Page 76 of The Seal's Promise

“Hey, Max, are you doing okay?” he asked, crouching down to Max’s level as he noticed his breathing was raspy.

“I’m okay, it’s just my throat itches,” Max said.

“What’d you eat, buddy?”

“Get away from my kid, Dalton, he doesn’t need anything.”

Dalton could see that Max’s lips were starting to swell. “Do you have his medicine bag?” Dalton asked calmly as he stood to face Tyler eye to eye.

“What bag?”

“The red bag with his allergy meds and inhaler, where is it?” Dalton asked through gritted teeth. Max was starting to cough, and he clutched his throat.

“I don’t have any bag, he’s fine,” Tyler said, pulling on Max’s shoulder right as Max threw up at Tyler’s feet.

Tyler swore, and Dalton scooped Max up. “It’s alright, buddy, I’m just going to get you to the medical tent and we’ll get you your medicine.”

Max nodded, but Dalton could see that he was wheezing and his pupils were dilated with fear. Dalton started to push through the crowd to get Max to the bright red tent at the end of the street, where he was praying Brooke had an EpiPen. Max wrapped himself around Dalton as he started to pick up the pace, and he finally found the medical tent where Brooke stood watching the crowd. As soon as she spotted them, she looked panicked.

“What happened?” she asked as Dalton laid Max down on the small table Brooke had set up.

“Do you have an EpiPen? I think he ate something with nuts in it.”

“What? Yes, in the blue bag.” Dalton was already opening the familiar medical bag as Brooke pushed Max’s hair back off his brow. “It’s okay, baby, we’re just going to have to give you your medicine, alright?”

Max wheezed and Dalton popped the top off the children’s EpiPen and held Max legs down with one arm. “Just a small pinch, Max, and then you’ll get some relief to breathe, son,” Dalton said, and then with gentle force pushed the EpiPen down into Max’s thigh and held it in place for a count of ten.

Max wailed, but Brooke whispered to him and kissed his brow. Next Dalton gently massaged the area and got an ice pack to place on Max’s thigh. He grabbed a stethoscope and an inhaler from the medical kit just as Wes walked up.

“What can I do to help? You wanna load him in my cruiser and we’ll get him to the hospital?”

“Yah, he might need a second dose, but I’d like to let this one work for a minute or two first.”

Brooke grabbed a few baby wipes that she kept on hand to wipe down Max’s face just as Tyler walked up leisurely, as if there was no emergency.

“He couldn’t breathe! You gave him peanuts, and he’s deathly allergic to them. What is wrong with you?” Brooke yelled.

“I didn’t give him peanuts; I gave him an ice cream and the little shit barfed all over my shoes.”

Dalton saw red, but before he could respond, Wes intervened and put himself between Tyler and Dalton. “Look, Tyler, Max is going to the hospital and you’ve just been reported for child endangerment, so why don’t you do yourself a favor and quit while you’re behind.”

Wes’s two deputies stood close by, ready to react, while Dalton refocused on Max. For the second time he scooped the boy up and Max wrapped his hands around Dalton’s neck and whimpered.

“It’s okay, champ, you were so brave. You did amazing,” Dalton said and kissed Max’s sweaty brow. He would just sit in the back of Wes’s cruiser to transport Max to the hospital. Brooke grabbed her bag and got on the other side to ride with them, and once she was in, she scooted as close to Dalton and Max as she could get.

“I’ve never been in a police car before,” Max said in a soft raspy voice, his cheeks still wet from his hot tears.

His breathing was already back to normal, and Dalton smiled.

“You better make sure you don’t make a habit of it unless you’re driving one,” Wes said from the front seat as he hit the siren.

“That sounds almost as cool as being a ninja,” Max said.

Even Brooke had to laugh. “You Hart boys had better stop influencing my son and making him want to pursue such dangerous jobs.”

Wes pulled in front of the hospital and Dr. Tommy was already waiting there to meet them at the door. “How’s he doing?”

“I think the one pen did the trick, but we’ll want to keep an eye on him. I’m not sure how much exposure he had, but he threw up a lot as soon as the reaction took hold,” Dalton said as he carried Max into a waiting empty bay. Nurse Steph bustled in with an icey and worry etched over her face.

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