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Mike laughed. Then noticed the bright red oozing down the boy’s leg. “You should have that propped up. Did you say you landed on a saw?”
“Yeah. I’m building a club house. Well, actually adding on to it. My dad built me a tree house a long time ago, but now that I’m bigger and my friends have grown up, we need more space.”
“Your father told you not to use the saw while he was gone. And you shouldn’t have taken it out of the garage.”
“Aww, Mom.”
“Don’t you aww Mom, me. Wait till your father gets home.”
Mike had heard other people say that, but not at his house. It had been just him and his dad.
“I’ll be fine by the time Dad gets back,” the boy told his mother.
“I called him. He’s on his way to the airport to catch a flight home today.”
“Aww, Mom. You didn’t have to call Dad.”
The woman looked at the boy as if he’d suddenly grown horns.
“Of course, I called your father. You could have cut off your leg.”
The boy wilted under his mother’s stare. Mike wondered what kind of man his dad was. Mean? Harsh? If he called the kid Evel Knievel, he couldn’t be but so bad. Maybe the mother was overreacting.
Worry filled the woman’s anxious gaze. “What’s taking them so long?” The woman would wear out her seat. Mike understood her worry, but if she kept that up, the boy would get nervous too. They didn’t need that. Although the kid looked pretty tough. And he seemed pretty casual sitting there waiting for his turn.
“Let me have a look at that, sport.”
Mike pulled the knot loose and tried to hide his reaction. The cut was deep and there was blood still seeping from the wound. He quickly rewrapped the cloth. “Sit tight, buddy.”
Mike rose from his chair and walked to the ER check-in desk. “Excuse me.”
“Mike? What are you doing here?” He spun at the sound of his name.
“Hey, Tracey,” he said, relieved that he’d found someone he knew. “There’s a kid over there who should be seen right away.”
“Which one?” she asked as she turned, scanning the group of people.
“The kid with the bloody rag on his leg.” It wasn’t hard to miss the anxious mom sitting beside him. “They’ve been waiting. The mom is antsy.”
Tracey spotted Todd and headed in his direction. Mike fell into step behind her.
“Hello there. My name is Tracey,” she spoke to Todd, then smiled at his mom.
“Hi. My name is Todd and this is my mom.” Todd spoke right away. His mom smiled in greeting.
“He fell out of a tree. I’m not sure where else he might be hurt. He walked into the house with blood running down his leg and nearly gave me a heart attack.”
The kid fell out of a tree, cut his leg, deep, and walked into his house on his own? Mike had thought the kid strong—he’d had no idea.
“Give me just a moment and we’ll take a look at your leg.” Tracey glanced to Mike with a silent message in her eyes. She’d noticed the fresh blood, too. “I’ll get a wheelchair.”
Mike didn’t want to waste time. “No need for that. Come on, champ.” He scooped the kid up.
“Awesome. I can walk, but this is more fun. I want to be a firefighter.”
Mike chuckled. The kid had spunk. Not one complaint or moan of pain. The cut had to hurt. He marched to the examining room behind Tracey.
“Bet it’s great to ride in a big fire truck.”
