A Time for Us - By Amy Knupp Page 0,52

relationship. Of any type, really. A relationship meant you were hooked. Attached. Vulnerable.

Just setting yourself up for the possibility of losing someone.

Yeah, he was so not up for that. With Rachel or anyone else. On a romantic level or otherwise. He had his friends—mainly the guys at the station. Had his mom, dad and sister. Those were the only people he needed to be close to in his life.

If Rachel wanted him to back off, he would do exactly that. No problem whatsoever.

Having come to that conclusion, he got out of the truck and headed inside, pushing away the question of why, exactly, he’d worried so much about trying to make her happy.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

A LOT OF THE GUYS on the fire side of the department dreaded the required EMS shifts, but Cale didn’t mind them once a month. They were different, with a different kind of thrill from the usual fire calls. Both guaranteed a dosage of the unexpected, but, maybe because he only did medical once a month, Cale felt as though he had to be on top of his game every second he worked as an EMT. Didn’t matter that it was standard for the two sides to accompany each other on every call. When he was the medical guy, it was suddenly on him—and his partner. Today, like most times, Cale was with Rafe Sandoval, a captain, department veteran and one of the very best paramedics.

Since Cale didn’t do medical calls every day, he still found himself going over possible scenarios, reviewing relevant procedures in his head on the way to every alarm. Now was no exception. His adrenaline had kicked in the second the alarm had sounded throughout the station.

The night was extra dark because of cloud cover. The streets were damp from a recent rain. Moisture could be seen rising from the pavement in the beam of the ambulance headlights in certain spots as Cale and Rafe emerged from the station garage and took off. They raced, sirens screaming, toward the address on the printout for an older, one-star motel that was as landlocked as something could be on the island.

“Twenty-three-year-old female,” Rafe recited as Cale drove. “Acute asthma attack. Lost consciousness. They said they’ve got her outside in the parking lot. Shouldn’t be hard to spot.”

A shock of coldness shot through Cale’s veins at the mention of asthma. He’d only been on one asthma call since Noelle’s death. That one had been a thirteen-year-old boy and had had a happy ending. He said a silent plea that this one would, as well. It was up to him and Rafe, and the first thing that had to happen was that they had to get there, in spite of the heavy summer-night tourist traffic and the weather.

Getting off the main road to the side street the motel was on took about forty-five seconds longer than Cale would have liked, but short of careening down the sidewalk, there was nothing he could do about it but lay on the horn and cuss futilely into the cab.

“There,” Rafe said, pointing at a group of people gathered in a circle to the side of the lot. An older man approached, gesturing frantically at them from the outskirts of the group.

Cale pulled up and he and Rafe hopped out. Rafe took the airway kit and the heart monitor and ran to the crowd while Cale grabbed the medical bag. He heard a woman’s plaintive, desperate cry for them to hurry and then the fire engine drove into the lot behind them with its noisy diesel engine. The guys in the engine would bring the spine board and other necessary equipment to the patient.

When Cale joined his partner, Rafe had already done an initial assessment. “Nonbreather,” he said. “Set up the O2 and get an IV line started.”

“Back up, everyone,” Cale said sternly.

Cale immediately started to follow Rafe’s directions while Rafe prepped the bag valve mask. Cale’s heart was pounding jackrabbit-fast, even more so than during the usual life-threatening call. He didn’t take the time to acknowledge why. Couldn’t. This woman’s life depended on him doing everything he could to keep her alive.

It didn’t take long for sweat to coat Cale’s body beneath his uniform as he and Rafe continued to work on the woman, with less and less optimism.

“We need to get her to the hospital ASAP,” Rafe said, his voice grave when none of their procedures were making a difference in the woman’s condition. “Joe!”

Rafe tersely updated the fire