Beyond These Hills (41 page)

“Yes they have, but we both know we have never been more than friends. You're going to find somebody you love, and I'm going to be happy for you.” She smiled. “I'll try to like her better than you did Andrew.”

Jimmy grinned. “Well, I have to say I saw a different side to him up on that mountain. I never would have figured him to put himself in danger for a fellow he didn't even know. I'm sorry I didn't try to see his good side earlier.”

Laurel smiled. “That's okay. I knew it was there. He just had to find it for himself.” As she said the last word, she realized that's what Andrew had found when he visited her grandfather. When he'd turned his life over to God, he'd discovered the man just waiting to be awakened by God's love. And now she had to accept the fact that he was gone. She burst into tears. “Oh, Jimmy, why did he find it so late?”

Jimmy put his arms around her, and she buried her face in his chest as she sobbed out her grief. She didn't know how long they stood that way, but she suddenly felt his arms tighten. He gave a low whistle and said, “Well, would you look at that? I wouldn't have believed it in a million years.”

She pulled back from him and stared up into his face, but he gazed over her head into the distance. A smile curled his lips. He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face in the other
direction. At first she didn't know what she was looking for. Then she saw him.

Andrew stumbled along the road that led into Tremont, and he had a man's body draped over his back. “Andrew!” she screamed as she raced down the front steps and across the footbridge to the road.

Behind her, she could hear Jimmy's voice. “Pa! Come quick! Andrew's back.”

She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. Andrew staggered and dropped to his knees in the road right before she got to him, but he didn't let go of the man on his back. Ted and Jimmy got to him just as she did and took hold of Glenn, but Andrew frowned and tightened his grip.

“No,” he rasped. “Have to get him to a doctor.”

Ted pried Andrew's hands loose. “It's okay, son. We've got him now.”

Together they lifted Glenn, who moaned aloud. Laurel dropped to her knees in front of Andrew and cupped his face in her hands. She could hardly make out his features from the tears streaming down her face. “Andrew, can you hear me? It's Laurel.”

He frowned and swayed. “Laurel? I've got to get back to Laurel.”

“I'm here, Andrew. Don't you see me?”

A violent fit of coughing attacked him, and his body shook uncontrollably with spasms. When they passed, he leaned over and spit phlegm onto the ground. Laurel's eyes grew large at the flecks of soot it contained. She cast a terrified glance at Ted. “What's wrong with him?”

“I don't know. We need to get him and Glenn both over to the doctor's place.”

Several men ran up about then. “Need any help?” one of them asked.

Ted pointed to Andrew. “These fellows just made it down the mountain from fighting the fire. We need to get them over to the doctor's office.”

They nodded, reached down, and lifted Andrew to his feet. Then
they positioned themselves on either side and supported his weight as they followed Jimmy and Ted, who carried Glenn. Laurel ran ahead of them to alert the doctor that two injured men were being brought in.

When she reached the building that served as the camp infirmary, she pushed the door open and ran into the waiting room. “Doctor, we need help!”

The doctor appeared in the doorway of an adjacent room. “What's wrong?”

“They're bringing in two of the injured firefighters.”

“Tell them to bring them on in here when they arrive.” He whirled and disappeared back into what she assumed was the examination room.

Before she could answer, Jimmy and Ted staggered through the door. She pointed toward the exam room. “In here.”

As they disappeared inside, the men who supported Andrew entered the building. She bit her tongue to keep from crying out at his appearance. Red welts ran up his arm where his shirt had burned away, and his red lips stood out in contrast to his pale face. He mumbled something, but she couldn't make out what he said.

She watched through the open door as they laid Andrew on one bed and Glenn on another. When they had them settled, Ted pointed first to Andrew and then to Glenn. “Doc, this is Andrew Brady. He works with the Park Service. And this is Glenn Carter. He's one of the Little River workers. They were trapped by the fire up on the mountain. We thought they were dead, but Brady just now stumbled into town carrying Carter on his back.” He shook his head in amazement. “The last time we saw them they were trapped behind a wall of fire. I don't know how they survived, and I sure don't know how Brady carried Carter all the way back to town on his back.”

The doctor nodded. “Sounds like they've had a mighty rough time. Now if you men will wait outside, I'll let you know how they are after I complete my examination.”

The men turned and rejoined her in the waiting room just as the front door flew open. A woman in a nurse's uniform rushed inside and headed toward the examination room. “I'm sorry, sir,” she said, “I was at the general store when I heard we have patients. What's the problem?”

The door closed before the doctor could answer, and Laurel was left to pace the floor. Jimmy stepped in front of her and blocked her path. “Do you want Mama to come stay with you until the doctor can tell you something?”

She shook her head. “No, you stay with me.”

He nodded. “I'll stay for as long as you need me.”

Laurel glanced around and realized the men who'd helped them had already left. She directed her gaze at Ted. “Why don't you go on too?”

“I need to stay and find out about Glenn.”

“I'll stay for you, Pa,” Jimmy said. “I'll find out what the doctor says.”

Ted nodded. “I'll go tell Mr. Mercer that Glenn's here and then go back to the hotel.”

Laurel watched Ted leave before she walked to one of the chairs along the wall and dropped down. She clasped her hands in her lap and squeezed them together. The memory of how happy she'd been when Andrew appeared on the road returned. That joy had soon turned to fear when she realized he didn't even recognize her. She cast a nervous glance at the closed door.

Andrew was going to be all right, she told herself. He had to be. After all, he'd survived a fire when no one said it was possible. God wouldn't let him come through that experience only to let him die now that he was safe. Surely God wouldn't do that.

She bowed her head. “Please, God. Let him live,” she prayed.

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a clock on the opposite wall. She stared at it as it ticked off the minutes. With each movement of the clock's minute hand, she added a new plea for the life of the man she loved.

Chapter 20

F
or the past hour Laurel had divided her time between pacing across the waiting room floor and sitting in her chair with her gaze riveted on the wall clock. The minutes ticked by slower than she could believe. Why hadn't the doctor come out and told her something about Andrew's condition?

Almost as if she'd conjured him up, the door popped open and the doctor stepped into the room. She and Jimmy were on their feet instantly. She balled her hands into fists and clenched them at her sides as he walked toward them.

He smiled as he stopped in front of her. His gray hair and wire-rimmed glasses combined with the kind expression in his eyes reminded Laurel of Uncle Charles, who'd been a mountain doctor and traveled these hills for years. She held her breath and waited for him to speak.

“I didn't get a chance to introduce myself when you came in. I'm Dr. Caldwell. Which one of the patients are you with?”

She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “I'm Laurel Jackson. I'm with Andrew Brady. I'm his fiancée.” The word felt strange on her tongue, but it also felt so right because it bound her to Andrew in a special way.

Beside her Jimmy spoke up. “I'm here for Andrew too, but Glenn works with me. I need to let the Little River people know how he is.”

The doctor nodded. “Does he have any family in this camp?”

Jimmy shook his head. “No, sir. His family lives at Townsend.”

“I see. Well, I'm sure you realized in addition to exhaustion and some smoke inhalation he has a broken leg. I've got a temporary splint on it, but he needs a hospital. As bad as the break is, I'd recommend sending him on to Knoxville. Tell Mr. Mercer we need either a car or truck to transport him.”

Jimmy nodded. “I will. And what about Andrew?”

The doctor turned to Laurel. “That's a mighty brave young man you've got there, Miss Jackson. He's got a bad burn on his arm, and we've got that taken care of for the present time. But it's the other thing I'm worried about.”

Her heart skipped a beat, and she sucked in her breath. “What other thing?”

“He's suffering from smoke inhalation too. I'm sure you noticed he was disoriented and coughing and how his lips were a bright red. These are all signs of smoke inhalation. I'm afraid his is much worse than the other young man's.”

Her legs trembled, and she reached for Jimmy's arm to steady herself. “How much worse?”

The doctor pursed his lips and stared into her eyes. “I wish I could tell you. Right now it's a wait and see game. He's coughing up a lot of the phlegm that's settled in his lungs, and that's good. One of the dangers, though, is that the airways will start to swell and he won't be able to breathe or to cough up the phlegm.”

Her eyes grew wider. “Is there anything you can do?”

“I'll watch him closely for the next twenty-four hours. If I see that his throat is closing up, I can run an endotracheal tube down to keep the passageway open. That's quite uncomfortable for the patient, so I hope I don't have to do that.”

She nodded. “I see. So in the meantime we just wait.”

“That's right. My nurse will sit with him tonight and will let me know if his condition changes.”

“Can I stay too?”

He regarded her with a smile and shook his head. “You need your sleep so you can help him recuperate. Go back to the hotel and come back in the morning. If he's better then, you can sit with him all day. You might even be able to take him back to the hotel tomorrow.”

Laurel looked at the closed door and then at the doctor. “Can I at least see him before I go?”

“Yes, for a few minutes, but he may not be awake.”

“That's all right. I just need to see that he's alive. I'd almost given up hope he'd make it back.”

The doctor smiled, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “I understand. Come with me.”

As she started to follow him, Jimmy touched her arm and stopped her. “I'll go make arrangements for Glenn to be transported, but I'll come back and check on you.”

She nodded and walked behind the doctor into the small exam room. Andrew and Glenn lay on beds at opposite ends of the room. She rushed to Andrew and stared down at him.

The soot had been washed away, but his red lips reminded her of the seriousness of his condition. A lightweight quilt covered him, and his bandaged right arm lay on top of it. She dropped to her knees beside the bed and wrapped her hand around his fingers. “Andrew,” she whispered. “It's Laurel. You're safe now, and you're here with me.”

The doctor leaned down and whispered. “I've given him a light sedative. He probably can't hear you.”

She scooted closer to the bed, bent over, and kissed him on the cheek. He stirred in his sleep, and his mouth twitched in a slight smile. “That's all right. He knows I'm here.”

“Help!”

Andrew bolted to a sitting position. Frantically, he turned his head from side to side and looked for the person who had called for help, but he couldn't see anything in the dark cave. A hand touched his arm, and he recoiled.

“Mr. Brady, you're safe.”