Miracle at Christmas by Debbie Mason

Author:Debbie Mason
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2017-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

There was standing room only in the emergency room at Christmas General, where Matt waited for someone to stitch his head. At least he had company to keep him entertained. The McBride brothers, their great-aunt’s best friends Ted and Fred, and a few guys from the old-timers’ hockey league Matt played on, including the sheriff’s husband and owner of the Penalty Box, Sawyer Anderson. Jill was there, too. So was Ethan O’Connor, three guys from Search and Rescue, and two of Matt’s firefighter friends.

And that right there was why he loved the town of Christmas, Colorado. He counted himself blessed. And lucky. Other than a mild concussion, some scrapes and bruises, and a minor head wound, he’d survived tonight’s explosion in one piece. Both firefighters had escaped with minor injuries, too. The person Matt was most worried about was the young mother they’d extracted from the car just before it blew.

He raised his voice to make himself heard. His visitors were getting loud. “Jill, how are Jane Doe’s kids?” Whatever could’ve helped them identify the woman was now destroyed by the explosion, and, as far as Matt knew, the kids weren’t talking. Matt suspected the older boy—who was maybe four—was in shock.

“They were having a hard time. Dr. Bailey thought it might help if they saw their mom. She has them in the room with her now. Before you ask, yes, she’s still unconscious, but she’s stable. Thanks to you and your field work.”

It was more thanks to his time in the military. He’d learned to think on his feet and improvise. “Cold weather helped some.”

“So, you and Dr. Bailey, anything to share?” Gage asked Matt.

“Ah, no, and I’m not sure why you’re asking.”

“He can’t help himself. He has three daughters,” his older brother Chance said.

“What do you mean you don’t know why Gage is asking? The only reason a woman runs toward danger instead of away from it is—”

Matt cut Ted off before he said what he thought he was going to. Insinuating that Charlotte was in love with him wouldn’t do either of them any good, especially in a small town. Especially given their last exchange. He had little doubt his boss had a few things to say to him about overruling her at the scene tonight. “I wasn’t actually thinking or seeing clearly for a few minutes. But the only reason Charlotte would run to my aid is because she’s a doctor.”

“No, siree, the woman had tears streaming down her face. She thought you were dead. Ain’t that the truth, Ted?” Fred asked his best friend of seventy years.

They reminded Matt of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men. Fred was Walter, and Ted was Jack. Only it wasn’t Ted and Fred who worried him. It was their best friend, Nell McBride.

Maybe Matt’s hearing had been affected by the blast or his concussion was worse than he thought. Because he was pretty sure Fred had just said Charlotte was crying. He glanced at Jill, figuring it was safer to ask her than Fred or Ted.

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