‘Did you see it happen?’ His sharp tone brought her quickly back to the present and she shook her head.
‘No. But from the damage to the front of the car I guess it must have hit him.’ She tried to stop her teeth chattering. ‘The roads are very icy.’
Those cool blue eyes flickered to the car, his expression serious. ‘How many in the car?’
‘Two.’
‘Have you checked them?’
‘Briefly.’ Lucy responded without question to the authority in his voice. ‘They were both shouting and yelling so I thought that this man seemed more urgent.’
Dear God, she hoped she’d done the right thing. Her first aid was very rusty. What if the people in the car died because of her?
But this motorcyclist would definitely die if she moved her hands.
She swallowed. ‘This man has got a nasty laceration on his thigh and he’s bleeding from an artery. Oh, God, look…’ She stared helplessly at the pads under her fingers, which were already soaked through with blood. ‘What do we do?’
‘You keep pressing while I elevate the limb…’ The man wedged something under the injured leg and then briefly examined the young man with a skill and confidence that left her in no doubt as to his profession.
‘You’re a doctor,’ she mumbled with relief, and he gave her a brief smile.
‘For my sins.’ His gaze returned to the injured man. ‘This chap needs fluids urgently. How long ago did you call the ambulance?’
Lucy bit her lip. ‘About five minutes? We phoned immediately.’
‘They ought to use the helicopter,’ he muttered, shifting his position slightly. ‘Why don’t you check the couple in the car again?’ He glanced up at the young man, who was still hovering. ‘Can you take over here and press on the wound? That would leave us free to check on the others.’
Lucy opened her mouth to point out that the man had turned p
ale green at the sight of all the blood, but the doctor was already halfway through demonstrating the first aid for an arterial bleed, his tone brisk and matter-of-fact as he talked. His cool confidence seemed to have a positive effect on the driver and he was soon nodding agreement and preparing to take over from Lucy.
Relieved that someone who clearly knew what he was doing was now in charge, she swapped places with the other man and looked ruefully down at her hands.
‘There’s a water bottle on my bike.’ The blue eyed doctor had noticed her predicament and she smiled at him gratefully.
Seconds later she had cleaned up as best she could and was dealing with the people in the car.
The woman passenger had already dragged herself out through the sun roof and was sitting on the grass verge, blood trickling from a wound in her scalp. Judging that she was obviously not in immediate danger, Lucy turned her attentions to the driver.
After tugging at the door without success, she climbed onto the bonnet and talked to him through the sun roof.
‘Can you tell me where it hurts?’
The man groaned, his face chalk-white. ‘My legs.’
Lucy squinted down into the footwell, but the twisted metal stopped her seeing anything. ‘Can you wiggle your toes? Yes or no?’
‘Yes.’
Well, that was something, but there was still always the risk that he’d damaged his spine.
‘How are we doing here?’ The doctor was suddenly by her side, his gaze calm and appraising as he looked at her. How could he be so cool about the whole situation? Her insides were totally knotted.
‘His legs are trapped, but he’s got feeling,’ she told him, sliding off the bonnet and straightening her clothes quickly. ‘But I’m worried about his neck and I can’t get the door open. The passenger climbed out through the sun roof.’
‘We’ll deal with him first, then,’ the doctor murmured, taking a firm grip of the doorhandle and bracing his broad shoulders. ‘Let’s see what we can do about the door, shall we?’
Planting his foot on the car to give him extra leverage, he gave the door a powerful yank and it groaned open reluctantly. Noting the swell of muscle under his leathers, Lucy wondered how on earth she would have managed if he hadn’t come along. There was no way she could have opened that door.