“I own a house on Grouse Mountain, but I don’t come home often.”
Deirdre smiled. “I wish I could find a property to buy instead of renting. As soon as a house I can afford goes on the market, someone else snaps it up.”
“It will happen,” John said as he took off his apron. “Sometimes it takes a little longer for the right property to come along. Would you look after the barbecue, Deirdre, while I show Zac around?”
“Sure. Do you want the steaks medium-rare?”
“That would be perfect.” John turned to Zac. “I’ll introduce you to Toby and Munro. They both served in the military in Afghanistan.”
Zac had only taken a few steps when Willow rushed through the French doors. As soon her gaze landed on him, he knew something was wrong. “Excuse me, John. I need to see Willow.”
He met her halfway across the deck. “Is everything all right?”
“A little boy is sick. Jesse is four years old and he vomited not long ago. He’s really hot, pale, and floppy.”
“Where is he now?”
“At The Welcome Center. He needs to see a doctor, but Doc Reilly isn’t here and Jesse’s mom doesn’t have insurance.”
“My medical bag is in the back of my truck.” Zac quickly explained to John why he was leaving and headed outside with Willow.
“I’m sorry I interrupted you.”
Zac unlocked his vehicle and pulled out the bag. “There’ll be another meeting. Let’s go.”
“If we go in the back door it will be faster.” Willow’s dark hair blew around her head as they ran down the side of the building. She threw open a wooden door and walked toward a room on the right-hand side of the corridor. “While you’re looking at Jesse, I’ll check the Internet to see if the road to Polson has been cleared.”
Zac nodded. “Hopefully, we won’t need to go to the hospital.” But as soon as he saw Jesse, he knew he’d been too optimistic.
Mabel was placing cold towels on the little boy’s forehead to cool him down. “Thank goodness you’re here, Zac. This is Barbara and her son, Jesse.”
Barbara was holding her son on her lap, trying to provide what little comfort she could.
“It’s nice to meet you, Barbara.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“That’s okay. Would you mind if I moved Jesse onto the bed? It will be easier to examine him.”
“I can carry him across.” Barbara carefully placed her son on the top sheet. “Jesse had some Tylenol about an hour ago.”
“Did it make any difference?”
“I don’t think so.”
Mabel placed a glass of water beside the bed. “Is there anything I can do?”
“If there’s a fan in the building, bring it into the room. It will help cool Jesse down.” Zac took the little boy’s temperature and did a quick but thorough examination of his body.
Barbara waited beside the bed. “Why does he have a rash on his back?”
Zac placed his stethoscope around his neck. “The rash is a reaction to his high temperature.” Jesse’s armpits and groin were clear of any spots or marks that looked like bruising. “Has he mentioned anything about a sore neck or eyes?”
“He was complaining of sore eyes this morning.”
Mabel returned to the room.
Zac moved out of her way as she plugged in the fan. “Have you taken Jesse to the doctor to be immunized?”
