Chapter Ten
Jessie
Iwould be running to help if any of my guys got hurt, but the idea that it was Clint put extra speed in my step.
My work boots fought for traction as I moved over the dirt.
I slowed as I got to where Officer Keen was kneeling next to a prone figure on the ground.
A pang of guilt for not having trained him better - or at all - hit me in the gut and I turned my attention to the officer.
“You have first aid, right? Do something.”
“I’m fine,” Clint mumbled. “I was too close to the trench and it gave way. The edge must have been unstable from that.” He gestured to where an excavator was teetering over the ditch not far away.
“They pulled me out but I can’t stand. I think my ankle is broken or twisted or something.
” Clint tried to sit as he spoke, but Officer Rossi put his hand on his chest to keep him still.
I wanted to shake him for how calm he was. Just sitting in the mud, looking a little sheepish and a lot pale while my heart was beating out of my chest.
Meanwhile, Officer Rossi was examining his ankle. When he moved something Clint hissed in pain. “We should get him to the hospital and have it checked out.”
“I’ll get the truck.” I took off for the parking lot at a run. We were a long way from the closest town, almost directly in the middle of a highway that connected the interior of British Columbia with the coast. Calling an ambulance would take way too long when I could just drive.
“Come on, come on. Not today.” My truck fought me as I turned the key but ultimately the engine turned over and I threw it in reverse. My mirrors were splattered with mud, but I backed from the parking lot, past the office and right up to where everyone was standing.
The officers helped Clint into the back seat and propped his leg up before slamming the door shut. By that time, another police car had arrived and Officer Rossi and Keen offered to be our police escort to the hospital.
“How are you doing?” My eyes kept finding their way to Clint’s face in the rearview mirror as I drove.
“I’m fine Jessie, it’s just my ankle.” He was leaning against the window with his eyes closed.
If I’d lived up to my end of the deal, would he have been hurt? I pushed the pedal down harder.
It felt like an eternity before I drove into the parking lot of Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
I pulled up in front of the emergency room doors and the officers ran over to help Clint from the back seat.
A nurse came out the front door with a wheelchair and she wheeled Clint out of sight with the officers at her side.
I couldn’t leave my truck blocking the entrance to the emergency room so I made a three-point turn in the dead-end parking lot and looked for a parking spot in the parkade.
It took me a while to find a spot big enough to fit my truck and by the time I’d sorted out how to pay for parking and found my way inside the labyrinth of hospital hallways, Clint was already in the back.
I headed into the waiting room, surprised to find Greg and Mark there waiting.
Word must have gotten around to the crew about what had happened.
“How are you holding up?” Greg asked.
“What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “Heard the officers talking on my police scanner, figured I would come and see how Clint was.” He dropped into a chair beside me. “Seriously, how are you?”
I ran a hand through my hair. “I’ll be a hell of a lot better if the doctor comes out here and tells me he’s fine.”
Greg nodded. “It wasn’t your fault, you know. Not anyone’s really. He clearly shouldn’t have been standing there, but the ground was unstable. Sometimes an accident is just an accident.”
I chewed my lower lip. Whether it was my fault or not, I felt responsible. The ache in my gut wouldn’t loosen until I knew he was okay. Maybe he said it was just his ankle, but who knew what else could have been jarred in the fall.
The emergency room was packed. People streamed in and out with everything from hacking coughs to bleeding wounds over the next few hours.
Finally, a nurse came out. “Clint Kingston?”
Greg and I stood and she came to join us. “The doctor is done assessing him. No need for surgery but the ankle is fractured. He will be able to go home tomorrow. Are one of you picking him up?”
Greg and I exchanged a look.
“I am. I’ll pick him up.”
The nurse took my information then turned to go.
“Wait! Can I see him?”
She hugged his chart to her chest. “Are you family?”
I licked my lips. “I’m.. no. I’m his partner. At work, I’m his partner.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Visiting hours are over for today, so only the immediate family can see him.”
Greg leaned down to grab his coat, accepting her answer easily. I couldn’t. He’d kept his promise to teach me the office side of the job and I hadn’t. I’d let him down. My own stupid pride had kept me from equipping him with what he needed to stay safe.
“I need to see him please. I may not be family but I know him.” I groped for what to say to make her understand.
“Oh, he likes honey in his coffee. Strange, I know, but he does. He can make even the most reluctant person understand a confusing spreadsheet. Oh, and even though he eats nothing but discount ramen noodles and jam sandwiches, he still smells like really expensive cologne. Please, I just… I need to see him. I need to know he’s okay.
” I sniffled and realized that a tear was snaking down my cheek.
Greg had politely stepped away to let me have my meltdown without an audience.
The nurse took pity on me. She put a hand on my shoulder and held my eyes. “He’s okay. He’s safe and in good hands. We will call you to pick him up tomorrow. In the meantime, get some sleep. He’ll need some help from friends once he gets home.”