Gail Martin - The Firefighter's New Family

Hoping the child’s voice would trigger results, Devon searched the woman’s face.

Her eyelids fluttered.

Relief. “Don’t move, ma’am, until—”

“It’s Mama.” The boy’s determination was evident.

He released a breath. “Mama.” He needed the toddler out of his arms, but he didn’t have the heart to put him down, fearing what he might do. The woman needed to keep still. “Is anyone else in the house, Joey?”

The toddler didn’t respond, his eyes focused on his mother.

Devon used his index finger to shift the boy’s face toward him. “No one’s home? Where’s your daddy?”

The boy’s expression remained blank.

No daddy? His chest tightened. He’d seen her and the boy outside, sometimes walking and sometimes she pulled him in the wagon. He’d never seen a man, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have a husband.

The woman’s eyes opened, and she tried to lift her head.

“Stay still. Don’t move.” He placed his hand against her shoulder, encouraging her to remain quiet. “Where do you hurt?”

Fear filled her dazed expression. “What happened?”

“The tree fell, Mama.” Joey’s voice cut through the air.

“Joey?” Her eyes closed again.

“He’s fine. I have him right here.” He touched her arm. “What is your name, ma’am?” The salutation flew out before he could stop it.

Her lids flickered, then opened. “Ashley. Ashley Kern.”

“Good.” He gave her arm a reassuring pat before double-checking the facts. “Are you home alone?”

“It’s only me and Joey.”

Sirens sounded in the distance, growing nearer every second. “Please try not to move until help comes.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit 911 again. “Ann, this is Lieutenant Murphy. I’m still on West Drayton near Pinehurst. I have a female pinned under a large limb from a fallen tree. She is conscious. Pulse is faint but steady. I see blood on her left pant leg. I suspect she has a bone fracture. Likely a compound fracture with the bleeding. I’ll need a paramedic ambulance and HURT.”

The child’s body stiffened.

“Help’s on the way, Lieutenant.”

“Mama’s hurt?” Fear filled the boy’s voice.

He hit End and slipped the phone into his pocket, realizing the child misunderstood. Now he had to appease the boy’s fear. “Joey.” He bounced the boy on his hip. “HURT is what we call people who know how to lift the tree so we can get your mama out without hurting her.” Any more than she was already injured. His stomach churned, viewing the blood and the large limb holding her fast.

As he finished, the first truck pulled across the street. The men dropped to the ground, most heading for the downed wires, but his friend Clint Donatelli dashed across the road toward him, taking in the scene. “What do we have here?”

“This boy’s mother’s trapped. She’s dazed but conscious.” He motioned toward her. “I called for help.”

Clint crouched beside her and felt her pulse. “You’ll be out of here shortly, ma’am.” He rose and gave Devon a thumbs-up, then ran to the street and crossed.

A police car pulled up at the curb, and before the officers left the car, new sirens drew closer. “Here they come, Joey. These are the good guys who’ll help your mom...mama.”

“Good guys.” Joey’s grip had lessened as confidence replaced his look of fear.

In moments, the ambulance and HURT truck arrived. The men hurried to his side carrying equipment they would need. He stepped back to let them work. While one crew set off air bags beneath the lower and upper part of the limb that anchored Ashley to the concrete, another team built the cribbing, the hardwood structure used to brace the tree’s weight if either of the air bags moved and the tree slipped off the bags. Paramedics moved in with a c-collar, splints and a backboard to immobilize her for the ride to the hospital.

Joey’s tears flowed again.

He nestled the child closer. “These are the good guys, Joey. See, they’re going to lift the big tree away from your mama and then move her to the ambulance so she can go to the hospital to make sure she’s okay.”

The child’s earlier confidence had vanished, even with his reference to the good guys. Devon’s stomach knotted while he tried to explain to the toddler what the crew was doing. When Ashley had been strapped to the backboard and shifted from beneath the limb, Devon moved closer, knowing he needed answers about Joey. “Ashley, I need someone to care for your boy. Tell me who to call. I’ll explain what happened.” He turned to the nearest paramedic. “Are you going to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak?”

The medic nodded.

He followed beside Ashley as they carried her down the driveway. “Ashley, is your husband at work?”

Her eyelids lowered. “No husband. Call my sister. Neely Andrews.”

Devon pulled out his cell phone. “Joey, your mama will be okay, but she has to go to the hospital so doctors can make everything better."

Fear returned to the toddler’s eyes.

Kicking himself, he wished he hadn’t mentioned the hospital, but he had to be honest. “Your aunt Neely will come to get you, okay?”

Joey’s arms tightened around his neck. “’Kay.” Though Joey’s voice was hushed, Devon sensed Ashley heard him.

He punched in the numbers as Ashley struggled to relate them. As the phone rang, he shifted away, hoping what Joey heard next didn’t upset him. The woman’s voice jerked him back to the phone call. “Neely?”

The line was silent a moment. “Yes?”

“This is Lieutenant Murphy from the Ferndale Fire Department.” He heard her intake of breath and wished the call could have begun differently. “Your sister Ashley asked me to call.”

“Is it a fire? The house? What happened?”

He provided the details as best he could with Joey listening. “Would you like to pick up Joey here, or should I meet you at Beaumont emergency?”

“Beaumont. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.”

He stopped to relay his destination to Clint and noticed a neighbor standing at a distance. He waved the man over. “Do you know Ashley?”

“Sure. She’s a good neighbor, and so’s Joey.” He chucked the boy under the chin. “Is she okay?”

“She’ll be fine.”

“Can we keep an eye on Joey for her?” The man opened his arms.

Joey let out a cry. “Mama.” He reached toward her. “I want my mama.”

“His aunt is meeting us at Beaumont. I think Ashley will feel better knowing he’s there, but thanks for the offer.” He turned away but stopped. “Can you secure the house?”

“Sure thing. We have a key.” He motioned to the broken window. “I’ll cover it for her, too. Tell her not to worry.”

Before Devon could thank him, a car careened into the man’s driveway, and a woman with a halo of white hair jumped out, her hand to her mouth and her eyes wide as a basketball as she darted toward the man. “What happened? Where’s Ashley?”

Devon used the distraction to make his exit. House secured. Window covered. Now, Joey. He gave the boy a hug, thinking of his own young daughter and how she might respond in an emergency.

With Kaylee on his mind, he remembered he would need a car seat to transport Joey. He carried him across the street and located the car seat stored in his garage. The plastic he’d used to cover it was dusty, but beneath, the seat looked like new. He grinned, picturing Kaylee strapped in the chair and singing nursery rhymes whenever they went somewhere. Now more than a year older, he’d purchased a larger restraint seat for her.

Once Joey was strapped into the backseat, Devon slid behind the steering wheel and headed toward Beaumont, sending up a prayer for Ashley’s well-being.