“Hey boss,” she called out from his office. “Are you here to fill in for Quinn?”
“She sick?” He shoved his hand into his hair. “I didn’t know. I just came in.”
“Minor injury while at the hospital. She cut her hand. The docs patched her up, and Matt’s dropped her at home, and is on his way back alone. All the paperwork’s been completed, don’t worry. You want to spell me off, then?” Dani was already tying her long dark hair into a bun.
He stopped her. “Could I…” He hooked his thumb toward the ambulance bay. “Do you mind?”
“Be my guest.” She grinned. “I’m fixing the holiday schedule.”
“Nothing wrong with it the way it was,” he grouched.
“I know. But now it’s even better.”
She was probably right.
He was sitting on a bench at the back of the garage when Matt returned. “You’ve got me for the rest of the shift, bud.”
“Partners ride again,” the other man said. “You want to drive?”
“You know it.” He hadn’t brought himself any coffee, so they loaded up and headed to Mac’s, and it was as they exited the diner, takeaway in hand, that their first call came in. A home birth support in Lion’s Head.
What were the fucking chances. He braced himself for impact and flipped on the lights.
Matt reported to dispatch that they were on their way, then glanced sideways. “So much for a quiet shift, boss.”
He didn’t know the half of it. Either Owen was about to come face to face with the woman he loved, or her best friend and colleague, who almost certainly knew he’d broken Kerry’s heart.
The road was clear, and they made it across the peninsula in excellent time. But when they pulled up in front of the address, a low rise apartment building, they didn’t even need to get out of the ambulance. Well, Owen didn’t at least.
Kerry was waiting with a heavily pregnant young woman, not much older than Becca, at the curb.
He killed the lights as Matt hopped out. By the time he got the back doors open and their stretcher out, she was already giving Matt the rundown.
“Jenna’s at another birth, and Alyssa here is in active labour but we’ve got some time.” Kerry said as Owen approached, barely sparing him a split-second glance. “So we’re going for the transport. I’ll follow you guys. No rush.” She handed Matt her card, like Owen didn’t have her number memorized. “If I lose you, can you text me when you get her to the hospital? Sometimes the patient handoff gets sketchy.” She squeezed the young woman’s hand. “But these guys are great. You’re in the best of hands. I’ll see you soon.”
Owen ignored the way his heart hammered in his chest and let the job take over. Matt would ride in the back with the patient. They got her belted onto the stretcher, then raised it up and into the back. Matt climbed up, Owen closed the doors behind him—and then, for a brief moment, he was alone with Kerry.
She gave him a cool nod and turned, heading to her car.
Pain seared through his veins, and nineteen years of professionalism got his legs moving in the right direction instead of sprinting after her.
“All right, Alyssa,” he called back. “You keep an eye on Matt back there and let me know if he starts to get a little woozy from the drive, okay?”
She laughed, then gasped as a contraction started. “Sorry,” Owen heard her say. “They hurt.”
That wasn’t anything to be sorry for, and Matt told her as much. He kept her distracted the whole way, telling her about some of the other births he’d attended, and then the arrival of his own baby earlier in the year.
In the couple of years since they’d been partners, Matt had only improved as a paramedic. He was great with her.
Which meant Owen only had to concentrate on two things: driving, and not getting too far ahead of Kerry. He listened to her, and didn’t bother to put the siren on, just the lights, but people still got out of the way for him and then slid right back onto the road in front of her, having no idea she was following the ambulance.
When that happened, he cut the gas a bit, making sure she could still see him.
By the time they arrived at the hospital, Matt and Alyssa were best friends, and Kerry managed to find them at the ambulance entrance before they even went inside. It was the best possible transfer given the circumstances. Owen and Matt got Alyssa upstairs to L&D, by-passing Emerg completely, and Kerry got her registered, resuming primary care.
So they were free to go. And they should, because she had a job to do.
But Matt was doing their paperwork and checking in with dispatch, and Owen could see the L&D nurse was getting Alyssa situated. Technically, Kerry was free for a second.
