Mistletoe Rescue (Mistletoe Kisses)

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

H olly Richardson thought the biggest challenge on her first evening shift at the Canyondale emergency room would be to stay awake. The staff said so, and it was a weeknight, after all, in a place with a population of about five-thousand people. After working at a super busy hospital in a high-crime area of Denver, this little green oasis surrounded by the red-rock country of eastern Utah should be just what she needed.

She had helped the ER doctor set a child’s broken leg. Elderly Dr. Miller said little, but he knew what he was doing and treated the little boy with kindness. When they finished and the doctor had returned to his office, Holly cleaned up the room to prepare for the next patient. She then reported back to the charge nurse for something else to do.

“I’ll bet this is a very different experience from what you had in Denver,” Kathy Salazar said, glancing up from her desk. She pointed to the nearby chair.

“Definitely.” Holly sat, grateful for having such a great supervisor for her first shift here. Since their introduction a few days earlier, Kathy had kindly suggested the best places to eat and shop in town. She talked to Holly more like a friend than a boss. “In Denver, we saw way too many shooting and stabbing victims, drug overdoses, and assaults. We also had patients who waited too long to see a doctor because they didn’t have insurance. I’m really looking forward to a quieter life all around.”

“Well, Canyondale isn’t exactly Heaven, so don’t get your hopes up too high.” Kathy leaned back in her chair. “We’ve experienced quite a bit of growth in the last few years and tensions are running high at the moment. We also have a ton more tourists coming here now, so we see more victims of hiking and four-wheeler accidents. It shouldn’t be anything like what you saw in Denver, though.”

“I can deal with that.” Holly hoped that seeing patients who had been injured while doing something fun would be better than treating those hurt through anger or neglect.

“Have you had any luck yet finding a place closer to rent than Price?”

Holly groaned. “No, and I didn’t expect to have an hour-long commute each way. I guess living in a big city made me expect to find housing close by.”

“I was lucky to already be in my apartment before the boom hit from the construction of the Technology Center. Have you put your name on the waiting list for the new apartment complex?” Kathy asked.

“Yes, but that’s months away from completion. For now, I found a basement apartment in Price with a couple of college students, but they’re total slobs.” Holly rubbed her temples. “I’m no Ben Wyatt, but I pick up after myself, and I enjoy cleaning, but not like this.”

“That’s rough.” Kathy grinned. “You’ve watched that old show Parks and Rec ? My friend McKenzie works for the city, and you should hear her compare real city council meetings with the ones in the show.”

Holly hardly knew anyone in the town yet, except the hospital HR director and Dr. Miller, who had interviewed her. And Kathy, of course. “I’d like to meet her sometime.”

“Oh, you will. I’ll let you know if I hear about any local apartments opening sooner.” Kathy pointed to the computer at the nurses’ station. “Since you’ve already gone through the hospital’s policies and procedures, I’d like you to review patient charts to verify proper documentation. You can get familiar with how we do things while making sure we’ve done them correctly.”

“Great.”

Holly returned to the desk and woke the computer. As she worked, she saw the wisdom of the exercise, though others had done the task in Denver. For a small facility, the Canyondale staff’s attention to detail impressed her.

She was just thinking about getting up to walk around when Kathy’s phone rang. She gasped, and Holly jumped to her feet, concerned at how white the other nurse’s face had turned.

Kathy’s hand shook as she hung up. “There’s been a live shooter incident at City Hall.”

A sick feeling of déjà vu settled on Holly, and her heart twisted. Kathy would know these people.

“Do you need me to ride with the ambulance?” Holly asked.

Kathy shook her head. “I don’t know how many victims they might send to the hospital, so I need you here.”

When Dr. Miller rushed from his office, Kathy updated him on the situation and her decision to go to City Hall.

“Is that wise? Don’t your friends normally attend those meetings?” he asked with a frown.

“Yes, but Holly has the most experience in a busy ER, and I’m afraid we’re going to get very busy.”

“Good point. Let’s get ready.” Dr. Miller declared.

Aching at the fear in Kathy’s eyes, Holly gave her arm a soft squeeze before hurrying after the doctor. The too-familiar tightness in her belly stole the excitement she’d been feeling about living in this small town. If even Canyondale could have mass shootings, moving here was a mistake.

She and Dr. Miller leaped into a frenzy of preparations. Only a few minutes later, and before their reinforcements could get there, the first victim arrived.

The tight faces of the paramedics made sense when Holly realized the young man wore a similar county uniform to theirs. After they transferred him to the exam table and left the room, Dr. Miller signaled Holly, and they went to work.

The victim appeared to be about her age. Sadly, she had too much experience with this kind of thing, and she made suggestions as she and the doctor carefully removed the soft armor vest.

After cutting off the man’s shirt underneath, they found the vest had mostly done its job by absorbing the force of the impact. As expected, the bullet hadn’t penetrated it, but the energy had caused a significant amount of blunt force trauma. His chest already showed signs of bruising, and it would surprise her if he didn’t have some broken ribs. Hopefully, none had pierced a lung. An x-ray or CT scan would tell if he had other internal injuries as well.

The bullet also appeared to have fragmented from the impact. Fortunately, the pieces had only caused a few minor cuts, but some were deep enough to require stitches. The young man tried to say something, but Holly couldn’t make out his words. “What was that?” She leaned closer, turning her ear to his mouth.

“Holly?” he whispered.

Startled that he knew her name, she looked at his face rather than his injuries. For a moment, memories returned her to the summers when she was sixteen and seventeen, and they had worked together as youth camp counselors. Zack Jarvie. Her first kiss.

“I didn’t see it coming,” he mumbled, bringing her back to the present. “I’ve known Hank since I was a kid, and he shot me with a rifle.” Zack fumbled to lift his hand as though to touch her face. “Are you an angel? Am I dead?”

Holly clasped it and eased it to his side again. “No, Zack. You’re not dead, and you’ll be good as new in no time.” She glanced up at the doctor, pleading that she wasn’t lying.

“The important thing is your vest did its job.” Dr. Miller wore a pinched expression, his eyes troubled as he signaled for an orderly to take Zack to radiology.

As Holly realized the doctor would know the shooter too, she felt even sicker. Could she not get away from this kind of violence?

Another nurse had checked in. She and Holly were helping a few walk-ins who’d arrived from the council meeting when the second ambulance drove up. Dr. Miller signaled for Holly to join him again in treating the young woman with flaming orange curls that clashed horribly with the red splattered on her clothing and hands.

“Aw, Terk, no,” Dr. Miller said with a groan as he quickly examined her for injuries, besides the one on her forehead covered with a bandage. “Where did all the blood come from?”

Emotion threatened to overwhelm Holly at the pain in his voice. Her experience in Denver had nearly broken her, and she had treated no one she knew. She didn’t know this woman, so why did Holly feel like the grief on the edges of her heart would overwhelm her?

Because Dr. Miller did. Was she an empath or something, unable to separate herself from the surrounding pain?

The doctor carefully removed the bandage from the victim’s forehead and examined the wound. Holly had seen enough gunshot damage to recognize it there. It looked like the bullet had merely grazed her skin near the hairline, though a scan would be needed to check for a skull fracture or intracranial bleeding.

“Well, we’ll keep radiology plenty busy tonight,” Dr. Miller said grimly.

Before Holly could respond, Kathy entered the ER, her normally olive complexion pale, her face pinched.

“Glad to see you back,” the doctor said, surprisingly matter-of-fact. “I hope that means we’ve seen all the injured.”

“One council member was DOA,” Kathy said, her voice tight. “The other ambulance is bringing another with a gunshot wound. Both are Newcomers. You need to check out the mayor. I think he had a heart attack.”

The intercom blared, “Code Blue. ER Exam Room 3. Code Blue.”

Kathy dashed away. Dr. Miller hurried after her but called over his shoulder, “Holly, see that Terk gets to radiology.”

Holly glanced down at the woman the doctor had called Terk, who lay with her eyes closed, her brows pinched. Holly checked outside the exam room and spotted an orderly returning with Zack.

“Is he finished with radiology?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Will he need surgery?”

“They said no. Just stitches.”

“Good. Return him to Room 2, but then I need you to take this patient to radiology.” Holly pointed to the door.

“Will do.”

Another doctor and a couple more nurses had arrived to help, so Holly went to the ER nurses’ station to see if anyone needed her attention first. She had finished reviewing the information when Dr. Miller spoke behind her.

“Holly, I’m ready for you in Room 2.”

She followed him. Zack lay on the bed with his eyes closed, but at the sound of the door opening, he turned his head toward them, his lids open a slit.

“How bad is it?” Zack asked.

“You have a couple of broken ribs and will need stitches. There are likely some contusions on organs, which isn’t uncommon, so we’ll keep you overnight for observation.”

“I guess that’s why I hurt so bad.”

Dr. Miller continued speaking as he went to work, stitching the shrapnel’s damage. When the doctor finished, he pulled off his gloves, saying, “And now I will have a little chat with your parents, who are in the waiting room. Once you’re in a room, I’ll send them up to you.”

“Thanks, doc.” As soon as he left, Zack extended his arm toward her. “I’m not imagining you, am I?”

Holly only hesitated a moment before placing her hand in his. “I’m really here. I didn’t remember you were from Canyondale, or did you move here?”

“Born and raised here. I had no idea you were working at our hospital.”

“Tonight is my first shift.” His warm response softened the tension in her body. Just like at camp, he’d had a way of bringing her down when they had problems with the campers. Something in the way he watched her kept her from admitting tonight could be her last shift. The trembling had already started, and she worried the nightmares would begin again.

“So you live here now?” he asked, though his pain medication made him sound drowsy.

“I have a temporary place in Price.” Holly explained about the housing situation and what Kathy had said. “Do you know her?”

Humor flashed across Zack’s eyes, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “All my life. We were part of the Fearsome Threesome .” Then he opened his eyes wider, more awake. “You sound doubtful. You aren’t thinking of leaving already, are you?”

The uncomfortable sense of panic she’d grown familiar with at her old job kept Holly from speaking. She couldn’t handle it again. Especially not if she had to watch people she knew and cared about going through this.

But what could she do? She had cut off everything in Denver, including all contact with her family. She had nowhere else to go.

“No, Holly. Please don’t leave yet,” Zack mumbled as he struggled to stay awake. “Promise me you’ll give us a chance. It’s not usually like this.”

His eyes closed, and she thought he had dozed off. All she wanted was to get far, far away from here. She tried to ease her hand from his, but his grip tightened.

“Stay,” he whispered, “at least for a little while. Promise me.”

As he had all those years ago, something in him seemed to run from his hand to hers. How could a man in his condition transfer strength to her? It forced back the fear, loosening the knot in her stomach so her breaths came more easily.

Holly whispered, “I promise.”