The Soldier's Promise. Patricia Potter

His voice was more gentle than Eve could ever have imagined as he ran his hands over the dog, seemingly looking for injury.

      “We have to get your son to a doctor as soon as possible.” He picked up Nick. “Try to keep that arm still,” he said to him. “And a little below your heart.” Then he turned to Eve. “The keys to my Wrangler are on a hook just inside. It has more room than your pickup. Get them. And soap up a washcloth and bring it out. I’ll put the boy in the back of the Jeep.” He paused. “Better take the gun inside, too.”

      He carried Nick to the backseat of the Jeep parked at the side of the cabin. Eve didn’t want to leave Nick, not for a second, but Joshua Manning seemed to know what to do. She knew all the rules about snakebites as well, and he was doing exactly what she’d learned. Get safely away from the snake. Wash the bite to kill bacteria. Keep the patient calm. The less the victim moves, the less damage will incur.

      She hadn’t been very good at the calm part. She ran into the house, replaced the gun in the closet, quickly wet a washcloth and doused it with soap. She grabbed the keys as she ran out to the Jeep.

      Joshua—she thought of him that way now—had a first-aid kit out and had already applied a compression bandage just above the wound. He was in the middle of splinting Nick’s arm with a short stick. She handed him the washcloth, noticing that the arm was already red and beginning to swell.

      “Stay as still as you can,” Joshua was telling her son. “It’s important.”

      “I know,” her son said. “I’m a Cub Scout.” He said it with bravado, but she heard the tremor of fear in his voice. He was also clenching his teeth from pain.

      Eve ran to her truck and found the cell phone, then returned to the Jeep as she punched the number for Dr. Bradley. The number rang and rang, each ring seeming to last an hour. Then, after what seemed like forever, the nurse finally picked up.

      “Janie, Nick has just been bitten by a rattler. Do you have antivenin?” The level of her voice raised with every word. She was choked with fear. She wanted to grab her son away and hold him tight. She listened, then hung up.

      “The doctor’s not in, but his nurse is trying to reach him,” she told Joshua.

      “We’ll drive in. If he’s not there, I’ll call for a helicopter to get us the county hospital,” Joshua said. “I’ll drop Amos off at the vet’s.”

      She stared at the phone, then wrapped her arms around her own body, hugging herself to keep from screaming, only to be jarred by his impatient voice. “Get in the backseat with him. You can put his head on your lap, just keep the wound area below his heart. I’ll put Amos in the front seat with me. Call ahead to Stephanie, will you?”

      “Of course. I have her number.”

      She maneuvered inside the car and raised Nick’s head to settle on her lap, then arranged him so his heart would be above the wounded arm. She held his other hand and the Jeep moved. Her heart pounded. She saw Nick bite his lips and knew he was in pain. She wished it was her pain.

      Her cell phone rang. Dr. Bradley. “Where is the bite?” She heard the urgency in his voice.

      “The lower part of the arm.”

      “You’re sure it was a rattler.”

      “I saw it. So did my son and Mr. Manning. It happened near his cabin.”

      “You’re in luck. We had another bite a few weeks ago, and I ordered extra antivenin. The sooner he gets it, the better he’ll be. Bring him in, I’ll suction out the venom and give him the antivenin. Then I think you should take him on to the county hospital. Oh, and Eve, keep him lying down and still. The arm should be below...”

      “I know. We’re on our way,” she said and hung up. She turned to Josh. “Doc Bradley has the antivenin. He said to bring him in as quickly as we can.” She then called Stephanie and told her what had happened. Steph was in her office seeing patients and said she would be waiting for Amos.

      Doc Bradley was standing outside his clinic when they arrived. “Bring him inside. Did you bring the snake?”

      “No,” Josh said. “But there’s no question it was a rattler. About four and a half feet long. Mayor Douglas shot it—” he looked at his watch “—fifteen minutes ago.”

      Only fifteen minutes. It seemed a lifetime.

      Doc Bradley nodded his head. “Good. Can you carry him inside?”

      Then he saw the dog lying on the front seat, shivering, and gave Joshua a questioning look.

      “He was bit, too. I’m taking him to the vet right after I get the boy inside.”

      Doc Bradley hurried them into a treatment room. Joshua laid Nick on the treatment table and said, “I’ll be back after seeing to Amos.”

      Dr. Bradley examined the fang marks, took blood from the area to determine the amount of venom then applied a Sawyer Extractor to remove as much venom as possible and slow the spread of the remaining venom in the arm. The arm was already swelling, and although Nick tried to hide it, she knew he was terrified as well as in growing pain. Being a Cub Scout, he knew as well as she how quickly a bite could maim and kill.