comment. I’m about to voice my question when Trey arrives with the gurney. As we get Joe situated for transport, I ask my partner, “Did you manage to find an elevator? I half expected you to bring the stair chair.”
“I did. Winslow and Burton pointed it out to me. It’s located at the end of the hallway, making it easier to get Joe down to the first floor and loaded up.”
I briefly scan his apartment to see what could have caused the allergic reaction, but nothing stands out except a container of Mexican food. The bag and the container look generic and logo-free, hinting that the meal was from the food truck I noticed on the corner. I’m guessing it’s the most likely source of the allergen. On our way downstairs, I see Bryce talking with my brother. I look at both of them before asking, “Can you do a final sweep of the patient’s living quarters to see if I missed anything?” They both nod, but it’s my brother who will take the time to do it.
“I’ll do anything for you, Pollyanna,” Bryce says. “I’ll even take you out for a nice dinner if you let me.”
“Not the time, Bryce,” Sebastian says, firmly gripping his shoulder. “We all have plenty of work to do. I suggest we get to it.” I give my brother a grateful smile as he turns them both toward the condo to do as I had asked.
Trey and I get Joe safely secured for transport, but his response to the epinephrine is slow going and not quite where I think it should be with the amount of time that has lapsed. I prepare a smaller dose and look at my watch. I decide to give it another three minutes before I give him a second injection, and only if he doesn’t show signs of improvement. Thankfully, he does.
I see the hospital just up ahead and sigh in relief. I look down at Joe and grin, giving his hand a slight squeeze. “It looks like I won’t have to stick you with another needle. You’ll be in good hands in no time.”
His eyes crack open slightly, and his mouth forms the tiniest of smiles. He returns my squeeze and tries to talk. I can’t make out his words through the oxygen mask, but I lean down when he manages to pull it aside.
“Angel” is the only word I can make out before he closes his eyes again. I replace the oxygen mask just before Trey pulls to a stop in front of the entrance to the emergency room. The doors fly open, and coordinated chaos ensues as doctors rush Joe through the double doors. Trey quickly follows the doctors, giving them a quick rundown on everything we did, including the dosage and time of the epinephrine shot. By the time he returns, I have our rig buttoned up and ready to go.
“Good job, Lucky. We might just make a paramedic out of you yet,” Trey teases. Once I obtained my advanced certification, I immediately started working toward my next goal of becoming a paramedic. I have three months left before my test.
“I’ve been learning from the best. But I’ve learned a lot from you, too!” I joke back. He groans playfully.
“How’s that roommate of yours doing?”
“Daphne’s doing great! She’ll spend the next six months putting her fire engineering skills to good use and working alongside a structural engineer designing some megacomplex near Medford. She’s thrilled about the opportunity, but I think she’s more excited about the other engineer. According to Daphne, he’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye.”
“That wasn’t the roommate I was talking about, Leanna, and you know it. I’m practically an uncle to you and your siblings and am kept up to date on the Arbaroa family happenings through your mother and father. I know all about Daphne. I was referring to your other roommate, Carter. When will that boy wise up and ask you out on a proper date?”
“We’re just friends, Trey. I thought there might have been something between us when we first met a couple of years ago, but he put me in the friendzone pretty early on. Now, that’s where we’re stuck, and I’ve come to like it there. I’m not willing to risk what we have.”
“No risk, no reward,” he tells me.
“Under normal circumstances, I’d agree with you. But becoming best friends with Carter has been great, and we do nearly everything together anyway since neither of us has time to date anyone with our busy schedules. It’s fun, it’s easy, and there’s no pressure.”
“Let me get this straight. You and Carter don’t have time to date other people, yet you spend all your free time together? No commitment and no kisses?Hmmm.”
“It’s not like that,” I begin to tell him, but then I change my mind. “Okay. Itislike that, but only because neither of us has time for the complications of a relationship. Take now, for example. Carter has been gone for two weeks on assignment and will probably have to turn around and leave again within days of returning home. There aren’t many women willing to put up with that kind of unpredictability,” I say in my defense.
Trey throws his hands up in a placating gesture and grins at me sarcastically, “It’s not like you’re the first person he wants to see when he gets back or the person he talks with for hours when he’s away on one of his trips.”
“Exactly.” I’m not sure how he knows about our phone calls, but I’m assuming the Arbaroa grapevine has something to do with that.
“And that’s most definitely not Carter that I see talking to your brother in front of the bay doors, waiting for your arrival!” he hoots.
My heart skips a beat as I look for Carter’s shoulder-length curly hair, mesmerizing brown eyes with flecks of gold, and a body that rivals any of the younger firefighters I work with. It should, since Carter has been unofficially adopted into the Arbaroa family and works out with the men that comprise it.
Carter and Sebastian step to the side to give me the room to park. When Carter’s eyes lock with mine, the smile he gives me outshines the sun and makes my face heat from its intensity. Trey laughs boisterously, unable to contain himself any longer.
He shakes his head, still laughing, as he exits the vehicle. Before he shuts the door, he gains control of himself and says, “Leanna, the only person you’re fooling with this ‘just friends’ thing you two have going on is you. And trust me, you are no fool.”
Sometimes, I think I’m the biggest fool of them all.
Chapter two
Carter
