A Simple Faith: A Lancaster Crossroads Novel (11 page)

“And Dat, too,” the other young girl called from the front of the van. “He’s nodded off here and something’s not quite right.”

Triage
, Haley thought. She had to prioritize, based on level of injury. She probably should have asked about other injuries when she first arrived at the scene, but she’d never done this before.

“I’ll be right there,” she called toward the front of the van. “Just let me know if he stops breathing, okay?”

“I will,” the girl’s voice called back.

Haley climbed into the side door of the van, stepping carefully around Jacob so that she could examine James. She moved her
stethoscope over his chest. “Healthy breath sounds,” she told the worried young woman. “And that’s a good thing.”

A sob slipped from the girl’s throat as she watched Haley open his closed eyelids and take his pulse.

“What’s your name?” Haley asked, mostly to distract the distraught girl.

“Rachel, and this is James.”

“Is he your brother, or a friend?”

“A friend. A good friend.”

“He’s lucky to have a friend like you holding on tight to him,” Haley said, listening to his heartbeat. It was slow and steady. A good heartbeat. But as she touched his coat she realized that there was a problem with his seat belt. James had been wearing only a lap belt during the collision. It was possible that he had suffered some sort of spinal injury, but diagnostics like that were way beyond her knowledge and experience.

“I keep praying that he’ll be all right,” Rachel said. “That he’ll just wake up and … and tell me he’s had a good rest and … and ask if we’re back in Halfway yet.”

“You never know,” Haley said, praying herself for this unlikely scenario to be true. The whooping sound of a siren in the distance gave her a modicum of relief.

Finally … some relief for Jacob.

“Do you hear that, Rachel?” Haley asked. She removed the earpieces of the stethoscope and let it rest around her neck. “The paramedics are on their way. They’re going to put James on a backboard, and they’ll probably put a neck brace on him. Just so you know when you see it. You won’t be afraid of it if you understand it, right?”

Another tear rolled down Rachel’s cheek. “And what should I do? What can I do to help him?”

“Keep praying,” Haley said. “Just keep praying.”

12

“
D
at? Won’t you wake up and talk to me? It’s me, Elsie.”

Most of her body was shaking, whether from cold or panic, Elsie wasn’t sure. But she tried not to let her father feel her fear as she squeezed his hand and stroked his arm, feeling the bone and muscle padded by the sleeve of his coat. Everything seemed fine. From her spot, kneeling on the driver’s seat, Dat looked fit as a fiddle, just as he said. Not a scratch on him that she could see.

But he hadn’t acted right before, and now he wouldn’t wake up.

Elsie kept searching her mind, trying to come up with a prayer for hope or healing, but she kept drawing a blank.

What was wrong with her?

She tried to make up her own, but her words seemed pale and limp.

Heavenly Father, please awaken Dat. And help Jacob breathe again. And James …

So much to pray for on a day that had begun with so much hope and excitement. The sorrow and pain pressed down on her, but she couldn’t give in to them. She had to stay strong now, for Dat and James and Jacob, and that other driver, whoever he was.

She rubbed Dat’s large hand between her small ones, trying to press warmth and life into him.

Open his eyes
, she prayed.
Bring the spark of your love back into his smile
.

She longed to see the eyes that had watched her so carefully back at the marketplace, showering her with concern and gauging her reaction. Elsie felt sure that if Dat would open his eyes, the rest of him would awaken, too. All back to normal.

His chest seemed to still, and her whole body quivered in alarm.

Had he stopped breathing?

She leaned close, her ear to his nose.

There it was: the soft rush of air. He was still breathing, thank the Lord.

Elsie let her head slide down to Dat’s chest. There, pressed gently against his coat, she could hear his heart beating. Or maybe that was her heartbeat … or maybe it was the whoosh of passing traffic. She couldn’t be sure, but for now it was the only thing she could cling to, and she reasoned that she was keeping her father warm, nestled against his chest.

“How’s it going?” A woman’s voice, and the gentle pressure of a hand on her back.

Elsie pulled away from Dat and twisted around to see the young woman who had stopped to help … the nurse. She had pretty golden hair and warm brown eyes, and right now she was wearing only thin green cotton scrubs, having given her coat to Jacob.

“How’s your father?”

“He’s still breathing,” Elsie said, turning toward the young
woman. “He was talking with me before he fainted, but to tell the truth, he didn’t make a lot of sense. Do you want to switch places with me so that you can examine him?”

“Sure.” The young woman introduced herself as Haley, and asked Elsie her name.

“I’m Elsie, and this is my dat, Thomas.”

“Did he recognize you?” Haley asked as Elsie climbed down to the pavement.

“Ya, but he kept saying the same thing, over and over again. What does that mean?”

“Maybe a head injury.” Elsie could only see Haley’s back as she knelt over Elsie’s father. “Thomas? Tom, can you hear me? Maybe it’s just shock. I’m doing my best here, Elsie, but I’m out of my league. I’m just a nursing student.”

“You’ve been wonderful good, helping everyone here.” Elsie was grateful that the young Englisher woman had stopped to help.

“There’s an ambulance back there, tending to Jacob right now,” Haley said as she leaned over the console to examine Thomas. “The paramedic told me he’s got two more on the way. And the fire truck should have some way to get this door open. The jaws of life, they call it.”

The jaws of life. Something about the expression made Elsie shiver. “Maybe they’ll have something to wake Dat up?”

“I’m not sure it will be that simple,” Haley said over her shoulder. “But they’ll get him to the hospital fast. And LanCo General is an excellent hospital. That’s where I work.”

Elsie had always disliked hospitals. Their local doctor, Henry Trueherz, had always treated her with respect and understanding. But she remembered a time as a child when Mamm had taken her to a hospital in the city to have surgery on her legs. The images of pain had never faded. Never again did Elsie want to see one of
those cold rooms with shiny equipment and needles and bars on the beds.

“I’ve never been fond of hospitals,” Elsie said, “but right now, I would take Dat there myself if I had a horse and buggy.”

Watching from the ground, Elsie noticed the care Haley was taking with Dat. A gentle touch, this one had. “I couldn’t find a mark on him,” Elsie said. “Why do you think he passed out like that?”

Haley gripped Thomas’s chin and moved his head slightly. “I see some swelling on the right side of his head. It’s called a contusion. He probably hit his head against the door frame.”

Elsie felt the earth opening up beneath her feet. “A contusion. Is that serious?”

“I’m afraid it might be.” Haley gently touched one palm to Dat’s forehead. “We need to get him to the hospital.” Then she climbed out of the van. “I’m going to update the paramedics. The thing with a head injury is that, if there’s brain swelling, they need to treat it in the first hour. The golden hour, they call it.”

Brain swelling … Elsie’s heart began to thump loudly, a thudding pulse in her ears that overshadowed the trembling in her limbs.

Haley’s mouth dropped open and she reached forward to grasp Elsie’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. Did I just give you too much information?”

“No.” Elsie pressed a hand to her cheek and the iciness of her own palm brought her back to reality. “I just … I don’t even know how long we’ve been here by the side of the road.”

Haley checked her watch. “More than twenty minutes now.”

Twenty minutes … It seemed like so much longer. A terrible month. A very sad year.

“Elsie, I don’t mean to scare you. I could be wrong about this, but it’s best to be careful. Better safe than sorry.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s Dat I’m worried about.” Elsie lifted her dress so
that she could climb back into the seat beside her father. Tears stung her eyes, but she swallowed hard, holding them back. She couldn’t cry now. She couldn’t let Dat hear her crying. “I’m going to stay with him. And I want to go to the hospital with him.”

“Of course.” Haley pivoted to go, then paused. “Keep talking to him, Elsie. He might be able to hear you, and I’m sure your words are comforting to him.”

Elsie nodded, swallowing over the lump of emotion growing in her throat.

“I’m here again, Dat. Your little daughter, Elsie.” She took his hand, and this time she lifted it and pressed a kiss there, just below his knuckles. Dat’s hands were strong and tough, calloused from working with tools, as both a farmhand and a carpenter. Good, strong hands of a workingman who loved Gott.

She closed her eyes as a swell of fear for him overwhelmed her. When she looked at his hand again, a teardrop had landed on his palm. She massaged it away and took a deep breath, preparing for a long conversation with her dat.

“Dear Dat, I never told you how happy I was when you married Fanny. There was so much going on at the time, and I know you didn’t need the approval of your children, but just so you know, that was a good thing to do. Fanny’s a good woman, and look at the way she’s turned our house around! We’ve all come to love her, Dat. And now that there’s Will and Beth in the family and another little one on the way.…”

Her voice cracked at the thought of the baby. Dat had to get better so that he could raise his newest child. Every child needed a father.

Outside the van the sun was setting and an inky blue light soaked the air.

“You just rest now, Dat. Rest now so you can be all better for the baby. And, Dat, just remember that I love you. And Emma and
Caleb, Fanny and the little ones. We all love you, Dat, and we’ll be by your side to help you get better.”

Just then he drew a deep breath in, as if he was telling her that he heard her.

“We love you, Dat. Just remember that.”

13