She reached between her legs, pressed the red button, unlatched the belt, and pulled her arms out of the loops.
“What about your brother’s seat? Can you do your brother’s seat belt?”
Creed might be able to reach that one, but he wasn’t sure of the mechanics of the rear-facing seat, and this was easier.
It also gave him a chance to assess the girl’s well-being.
“Thank you, sweetheart. Hey, I have my puppy dog here. Her name is Rou. Your car is pretty smashed up. How about you come sit with Rou so you don’t get hurt?”
“Mommy!” she keened.
“Mommy got hurt in the accident, sweet child. We need to get a doctor in to help her. Right now, mommy wants you to be safe. You think mommy would want that, right?”
She squeezed her lips together into a tight pucker as her chin wobbled. She was holding back her sobs.
Creed leaned as far as he could into the car.
“Put your feet on the floor for me. Can you help your brother out of his seat and help get him into my hands?”
“What about Charlotte?”
“Charlotte is your baby?”
The girl pointed.
“Yes, I’m going to get Charlotte, too. And we’re going to see my doggy, Rou. Then, I’m going to take you to some friends who will keep you safe and warm while we get help for mommy. Is that mommy and daddy in the front seat?”
She pointed forward.
“Okay, help your brother. What’s his name?”
“He’s Joey, and my name is Marybelle.” She reached for her brother’s hand and pulled. “Come on, Joey, we have to get out. The car crashed.”
“Nice to meet you, Marybelle. I’m Creed.”
As the children clambered out of their seats, Creed picked up an umbrella and the plastic bags from an earlier trip to the dollar shop that lay on the floorboard. He shoved those in his pocket. He reached his hands under Joey’s armpits and pulled him through the window.
He put Joey on the ground and held him in place by sticking out a leg and sandwiching the boy between his shin and the car. Balancing on one leg, Creed reached back in. “It was a little easier for Joey because he’s so small. If you held my hands, could you climb to me?”
The infant carrier was a problem that he wasn’t sure he could solve. Marybelle was going to have to come over the top.
“I’ve got you, sweet child. Listen, I want you to stay crouched down like that on the seat, but turn and face Daddy. Good girl. Cross your hands over your chest and tuck your chin down. That’s right. Now, I’m putting my hand on your back, and I’m going to put a hand under your bottom. I want you to just lean back, and I’m going to pull you out the window over the topof the baby. Here we go. Here are my hands. That’s right, just keep leaning back. I’ve got you. I bet you learned how to swim like this.”
“Mommy’s teaching me to float on my back.”
“That’s right. That’s what we’re doing now.” He eased Marybelle out of the window, and she seemed happy to find Joey standing there waiting.
Creed had hoped to get the infant carrier out just as it was because he wanted a paramedic to assess the baby in place, lest she had suffered a spine trauma. The baby wasn’t awake and crying, and that concerned him.
The kids weren’t safe along the road if he wasn’t giving them his full attention, so Creed lifted Joey onto his hip. Joey held his bright yellow boots with rubber duck faces out to either side on straight legs, and Creed knew from his nieces and nephews that this was the way to keep his boots from sliding off. He reached for Marybelle’s hand, which she slid trustingly into his. Her boots were black with bright red ladybugs, and he was glad that they were dressed to survive in the rain.
“Joey and Marybelle, look, here’s my puppy Rou. Do you see she’s wearing her red shoes? She has little red socks, too.” Creed spread the plastic dollar store bags on the side of the hill, one on either side of Rou. “This is Rou’s lead. She’s still a puppy. I was hoping that you could hold on to her lead and keep her safe while I go get Charlotte. Would you hold Rou for me?”
Creed pulled off his pack and set it behind Rou. Then, he opened the umbrella he’d found in the car and ran the post through the pack’s loop, sticking the hand loop under the weight to keep it in place.
He gave it about a twenty percent chance of being there when he got back. The wind was steady with sudden, powerful gusts. “Marybelle, I need you to do me a favor. We need to keep the rain off of you three. Can Joey hold onto Rou, and you keepyour hand on the umbrella? It’s too cold to be out here and get wet.”
Her hand wrapped the umbrella handle, and Creed stood. “Back in the shake of a lamb's tail. He picked up the diaper bag and purse and walked them over to them, partly to keep the bags from getting sodden—there were probably diapers and formula that the baby would need—but also to check and see what the kids did when his back was turned.
