Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Tony

The bright afternoon sun was directly overhead by the time Caleb and I headed back down the mountain.

"Are you sure you didn't get sunburned?" I teased, motioning at the suspiciously pink tinge on the back of his neck. We were fully clothed again, but the memory of our outdoor lovemaking lingered. Lovemaking. Funny, I'd never thought of sex in such fanciful terms before, but it fit here. More playful than fucking, more emotional than sex, more orgasmic than making out…lovemaking it was. And I was already dreaming of the next time we could get naked. "If your brother's still gone when we get back to town, I'll do a thorough inspection for sunburn and apply some aloe for you."

"Sounds like a plan." Caleb laughed, grinning back at me.

Giddy with the thought of more naked time, I almost missed the first shriek that rattled through the forest. But there was no mistaking the second yell.

"Help! Help!" A late teen or early twenties girl came dashing up the trail toward us. She had flimsy sneakers that were more about style than hiking practicality, and she narrowly avoided slipping down the side of the mountain. Her frizzy blonde hair escaped a messy ponytail and her arms and bare legs were dirt-streaked liked she'd already fallen at least once. "My boyfriend fell, and now he's stuck on a piece of metal of some kind. I think he's dying."

"Show us." Caleb immediately took charge of the situation. "We can help. I'm a firefighter, and Tony's in training."

"Back this way."

I had no clue what the young woman had been doing running up the mountain and not back to the parking area, and my senses went on red alert for some kind of trap. Out in the field as a Ranger, I'd learned to be cautious about such things, and I kept glancing around as she led us off the trail and down a steep ravine less than a mile from the trailhead.

However, as soon as I spied Maren, Eric's eldest kid, crouched over a pale guy I also recognized, things started to make sense.

"Maren?" Of course, Maren would know the location of the super-secret trail, and naturally, she'd bring her friends along to escape the Mount Hope heat. "What happened?"

"Tony!" Her eyes went wide with shock and relief. "Thank God you're here. Diesel slipped off the trail and landed on a piece of an old metal fence post. You can't let him die."

Diesel was the young, blue-haired goth kid from the airport shuttle all those weeks ago.

"Yeah, please don't let me die," he gasped weakly.

"Geez, kid, what pickle did you get in now?" I managed to keep my voice light, channeling some of the calm Caleb radiated. Diesel had numerous lacerations along his legs, one of which was at a funny angle, and a growing bump on his temple. Most alarmingly, though, he had a chunk of rusty metal protruding from his side. Thank God, it wasn't an entire pole, but even a few inches of impalement could be life-threatening.

"Bit of a tight spot." Diesel gritted out the retort. "Trying to impress Stephanie and lost my balance."

"You know this guy?" Caleb asked me as he crouched next to Diesel.

"We were on the same shuttle when I arrived in town," I explained before gesturing at Maren. "And, Caleb, this is Maren, Eric's oldest."

"Oh, that's right. Thought I recognized you." Caleb gave her and the other friend a reassuring smile. "Your dad's going to be really proud of you, Maren. Just keep talking to Diesel here. Keep him calm while I figure out what we're dealing with."

"What do I do?" the other girl, Stephanie, asked, dancing from foot to foot like an agitated rabbit.

"Your job is to go back to the road." Caleb pointed in the correct direction on the trail. "Stay on the trail, and don't try to run. We don't need two injuries." He pulled out his phone. "Phew. I've got a couple of bars of signal. I'm going to call for help, see if we can get a rescue chopper here, stat."

"Chopper." Diesel licked his lips as Caleb spoke in low, clipped tones into his phone nearby. "Chopper is a funny word. I always wanted to fly one."

"Chances are good you'll get a ride in one today." Caleb stepped closer again after directing Stephanie back to the trailhead to wait for the arrival of other first responders. "We've got a crew on the way along with life flight. No way is the helicopter going to be able to land here, so we're going to need to get Diesel back to the road. The wide shoulders at the parking area should give them just enough room."

"I don't wanna move." Diesel let out a pained moan.

"I know." Caleb soothed him with a hand on his shoulder as he crouched.

"We're here to help," I added, trying to sound as reassuring as Caleb, but having a feeling I failed miserably. Icy dread gathered in my stomach, an unfamiliar sense of helplessness consuming me. All my training, all my years of experience, none of it seemed to matter right then.

I was so grateful for Caleb's steady presence that my relief at not needing to be in charge bordered on comical.

Caleb assessed Diesel's wounds, frowning and muttering about stabilizing the impalement while keeping up a friendly chatter with the rest of us.

"Tony, I'm going to need you and Maren to keep pressure on the exposed wounds." He directed us to the two worst wounds on Diesel's legs, both of which were seeping blood at a nasty rate. He had a small towel in his backpack that he ripped in two before pulling out his first-aid kit. It looked woefully small for the task at hand.

"Are you going to remove the piece of metal?" I asked Caleb in a low voice as I followed his directions. "You can't, right?"

I had enough training to know that embedded objects like glass were best left alone until at a hospital, but I was also unsure how exactly we'd get Diesel back to the trailhead, as any movement could make the injury way worse.

"Nope. Gonna have to move him fence piece and all." Caleb's whisper was equally grim. "I'm doing what I can to stabilize the injury for transport, but removal will be up to the surgical team."

And God. That part was unsaid but heavily implied. Even if we managed to get Diesel to the chopper, these were unmistakably grave injuries.

"His leg is probably broken too." Maren's voice was high and thready. "And there's a lot of blood."

"I know, sweetheart." I awkwardly patted her shoulder with my free hand before returning to putting pressure on the wound. "You're doing amazing."

Maren's helpfulness was measured merely by not collapsing into hysterics, but I judged myself far harsher, wishing I could quiet my racing pulse and brain, be more of an asset to Caleb. His steady energy, however, was exactly what the crisis needed as he hastily constructed a splint from some fallen branches and his own T-shirt.

His bare back revealed the start of a sunburn down to his shorts. I hoped Maren was too distracted to wonder how Caleb had managed a sunburn under his shirt.

"How about you? Hanging in there?" he asked in a low tone as he lined up the splint.

"I'm fine." That I wasn't was beyond relevant at the moment.

"Keep pressure steady," Caleb said to Maren and I before leaning into Diesel. "This part is going to hurt, but the faster we can get you to the road, the better your chances."

"Chances…?" Diesel's voice took on a delirious edge. "Prettiest girl in town taking care of me. I like my chances."

"Seriously?" Maren made an indignant noise but kept on applying pressure. "You're going to hit on me right now? You might be dying, and you're on a date with my best friend."

"Date is a strong word." Diesel's tone stayed dreamy. Taking advantage of the kid's distraction, Caleb moved quickly to splint the broken leg. "Ow. Motherfucker. Jesus H. Hockey sticks. Ow."

"That's right. Let it out," Caleb encouraged. "I know it hurts, but I need you to stay with us."

"I don't wanna die." Diesel's voice cracked. "And I want my dad."

"You're not dying. Not to today." I'd said the words before and been wrong, but I put as much conviction as I could muster behind my voice. "Maren? Do you know his dad?"

"Oh yeah. His dad owns The Heist—that bar in the old Mount Hope bank building downtown." Maren pointed at the ground near Diesel. "That's Diesel's phone."

"Okay, when we're back at the road, Maren will call your dad and tell him to meet you at the hospital once we know where the chopper is taking you."

"Here." Caleb handed Diesel's phone to Maren. "Tony and I will take most of his weight, but you're going to have to help keep his core steady so we don't worsen the injury."

"I can do that." Maren nodded sharply.

Caleb bent low to speak into Diesel's ear. "Now comes the hard part. Tony, Maren, and I are going to carry you out."

Diesel made a loud noise of protest. "You're gonna move me with a freaking fence post in my side, and it's gonna hurt."

"It is." Admirably, Caleb didn't sugarcoat or try to minimize the coming pain. "This is where you've got to be strong, but you're not alone. We're going to be with you every step, and we're going to get you help. But in order to do that, we're going to have to move as a team."

Caleb directed Maren and me into specific positions and outlined how he wanted us to lift Diesel with as much support as possible. Diesel's already pale complexion dimmed further the more Caleb talked, but then Diesel inhaled sharply, steadying himself in a way I knew intimately.

"Okay, I'm ready." He ground out each word, cost abundantly clear, and I had to swallow hard.

"Good. You're doing great." Caleb took a second to squeeze Diesel's hand before directing his attention to Maren and me. "Okay, on three. Slow and steady."

Diesel's pained yell when we lifted him would stay with me for years. But there was no time for comfort for any of us. Somehow, someway, the three of us started carrying Diesel down the trail, one painstaking step at a time. Each second that ticked by was another second of blood loss, but we could only go so fast.

"I hear something." Maren's voice perked up as she gazed skyward.

"Yup. We're almost there." Caleb kept his voice upbeat despite the strain of carrying Diesel. The first few steps, Diesel had moaned and cried softly, but the closer we got to the trailhead, the softer his sounds became. "Talk to me, Diesel," Caleb urged. "Keep with us."

Diesel's only reply was a weak moan.

"Dude. Think about the wicked scar you're gonna have. Impress all the girls." Maren's voice wavered, but she did a decent impression of teasing, earning her a little laugh from Diesel.

"Only one girl I want."

"There they are!" Stephanie chose that exact moment to come dashing up the trail, followed closely by an EMT crew. The sound of an approaching chopper grew louder, and the next few minutes were chaotic as we worked with the EMTs to get Diesel on a stretcher in a way that didn't put undue pressure on the metal chunk still angrily protruding from his side.

I didn't recognize the crew, based out of a nearby town, but they knew Caleb, as evidenced by their hurried greetings and a couple of jokes. My lower back tensed. The whole crisis, I'd focused on Diesel and been more than a little in awe of Caleb, but now, fresh worries flooded my brain. No one was supposed to know we'd spent the day together.

The life flight helicopter pulled off a tight landing even a seasoned army pilot would be impressed by, and their crew took over. And yet more people who knew Caleb, as the medic nodded at him. "Good work, Caleb. Not a rookie anymore, are you?"

"Nope." Caleb glanced away, uncharacteristically bashful. "Just trying to do my job."

"Well, you did good. All of you." The older guy had one final nod for us as they finished moving Diesel from the EMT stretcher to their own transport. A few moments later, the chopper took off, speeding away, carrying all our hopes for Diesel with it.

"You really were incredible, Caleb. You too, Tony." Maren's voice was much more enthusiastic now. "Wait till I tell my dad."

"Yeah." I managed only the barest of replies.

"Well, I better get Stephanie to the hospital. And call Diesel's dad again." Maren's businesslike expression mirrored the one Eric used on shift. They might not share blood, but the family backbone ran deep nonetheless.

"You did great too, sweetheart." I gave her a fast hug, the kind I'd offer one of my sisters. I couldn't exactly ask her not to tell Eric, so I waved her away even as my gut twisted.

Caleb and I walked the rest of the way to his truck in silence.

"This doesn't have to be a big deal," he said at last. "Not like anyone saw…you know."

"Yep." I exhaled hard, but the bitter tang of doubt remained. "Friends hike together all the time."

"Exactly. Two buddies out for a hike and an escape from the heat." Caleb made a dismissive gesture with his hand before unlocking the truck. "Nothing to see here, folks."

"Nope." I let out a near-manic laugh.

"You okay?" Caleb frowned. "You seem even punchier than me."

"I'm fine." I darn near threw myself into the passenger seat to avoid his shrewd gaze. "Fine. Just adrenaline."

"That was a lot." Caleb slid into the driver's seat before stretching backward. He groaned as he twisted this way and that. "And a first. Never had quite that level of emergency on a day off."

"Yeah. It was…unexpected." Maybe that was why I was a mess, why I hadn't been more helpful, why I hadn't been the one to take charge. I hadn't been prepared. But I should have been. "God, I shouldn't be this fucked up afterward."

I hated admitting even that much, but Caleb merely shrugged, as unflappable as ever. "I'm not sure there's a right or wrong way. The first time I saw an impalement injury, I puked afterward. It haunted me for days."

A scoff escaped my throat. "You say that, but you were amazing back there. In charge. Calm. I was like a deer in headlights. Frozen. You'd think I'd never been a Ranger."

"Or that you had," Caleb said quietly. "I know you don't want me beating the ‘Talk to someone, Tony' drum, but seriously, you've been through a lot, and not simply today. Twenty years active duty. That had to take a toll."

"Maybe," I allowed, looking away at the forest, the vast canopy of trees on either side as we returned to Mount Hope. "Maybe you're right, and I do have some amount of PTSD, but if I talk to someone, they might say I'm not cut out for fire rescue. And maybe they'd be right."

My breathing sped up and my skin grew cool and clammy. Caleb pulled over to the shoulder of the road.

"Hey. Hey." He forced me to look at his solemn expression. "Deep breaths. This was an unexpected emergency in a place you consider special and safe, not a call out on a shift."

"Oh." When he put it that way, my reaction seemed almost understandable. I'd never anticipated anything like this when I'd invited Caleb on what had felt like an escape from the world. Maybe that was why I'd struggled, but I wasn't sure the explanation was enough to forgive myself.

"No rash conclusions, okay?" Caleb peered deeply into my eyes, concern and care evident in his expression. "And absolutely no beating yourself up."

"Never." I forced a smile, but he shook his head.

"I don't believe you. But we need to head back and get cleaned up. You wanna share my shower if Scotty's still gone?"

Yes. More than life itself. I managed to break eye contact, studying the floor mats instead. "Probably shouldn't. I should head back to Eric's, try to beat any gossip from Maren or the EMT crew."

"Smart." He looked as disappointed as I felt. "I'm here if you need to talk later."

The truly smart thing would have been to say I wouldn't and to break things off right then and there. The chances of our being discovered by people we worked with would only increase as time passed, yet all I could do was nod.

"I'll text you later."

"I'll be up."

I refused, utterly refused, to examine why Caleb's simple reply made my whole body relax and my mind calm.