Tia watched, her heart racing, as he made slow progress through the swell, almost being knocked off his feet twice in the first minute alone.
As hairy as it was, though, Tia welcomed the challenge. It was better than being consumed with thoughts of Zeke, and how she and Seth hadn’t been enough to keep him home. Keep him safe.
Suddenly, Dan edged up in his seat.
‘I think there are two casualties.’
‘Say again?’ Moving across the boat, Tia put her head by his shoulder to follow the direction of his hand.
‘There. Beyond the girl who was signalling. Is that another figure on the rocks? Lying down?’
‘I see it.’ Tia nodded. ‘Definitely another person. Dan, I have to go with Vinny, and I’m going to take the spinal board.’
‘Then I’m going with you.’ Billy jerked upright so fast the boat rocked. ‘There’s no way you can get through that surf with a kit bag and a seven-foot board on your own.’
‘Fine.’ Tia nodded. ‘Okay, Dan? Good, let’s go.’
* * *
It took another twelve chilling minutes before she was grasping Vinny’s hand and he was hauling her and the spinal board onto the rocky beach. Billy was seconds behind.
‘Tread carefully,’ Vinny warned. ‘These rocks are particularly slippery. Okay, so casualties are Rebecca, eighteen, and her sixteen-year-old sister, Amy. They were both in the dinghy when it got caught by the wind and swept out of the bay. They ended up just off the shore here where the tide drove them to these rocks.’
Tia followed Vinny across the rocks as quickly and carefully as she could, with both Vinny and Billy carrying the board.
‘They got caught up in a swell just as they were coming in and the dinghy capsized. Amy was thrown cleanly into the water, but Rebecca was thrown onto something. She made it ashore but she’s complaining of severe pain in her neck. They’ve tried to lie her down as flat as they can, but it’s just not possible on the rocks.’
‘Okay, thanks.’ Tia hurried over to the sisters. ‘Hi, Amy, is it? My colleague Billy is going to check you out. I’m Tia, I’m a doctor. I’m going to look after your sister. Rebecca, can you tell me where it hurts?’
Carefully, Tia carried out a check of Rebecca, ascertaining pain in the girl’s left buttock and leg and an inability to move her left leg.
‘Okay, Rebecca, flower, you’re doing really well. I’m going to give you something to help with the pain and then we’re going to try to get you onto a spinal board. I’m going to have to cut away your wet clothes as well.’
She glanced over to where Billy was holding up a blanket to afford the sister a degree of privacy whilst she also got out of her wet things and into the insulating bag that he had pulled out of his kit.
His signal reassured Tia that, other than treatment to prevent hypothermia, he was confident there were no other medical concerns with the younger girl.
She turned to Vinny. ‘I’m going to administer some pain relief and let Dan know to scramble the coastguard’s search and rescue heli. I don’t want to risk trying to transfer her via board and boat, with her paralysis and neurological deficit. Can you look after Rebecca here, and then we’ll get Billy to help us put her on a spinal board?’
‘Yeah. Guess your last day is going out with a bang, then.’ He lifted his eyebrows. ‘Not exactly what you had in mind when you came in this morning?’
‘Not at all.’ Tia exhaled. ‘But as long as we get them away safely, that’s all that matters.’
* * *
When the door opened, she didn’t even bother to turn around. It would only be another person asking why she was leaving, telling her that she should stay.
She didn’t want to hear either. There was only one person she’d ever wanted to hear from. And he hadn’t wanted to say the words.
‘I hear you’re leaving.’
Tia froze. The familiar, uncompromisingly male voice rooting her to the spot. It took her a few long moments to answer.
‘Yes.’
Another silence stretched between them.
‘You shouldn’t. You’re good here. You fit in.’