Page 25 of Five Alarm Love
Tuli ignored the soaking rain as he strolled back down the path, humming a pleasant tune.
Chapter Nine
Two days later,on Tuesday, Lou and Mav off-loaded a stable patient with shortness of breath in room three of the Yukon Valley Hospital emergency department.Seasoned ER nurse Clyde had already begun his evaluation before she could exit with the gurney.
The department buzzed with activity this afternoon.The triage nurse-slash-receptionist was bringing back a man who clutched his arm.Judging by the angle of that forearm and the pain on the man’s face, it looked like a cast was in his future.
Low whispers came from the health unit coordinator, an older woman, and another nurse on shift, Amberlyn, who had helped out during the recent fire.Johan, an environmental service worker, pushed his floor buffer over to them, shut it off, and joined in the quiet conversation.Lou smiled at the avid expressions and gestures as the three staff members chatted.Then Amberlyn looked up.
At Lou.
The wordspicnicandriverandRyan’s girlfrienddrifted over to her.Then she heard her name.
Lou froze.
After a few seconds, Amberlyn broke away and joined her as Lou resecured the gurney straps for the third time.
“Good afternoon,” Mav said, always amiable.“Hey, how are Wayne Sr.and Anna Beck doing?”
“Good.Stable, I mean.”Amberlyn toyed with the badge on her lanyard clip.“Both were flown out to Fairbanks that night.Anna’s recovering quickly.Wayne Sr.is still in ICU, but it looks like his airway swelling has gone down.Heard they might extubate him soon.Hopefully, he’ll make a full recovery.Any word on what started the fire?”
Mav shook his head.“State troopers and the state fire marshal’s office are still analyzing evidence.”
Lou hadn’t considered that the fire might not have been an accident.Who would have done this to the Becks?Why?
“Hopefully, they’ll figure things out.”Amberlyn looked at both of them.“How are things at the Yukon 911 department?Haven’t seen you guys in a while.Not that I’m complaining.”
“You know.Saving lives.Getting ready for Dee’s wedding later this month.”Mav secured the portable telemetry unit at the head of the bed.
“What about you?”she asked, turning toward Lou with a pleasantly feral smile.“Any interesting developments in your world?”
Lou suppressed the groan bubbling up from her chest and kept what she hoped was a neutral expression.She had known Amberlyn since middle school, but they weren’t close friends.They were, however, work acquaintances.Unfortunately, the staff of Yukon Valley Hospital and its emergency department had quite the reputation for relentless matchmaking activities.
Lou fed the gossip beast a dry and tasteless morsel.“Mostly working with this guy.”She lifted her chin toward Mav and then changed the subject.“How about you?”
Amberlyn toyed with the ends of her dark hair and utterly ignored the bait.“Any plans for the Salmon Festival this weekend?Or a date to the wedding?”
Mav snorted.
Lou’s face burned.
For years, she had kept her own counsel for advice.Ever since she had opened up to a friend in high school, who then blasted her secrets all over the classroom, Lou had been intensely private.The disaster fallout from dating Ryan reinforced that decision.“No plans at this time.”
Amberlyn frowned.“That’s odd.I figured you’d be going with someone.”She paused.“I could set you up with the new lab scientist, Reginald.”
Lou gripped the handle on the end of the gurney with sweaty hands.Her world went off-kilter.She didn’t want setups, especially public ones.She glanced over her shoulder, hoping that Reginald wasn’t wandering into the ED.
Mav chuckled.“I’ve heard he’s a nice guy.He’s really into dogsledding in his free time.My babies and his had a playdate a few weeks ago.”
“Huh?”Lou tilted her head.
Her partner shrugged.“You know, a play date.Running our dog teams on summer trails.Same thing.”Mav’s love for his dogs, his “babies,” as he and Dee called the family’s dogsled team, was local legend.
Then Amberlyn added, “Speaking of babies, you and Reginald would make amazing ones.Both of you are so good-looking.Good genes and all.”
Lou froze.Her heart sped up double-time.Her vision dimmed at the edges.Was Amberlyn joking?
For a second, Lou considered sprinting out of the building and not stopping.
