Whitney in Charge by Diane Craver Page A

of the helicopter’s blades cutting through the air before he saw it. “Air Care just arrived.”
    When the helicopter was above them, a guy yelled out the open side, “I’ll be right there.”
    Ben took his eyes off Whitney to watch him drop down on a rope. Above him, Ben noticed another paramedic waiting inside the copter.
    Within minutes Whitney was strapped in the carrier and lifted to the helicopter.
    “Hey, you better come with us,” a paramedic said to Ben. “You don’t look too good. Were you injured?”
    “Just some scrapes. But I’d like to go with her.”
    “Is she your girlfriend?”
    “Good friends.” What could he say? He didn’t want to say they’d just met each other recently. Whitney wasn’t his girlfriend. He’d hope eventually they might have a relationship, but he wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to go out with him again. This had to go into the record book as the worst date ever.
    After the other guy lifted him up, he saw Whitney’s paramedic examining her wound and cleaning it. He then applied pressure with a sterile pad. Glancing at Ben, he said, “She’s going to need a lot of stitches for it.”
    Ben exhaled a deep breath when he saw Whitney’s green eyes open. She moaned softly and closed her eyes again, the corners pinched like there was pain. “Whitney, I’m sorry. How do you feel?”
    She groaned. “My head hurts.”
    The paramedic leaned closer to Whitney. “I heard your friend call you Whitney. Whitney Benson?”
    She nodded slightly. “Yes.”
    “I’m Jack Hensley.”
    Her eyes widened as she looked at Jack. “I can’t believe I’m meeting you now.” A look of fear crossed her face as she glanced at her surroundings. “Oh no, don’t tell me I’m really in a helicopter. I thought I heard the rotary blades, but was hoping I was delusional. I hate flying.”
    Ben said, “Your condition seemed serious enough for the dispatcher to send Air Care. We aren’t far from the hospital. I shouldn’t have taken you hiking. I thought the trail was safe. I never expected to slip like that on the rock. It was slick.”
    Whitney stared at Ben. “I don’t remember what happened.”
    Ben wasn’t surprised with the hit to the head she took against the rocks plus a falling rock hitting her. Loss of memory and confusion were both signs of a concussion. He sighed. “When I found myself slipping, I yelled for you to watch out. I think I startled you and you lost your balance and fell to the rocks by the waterfall. Do you remember the waterfall?”
    “I remember it but not the rest.”
    Ben held her hand. “I must have jarred a rock when I grabbed a limb and it might have hit you.”
    She gave him a weak smile. “Yeah, you like to knock people out even when you’re off work.”
    The paramedic who had told Whitney his name was Jack gave him a puzzled look so Ben explained, “I’m an anesthesiologist but my young son explains my career by saying I knock people out.”
    “People probably think you’re a boxer or a bouncer. I bet he’s a cute kid,” Jack said, turning his attention to Whitney. “Whitney, I’m going to start an IV on you in case they want to give you any medications once you get to the hospital.”
    She made a gagging noise. “I’m sick to my stomach. I think I’m going to throw up.”
    “I’ll give this to you to hold in case she needs it.” Jack handed a good sized and deep tray to Ben.
    He had to let go of Whitney’s hand to take it. “I doubt if she’ll need something this huge if she gets sick. We never even ate dinner.”
    Jack raised his eyebrows at him. “You didn’t feed her and you caused her to fall several feet.” He grinned. “I’m glad I don’t have friends like you.”
    “Even though I don’t remember falling, I’m sure it wasn’t Ben’s fault,” Whitney said with a strained voice, her eyes closed again.
    “We’ll skip the IV for now.” Jack placed his fingertips against her wrist, and the way he rubbed his