Chapter 34
Rick paced up and down outside the barn, not sure what to do. The physical pull to go and speak to Beth was like an immense magnet strapped to his middle, with her as the north. I should never have let her go . He had driven back from the village slowly, convinced he’d pass her. He’d planned to pull over and insist she accept a lift. But she must have cut through the forest to avoid him doing exactly that.
All seemed quiet over at the farmhouse. Percival strutted along the fence, giving Rick an ominous glare and fluffing his feathers with the pompous importance of a junior security guard in a brand-new uniform. Suddenly, an ear-piercing shriek tore through the air. Daisy galloped towards him in wellington boots that were far too big. Hair flying. Eyes frantic. She clutched the neckline of a long red dressing gown together with one hand and waved a phone at him with the other. She stumbled to a halt, her breath ragged. Words only decipherable between colossal gasps for air. ‘Sorry… shower… emergency… Jack.’
‘Is he hurt?’
‘No… Beth…’
Stomach lurching, Rick grabbed the phone. ‘Beth?’
‘Rick, thank God.’ Jack’s voice was faint and crackly. ‘Please help. Beth’s hurt. I don’t know what to do.’
‘What happened?’
‘She texted Rose to say she was walking up from the village, but she never arrived. Rose sent me and Paddy to look for her—’
‘Hang on, back up. Beth left The Coffee Pot ages ago. Are you saying she didn’t make it home at all?’
‘No. I mean, yes. Paddy found her. Lying just off the road.’
‘Where?’
‘Down the lane. By the forest car park sign. She’s unconscious, Rick. There’s blood, like, everywhere, and…’ The boy’s voice broke. ‘And I don’t know what to do.’
‘Stay calm. I’m coming.’ A steely determination settled over Rick. ‘Call an ambulance. But remember, whatever you do, don’t move her.’ Rick thrust the phone back to Daisy. He broke into a run, calling back over his shoulder, ‘Is Grace somewhere safe?’
Daisy chased after him. ‘She’s watching telly. Rose took the car and went to Jack.’
‘Good. Stay here and look after Grace.’
‘But I—’
‘Just do it, Daisy.’ Rick didn’t wait for her to answer. He was already starting his engine.
*
The sight of Beth’s car parked on the verge told Rick he was in the right place long before he saw Rose and Jack crouched over a figure on the ground.
He leapt from the car. Paddy scurried over, barked urgently, then scampered the few paces back to Beth. The dog paused, then ran back to Rick and barked again.
‘I get the message, Paddy,’ muttered Rick. ‘No need to do the whole Lassie thing. Give me a sec, I need some stuff.’ He grabbed his medical bag from the boot of the car and an old picnic blanket.
Rose looked up, wringing her hands. ‘She’s hurt. I mean, really hurt.’
Rick glanced around. ‘Any idea what happened?’
‘No. We just found her here.’ Jack chewed at his thumbnail. ‘There’s an ambulance on the way, but they said the traffic’s bad.’
‘She needs help now, Rick,’ whispered Rose.
Rick tamped down on rising panic and tried to focus . Think, man, think. Don’t look at all the blood… Focus. Basics. Check for danger, then follow the A… B… C…
He crouched beside her. ‘Beth, can you hear me?’
No response.
‘Beth, it’s Rick. I’m here to help.’
Airway, clear. Breathing, steady. Circulation, there’s her pulse – weak. Damn it, very weak. But still a pulse, so it’s a no to full resus . He reached for her hand. ‘Beth. Can you hear me, Beth? You’re going to be fine. Do you hear? Can you squeeze my hand?’
Nothing.
Crap, crap, crap.
He took a deep breath.
Right. Assess injuries. Blow to the head, close to the temple. Deep cut extending into the hairline. Secondary grazing to the face. Possible neck injury, so can’t risk the recovery position. Watch the breathing. Steady the bleeding. Pressure. Yes, careful pressure. Keep her warm.
‘You’re doing fine, Beth.’ He hauled his jumper over his head and draped it over her torso, tucking it up around her shoulders. Then he laid the picnic blanket on top. Moments later, Jack put his own hoodie on top, too, and Rose spread her jacket over Beth’s legs and feet.
Rick shucked his T-shirt off. Grabbing hold of the hem with his teeth, he yanked off a section of fabric and made a pad to press over the biggest cut on Beth’s head. He slipped his other hand under her neck to hold both her head and neck steady as he applied pressure to the wound. ‘Beth, can you hear me? Beth? Come on, love. Stop lazing around out here. Time to wake up. You’ve got stuff to do. Beth?’
There. Her eyelids. A slight movement. ‘Beth? Try again, love.’
Her eyelids fluttered and then both eyes opened. She looked at him. ‘Blue,’ she said.
‘Eh?’ Rick frowned.
‘Blue… sky… blue… eyes… blue…’
‘Blue, what?’ It didn’t matter that she didn’t make sense, what mattered was keeping her talking. ‘What else? Tell me, Beth.’
‘Hair.’
‘Are you saying my hair is blue?’ he asked. How hard had she hit her head?
‘No.’ She gave a weak puff of laughter. ‘Messy… your hair… Llampacca.’
Rick laughed, his relief at Beth’s response overwhelming. ‘I can’t believe you’re being rude about my hair.’
‘She’s just being honest with you, mate,’ said Jack.
Beth gave another weak laugh, then gasped and closed her eyes.
‘No, no, Beth, stay with me, stay with me,’ said Rick. ‘Beth, I… Damn it.’
‘Listen,’ said Rose. ‘I hear a siren.’
Jack dashed along the road and waved to get the attention of the approaching ambulance.
Two paramedics emerged from the vehicle. One hurried over, pulling on a pair of plastic gloves. ‘Hi, I’m Dev. Who do we have here?’
‘This is Beth Hope,’ said Rick. ‘Multiple injuries. Serious head wound. She’s breathing on her own. We don’t know what happened. We haven’t moved her.’
‘Good work.’ Dev carried out a brief assessment, calling to her colleague, ‘Zaden, we’re going to need a neck brace and a backboard.’
‘Right you are.’
By the time Beth was immobilised and inserted into the ambulance on a stretcher, Rick was shaking.
Rose crept to his side. ‘Is she going to be alright?’
He slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders, not sure what to say. Beth had never looked so small and fragile before. A lump formed in his throat. His warrior queen was broken and it was all his fault.
Dev jumped down from the back of the ambulance. ‘Try not to worry. You did well. You’ve given her a fighting chance.’
‘Of course he did,’ said Jack. ‘He’s a doc—’
‘I didn’t do anything. Basic first aid, that’s all,’ said Rick. It was the truth, but how he wished he could have done more. ‘Where are you taking her?’
‘Southampton General.’ Dev started closing the vehicle door and paused, looking at Rick. ‘We’ve room for someone to ride along with her. Hold her hand. Are you coming?’
Rick wanted nothing more than to dive into the belly of the ambulance and hold Beth close, but he forced himself to step back. It should be family . ‘Rose, you should go. You’re next of kin.’
Rose’s eyes swam with tears. ‘I… yes, I… but what about Grace? And Paddy and the car and… and…’
‘Jack and I will sort everything here. Don’t worry.’
Jack scooped Paddy up into his arms. ‘Message me when you know what’s happening. And tell her… tell her from me she’s got to get better. Yeah?’
Rose gave a shaky smile and climbed in to sit with Beth.
Rick watched the squat ambulance lumber off down the road and knew it was taking his heart with it.
‘They’ve got their blue lights flashing but not the siren,’ said Jack. ‘They can’t be that worried about her.’
‘Come on,’ said Rick. There was no point explaining to the lad that an ambulance with blue lights and no siren meant that it was carrying a dangerously ill patient. Someone they didn’t want to alert to the seriousness of their condition. Sick with worry about his warrior queen, he gave Jack’s shoulder a bracing pat. ‘Let’s get back.’
*
Daisy pounced on them before they were even through the front door, demanding, ‘Where is she? What happened? Is she alright?’
‘Calm down, Dais,’ said Jack. He scooped Grace up into his arms. ‘It’s okay, small fry. Rick turned into Super Doc, yeah? Beth is going to be fine. Isn’t she, Rick?’
Rick felt the pressure of all eyes on him. He didn’t want to lie, nor did he want the kids to see how worried he was. ‘She’s on her way to the hospital to get fixed, Grace. Rose went with her. She’ll let us know what’s going on soon.’
‘See, Grace?’ said Jack. ‘Best thing you can do is watch all Beth’s favourite Disney movies. Paddy will help you. Come on.’ He carried Grace into the living room.
Daisy dragged Rick along the corridor to the kitchen. ‘You’ll go to the hospital, won’t you, Rick? They’ll listen to you. What with you being a doctor.’
Rick rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Me going to the hospital might just cause problems, Daisy. I could get recognised; it could cause a stir and delay treatment for Beth.’
‘How do you mean?’
‘Don’t pretend you haven’t seen what’s being said about me online.’
The red creeping up her neck told him she’d seen plenty. ‘You can’t let a bunch of deadbeats get to you. Most of them are just chasing clout.’
Rick’s laugh was bitter. ‘What does that even mean?’
‘The YouTube stuff. The social media pile-on. It’s all sheep shit. No one actually believes it. Or if they do, they’re idiots. People just share stuff that’s trending to get more followers and boost their own social media accounts. You can’t let it stop you doing what you need to do.’
Rick slumped into a chair at the kitchen table. ‘Fine. I’ll go in as soon as we hear from Rose to tell us where she is. And even though I look like a tramp with all this hair, I’ll do what I can.’
‘I can fix your hair.’ Daisy dived across the kitchen and rummaged in a cupboard for a set of clippers.
‘Oh, I don’t know—’
‘We use them on Jack all the time. Come on, Rick. I’m always left babysitting while other people do the exciting stuff. Let me do something useful for once.’
She spoke with such fever, it felt churlish to refuse.
Minutes later, Jack called down the corridor, ‘We got a film sorted, but we need snacks.’ He ambled into the room, Grace and Paddy trotting behind him. ‘Plus, I got a text from Rose… Oh, I say! Are you sure that’s a good idea, Dais?’
Daisy was already carving a long strip through the thick springy hair on the top of Rick’s head.
‘Uh-oh,’ said Grace.
Seeing the little girl’s expression, Rick twisted in his seat and glared at Daisy. ‘You said you knew how to do this.’
‘I do. I’ve seen it on TikTok.’
‘Beth cuts my hair.’ Jack wrinkled his nose, his eyes locked on the top of Rick’s head. ‘She only uses the clippers at the back and round the sides. She uses scissors for the top.’
‘Will you chill?’ Daisy waved her phone in Rick’s peripheral vision. ‘YouTube demo coming right up. I got this.’
Rick took a deep breath and counted to ten.
Grace rummaged in the pocket of a coat slung over the back of a kitchen chair. She pulled out something pink and handed it to Rick.
‘What’s this?’ He held up a scrap of glittery material. ‘A unicorn beanie? You reckon I’m going to need this when Daisy’s finished?’
Grace giggled. ‘Come on, Paddy. We got a film to watch for Mummy.’ She turned for the door, Paddy and Jack hard on her heels.