Chapter 13
S adie
Sadie tugged off Tess’s boots and removed her wet clothes. She never imagined her crisis management skills would translate to a hypothermia emergency. But a crisis was a crisis, whether in a Seattle conference room or an Alaskan hotel room in the middle of nowhere.
When Jessie showed up at her hotel room, Sadie didn’t mince words. “Direct skin-to-skin contact works fastest to raise core temperature. Everything else can wait.” She glimpsed Kreston in the hallway. “Don’t come in for a while. Thanks, Kreston.”
He nodded. She closed the door and stripped down to her underwear.
“This is all my fault. She came to the Mayor’s office earlier, and I just blew her off,” lamented Jessie, shaking her head as she toweled Tess dry, briskly rubbing her arms and legs.
“No time for that. Get undressed,” instructed Sadie.
Tess moaned softly, and Sadie put her face next to hers. “Tess, Jessie and I are going to warm you up by lying next to you.” She hoped Tess would understand.
They worked quickly. Tess’s skin was frighteningly cold, her lips tinged blue. The women positioned themselves on either side of her, pressing close to warm Tess with their body heat. They piled blankets over all three of them .
“Good thing you found her when you did,” Jessie murmured, rubbing Tess’s arms briskly. “She apparently forgot she needs to wear coats in the wintertime.”
Janet arrived minutes later and came through the door with her medical kit and a healthy supply of hot water bottles. She moved with the efficient certainty of someone used to these kinds of emergencies.
“Textbook treatment, good job.” Janet approved, checking Tess’s vitals. “Bilateral body heat on both sides is exactly what she needs. Keep it up.”
While Janet monitored Tess’s pulse and breathing, Sadie massaged Tess’s limbs to improve circulation. Jessie stayed pressed against Tess, sharing body heat with her core. The minutes crawled by like hours.
At last Janet announced, “Her temperature is rising. She’s out of danger.”
The women sighed with relief and eased away from the bed while Janet tended to Tess.
As if on cue, Tess’s eyes fluttered open. “Where am I? Hi Jessie. Who are you?” She gave Sadie an accusing stare, her eyes darting between the three women. “Why are you two naked?”
Sadie yanked a UW sweatshirt from her bag, and Janet and Jessie helped Tess put it on.
“Ooh, this is soft. I’m so tired,” yawned Tess, lying back down.
“Come on, honey,” Jessie was already helping her up and out of bed. “Let’s get food in your belly. I have chili and cornbread on the stove downstairs. ”
Sadie tossed Jessie a pair of leggings to help Tess dress the rest of the way. Jessie escorted Tess out of Sadie’s room and into the hallway.
“Thanks so much, Sadie. If you hadn’t found her...” Jessie choked up.
“But I did,” Sadie quickly assured her. “It’s okay now, Jessie. Don’t play the blame game.”
“Jessie!” Kreston’s voice rang out from down the hallway. “How is she?”
“Much better,” said Jessie. “I’m taking her down to the Crooked Spoon for a bowl of five-alarm chili.”
“Sounds like a plan,” replied Kreston, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floors.
Sadie sensed his overwhelming relief. Hearing his voice quickened her pulse—an effect growing stronger by the minute, despite her attempts to resist his pull on her.
“Oh, I love chili!” squealed Tess as they headed down the hallway. She hollered back at Sadie, “The check-in desk is closed, whatever your name is.”
“Thanks, Tess, I’ll remember that,” Sadie hollered back.
“Her name is Sadie,” Jessie patiently explained, their voices fading as they made their way down the stairs.
Sadie smiled, thankful Ten Second Tess was back to normal.
Janet shook Sadie’s hand. “Quick thinking on your part, or the outcome might have been different. Thank you.”
Sadie dismissed the compliment. “Anyone would have done the same.”
“Well, you’re the one who took action.” Janet closed her medical bag and put on her coat. “I know you’re new here, so please be careful in this cold. It’s nothing to mess with. See you at the party tonight.” Janet left the door open to Sadie’s room and disappeared down the hall.
Exhausted, Sadie sank onto her bed and closed her eyes. She flopped backwards, her feet dangling toward the floor.
“Hey Seattle, how are you doing?” Concern etched the low rumble of Kreston’s voice.
Sadie’s eyes popped open to find him framed in her doorway like a knight in shining armor. She sat up and motioned toward an armchair and a side table in the corner. “Have a seat and help yourself to some tea.”
“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.” Kreston took a seat and filled a mug with tea.
“Thank you for finding Tess and for knowing what to do while the rest of us barked orders. Why were you walking outside in the snowstorm? How did you find her?”
“I took a walk because I wanted time to think,” explained Sadie. “I passed Henrietta in front of Bob’s Hardware store. She mentioned seeing Tess earlier at the playground, swinging on the swing-set, and going down the slide, so I thought it’d be fun to join her. But when I got there, I found her lying in the snow.”
“I’m so glad you found her when you did.” Kreston closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh.
“Does anyone have responsibility for Ten Second Tess? Aloha said she had a brain injury a few years back. What’s her story—how did she wind up here?”
Kreston sipped his tea. “Tess’s story isn’t a pleasant one. Her parents lived in Polar Creek but died in a plane crash when she was eighteen. She was the only survivor.”
Sadie’s eyes widened. “How horrible. How old is she now?”
“Twenty-three. But because Tess suffered a severe brain injury, she has the mental capacity of a child. Jessie had moved to town about that time and flew with me to visit Tess in the Fairbanks Hospital. When she was released, we brought her back to Polar Creek. Jessie took Tess under her wing, and she’s lived with Jessie ever since. The brain injury left Tess with a short-term memory that lasts ten minutes at a time. Then it resets. Oddly, she always remembers me, Jessie, Tucker, and Lucky. Other than that, she doesn’t remember anyone else.”
Tears pooled in Sadie’s eyes. “That’s terrible. What an awful thing.”
“Depends on how you look at it. Taking care of Tess saved Jessie in many ways. Gave her a reason to get up every day after what she’d been through. Tess remembers nothing about what happened, so she’s a happy camper.”
“We need a system for keeping track of Tess,” suggested Sadie. “What do you think about using something like a GPS pendant or wristband to alert us if she wanders out of close range?”
His eyes lit up. “Great idea. Brilliant, in fact. I’ll talk to Jessie about it.” He pulled out his phone, then looked at her with sudden intensity. “You said we and us.”
“I did?”
“Just now, when you suggested a way to keep track of Ten Second Tess.”
Heat crept up her neck. “Force of habit and slip of the tongue.”
“Right.” He smirked, fidgeting with his phone. “Are we still on for the holiday party tonight?”
“You mean our date?”
He grinned. “I’ll even pick you up from your room and escort you across the street, like a regular guy.”
“Such a gentleman,” she teased. “Escorting me a whole fifty feet.”
“You never know what could happen in fifty feet.” He shook his head. “Polar Creek gangs, wild-assed yeti like Bigfoot or Sasquatch...it’s a jungle out there.”
“More like a wild-assed tundra out there.” She sat back, studying him. “You chose well. Leaving city life behind, I mean. Not sure I could do that.” She looked down at her mug, running her finger around the rim.
When she looked up, he looked almost crestfallen.
Oh no, I said the wrong thing.
He set down his mug with a closed-mouthed smile. “Have a few things to do. Like prepare an Arctic char to cook for dinner, remember?”
Sadie chortled. “That’s right. Got your vocal cords all tuned up?”
“Primed and ready. I hope it’s a good song, like a rock ballad.” He turned to face her. For a fleeting moment, Sadie hoped he would pick up where he left off earlier and kiss her. “Something like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’” he murmured, close to her lips.
A giddy sensation tickled her, but her heart stuttered its own disappointment when he stepped back. “See you at dinner.”
“Okay.” She followed him to the door and stared after him as he walked down the hallway, studying his easy gait. He walked like he hadn’t a care in the world .
She admired his straightforward, compassionate manner. Kreston knew what he wanted, despite muscling his way through physical and mental obstacles to attain it. Some life journeys were stumbling blocks, and it seemed she and Kreston had each done their share of stumbling around.
After he left, Sadie curled up in the chair, her mind spinning in confusion. When had these quirky but lovable people become more than just acquaintances? The Gossip Trio had appointed themselves as her personal romance advisors—when had that ceased to be an annoyance? The last couple of days had been a blur of delights—Lucky sharing stories about Kreston’s early Alaska adventures, the unlikely victory in the Outhouse race with “the fastest toilet in the North,” the sled dog race, and Tucker presenting her with the trophy fish while the town cheered.
What was not to like about all that?
But most of all...she’d won her bet with Kreston. And she couldn’t wait to collect. Polar Creek may not be a detour after all. A random thought forced its way into her brain.
Could it be she was already home?
Suddenly, she couldn’t bear the thought of leaving.