CHAPTER ONE
Holly Richardson thought the biggest challenge on her first evening shift at the Canyondale emergency room would be to stay awake. The staff said so, and it was a weeknight, after all, in a place with a population of about five-thousand people. After working at a super busy hospital in a high-crime area of Denver, this little green oasis surrounded by the red-rock country of eastern Utah should be just what she needed.
She had helped the ER doctor set a child’s broken leg. Elderly Dr. Miller said little, but he knew what he was doing and treated the little boy with kindness. When they finished and the doctor had returned to his office, Holly cleaned up the room to prepare for the next patient. She then reported back to the charge nurse for something else to do.
“I’ll bet this is a very different experience from what you had in Denver,” Kathy Salazar said, glancing up from her desk. She pointed to the nearby chair.
“Definitely.” Holly sat, grateful for having such a great supervisor for her first shift here. Since their introduction a few days earlier, Kathy had kindly suggested the best places to eat and shop in town. She talked to Holly more like a friendthan a boss. “In Denver, we saw way too many shooting and stabbing victims, drug overdoses, and assaults. We also had patients who waited too long to see a doctor because they didn’t have insurance. I’m really looking forward to a quieter life all around.”
“Well, Canyondale isn’t exactly Heaven, so don’t get your hopes uptoohigh.” Kathy leaned back in her chair. “We’ve experienced quite a bit of growth in the last few years and tensions are running high at the moment. We also have a ton more tourists coming here now, so we see more victims of hiking and four-wheeler accidents. It shouldn’t be anything like what you saw in Denver, though.”
“I can deal with that.” Holly hoped that seeing patients who had been injured while doing something fun would be better than treating those hurt through anger or neglect.
“Have you had any luck yet finding a place closer to rent than Price?”
Holly groaned. “No, and I didn’t expect to have an hour-long commute each way. I guess living in a big city made me expect to find housing close by.”
“I was lucky to already be in my apartment before the boom hit from the construction of the Technology Center. Have you put your name on the waiting list for the new apartment complex?” Kathy asked.
“Yes, but that’s months away from completion. For now, I found a basement apartment in Price with a couple of college students, but they’re total slobs.” Holly rubbed her temples. “I’m no Ben Wyatt, but I pick up after myself, and I enjoy cleaning, but not like this.”
“That’s rough.” Kathy grinned. “You’ve watched that old showParks and Rec? My friend McKenzie works for the city, and you should hear her compare real city council meetings with the ones in the show.”
Holly hardly knew anyone in the town yet, except the hospital HR director and Dr. Miller, who had interviewed her. And Kathy, of course. “I’d like to meet her sometime.”
“Oh, you will. I’ll let you know if I hear about any local apartments opening sooner.” Kathy pointed to the computer at the nurses’ station. “Since you’ve already gone through the hospital’s policies and procedures, I’d like you to review patient charts to verify proper documentation. You can get familiar with how we do things while making sure we’ve done them correctly.”
“Great.”
Holly returned to the desk and woke the computer. As she worked, she saw the wisdom of the exercise, though others had done the task in Denver. For a small facility, the Canyondale staff’s attention to detail impressed her.
She was just thinking about getting up to walk around when Kathy’s phone rang. She gasped, and Holly jumped to her feet, concerned at how white the other nurse’s face had turned.
Kathy’s hand shook as she hung up. “There’s been a live shooter incident at City Hall.”
A sick feeling of déjà vu settled on Holly, and her heart twisted. Kathy would know these people.
“Do you need me to ride with the ambulance?” Holly asked.
Kathy shook her head. “I don’t know how many victims they might send to the hospital, so I need you here.”
When Dr. Miller rushed from his office, Kathy updated him on the situation and her decision to go to City Hall.
“Is that wise? Don’t your friends normally attend those meetings?” he asked with a frown.
“Yes, but Holly has the most experience in a busy ER, and I’m afraid we’re going to get very busy.”
“Good point. Let’s get ready.” Dr. Miller declared.
Aching at the fear in Kathy’s eyes, Holly gave her arm a soft squeeze before hurrying after the doctor. The too-familiartightness in her belly stole the excitement she’d been feeling about living in this small town. If even Canyondale could have mass shootings, moving here was a mistake.
She and Dr. Miller leaped into a frenzy of preparations. Only a few minutes later, and before their reinforcements could get there, the first victim arrived.
The tight faces of the paramedics made sense when Holly realized the young man wore a similar county uniform to theirs. After they transferred him to the exam table and left the room, Dr. Miller signaled Holly, and they went to work.
The victim appeared to be about her age. Sadly, she had too much experience with this kind of thing, and she made suggestions as she and the doctor carefully removed the soft armor vest.
After cutting off the man’s shirt underneath, they found the vest had mostly done its job by absorbing the force of the impact. As expected, the bullet hadn’t penetrated it, but the energy had caused a significant amount of blunt force trauma. His chest already showed signs of bruising, and it would surprise her if he didn’t have some broken ribs. Hopefully, none had pierced a lung. An x-ray or CT scan would tell if he had other internal injuries as well.
