Seth tossed yet another empty can into a trash sack. All along the coastline a team of volunteers did the same, picking up yesterday’s Fourth of July trash. What had been beautiful and fun in the dark wasn’t so pretty in the stark sunlight.
He wiped the back of his gloved hand across his forehead. Noon was still an hour away and already the sun blazed overhead. If the temperature reached the predicted century mark, he’d have to adjourn the cleanup until later in the evening.
“Dad!” Alicia called, waving something in the air. She and several other girls strolled through a grove of trees with their black garbage bags. “I found a twenty-dollar bill!”
He waved back. During cleanups, someone inevitably found money and other valuables. He never quite knew what to do with items such as money, whose owners couldn’t be clearly identified. He’d come to the conclusion that the only perk of volunteering was the treasure one might find. He kept a lost-and-found box in hopes that the rightful owners would come in search of watches, wallets, jewelry and other items. Sometimes they did. Mostly they didn’t.
“Put it in church on Sunday,” he called. That’s what he did with any cash he found.
“Okay,” she called back.
He stood watching her for a few minutes, proud of his daughter. Being here for more than a month had changed her. She’d lost some of her attitude, not all but some, and she didn’t seem quite as tormented by the divorce. She was a great girl and he was thankful Rita had allowed her to spend the summer in Wilson’s Cove. She’d needed this time with him. He saw that now. A girl needed a father every bit as much as a son did.
He picked up a wad of fire-blackened paper and a handful of burned-out smoke bombs. Half the town had kept colored smoke floating overhead last night, ostensibly to keep the mosquitoes away.
His spirits lifted as he thought about last night. While he’d sat on the quilt with his arm around Kat, watching the night sky light up in celebration of freedom, contentment had melted over him. More and more, he became convinced that things would work out between them. Though he’d been certain she’d return to Oklahoma City and her career, she was still here, still declaring her intention to buy a business and move back into her cabin for good.
Last night he’d hesitated, but today he was going to surprise her. He was going to give back the cabin and ask her to marry him.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel paths leading from the parking area. He glanced up and smiled. The Lord was treating him especially well today. Kat, in yellow capris and a white shirt, swung toward him.
As she drew close enough for him to see her face, Seth’s smile faded. She looked…different.
“’Morning,” he said.
“Hi.” She looked way too serious.
He closed the top of the garbage bag and tied the orange ribbons. “What’s up?”
“Something I want to talk to you about. Some news.”
Tossing the bag into the back of his nearly loaded truck, he said, “Good or bad?”
“Depends on your point of view, I suppose. I don’t know yet.” She hovered close, biting at her lower lip, hands fidgety. Whatever the news, Seth suspected he wasn’t going to like it.
His good mood sank to the bottom of the lake. “Want to go somewhere and talk?”
“Let’s walk, okay?”
With a tilt of his head, he stripped off his gloves, tossed them into the truck, then fell into step beside her. She led the way down a wooded trail, ambling, thoughtful. Something heavy was on Kat’s mind.
She picked an orange wildflower and fiddled with it. “These are beautiful.”
He picked another and slid it into her hair. “The cove is a beautiful place.”
She nodded, a little sad and pensive.
Seth’s pulse kicked up. Anxiety tightened his belly.
“I had an interesting phone call this morning,” she said, her face turned upward into the dappled light coming through the trees.
His anxiety increased. “Anything wrong?”
Kat paused, inhaled deeply and said, “A few months ago I applied for a position in Dallas. Southwest Family Care had an opening. A dream job. I really wanted it but so did a number of other physicians. With all that happened afterward—the lawsuit, quitting my job, starting a new business—I put the application out of my mind.”
And then he knew. The death knell sounded. “They offered you the position.”
She stopped in the trail and faced him. “Yes.”
Seth kept his expression composed and calm, though he wanted to throw back his head and howl like a wounded coyote. Ten minutes ago he’d been planning to marry the woman. Now she was telling him goodbye.
His chest hurt bad enough to call 911. He clenched his teeth against the swelling tide of emotion.
If there was one thing he’d learned, first from Kat and then from his failed marriage, a man couldn’t force a woman to choose him. Regardless of how much he hurt to lose her again, he still wanted to see Kat happy, to watch her achieve her goals and dreams, even if they didn’t include him.
“Southwest Family Care doesn’t know how lucky they are,” he said softly.
She touched his cheek, eyes searching his. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Do what you love.” There. Simple enough. His heart thudded with the need for her to say she loved him. She chose him. But he was no fool. He’d walked this path before.
“Can’t a person love more than one thing?” She looked so uncertain and worried that he pulled her into his arms. She came easily as if she’d been longing for him to do exactly that. At least, he wanted to think so.
“You have to decide what you want, Kat. If you want the fast-paced city life, take the job.” Part of him longed for her to ask him to go, too, even though he wouldn’t. Not only did he belong here in the cove, he couldn’t play second fiddle to her career again. “You’ll be great at it. You miss your work. That’s why you’re still so uncertain about taking the franchise.”
“I know. I realized that this morning when Dr. Walters called.”
Seth drew in a deep breath, his chest rising. “Then there’s your answer.”
“I’m useless here, Seth. All I know is medicine.”
He wanted to say Wilson’s Cove needed medical care, too, but they’d already had that conversation. He was pathetic enough already. No use begging.
He stroked a hand over her soft hair, relishing the feel, mentally cataloging the texture and scent for the hard days ahead. “When are you leaving?”
She pulled back from him then and studied his face. She seemed to be searching for something he didn’t understand.
“I asked for a few days to think about the offer.”
Seth wanted to take hope in that, but he knew better. She’d accept the offer. She would leave. He would stay. And with God’s help, he would be man enough to be happy for her.
* * *
Kat was a wreck.
All afternoon she’d walked around the peaceful lake and woods, searching for answers. The day was gone and still she was no closer to a decision.
She’d wanted Seth to ask her to stay. He hadn’t. On the night of the Fourth, she’d realized he loved her, though he didn’t say so. She knew it as surely as she knew her name. But today when she’d asked his advice, he’d told her only to do what she loved. That was the trouble. She loved him and this town, but she loved the adrenaline rush and the intellectual stimulation of medicine too.
And now, for the past hour she’d driven aimlessly, letting the slow drift of uncongested traffic in Wilson’s Cove flow by. She passed houses where people she knew and a few she didn’t stopped what they were doing to lift a hand and wave. She’d waved in return, part of a community where farmers and fisherman leaned on the back of pickup trucks to shoot the breeze. Life was different here, slower, laid-back. Some would call it backward, less progressive. In many ways they would be right, and yet in ways that meant the most, Wilson’s Cove outshone the rest.
Night had long since fallen, though she had no idea of the time. She parked her car in the dark lot away from the flickering fluorescent lights outside the Dairy Freeze. The old-fashioned establishment had a walk-up window as well as a much-larger inside area where kids hung out to play video games and meet other kids, a blend of progress and the past.
Kat’s stomach growled, but she didn’t feel hungry. She felt confused.
The idea of joining a busy Dallas medical team held a certain appeal. She missed the work, missed using her skills to help people, missed being busy all the time, but she didn’t miss the loneliness, the stress, the terrible hours. Until this summer, she’d had no time for a real personal life since college. Now that she’d found Seth again, leaving Wilson’s Cove made no sense.
But neither did leaving medicine and giving up everything she’d worked so hard to gain.
Was it possible to have both? Common sense said no. She was an all-or-nothing kind of gal, total focus on the goal. The only area of success in her entire life was intellectual and that meant medicine. She’d failed at everything else. Everything. Wasn’t the youthful disaster with Seth proof of that?
But being with him again, facing the mistakes they’d made, had given her hope that perhaps they could work things out.
With a moan, she leaned her head on the steering wheel and did what she should have done all along. She prayed.
After a long time she sat back and dried damp eyes. Some of the heaviness had lifted, but she was no closer to a decision than before.
She pushed the car door open and headed for the walk-up window to order one of Cherry Clausing’s homemade hamburgers. A smattering of cars and trucks were parked here and there on the gravel parking space, and popular music vibrated the walls. Couples holding hands came and went inside the building. Two boys sat on the tailgate of an old pickup flirting with the girls who came past.
The familiar sight brought a smile. Saturday night in Wilson’s Cove hadn’t changed all that much.
Not interested in joining the noise inside, Kat ordered a burger to go and waited by the window, watching the perennial mating dance of teenagers.
Through the clear plate glass, she spotted Alicia. No surprise there. Seth’s daughter was with the usual gang of kids, including Shelby. They were behaving like typical teens, laughing and flirting while sipping sodas or maneuvering video joysticks. Harmless fun.
The rich odor of grilled beef drifted out as Cherry pushed Kat’s order through the window and received payment. Paper bag crinkling in her fingers, Kat turned and bumped into a tall teenage boy about to enter the café.
“’Scuse me, Doc.”
“Derek, hi.”
He giggled. Not laughed. Giggled.
High was the operative word. Eyes red and glassy, the boy fidgeted and twitched, his behavior overactive and uncharacteristically goofy. He might fool some people, but she’d seen this too many times.
“Derek, have you been drinking?” Or smoking pot, more likely.
“Me? No way, Doc.” He towered over her, a smirk on his face. “Heard your house got broke into. Someone trying to scare you off?”
Kat frowned. Why would he bring that up? “I don’t scare easily.”
“Maybe you should.” Still grinning, he patted his chest and backed away. “Gotta go. You take care now, ya hear?”
The boy went inside, leaving her to wonder about his strange behavior. Worried, but not knowing what to do, Kat took her food and headed to the car. Without a doubt, Derek was high on something. Even if Seth didn’t believe her, she had to mention her suspicions again.
As she backed out of the parking space and pulled onto the highway fronting the Dairy Freeze, she cast one final glance toward the establishment.
What she saw sent pure terror racing through her veins.
Alicia and two other teens had come out the door and were getting into a red truck with Derek. And he was driving.
Before Kat could react, the truckload of kids pulled onto the highway, tires squealing as they roared into the darkness.
Kat followed, fishing in her bag for the cell phone while squinting toward the red taillights. The roads around the lake were curvy, hilly and heavy with vegetation. Very quickly the red truck was out of sight.
Dismayed, she whipped to the shoulder and punched in Seth’s number.
“Washington.”
“Seth. It’s me. I just saw Alicia with Derek. I’m sure he’s high. I’d stake my medical license on it.” He hadn’t believed her before. She had to make certain he did this time. The safety of four kids depended upon her. “Please, Seth, you have to believe me this time. Alicia may be in danger.”
A beat passed. “Where did you see them?”
The tension in his voice was evident. Kat went weak with relief. He believed her.
“Leaving the Dairy Freeze, traveling south in Derek’s truck. He was going really fast.”
“He was driving?” A cop didn’t need anyone to tell him of the danger for an intoxicated, speeding driver.
“Yes.”
A sharp intake of breath. “I’m headed for my vehicle now. I’ll call her cell, but I’ll also drive around and see if I can locate them. I don’t want her in that truck.”
“I’ll drive around, too.” Although she didn’t know how she’d stop a truckload of kids, she needed to do something proactive. As she started to press end, Seth’s voice stopped her. “Kat.”
“Yes?”
“Pray.”
* * *
More than an hour passed without any sign of the red truck. As the minutes ticked away, Kat begin to wonder if she’d over-reacted. She had already been upset, and her previous encounter with Derek had left her suspicious.
“No,” she said grimly to the dark empty road ahead. Derek had been under the influence. She was positive.
Hopefully, the kids had gone to someone’s house and parked the truck. That was the case scenario Seth had offered when he’d last contacted her, though he was troubled that Alicia was not answering her phone. Kat was troubled, too, but she prayed he was right and they had stopped at friends, leaving the cell in the truck. It happened all the time. Seth was in the process of calling or driving to the homes of Alicia’s friends now.
Kat took another graveled side road where dense underbrush crept onto the lane from the encroaching woods. Few people lived back up in here, but she drove the road anyway, seeing nothing but a raccoon.
She and Seth both knew every inch of land around the lake. The problem was the number of roads. They could drive all night and never cover them all.
Another half hour passed and she reached for her cell phone. The device jangled in her hand. She jumped, her heart thudding. In the light of the caller ID was Seth’s name.
She pressed the speak button, hoping. “Seth?”
“I just got a call.” From the ragged sound of his breathing, Kat tensed. “There’s been an accident. I’m heading that way now. Can you meet me? We need your help.”
“Where?”
He named the place, less than two miles away.
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
His parting words, spoken with a father’s terror and cop’s calm, sent chills down her spine. “Hurry, Kat. It sounds bad.”
Sweat broke out over Kat’s body as she drove as quickly as prudent around the curves toward the accident. Visions of that last night in the emergency room played in her head.
Please God, please. Not that. No more carloads of dead teenagers. The implication of a serious accident in this rural location far from a medical facility was frightening to say the least. She had little in the way of equipment for anything truly life threatening.
Up ahead, car lights illuminated a mangled red truck turned on its top. Three other vehicles were parked at angles toward the ditch along the narrow road, their lights on. One was Seth’s. A handful of shadowy people hovered over two figures lying inert on the ground.
Kat’s heart stopped, then started again, hammering wildly. Adrenaline slammed into her veins as she grabbed her medical bag from the back seat, barreled out of the still-rocking Toyota and ran.
“What have we got?” she called.
“Two look okay, just banged up.” Kat recognized the man, Tim Tyler, who lived a good five miles away. Odd to see him here. “That one over there has a broken leg, I think. It’s the girl that’s hurt bad.”
He pointed toward Seth, on his knees beside a girl. Alicia.
“Kat,” Seth said, and the look on his face broke her in two. “I think she’s…” His voice choked. “Oh, please God, help her.”
Another surge of adrenaline jacked into Kat’s veins. She fell to her knees beside him, making a fast assessment. Airway. Alicia was not breathing. Blood trickled from her mouth and nose. Kat felt for a carotid pulse, found it faint. She also found the probable cause of respiratory failure. The cartilage below the Adam’s Apple was sunken, and crackled beneath her fingertips. Possible fractured larynx. Without a scope or X-ray, a perfect diagnosis was impossible, but Alicia didn’t have time. Kat had to act and act now. The only recourse was to open a hole in the throat, a cricothyroidotomy.
Maintaining an outward calm she didn’t feel, Kat dug quickly in her bag for anything to work with. A scalpel from a suture tray, alcohol swabs, gauze, gloves. Dear God, what could she use for tubing to keep the airway open? She needed an endotracheal tube but didn’t have one.
As if the Lord dropped the answer into her head, she reached for a syringe and discarded the inner plunger. It’s all she had. It would have to do.
Suddenly Derek stumbled up beside her. His eye was swelling shut, but otherwise he appeared unharmed. “She’ll be okay, won’t she, Doc? You gotta make her okay.”
With no time for niceties, Kat said, “Someone get him out of the way. Keep him calm until I have time to look at him.”
She ripped the suture tray open and slid her hands into the latex gloves.
“I’m sorry. You gotta believe me, Seth.” The boy’s voice broke on a sob. As angry as Kat was, she felt sorry for him. Dumb kid. But she’d been a dumb kid once herself.
Seth was too focused on his child to answer, but the other man spoke up. “You shouldn’t a been breaking into people’s houses for the fun of it, you little jerk.”
Fingers feeling for the soft spot on the anterior neck, Kat absorbed the awful news. Derek and his friends were the lake vandals. Tonight Alicia had been with them. Dear Lord.
Alicia’s unconscious body jerked. Time to hurry.
Kat had never prayed during a procedure, but she prayed now. She’d never been scared before, either, but this time she struggled to keep her hands steady and her mind focused.
With everything in her, she prayed to save Seth’s child. She hadn’t saved the first one, but with God’s help she could save this one.
She relocated the soft spot with one finger, deftly made an incision and then flipped the scalpel around, using the wide end to maintain the opening.
As she worked, silent tension thick as the night around her, something began to stir deep inside. An understanding, a clarity that hadn’t existed before. She was a physician, a healer, the only person for miles who could save Seth’s child.
As if watching from a distance, she saw her own gloved hands slide the opened syringe into place, saw herself breathe into it, not once but over and over until she heard the sound of Alicia’s spontaneous air intake.
In the distance, sirens wailed, a beautiful sound to Kat. The sooner Alicia was in a hospital, the better chance she had of making a full recovery.
One hand holding the tube in place, Kat rested back on her heels to wait for the ambulance. Sweat bathed her face, and her shoulders ached from the strain. She looked into Seth’s beloved eyes and said, “She’s going to be okay, Seth. I promise.”
A powerful gratitude welled in her chest. Thank you, Father God. Thank you for this gift. Thank you that I was here in this place tonight to do Your handiwork. Thank you that I could do this for Alicia and for Seth.
Nothing was as fulfilling as this. Why had she ever thought she could leave medicine? This was her calling from God. This was who she was, who she was always meant to be.
She glanced into Seth’s haggard face, loving him more than she’d thought possible. Loving in the way God had intended a woman to love a man.
And as surely as if she’d awakened from a long nightmare, she saw the truth of her calling. She was not only called to be a physician. She was called to be a woman, a friend, a sister, a wife.
God never intended for work to take the place of a personal life or a relationship with Him. That’s where she’d gotten off track. An all-or-nothing kind of woman, she’d thought doing one thing exclusively was the only way. How foolish she’d been. How utterly selfish.
“God forgive me,” she silently prayed. “I have been terribly blind in so many ways. When this is over, help me to make things right.”
God had given her this gift of healing hands. He’d also given her the gift of love for Seth Washington.
If only she wasn’t too late….