Chapter Sixteen
Sierra hoped tobe cleared for work after ten days. The first two days after her injury were the hardest for her, since she wasn’t supposed to watch TV or read. All she could do was doze and talk to Connor. Who had basically moved in with her for the duration of her convalescence.
She gathered he’d had a hard time convincing his mother that he didn’t need help. “You’d think I had two broken legs the way she’s going on about it,” he griped. “I don’t remember her being so frantic when I actually broke my leg as a kid.”
“You scared her. A helicopter accident can be deadly.”
“I know. But this one wasn’t.”
“Thank God.”
She had to laugh when he told her how much food his mother had left for him and what she’d cooked. But she was grateful because Connor shared his food with her. Otherwise they’d have lived on takeout and in Marietta there wasn’t a lot to choose from.
After the first two days it was nice having free time to be with Connor, but he went back to work as soon as he could tape up his ankle and limp. By the end of the week, she was going stir-crazy and was ready to go back to work. She hoped the doctor would sign off on her returning to her job soon. She didn’t see why he wouldn’t. She was fine. No headaches, no other worrisome symptoms either.
“What would you do if your injury required down time from working as a paramedic?” she asked him one evening shortly before her exam to clear her to go back to work.
“You mean, if I broke something and would be out for weeks? I guess I’d ask Redbird if they had a desk job while I recovered.”
“Really? I can’t see you with a desk job.” Redbird, the helicopter service that supplied Marietta’s hospital with helicopters and pilots, probably had a number of places where a grounded flight paramedic could be of help.
He shrugged. “That’s because I can hardly think of anything I want to do less. I sure as hell couldn’t perform my normal job or be a ground paramedic either, and I’d go nuts waiting around to heal with no job. Not to mention, the money. It’s probable I couldn’t even help Liam. So, I guess it would be a desk job or nothing.”
“You really don’t like being stuck in the hospital or in an office, do you?”
“Never have.”
“I’ve been wondering about something for a while now,” Sierra said.
“What?”
“You’re smart.”
He sat up straight and looked at her. “Thanks?”
She laughed. “I’m serious. You know as much as or more than any flight paramedic I’ve worked with. Have you ever thought about becoming a flight nurse?”
He shot her a sharp look. “I’ve thought about it. But I decided against it. I like what I do now. Besides, I’ve had enough school and training to last me. Not to mention, there’s always CME to get certified every two years.”
She imagined he didn’t care for the continuing medical education. Somehow it didn’t surprise her that Connor was the active type. Not given how much he liked sports.
“You said you broke your leg as a kid. Have you ever broken anything else?”
He laughed. “Oh, yeah. Most recent was a few years ago when I was skiing on a double diamond run. And before you ask, yes, I’m fully capable of skiing that terrain.”
“Touchy, touchy. I didn’t say anything.”
He snorted but continued. “I caught a tip and fell. Luckily a tree stopped me before I went over the edge. But I broke my leg.”
“You make it sound like it’s no big deal.”
“It’s not. When I was a kid, I rodeoed. We all did.” He smiled. “I broke an arm, some ribs, and my collarbone. Not all at once, though.”
“And you kept doing it after all that? Good Lord, you must be a masochist.”
He shrugged. “I was in high school. Almost everyone I knew rodeoed. It’s a rough sport.”
“What was your event?” She’d known Connor was a cowboy. She knew he helped Liam out when needed. But she’d never thought of him as a rodeo cowboy. She could see it, though. She thought about when he’d taken her to the Gallagher ranch and taken her riding. It was clear he was totally at home with horses.
