Blink of an Eye by Rexanne Becnel

Author:Rexanne Becnel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Despite the frantic work the United States Army Corps of Engineers had been doing to pump the city dry and shore up the damaged levees, Hurricane Rita brought new floodwaters back into areas that had barely begun to dry. The winds weren’t much of a problem, but the tidal surge roared across the already devastated wetlands and poured through the levee breaches. The flooding was not as deep or widespread as before, but it emphasized just how vulnerable we were, and set off a new round of pessimism.

But there were a few good things happening. The day after the storm, Ben went to check out a new medical clinic being set up in a nearby high school. He was anxious to get us out of tents and into a cleaner, more stable facility. At the same time he didn’t want to lose the appeal of a street clinic and its accessibility. Treating wounds, broken bones, overdoses and even heart attacks as soon as possible was paramount since there were no longer any hospitals operating in the city. That meant no emergency rooms, no surgeries and very little diagnostic testing.

“Do you think we’ll have to close down?” I asked Tess as we ate a lunch of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.

“We might relocate.”

I shook my head, then ripped off a piece of crust and tossed it to Lucky. “I can’t work in a real clinic. My license isn’t current.”

“So reapply.”

If only it were that easy. “Do you really think the licensing board is concerned with ex-nurses right now when there are probably thousands of real nurses who are out of jobs?”

“But where are those nurses? If they evacuated before the storm, they’re stuck in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas. Places like that. You’re here, Jane. They need people like you. Apply for your license. Start the process.”

Tess was so matter-of-fact, so no-nonsense that she actually made me feel it might be possible. I’d had no record of substance abuse for the past six years, no DWIs or arrests, and Tess and Ben would probably agree to be listed as references. I hoped the board wouldn’t hold it against me that even without a license I’d worked as a nurse these past two weeks. Surely these were special circumstances.

I promised myself that I would at least inquire about it. But I didn’t want Ben and Tess to know what I was doing because I might be turned down. More than anything I didn’t want to be humiliated in front of them.

When Ben returned he was full of plans. “We talked about keeping the health services in the square strictly as a first-aid station. We’ll send anything more involved than shots, bandages and a couple of stitches on to the bigger clinic. I also learned that the military is setting up a field hospital in the Convention Center that will serve civilians, too.”

“In the nick of time,” Tess said. “I heard on the radio that some zip codes are opening up this Thursday. With more people coming back there’s bound to be a lot more demand for medical services.

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