Page 43 of Love Like Ours

“Wait.” He motioned to the patrol car that had pulled up and parked next to her car.

Just then, her phone rang in her pocket, and she jumped slightly. She fumbled to answer Parker’s call.

“He’s here. He’s unconscious. Send for an ambulance,” he said a little breathless.

She relayed the information to Nick and Aiden, who had just walked up to them.

Then, before Max could stop her, she rushed through the trees towards Loki’s barks. Tree branches dug into her, cutting the exposed skin on her face, hands, and neck as she made her way to Palmer.

She reached them at the same time that Aiden did with his medical kit.

While Aiden knelt next to Palmer and started checking his vitals, she stood over his still, unconscious body, frozen in place.

Parker moved over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “He took a hit pretty hard but my brother has a hard head,” he whispered.

“Hit?” she choked out as Loki lay next to his master and rested his head on Palmer’s chest with a slight whine.

Parker nodded. “I’m not sure it was from the accident or…” His words dropped off. “I should have warned him,” he added with a curse.

She shook her head to clear the tears that had blocked her vision, then, feeling herself gain control, she knelt beside Palmer and took his hand gently in her own. It was cold, damp, and still.

Aiden wrapped a thermal blanket over his body and used a bottle with clear liquid to clean a gash on the side of his head before holding a clean cloth to it to help stop the bleeding.

“We’ll have to carry him out of here a little ways in order for the EMTs to get to him,” Aiden said. “I’ve checked, and the head wound is the only damage I can see. It doesn’t appear that this happened in the wreck.”

Parker nodded. “I’ll take the heavy part.” He moved to hoist his brother up by the shoulders while Aiden took his legs.

She followed them back down the narrow pathway they had created crashing through the bushes. Halfway back, Palmer groaned and they stopped.

“Hey.” She pushed a branch aside in order to stand next to him. She cupped his face. “Palmer?”

“Hey.” He smiled at her. “I was going to buy you flowers,” he said with a sigh, and then he passed out again.

“Yeah, he’s okay.” Parker chuckled. “Come on. I hear the ambulance.”

Sure enough, she could hear the siren and see the lights through the trees and as it pulled in behind the patrol car.

They laid Palmer on the waiting gurney and one of the EMTs checked his vitals while the other took down the information from Aiden.

“If you want to go with them, I’ll get your car home and watch the dog,” Max said to Sophia. He motioned to the ambulance.

“His name is Loki,” Parker said as he helped her into the back of the ambulance.

“Yeah, we’ve met,” Max added.

“I’ll follow,” Parker told her with a nod.

She silently watched the EMT as they drove to Parkview hospital. Not once during the trip did Palmer open his eyes again.

When they reached the hospital, she stood aside with Parker while they wheeled Palmer behind a curtain.

They were told to wait there until a nurse came and got them.

Parker took her hand and walked her to a row of chairs, where they waited in silence.

When his phone rang, he walked across the room to answer it. Moments later, Sara and the kids rushed in and Sophia watched Parker hug his family and fill them in on what had happened. Then Sara suggested the kids go get something from the vending machines and handed them some money before she whispered something to Parker and the pair of them glanced over at her.

Sara walked over and sat next to her, taking her hand in her own.