“I know one little girl who will be over the moon,” Miriam says. “Maybe we should hold off telling her until you have everything booked.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” I reply. Hearing the timer for the oven I holler, “Vinnie, come get washed up for dinner! Miriam, I’ll go get the table set.”
“Coming, Mama!” Vinnie screeches in response. I don’t correct her about how loud she is since she’s outside, but if she does it once we go indoors, I’ll remind her to use her inside voice. It’s a process, that’s for dang sure!
* * *
Damien staysafter dinner to watch a movie with us. Of course, it’s kid-themed, but he seems to enjoy it judging by how much he laughed. He and Vinnie manage to eat a whole bowl of popcorn by themselves. It’s like they’ve become thick as thieves while I’m on the sidelines. But I enjoy watching their interaction. He’s not sucking up to her at all, but he’s attentive and responds when she asks questions. He visits with Miriam and Dale while I give her a quick bath then put her to bed.
“You’re going to be pretty busy these next two days,” he says as I return to the living room. Miriam and Dale have disappeared which has me wanting to roll my eyes due to their matchmaking ways. But they mean well, so I dismiss it instead of letting it get to me. I see that he’s standing and walk up to him.
“Yeah, this is the make-it-or-break-it for me,” I reply. “I’ll stay overnight here so I can see Vinnie before I head in.”
“You’ll do well, Em,” he says. “I’m going to head back to the hotel, but Dale asked me to come out tomorrow to give him a hand with something.”
“Don’t let him talk you into doing anything you don’t want to do,” I caution. “Remember, you’re still healing.”
“I promise I won’t,” he replies. “Will you walk me out?”
He laces our hands together as we head out to his rental car. “I’ll text if I get a chance, okay?”
“I’d like that. In the meantime, I’m going to search for every EMT meme I can find and send it to you,” he teases.
“Good to know, I’ll keep my phone close by but on silent. Please don’t think I’m ignoring you if I don’t answer right away,” I state.
“You answer when you’re able, alright? And stay safe. I’m becoming quite fond of you,” he says, pulling me into his arms.
As his head lowers, a soft sigh escapes my lips when his brush across mine. It’s like coming home. While our embrace isn’t overly long, it’s perfect and when I step back, I see the wonder in his gaze that I’m positive mirrors my own.
Whatever this is that we’ve started, it’s slowly growing and I’m here for it.
ChapterThirteen
Emerie
“That last call was a doozy,how do you feel about it?” Shane asks as we restock the ambulance.
“Pretty good, actually. I mean, I had a few minutes when I couldn’t get the IV in that I was panicking inside, but once I got it in place and the fluids going, the rest was a piece of cake,” I admit.
“You did well, Emerie. So far, there hasn’t been much I’ve seen that you need improvement on, and in reality, the longer you do the job, the better you get. Not sure if that makes sense, but right now, all the information stored in your brain is warring with what we’ve shown you. Whenever you’re in doubt, if one of us is tied up with another patient, go back to what you learned in classes. There’s nothing you can do that we all haven’t done at some point, and if it’s something that needs to be fixed, we’ll do so and then explain why we did it when we get back. We’ll never correct you in front of a patient. We don’t want them losing confidence in us, but we also don’t want you to feel bad either.”
“Thanks, Shane. I really like the job a lot. It’s definitely different from dispatching calls to actually being on scene to help those in need,” I reply. “Do we need more gauze?” I ask, looking at the bin.
“We always need more gauze,” he teases. “I think that’s the most used item in the rigs.” His laughter rings out as I go to the stock room and grab a couple of boxes of sterilized gauze. “Grab some more of the IV kits as well.”
Nodding, I add several kits to my full arms, and we get them put away just as the tones drop. “Looks like we were just in time,” I say as I hurriedly close the back of the ambulance then hustle to the passenger side door while Shane jumps into the driver’s seat.
“Sounds like it to me, too.” He radios into dispatch that we’re on our way and I mentally prepare myself for whatever we’re about to face.
* * *
“I could sleep for a week,”I murmur as I faceplant on the bunk I’m using during my forty-eight-hour stint. I need food, a shower, and lots of water, but right now, sleep is my priority after the seventeen-car pileup on the parkway. We were one of many ambulances transporting the injured, which ranged from the walking wounded to more critical patients. One even had to be airlifted out but had to be moved via ambulance to the football field because there wasn’t anywhere else for the helicopter to land.
As I drift off to sleep, I realize I haven’t even thought to check my phone. Opening it up, I see multiple texts from Damien. Most are memes he found like he said he would, but there are a few pictures of him and Vinnie ‘working’ around the farm with Dale. His last message is the one that makes my heart swell because he said he was falling in love with my little girl, and he appreciated me allowing him to spend time with her, as well as Levi’s family.
Please just don’t break my heart. I don’t think I could handle having that happen again.
Me: Glad you’re having a good time. Busy day today. Gonna catch some sleep.
