Chapter 14
JACK
‘I hear Hannah’s back already,’ Dion said to me as we drove in his truck out towards Sailor’s Bluff.
He was a plumber by trade. Had his own business, imaginatively called ‘The Plumber’.
He had been working a job at the school in town when the emergency call had come in and had got to search and rescue headquarters at the same time as I did, so we loaded the gear into his truck and headed out together.
He was one of the first guys I met when I’d moved here and I’d liked him instantly.
I fancied myself as being a pretty good judge of character, and Dion was an easygoing, good-natured guy.
Anyone who volunteered to be part of search and rescue had to be a good person.
‘Mm,’ I muttered back, turning my head to stare out of the window at the scenery flashing past. His two-way radio crackled with the voice of one of the other men updating us with their ETA, thankfully distracting him.
The rest of the team were also volunteers who held down other day jobs like Dion and me, and would make their own way out shortly as they could get away from work.
They were good people, and I’d trust any one of them with my back in an emergency, but my private life was my business and nobody else’s.
Years of training and experience from my old job kicked in and I ran all the possible scenarios we could face when we got there, mentally preparing myself for any action we’d need to take.
The one thing I didn’t anticipate, could never have anticipated, was the sight of Taylor Calderwood lying stretched out on the ground at the top of the cliff, her head hanging down over the edge, her long hair cascading down.
She was wearing black jeans, boots and a tight black tank top, and must have been absolutely cooking in the heat.
‘Taylor?’
Her hair was blown and pushed to one side so that she could look up at me. Her eyes moved up and down my body, taking in my high-vis vest and the gear I was carrying. ‘Jack?’
I dropped the gear gently to the ground. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Oh, you know, just hanging out.’ She smiled but it was a tight smile. She turned her face away again. ‘The cavalry’s arrived, Casey,’ she called. ‘I told you we’d have you back up here in no time.’
‘You know the patient?’
‘No. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. For her, anyway.’
‘You were visiting the cemetery?’
‘Does that have anything to do with rescuing Casey?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘Then can we maybe just concentrate on that?’ she said tersely. ‘She’s nineteen, and pretty scared right now, which is understandable.’
I recognized when someone was trying to shut a conversation down. It was the same thing I’d done to Dion in the truck ten minutes ago.
‘Got it. Sorry.’ I braced myself, leaned out over the edge and took in the sight below. ‘Hi, Casey,’ I called out. ‘I’m Jack, from the Pine Harbor search and rescue team. We’re going to get you up from there, OK? Are you hurt?’
‘Of course she’s hurt,’ Taylor muttered. ‘She fell off a forty-foot cliff.’
‘Yes, thank you, I’m aware of that.’ I suppressed a smile. ‘But if you could just let her answer for herself I’d appreciate it. It helps me to judge the severity of her injuries and her level of consciousness et cetera.’
‘Oh right,’ she said. ‘Go ahead.’
‘Thanks. Casey, can you tell me if you’re hurt?’
‘Yes,’ she called up, her voice wobbly. ‘My ankle is in a really bad way.’
‘OK. Anything else?’
‘Uh, I banged my head.’
‘Do you know if you lost consciousness at all?’
‘I don’t know. I don’t think so.’
‘OK, that’s good. Is there anything else you need to tell me before we work out a plan? And other injuries, pre-existing medical conditions or disabilities?’
‘No, I mean I have some cuts and bruises, but my ankle is the worst.’ She sobbed, and the sound was heart-wrenching, but I knew better than to react impulsively. ‘Please hurry,’ she continued. ‘It hurts and the water is getting closer.’
‘We’re going to do this as fast as we can,’ I assured her. ‘But we have to make sure your safety, and the safety of the team, is our priority, OK?’
‘I want my mom.’
‘I’ve tried calling her on the number you gave me, Casey,’ Taylor told her. ‘I’ve left a message asking her to call me back. As soon as she does, I’ll let you know.’
‘What do you reckon?’ Dion asked. ‘Do we attempt this one ourselves?’
I shook my head. ‘Negative. I think we need to call in air support. She’s clearly in a lot of pain, so pulling her back up the cliff is only going to cause her more distress, as is a trip to the hospital by road ambulance.
I’m concerned with the height of the drop and the fact she’s not sure whether she lost consciousness or not.
I think the sooner she gets pain relief and medical attention the better. ’
‘Agreed,’ Taylor said, and Dion looked at her. I saw him take in her disheveled beauty and stand up a little straighter. It irked me that he noticed in a moment like this.
‘And you are…?’ he said.
She got to her feet and rubbed dirt off the front of her jeans with her hands. ‘I’m the person who called this in.’
‘Right.’ He flashed her a smile. ‘Thanks for that; you’ve probably saved her life. We can take it from here though.’
‘She’s already been down there for a couple of hours,’ Taylor said, ignoring him and focusing on me. ‘It’s a hell of a drop, and I can see even from here that her ankle is at an angle that is completely unnatural. It’s bent kind of upwards and facing completely the wrong way.’
Dion sucked air in between his teeth. ‘Ouch.’
‘Yeah, ouch. BIG ouch. That’s why I don’t think we should muck around. Jack, call in the chopper, please.’
There was something about her expression that told me this was personal for her. I’d already made my decision, but I nodded anyway, picking up my two-way radio. ‘On it.’
‘Thank you,’ Taylor said, her eyes drilling into mine, her expression a mixture of gratitude and vulnerability. I felt a jolt in my chest.
‘Can you start setting up the gear while I make the call?’ I barked at Dion, a little harsher than intended. I told myself it wasn’t because of the way he’d looked at Taylor. ‘Use that big spruce as an anchor point. One of us will need to go down and stay with her until they get here.’
‘Sure,’ he said. If he was bothered with me taking the lead he didn’t show it. As first on the scene, either of us could have assumed that role.
The rest of the team arrived while I was making the call and I saw Dion fill them in on our plan.
They agreed with what I’d decided, and even though I knew it really was the best course of action, it was still a relief to have it confirmed.
It bugged the hell out of me that I even needed that validation.
Once upon a time I wouldn’t have. Second-guessing myself had only become a thing after Alex died.
‘Belay system is all set up, Jack,’ Dion called over. ‘Who do you want to go down?’
‘I’ll go,’ I replied, conscious of Taylor’s eyes on me, but deliberately not looking at her.
Right now, I needed to focus on Casey and her predicament, not that feeling I’d got when Taylor had looked at me the way she did.
I strapped myself in and grabbed a helmet.
One of my teammates, Wendy, double-checked to make sure I’d secured everything properly, before I headed for the edge of the cliff.
‘Let me come with you,’ Taylor said, falling into step beside me.
‘What?’
‘I’m the one who’s been talking to her for the last forty minutes, keeping her calm until you guys arrived.’
‘No. I’m sorry, but that’s out of the question.’
‘Jack, she’s terrified. I think she could do with a feminine presence to reassure her down there.’
‘It’s too dangerous.’
‘Oh, but it’s not dangerous for you?’ she retorted.
‘I’ve had training, Taylor.’
‘And I’ve been to camp. So what?’
‘What’s camp got to do with anything?’
‘I’ve rappelled before, plenty of times.’
I stopped. ‘Down a natural cliff face? This high?’
‘Not quite,’ she admitted.
‘That’s what I thought. I’m sorry Taylor, this is just the way it works. I can’t let you put yourself in danger and risk having another patient on our hands.’ I lowered my voice. ‘I don’t want to see you to get hurt.’
‘I won’t. But fine, I guess your stupid rules are there for a reason. Just, tell her I hope she’s OK. Please?’
‘Of course.’