Ryan's Crossing Read online

  They walked down the hall and knocked on Joshua’s door. Chad answered, his face relaxing when he saw Ryan. “I’m so glad you came!” he said, reaching out to shake Ryan’s hand. “Josh, look who’s here!”

  Brittney went over to hug Amy, while Ryan went straight to Josh’s bed, leaving Keith standing uncertainly in the doorway. “Hey, little man. How are you feeling?”

  “Okay,” said Josh. “Did you know they have video games here? Can you play with me?”

  “Well, to be honest, I’m not that good,” said Ryan. “But, my brother Keith here is top notch.”

  Josh looked adoringly at Keith. “You are? Will you play with me?”

  “Absolutely!” said Keith, coming to the bedside. “What do you want to play?”

  As the two boys got busy on their controllers, Ryan drew Chad and Amy to the other side of the room to talk, and Brittney followed. “How are you doing?”

  “Okay,” said Chad. “Doc says he’s pretty sure it’s a kind of leukemia that they can fix.”

  “Yes,” said Brittney. “He may get pretty sick during treatment, but they should be able to kill all the cancer cells, and then with some maintenance therapy, Josh can enjoy a long life.”

  Chad looked at Ryan. “Will you be ‘round to help us with all that? I know he’s in good hands here, but at home….”

  Ryan gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m not sure how much I’ll be around,” said Ryan.

  “It’s just all new to us,” said Amy, leaning against her husband, one hand gently rubbing her 16-week pregnant belly. “We’re nervous, but I’m sure it’ll all be fine by the time we go home.”

  “The nurses here are excellent,” said Brittney, winking at Amy. “We won’t let you go home until we’re sure you know what to do.”

  “We just owe you so much for getting us here when you did,” said Chad. “The doc said you had real good instincts.”

  Chapter 17

  RYAN THOUGHT ABOUT THE EVENTS of the last couple weeks as he pulled into McWilliam. God, are you really providing me the answer I asked for? Dad starts talking about the town clinic, Mom pipes in about how much they need someone consistent, and You bring me not only Joshua but also Eleni’s dislocated elbow and Billy’s sprained ankle. Moving is the right idea, I think, but maybe moving to Portland’s the wrong idea? What about Brittney?

  Brittney circled through his thoughts the rest of the drive to the fire station. Her old-fashioned accountability has me bringing Keith to go see her. Her family has me thinking about the future with all of them in my life, not just her. That impish smile of hers. The sparkle was missing from her eyes when I left the hospital. Probably just tired from the last week or so.

  Ryan sighed deeply. When did my life get so complicated? About the same time Mom and Dad found Rachel. Amber. I’ve got to get used to calling her Amber, he chastised himself again.

  Lost in his thoughts, Ryan drove through town automatically. He turned left off the frontage road onto Williamette Drive, just two blocks from the fire department,

  Crash.

  Stunned momentarily from the jolt of the impact, Ryan shook his head before looking around him. One car sat to his left, crunched into his front fender. In the car, a young girl cried with her hands waving frantically up beside her head.

  Ryan released his seatbelt, walked over to her driver’s side window without a glance back at his beloved car, and knocked. “Are you okay?”

  The young driver turned her blue eyes at him, big tears making their way down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry. My dad’s gonna kill me. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Her red ponytail wagged as she shook her head from side to side.

  “Okay. Slow down and take a deep breath for me.” Ryan looked at her friend in the passenger seat. Her hands were braced on the dashboard, and she stared straight out the windshield.

  He looked quickly over both of them. No obvious broken bones or signs of bleeding through their sweatshirts and jeans.

  “Dude!” A young man came running over from the sidewalk.

  “Do you know these girls?” said Ryan hopefully.

  “Yeah, from school.”

  “Know their home phone numbers? Or a parent’s cell phone.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Call and ask them to get out here,” said Ryan as he walked over to the passenger side. He’d just opened the car door when Sheriff Jeff Campbell pulled up behind the car. He nodded to the lanky sheriff before crouching down to talk to the passenger.

  “Can you hear me?”

  The girl turned her face toward him. She was very pale, and her brown eyes seemed to take up her whole face.

  “Does anything hurt?” Ryan gently took her right hand from the dash and moved her hand up and down. Then he did the same with her left hand.

  “That hurts some,” she said quietly.

  He looked her in the eye and smiled reassuringly. “Okay.” He gently laid her hand in her lap. “Let’s get that checked when the EMTs get here.”

  She nodded, nervously nibbling on her bottom lip.

  “Just sit tight for the moment,” said Ryan, standing up and looking for the sheriff.

  The ambulance was just pulling up beside the sheriff’s car, so Ryan walked over. His regular partner was stepping out of the passenger side. “Griffin! About time you got back to work!”

  Ryan smiled and gave him the update on the girls. The second EMT listened closely and went to the car to check the passenger’s wrist.

  “You feel okay?”

  “Yeah.” Ryan moved his neck, gently stretching it out. “I’m fine.”

  Ryan faded into the background, walking over to the sidewalk to sit on a bench, letting the sheriff and his co-workers handle the worried parents and the clean-up of the scene. The cold air was adding to the stiffness creeping into his shoulders and neck. Finally, the sheriff walked over to him.

  “The girls are shaken up but okay,” said Jeff. “They both admit they were messing with the CDs and not paying attention to the road. I’ll get the report typed up this afternoon, and you can pick up a copy tomorrow.”

  Ryan looked grimly at damage to the front quarter panel of his car as he listened.

  Jeff closed his notepad. “Parents say they have insurance, so this should be pretty simple.”

  Ryan raised his eyebrows and met the man’s gaze.

  Jeff looked at the prized Fastback. “I’m guessing you’re not going to take that to a shop.”

  Still looking at him, Ryan crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”

  ”Want some help pounding that out?”

  Ryan stood from the bench. “No.”

  “Come on. You know you hate body work.”

  “You are a good sheriff, Jeff, but a lousy mechanic.”

  “But this is just pounding out dents, right?” said Jeff, holding his hands out expressively toward the Mustang.

  “I’ve seen your work with a hammer.” Ryan started to walk away.

  “One little mistake,” Jeff muttered.

  Ryan stopped and turned partially back, pointing at Jeff. “You broke your thumb.”

  “But it healed!” To prove his point, Jeff held up his left hand and wiggled his thumb.

  Ryan grinned, shaking his head at the man’s enthusiasm. Jeff was great at dealing with people but all thumbs with the most basic tools. “You can bring the pizza, but I am not handing you a mallet.”

  Jeff smiled broadly and called after him. “Just tell me your favorite soda and when you’re going to work on it.”

  Ryan checked to make sure the wheel well was clear of the tire. Then he started his car and headed onto the fire station. He parked toward the back of the lot and walked up to the open door of his boss’s office. “Hey, Isaac.”

  “Griffin. I was beginning to think you weren’t coming back.I heard about the fender bender. You okay?”

  “Yeah. Starting to get a little stiff, but not too bad.”

  “Good. You ready to get back to work?”

 
Isaac Betton liked to get straight to the point.

  Ryan sat down in the chair across from Isaac. “Well, sir, I’ve been thinking about going back to school.”

  Isaac leaned back in his chair. “Haven’t you been taking classes the whole time you’ve been here?”

  “Yes, sir. I have. But I was thinking about switching my focus just a bit.”

  Ryan took a deep breath and tried to explain it the best he could. “My parents moved to a pretty small town about forty-five minutes south of Portland. Their medical care is a bit lacking.”

  “Small town, huh,” Isaac nodded. “Ambulance service from Portland?”

  “Yes, sir. Just a small clinic with rotating doctors.”

  “You thinking about going to school to be a doctor?”

  “Leaning more towards a physician’s assistant.”

  Isaac looked at him for a moment. Ryan often had trouble reading the man. In his mid-fifties, Isaac had grown up at the firehouse with his fire chief dad. Oregon was in the man’s blood, and he could read people better than anyone Ryan had ever met.

  Finally, Isaac nodded his head. “You’d be good at either. You have a personality that’s good with people, the instincts that make you great at triage, and a calmness under pressure and critical care. But I have another option for you to think about.” Isaac sat forward in his chair and leaned his arms on the desk. “Holmes just let me know he’s going to be retiring. I’ll need a lead paramedic and was considering you.”

  Ryan sat back, placing his right ankle on his left knee. He struggled to control his enthusiasm in front of his boss. “I appreciate that.”

  They talked more about the specifics of the job, the added responsibilities, and the small increase in pay. “I’ll need a decision before the end of February.”

  “Understood, sir.” Ryan stood to leave.

  “And Griffin,” said Isaac.

  Ryan paused in the doorway.

  “If you’re determined to head back to school, let me know. With all the classes you’ve taken since you got your EMT associate’s, I’m thinking you should be close to the medical school’s prerequisite bachelor degree.”

  Isaac paused, and Ryan watched him, wondering where his boss was heading with all this. He waited patiently, leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb.

  Finally Isaac continued. “I’ve got an old friend who works with the hiring department at Oregon Health & Science in Portland. I imagine that’s the hospital sponsoring the clinic in your parents’ town, and they are always looking for people willing to move to those small towns instead of forcing their doctors to rotate through.”

  Ryan was shocked. He just offered me a job here—and then offered me an introduction into one in Portland?

  “I’m not sure what to say,” said Ryan.

  “Just let me know your decision within the month.”

  Chapter 18

  THREE WEEKS LATER, BRITTNEY HUMMED as she updated her computer notes on her patients.

  “My, my, aren’t we in a pleasant mood,” said Nicole, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. “Let’s see. It’s been a week since your Valentine flowers arrived from Ryan. Has he done something else?”

  Brittney looked up from her screen. “It’s because you are here to relieve me, and I have the next four days off!”

  “Yeah, that and Romeo is meeting her for dinner tonight at Romano’s,” said Jennifer, winking at Nicole.

  “So when is he moving to Portland?” asked Nicole.

  “Why would you think he’s moving here?” said Brittney.

  “Crossing,” corrected Jennifer with confidence.

  “He’s moving to Crossing?” said Nicole, her eyebrows disappearing into her bangs. “Isn’t that where Dr. Williams is moving to, as well?” said Nicole.

  “He hasn’t said anything yet about moving,” said Brittney.

  “Then why is he coming to Portland?” said Nicole.

  “We’re all meeting in Crossing tomorrow for Amber’s birthday party,” said Brittney absently while finalizing a note in her computer.

  “I’m so confused,” said Nicole. “He’s driving from McWilliam to Portland so you two can go to Crossing tomorrow?”

  “Uh-huh,” said Brittney as she logged out.

  “Sounds fishy to me,” said Jennifer.

  Puzzled, Brittney looked from one friend’s face to the other. “What? We’re taking Pops too.”

  Nicole rolled her eyes. “That’s like driving from here to Seattle by way of California! Driving out of his way to see you one day earlier than he already was going to, sending flowers on significant holidays, text messages all day, regular e-mails, and phone calls.” Nicole kept track of the list on her fingers. “He’s got to have moving on the mind.”

  Brittney shook her head. “Look, last I heard, he hadn’t made a decision on the job in McWilliam. It’s a pretty important promotion.”

  “But McWilliam is twice as far away as Crossing,” Jennifer pointed out.

  “Would you leave us?” asked Nicole, looking at Brittney.

  “Leave?” Surprise colored Brittney’s face. “Where would I go?”

  “Crossing!” said Nicole.

  Brittney rubbed her temple. “How’d we get to me moving to Crossing?”

  “Duh! Romeo…” said Jennifer, rolling her eyes and leaving the rest unspoken.

  “Let’s assume Ryan moves to Crossing to work with Dr. Williams,” said Nicole leaning on the counter. “You have a really cute guy who is spending an awful lot of time keeping up with you and a really good doctor that you know running a clinic that will be in need of a nurse.”

  Transfer to the Crossing clinic? The possibility hit Brittney like a snowy avalanche, and an ideal image of her married to Ryan and working side by side with him popped into her head.

  “You always did like working with Dr. Williams,” Nicole reminded her.

  “And then there’s Romeo…” said Jennifer, waggling her eyebrows dramatically.

  Brittney looked from Nicole to Jennifer. Transfer? Could I? Ryan and I have been spending a lot of time talking, but he hasn’t said anything about a future together. He’s not said anything about the future other than his own career decisions.

  “Did Melody ever get a hold of you?” said Nicole, changing the subject.

  Brittney closed out her notes as she thought about the last time she’d talked to the unit secretary. “No, why?”

  “Just something odd,” said Nicole with a slight frown.

  “What?” Brittney saved her work and logged out of her workstation.

  “Stephanie Malone’s been sniffing around,” said Nicole. She made a face.

  Jennifer caught the name and immediately moved closer again. “What’d she want?”

  “Who cares what she wants?” said Brittney.

  “Melody wasn’t sure what she was up to, but she was asking a lot of questions about you,” said Nicole.

  “Me?” said Brittney. “What kind of questions?”

  “What kind of nurse are you, do you forget to log things in, how do you interact with the parents. Things like that.”

  Jennifer’s eyes went wide. “Why’s she going after you?”

  Brittney thought back to the day she’d been talking to Ryan near the front entrance to the hospital.

  “Melody said she thought she saw her talking with some of the parents too,” Nicole added.

  “Storm’s brewing on the horizon,” said Jennifer with a shake of her head.

  “Well, not much I can do except my best on the job and wait for her to let me in on the unofficial inquiry,” said Brittney. She shrugged, trying to convince herself Stephanie’s questions weren’t bothering her.

  “I suppose,” said Nicole slowly. “Well, I don’t know what time you’re meeting Ryan, but traffic’s bad out there tonight. Want to update me on the kids so you can get out of here?”

  “Umm, yeah,” said Brittney, shaking off her worries. “Sure.”

  “You seem distracted tonig
ht,” said Ryan. He shifted in the bench seat of their table at the restaurant, quiet music playing in the background.

  “Huh?” said Brittney, lost in her private concerns. “Oh, sorry. I am.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Brittney fiddled with her napkin and sat up straighter, glancing quickly around for the waitress. “I just—I don’t know. A couple things, I guess,” she said, her gaze returning to the napkin in her hands. “Do you think it’s going to be much longer for our food?”

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “I’m not. I’m just hungry.”

  “Uh-huh. Are you going to actually tell me anything, or are you going to keep talking to your napkin?”

  Her eyes flew to his face, and she dropped the napkin on the table. “Well, I’m not sure how to…I’m not sure what…I don’t think…”

  Ryan reached out and covered Brittney’s hands with his own. “Stop. Breathe.”

  A tingle raced up her arms. Ryan touching her hands was not helping her to think more clearly. She took a slow, deep breath.

  “Now quit avoiding whatever it is you don’t want to bring up, and let’s get it out between us,” said Ryan. “You aren’t even looking at me tonight. Did I do something to irritate you?”

  She looked at him for a moment and saw concern in his eyes. “No, you haven’t done anything wrong. An idea was presented to me earlier today that I hadn’t thought about before. But it also brought up other questions.”

  “Okay…” said Ryan.

  Brittney slouched back in her seat, removing her hands from Ryan’s. “You’ve been talking about your job choices. Have you made a decision yet?”

  Ryan twisted slightly in the seat and put his arm along the top of the bench. “I did talk to an advisor at the university. She said that I basically just need a couple more sciences, statistics, and one more humanities class to get my bachelor’s and be able to apply to the medical school.”

  Brittney frowned. “That would be a pretty heavy load for one semester.”

  “Especially while working. I think I could knock one class out this summer, then a couple this fall and one in the spring to finish it up.”