that Rick called, “Lauren, catch.” A blanket fell into the cab. She passed it to the doctor as another hit her on the head.
“Rick, we’re going to need the rope and you up here,” she called.
“What’re you thinking?” Dr. Samuels asked as he tucked the blankets around Lewis.
“Tie the rope under his arms and have Rick pull him out as we push and steady him.”
“Sounds like a plan. He needs to be in a warmer place than this. I need to check for any broken bones.”
“Lauren, here you go,” Rick yelled from above them as he lowered an end of rope to them. “Just got a message the ambulance is still twenty minutes out.”
Dr. Samuels uttered another word under his breath that she wouldn’t want her two-year-old to hear, or repeat.
She announced, “Rick, it’s going to take us a few minutes to get Lewis secured, then on my word I want you to pull. We’ll help from down here.”
Seconds later Rick was holding his flashlight over them.
“As I lift can you get the rope in position?” Lauren asked Dr. Samuels as she wrapped her arms around Lewis once more.
“Yeah.” The doctor wound the rope around Lewis and tied it off.
“I’m going up to the door to make sure he doesn’t topple over the side as we pull him out.” She started her climb, but her foot slipped. She fell against Dr. Samuels. His body was hard and his strong hands grabbed her at the waist. “Sorry,” she muttered.
“You get a handhold and I’ll help you out,” he ground out.
Once she was on the engine hood, Lauren remained on her stomach, twisted around and grabbed the rope. Rick laid the flashlight down and stationed himself behind her. “Okay, on three. One, two, three.”
Lauren wrapped her hands around the rope. She pulled with all her might until her muscles burned with the effort. Between her and Rick pulling and Dr. Samuels pushing, Lewis’s head came over the door edge then his shoulders.
“Wait. Hold him steady. Let me get hold of him.” Using her legs, she dragged Lewis while Rick pulled and the doctor lifted. Lauren kept working until Lewis almost lay across her, his back to her front.
Rick hurried to help her. With Lewis on the engine hood, they rolled him on his side, placed a blanket beside him, and gently positioned him on it before bundling him up and tucking it around him. Cracking all the heating picks she had, she placed them along his side then put another blanket around him. Now they had the chore of lowering him to the ground.
Dr. Samuels, with his bag across his shoulders, hoisted himself out of the cab. He must be freezing in his less-than-suitable clothes, but she hadn’t heard a complaint or seen a wince.
With Lewis wrapped burrito-style, she grabbed the rope and tied it around his thighs and shoulders. They couldn’t have Lewis slipping out of control.
“This isn’t the first time you’ve done this,” Dr. Samuels observed from behind her.
“No.” She didn’t slow to look at him. “Rick, you ready?”
“Ready.”
The doctor grabbed the rope. “What do I need to do?”
In the dim light provided by Rick’s flashlight and the running police cruiser headlights she could see Dr. Samuels’ fingers were turning dark. He would need attention as well. But that would have to wait until Lewis was taken care of. “We need to keep the rope taut between us as we lower him so that he remains as level as possible.”
He nodded.
“On three. One, two, three.”
Slowly they lowered Lewis a couple of feet to Rick’s waiting hands. Minutes later Lewis was on the ground and she was climbing off the tractor. She had just reached the pavement when she was bumped. The doctor had slipped. Seconds later they were sprawling entangled in the snow.
He was the first to recover. His arms were around her and his face close. “I’m sorry. Are you hurt?”
She blinked. “No.”
“Good.” He scrambled to his feet.
Lauren followed his lead.
“We need to get Lewis out of the elements and see where that ambulance is.” He hurried toward Rick, who was untying Lewis.
“I have the cruiser running so it’s warm. The back seat is clear,” Rick informed them.
As he and Rick carried Lewis around the back of the tractor to the waiting car, Lauren rushed to the far side of the vehicle. Opening the door, she climbed in as Rick laid Lewis’s shoulders on the seat. She placed her arms under Lewis’s armpits and pulled him toward her. As she did so Dr. Samuels helped by pushing from his end. She kept going until the boy lay across the seat. Before she could straighten up, the doctor joined her on her side.
“Let’s get a set of vitals on him,” he said with authority. “Rick, could you see to the guy in the truck? The best I could tell, he just has a head wound. I’m not sure how serious. Also, check the ETA on the ambulance.”
The doctor was good with issuing orders, but he had stood back when she’d been the one giving them earlier. Hadn’t arrogantly assumed command of the situation as other male doctors might have done. She appreciated his unspoken acceptance of her as his professional equal.
Lauren went to the other door, leaving him room to work. Putting down her bag, she removed her stethoscope and blood-pressure cuff. Lewis was so thin there was a chance she could get a reading from his calf. She didn’t want to remove the blankets or his jacket unless absolutely necessary. Instead she pushed at Lewis’s pants leg in an effort to get it beyond his boot top. Succeeding, she placed the cuff around his leg. With relief, she found it just fit.
“His heart rate is erratic. It wasn’t when I first checked,” Dr. Samuels said. “BP?”
“One forty-three over one hundred and two.”
He shook his head. “We’ve got to get him to a hospital. We don’t have time to waste. Can you get a temp while I check on Rick?”
“Yes.”
He disappeared into the night through the blinding snow.
Finding the thermometer, she closed the door to keep the heat in and carefully moved around to Lewis’s head and ran the electronic instrument over his forehead. Ninety-six. The acid taste of panic filled her. Lewis was well on his way to hypothermia. With a grateful heart and elation knowing no bounds, she saw the lights of the ambulance arriving.
Dr. Samuels came up behind her. “Go help Rick get the other man here while I report to the EMTs. I may need to ride in with Lewis.”
Lauren didn’t miss the concern in his voice or him blowing on his cupped hands. He was in pain as well was her guess. Would he shorten his stay in Last Stop after this adventure?
* * *
