Page 88 of The Complication with the Best Man

Finn is scheduled to work today, so he said he would meet me. The chief said it was no problem if he ducked out for half an hour as long as he kept a radio on him in case something went down.

I’m just leaving the office to head to my parked car farther down Main Street when some kind of commotion ahead draws my attention. I realize that a few people are gathered around an older woman’s body on the road between two parked cars.

I rush over and see that one of the bystanders is on the phone, presumably calling for an ambulance.

“What happened?” I ask the elderly man crouched by his wife.

He looks up at me with glossy eyes. “I don’t know. She said she felt funny and then she clutched her chest before she fell. Hit her head on the curb. I don’t know if she’s breathing!”

This man is starting to lose it. I glance at her head and realize that her head is bleeding profusely. My legs get weak, and I feel myself list to the side, but I draw in a deep breath and reach out to the car beside me for support.

So much blood.

“Can you help her?” her husband says.

Something in me snaps to attention at his plea, and I spring into action without thinking about it. I toss my purse on the ground and quickly pull off my jacket, holding it out to him. “Here. Take this and apply pressure to her head to stop the bleeding while I check for a pulse.”

I think back to that night at the retirement home and how Finn demonstrated checking for a pulse, and I place my index and middle finger on her neck. When I don’t feel a pulse, I try to find one on the other side just in case and find nothing.

Panic threatens to override my thoughts, but I push it away.

“We’re going to need to do CPR. I need someone to tilt her head back, pinch her nose, and breathe into her mouth when I say.” I look up at the gathering crowd.

A man in his forties steps up. “I’ll do it.” He gets down on the ground beside her head. There’s not a ton of room, but he makes it work as best he can.

The elderly man looks so scared, my heart breaks for him.

“She’s going to be okay. Just keep applying pressure on the side of her head where the cut is.”

I reposition myself so I’m straddling her and count out the chest compressions, telling the man when to breathe. This is hard work. I can fully see now why Finn said as much in his presentation.

Within a couple minutes, the sound of sirens fills Main Street. Then there’re some shouts, and the crowd around us parts. I don’t stop what I’m doing. Not until a pair of hands wraps around my shoulders, and I hear Finn say my name.

“Harper, honey, we’ll take over.”

I turn and look over my shoulder, and the relief I feel when I see his face is staggering. I let him help me up, then some other firefighters take over until the ambulance arrives. As soon as Finn has pulled me away, off onto the sidewalk, I burst into tears. He pulls me into his chest, and his familiar scent helps to settle me.

Finn sets me back by the shoulders and looks me over. “Are you okay? The baby?”

I nod and wipe my face. “Yeah. I don’t know what that was.”

He smooths my hair back from my face. “An adrenaline crash most likely.” Then he leans in and places a kiss on my forehead. “Let me go talk to the captain and tell him I’m taking you to see your aunt. I want to make sure everything is okay with you and the baby.”

I nod. “Okay.”

The ambulance arrives while I’m waiting for Finn to return, and they get the woman on the gurney.

“All right, let’s go. Guess I didn’t have to worry about being late for our appointment when the call came in, did I?” He wraps his arm around my shoulders as we make our way down the sidewalk toward my car.

I don’t say anything, still too in my head, replaying everything that just happened.

When we reach my vehicle, Finn holds out his hand. “Let me drive.” I nod, wordlessly digging for my keys in my purse and dropping them into his waiting palm. “You know you probably saved that woman’s life.”

My gaze flicks up to meet his. “Is she okay?”

“Her heart was beating again when they loaded her into the ambulance, thanks in part to you. One of the bystanders told me you jumped into action.”

“I guess I did do that.” A small smile tilts my lips.

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