kept eye contact and nodded. “Hurry up, I need those meds.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sir? She knew he didn’t like being called sir. Something was definitely wrong.
He backed away from the van. The others were still busy with the injured patient. Rushing past them and outside, he started round the tent when he met Marco. In a low voice he told him that Ellen was in trouble and to give him to the count of ten then run inside the clinic, hollering for help. Marco nodded and Chance circled the outside of the tent until he could see the driver’s side van door. It stood open. He could make out the outline of a man in the seat with his back to the door and one leg on the running board. Dread seized him. The man must have a weapon on Ellen.
Giving thanks for the storm brewing, which would cover any noise he made, Chance moved out to the edge of the clearing and followed it around until he was facing the front of the van. When the thunder rolled again Chance ran as fast as he could and slammed his body into the door. The man let out a startled yelp and twisted in the seat, reaching for his leg. Chance grabbed the door and swung it hard again. This time it hit the man in the head and he dropped to the ground, along with a knife.
“Ellen!” Chance barked. “Ellen, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She sounded shaken.
Marco joined him. Chance left him to tie the vandal up while he climbed into the van. Looking over the seat, he saw Ellen still sitting on the floor, with her head in her hands. “Are you hurt?”
She said nothing.
He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ellen, are you hurt? Did he cut you?”
Slowly she looked up. “No.” She held up his keys. “And I didn’t let him get any drugs. Do I get atta-girl points?”
“Hell, woman, I’d rather he’d had all the drugs than hurt you.”
A stiff smile came to her lips. “Aw, you do care.” She looked away and a loud sniff filled the air.
“What’s going on?” Michael called from the end of the van.
“A guy was trying to steal drugs. Had Ellen at knifepoint,” Chance answered.
Michael climbed in, went to Ellen and gathered her into his arms. She buried her face in his chest. For some reason Chance wished he was the one she had turned to. He left the van and spoke to Marco, who’d already tied the man up, but his thoughts were still with Ellen. The trespasser admitted that he was with the injured man Michael had been caring for. The injury had been a small self-inflicted wound and used as a diversion.
The rest of the staff had to know what had happened in detail before they returned to packing up. Chance gave the short version on what he’d done before Ellen told her side. He was all too aware of Michael’s arm around her shoulders the entire time. Why shouldn’t she seek reassurance and comfort from him?
Marco would see to it that the Honduran authorities picked up the man they had captured and looked for the other two. Little would be done to them because Honduras had larger drug problems than these petty thieves.
Half an hour later it was dark and the trucks were loaded and ready to leave.
“Ellen, come on up here,” Michael called from the cab of the truck. “I think you’re still a little shaken up.”
“I’m okay back here.” She climbed in the rear with Karen and Peter.
She was tough. Chance admired her for that. After those few minutes of emotion with Michael she’d joined in and helped store the supplies, acting as if nothing had happened.
* * *
That evening at dinner Chance watched as Michael stood and tapped his fork against a glass.
“We have a few awards to give out tonight. First, to the great Dr. Freeman, for his heroic use of a van door to apprehend a drug dealer.” Michael grinned. “Well done, Chance.” He placed a second plate of dessert near him.
Chance smiled and nodded. Why did Michael have to make a big deal of what happen?
“And last but not least, to Dr. Ellen Cox, who held herself together under pressure and didn’t give up the key to the drug cabinet.” Michael held up his drink glass. The others joined him. A soft clinking of glass touching glass sounded around the room. “For you a flower.” He bowed as he presented her with a large orange Bird of Paradise.
Ellen smiled but it didn’t quiet reach her eyes. Had she been and was she still more scared than she let on?
“Chance deserves all the accolades. I did nothing.” Ellen looked directly at him with sincerity in her eyes. “Thanks for saving me.”
Examining the terror coursing through him when he’d realized Ellen was being threatened was something he didn’t want to look at too closely. The emotion had been too strong, raw. Still he couldn’t deny the relief that had replaced the terror when he’d known she was okay.
Satisfaction he’d not felt in a long time filled him. His look held hers as he nodded. Why did he suddenly feel like standing and thumping his chest?
* * *
Ellen rolled to the left and minutes later to the right. She’d been trying to sleep for hours. The sound of rain with the steady dripping off the hut roof would normally lull her to sleep but not tonight. At least the adrenalin rush she’d experienced today should have had her in a deep sleep but it didn’t seem to come.
She rubbed the back of her neck. The feel of the man’s breath on her skin and the prick of the tip of the knife remained. Even after a hot shower and neck massage the ache between her shoulders blades remained. Would it ever go away? Could she forget that feeling of helplessness? Fear for the others?
It had been that same feeling she’d had when she’d been trapped in the car with her mother. They had been making a simple trip to buy Ellen a dress. It had been a pretty day but the traffic had been heavy. Her mother had sped up to go through a traffic light that had turned yellow. The next thing Ellen had known they’d been upside down and her mother’s blood had been everywhere.
Her mother had said, “Your father always says I take too many chances.” Then the life had left her.
Slinging the covers away, Ellen slid out and grabbed the thin blanket off the end of the bed, wrapping it around her shoulders. She headed out the front door. Maybe if she watched the rain for a few minutes she could sleep.
She walked to the porch rail. The shower had eased and a full moon was making an appearance every now and then behind the clouds. When it did the soft glow made the raindrops on the ferns surrounding the hut glisten. She stood there, absorbing the peace.
“Can’t sleep?”
She yelped and spun toward Chance’s hut. He climbed out of the hammock wearing nothing but tan cargo shorts that rode low on his hips. She couldn’t help but stare. “Have you been there since I came out?”
“Yep.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” she snapped.
“I thought you needed a few moments to yourself. What happened today can be hard to process.”
He wiped all the times he’d been less than warm away with one compassionate comment. “Yeah, it got to me more than I wanted to admit at dinner.”
He came down the steps and started toward her hut. “You wouldn’t be human if it hadn’t affected you. And you are very human.”
She looked down at him. Her heart fluttered as she watched his half-naked body coming toward her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He started up her steps. “That you’re one of the most empathetic and naturally caring doctors I’ve ever worked with. You feel things more strongly than most. There’s no way you wouldn’t be upset about being held at knifepoint.”