pulled him up and held him to his chest, capturing the little body with his own, holding him close to let a little heat envelop the shivering form. The little boy wasn’t even crying any more. He was just too cold.
He held the boy for a few seconds longer. He looked around four, just a year younger than his own son Drew. He couldn’t help the automatic paternal shiver that stole down his spine at the thought of something like this happening to his son. It didn’t even bear thinking about.
His only relief right now was that he hadn’t signed a consent form for the school to go on any trips this week, meaning that his little Drew was safely tucked up inside the primary school building.
The temperature in the minibus was freezing, with water halfway up its side-on frame. They were going to have to move quicker to get these kids out in time.
‘Callum! Callum! Pass him over, please.’
Oh, she’d recognised him all right. The authoritative tone made no mistake about that.
‘Okay, little guy, we’re going to get you heated up now.’ He ruffled the little boy’s hair before he passed him over to the arms stretched out towards him. He didn’t have time to think about Jessica Rae now. Too much was at stake.
He thrust his head back inside the minibus. ‘How are we doing?’
John, one of his co-workers, lifted his head. ‘I’ll have two more for you in a second. But I need some more light in here.’
Another voice shouted from the darkness, ‘I think I’ve got one with a broken leg and another unconscious. Can we get a paramedic or a doctor in here?’
Callum lifted his head back up. The light was fading quickly, even though it was only afternoon. Winter nights closed in quickly—by four p.m. it would be pitch black. He didn’t think twice. ‘I need a paramedic or a doctor over here, please.’
He could see the quick confab at the side of the river. Jess was issuing instructions to the nurse with her and the paramedics and ambulance technicians at her side. Things were going smoothly out there. Two of the children and one of the adults had already been transported back up the slippery bank. The latest little guy was still being assessed.
Jess moved to the side of the bank. He could see the impatience on her face as she waited for her safety harness to be clipped to the harness point on the shore. She shook her head at the waders she was offered, grabbed at a hand that was offered and started to climb towards the minibus.
It was precarious. the Clyde was not a quiet-flowing river. It was fast and churning, the icy-cold water lapping furiously at the side of the minibus as it penetrated the interior.
The minibus was moving with the momentum of the river and Jess slipped as she climbed over the wing of the minibus, the weight from her pack making her unstable. She was just within Callum’s reach and he stretched out and grabbed the tips of her fingers with a fierce, claw-like grip.
‘Yeowww!’ Her other hand flailed upwards then closed over his, and he steadied her swaying body as she thudded down next to him.
The red colour in her cheeks was gone, replaced with the whiteness of cold. ‘Thanks,’ she breathed, the warm air forming a little steamy cloud next to them.
‘Fancy seeing you here,’ he murmured, giving her a little smile. It had been impossible to spot from the riverbank, but here, up close, he had a prime-time view of the thing he’d always loved most about Jess—her deep brown eyes.
The smile was returned. That little acknowledgement.
That in another time, another place…
The memories were starting to invade his senses. Jessica in his arms throwing back her head and laughing, exposing the pale skin of her neck—skin that he wanted to touch with his lips.
His brain kicked back into gear. This was work. And he never got distracted at work.
‘Have you done anything like this before?’
She pulled back a little. It was the tiniest movement, a flinch almost, as if she was taken aback by his change of tone.
She shook her head and her eyebrows rose. ‘An overturned minibus in a fast-flowing river with lots of paediatric casualties?’
The irony wasn’t lost on him. He might do this sort of thing day in, day out, but Jess was usually in the confines of a safe, warm, comfortable hospital.
She hunched up onto her knees and pointed at the harness. ‘I’ve never even had one of these on before, let alone abseiled down a hillside.’ She wiggled her hips and tried to move her tether. ‘These things aren’t too comfortable, are they?’
It struck him—almost blindsided him—how brave she was being. The Jessica Rae he’d known at school hadn’t even liked contact sports. He closed his eyes as an unguarded memory of other activities of a physical nature swam into his mind.
Focus. Focus now.
He knelt upwards and grabbed her around her waist, trying not to think about how it felt to be touching Jessica Rae again after all these years. Trying not to remember how her firm flesh used to feel beneath his fingers. What had happened?
‘I’m going to lower you down, Jess.’ He peered through the side window next to them, which had been removed. ‘Your feet will get a bit wet because there’s some water on the floor. Are you okay with that?’
She nodded. She didn’t look scared. She didn’t look panicked. But there was a tiny little flicker of something behind her eyes. She looked in control.
He shouted down into the minibus. ‘John, I’m going to lower the doc down. Can you take care of her?’
She started. ‘Take care of me?’ It was almost as if he’d just insulted her. ‘Don’t you mean take care of the kids?’
But Callum wasn’t paying attention. He was back in rescue mode. ‘There are two kids in the back who need your attention. One unconscious, the other with a broken leg. It’s too cramped in there to take your bag down. Shout up and tell me what you need.’
Their eyes met again as she shrugged off her pack. ‘Ready?’ She nodded and he lowered her down slowly into the waiting arms of the firefighter below, praying that things would go to plan.
‘Sheesh!’ Her feet hit the icy cold water and it sent the surge of cold right up through her body. No one could stand in this for long.
It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the gloom inside the minibus. The mottled daylight was still sending shadows through one side of the bus, but Callum’s body and those of the other firefighters lying across the windows was blocking out the little light that was left.
A flashlight was thrust into her hands. ‘Here you go, Doc.’ She turned it on immediately. The first sight was the way the water was lapping quickly around them. She felt the vaguest wave of panic. ‘Is the river rising?’
John nodded. ‘Not quickly enough for us to worry about.’ his eyes didn’t quite meet hers.
Work quickly.
She noticed his black trousers ballooning around his ankles and gave him a little nod. ‘Did you say no to the waders too?’
He smiled. ‘No room for waders in here, Doc. Space is limited.’
She nodded and she shuffled around him towards the kids. ‘Are any of the kids in water?’ Her feet were already numb. There was a real danger of hypothermia setting in for any kid exposed to these temperatures.
‘Four.’
‘Four?’ She could feel a flare of panic. She was one person. How could she attend to four kids?
Callum stuck his head in the gap. ‘Start with the two at the back, Jess. As soon as you’ve stabilised them and they’re safe to move, my men will get them out. The other two don’t appear injured.’ He pointed to the front of the