Page 29 of Shattered Trust

He couldn't answer but followed Big Joe down the stairs and all the way outside. He was surprised to discover the sun was already up. He must have been inside the building longer than he'd thought.

The paramedic crew surrounded him, taking the boy from his arms and then pulling off his gear. He tried to tell them he was fine, but his voice came out as a weak croak.

They slapped oxygen on his face and hustled him over to the waiting ambulance. They continued plucking at his clothes and he yelped in pain when they found the spot in the center of his back that felt like hot lava.

One of them slapped a cold wet towel over the spot which helped a little. “Get him to the hospital, STAT!”

“I'm fine.” His voice was still husky, and he was more worried about the little boy than himself. He tried to get off the stretcher, but strong hands held him down. He gave up, deciding to put his faith in God.

Disconcerting to be the patient when he was normally stationed on the other side of the bed. Visions of the wildfire he'd fought alongside Sam danced at the edge of his mind. He must have blacked out for a few minutes because suddenly he was in the brightly lit emergency department with faces leaning over him.

Lindsey's face? His gaze clung to her familiar features as he tried to reassure her that he was fine. The frank concern in her eyes and the seriousness of her expression betrayed the depth of her worry.

As they gave him medication to help with the pain, his last conscious thought was regret that he'd put that expression of fear in her eyes. He should have remembered he wasn't only responsible for himself.

He was responsible for Lindsey and Josh, too. He needed to take better care of himself, for their sake.

Lindsey couldn't believe it when the ambulance crew wheeled Austin in as her next patient. The entire emergency department was swamped with other victims from the fire, thankfully most weren’t badly injured.

She'd learned Austin saved a young boy's life.

Almost at the expense of his own.

As she helped care for Austin, she was relieved to note his injuries weren't life threatening. His lungs didn't sound the greatest, and the emergency department physician ordered him to stay on thirty percent oxygen via face mask until his pulse ox readings crept up to the ninety percent range. He could have been so much worse.

“Lindsey?”

She turned from the computer to see Austin had finally woken up. The morphine they'd given him had put him under for almost thirty minutes. Thankfully, his vital signs remained stable. “I'm here.” She took his hand in hers, giving him a reassuring squeeze. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” His voice was low and husky and would have been sexy if she hadn't been worried about his vocal cords swelling from the smoke damage. “Water?”

“Sure.” She helped him sit up, keeping well away from the small burned area and held the cup for him as he drank. Seeing how helpless he looked shook her more than she cared to admit.

“The boy? Do you know how the young boy is doing?”

She knew he meant Noah Peterson, the boy who'd been taken by chopper to the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles. She nodded. “They flew him to Childrens for closer observation.”

He looked worried. “Childrens?”

“Yes. His breathing wasn't very good. They were talking about possibly using hyperbaric treatments on him, which we don't have here.”

He frowned. “Poor kid was in the apartment too long. We couldn't find him. He was hiding under the bed.”

She put a soothing hand on his forearm. “It's not your fault. You saved his life by finding him when you did.”

“I pray I found him in time.”

“You did.” She squeezed his arm. “Try to rest now, okay?”

His crooked smile was sheepish. “I guess I'm not used to being the patient.”

“No kidding,” she responded in a dry tone. He was always so strong, invincible. It was only because of God's grace that his injuries weren't worse.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered, his eyes half closed with fatigue. “I shouldn't have proposed... stupid...”

She stared at him, holding her breath. Now he thought it was stupid to want to marry her? It hurt to hear that. Although maybe he was specifically referring to his plan to marry her only to keep her out of debt. If he thought that was stupid, she had to agree. Marriage should be about love and commitment, not a free ride.

A lesson her mother hadn’t learned.

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