“I hear ya. I personally think Charles asks the boss to put him with you.” Charles also worked for the EMS, which was how he and Nicole met.
“Oh Lord. You’d think that man would quit being so lovesick after three years of marriage. But no, he wants to see me all day on the job and then go home together at night.”
Catarina smiled. “I think it’s sweet.”
Nicole got moony eyes. “It actually is. I love him so damn much, and I couldn’t ask for a better stepfather to Bryce. Now, it looks like we have one transport today so far.”
“Yes, a patient being moved from the Mersey Hospital to Union.”
“Little bit of a drive. Lots of time to catch up after we drop the patient off.” Nicole pulled out of the station and they headed to the hospital. Nicole didn’t take long to get to the nitty gritty and ask Catarina about Chad.
“You back with him, or what? Charles said he saw you with him.”
She sighed. “Did everyone see me with Chad? I’m starting to feel like the whole town comes out looking for me the minute I step outside.”
“Somebody else saw you?”
“Tank.”
Nicole swung her head Catarina’s direction and gave her a pointed look. “Tell me you didn’t break up with Chad again and go running to Tank for advice.”
She opened her mouth and closed it. A flush of embarrassment washed over her, and she brushed an errant curl off her face. “Actually, I did drop in on Tank, and found him in bad shape. He wrecked his bike.”
Nicole nodded. “I heard. Charles knew the guy who drove Tank to the hospital.”
“You didn’t tell me that.” Her stomach bottomed out at the thought of her big, virile, invincible friend lying helpless on the roadway. “I’m glad I wasn’t on the scene. I’m not sure I could have handle it.”
Nicole shot her an appraising look but only tightened her lips in response.
They arrived at the hospital, and Nicole remained at the wheel while Catarina went inside to see to the transfer paperwork. She approached the gurney the patient had been strapped to for transport.
“Hello, Mrs. Burke. I’m Catarina, and I’ll be with you today on your journey. Are you feeling comfortable?”
“Comfortable enough, yes.” The older woman looked about to fall asleep, and Catarina expected her to do so on the drive to Union Hospital.
She patted the woman’s hand. “I’ll take good care of you.”
One of the hospital workers helped her wheel the patient out, and Nicole had opened the rear doors of the unit. Once she had the woman fixed into place, Catarina checked her vitals and asked her if she needed anything. Then she chit-chatted with her for about two miles before Mrs. Burke’s eyelids grew too heavy, and she fell asleep.
Catarina sat watching over the patient, which gave her mind time to wander. Over Chad. And over Tank. They hadn’t spoken since that night she showed up at his place. She texted him a few times to check on him and tell him she was busy, but he’d only given cursory responses to her texts.
Could he be upset with her? If so, why? They were friends. He never had an issue with her stopping by to talk before. She’d chalked up his short behavior with her to the motorcycle accident, but could there be more?
An hour later, they safely delivered their patient to the hospital with more extensive care facilities for Mrs. Burke. Catarina climbed into the passenger seat again, and she and Nicole took up right where they left off.
“Look in that bag at your feet,” Nicole said.
Catarina leaned forward and grabbed the cooler bag. “Is this your lunch?”
“Uh-huh. But I didn’t pack it for myself.” Her brown eyes gleamed.
“Charles sneaked food into the unit for you again? Damn, you’re the luckiest woman alive.” She unzipped the bag and peeked in at the sandwiches prepared on thick Italian bread. “Are these homemade potato chips? Oh my God, I’m breaking them open.”
Nicole grinned. “Go on. There’s enough for us both.”
“Charles is the best husband. Wait. Seriously? He packed brownies too!” Catarina pulled out two thick fudgy brownies wrapped in the paper from the Mersey Bakes & Treats, a place Catarina had to force herself away from or risk gaining back those ten pounds she’d finally worked off the hard way through cardio.
She popped a potato chip in her mouth and savored the salty fried goodness. She reached for another, when her phone buzzed. As soon as she glanced at the incoming message, her stomach coiled with anxiety.
“Uh-oh. I don’t like that look on your face, Cat. Is that Chad?”
She nodded and read the text. Actually, he sent three texts—she’d missed a few during the transport—all asking her to see him again this weekend. He worked as a short haul truck driver, and he often couldn’t get free until weekends. Of course, her weekend shifts were hit and miss, but when she was most serious about Chad, she found some time for him despite her busy schedule.
Did she want to make time for him?
What would Tank say if he saw her with him again?
“He wants to meet up this weekend,” she told Nicole.
The woman swayed her head in an exaggerated shake. “Oh hell no, girl. I’ve been telling you for months to drop that loser. You deserve better. None of us can understand why you keep going back to him. He either has the best dick on the planet or you love to suffer.”
She bit her lip. “Well, it’s not his dick.”
Their gazes met, and they burst into laughter. After a minute, Nicole said, “Hand me one of those sandwiches.”
Catarina loved her friend’s ability to drop the subject instead of beating it over and over again. As if she hadn’t already beaten herself up countless times for giving Chad another chance…and then another.
She’d chewed a bite of her sandwich, her gaze fixed on the road. They rounded a bend in time to see an accident unfold before their eyes. A car sideswiped another, sending it careening into the guardrails. It whipped around, out of control, and shot into oncoming traffic—right into the path of a box truck with a furniture logo on the side.
“Oh my God!” Catarina dropped her sandwich into the cooler bag and gripped the dashboard. She grabbed the CB unit and called in backup, including police and fire units.
“Talk about good timing for these victims.” Nicole’s tone sounded grim as she guided the rescue unit into the fray of twisted metal and still-spinning tires.
Catarina’s training kicked in, along with a wallop of adrenaline, and she whipped open her door. With her bag of supplies slung over her shoulder, she ran to the scene.
She skidded to a stop at the sight of a motorcycle beneath the wheels of the furniture truck.
Panic swept through her. A cry tore from her throat as she dropped to her knees to the man curled on his side, his leg at an odd angle.
Oh God. “I…I’m here to help. Can you tell me your name?”
Even as she looked at his body size, she knew it wasn’t Tank. Yet her logical mind had been swallowed up by her very raw emotions.
He only groaned.
“I’m here. Someone’s coming to get you out.”
Minutes later, the sound of sirens couldn’t have offered her more relief. She watched the man being removed from under the truck. A sickening amount of guilt dropped into her stomach when she didn’t recognize the biker’s face.