Page 49 of A Mommy for His Daughter

She spun around. “Oh?”

“Possible miscarriage and heavy bleeding out on Yashee Island in the channel.”

Evelyn frowned. “I’ll get the gear ready. Is there a boat I can hire to take me out to the island?”

“I have a boat. Or rather the clinic has a boat for instances like this. I can take you and Tim will man the clinic.”

“Great.”

Evelyn went about packing everything she could need. She packed the Doppler, and Derek packed the cooler with some universal blood.

“Is there anything else we might need?” Derek asked as he loaded the last of the gear into his car to take down to the docks.

“Well, if it’s early on in her pregnancy a Doppler might not be able to pick up a heartbeat under ten weeks. An ultrasound would be best—but we can’t transport that.”

“No, we’d have to get her to the clinic for that.”

“If she’s hemorrhaging I’ll need to get the bleeding to stop, but if it’s a miscarriage I can usually tell in the pathology.” She frowned. “This is the worst part of my specialty. Or one of the worst parts. We’ll get the bleeding controlled and if the pregnancy is lost we’ll get her back to the clinic to do an ultrasound and a dilation and curettage.”

It was a short ride to the docks and they’d soon loaded and secured all the gear and headed out of the harbor toward the bay where Yashee Island lay, about five miles off the coast.

“It’s really choppy today,” Evelyn shouted over the roar of the engine.

“Storm is brewing somewhere. I’ll check the radar tonight. It’ll probably miss us. Good thing Joe and Jennifer are heading back right now. I would hate for them to be delayed or stuck somewhere.”

“Well, if she was stuck in Juneau she’d be in good hands, but Joe texted me early this morning to say that they were catching the first ferry from Jordan Springs to Hoonah. They’ll be here by dinnertime. What I’m waiting for is the results of that amnio.”

Derek nodded. He could tell she was worried. He wanted to tell her it would be okay, but he was concerned too. He didn’t say anything, though, because with the roar of the boat engine and the rough water, and the cold wind whipping up, the best course for Evelyn was to hunker down and keep warm.

It took him about twenty minutes to navigate the channel and then head out into the bay and deteriorating conditions towards Yashee Island. There were only about four families who lived on the small island, but all the homes were within walking distance of each other, and there were people waiting at the docks when they moored the boat there.

“Robert!” Derek called out as Robert Marshall, one of the island residents, helped him tie up his boat and bring the gear off.

“I got my ATV with a wagon loaded for your gear. Saves lugging it over to the Washingtons’ house.”

Derek’s stomach fell. “Martha?”

Robert nodded solemnly. “She came home from university about a month ago, pregnant, and this morning she woke up bleeding. Pretty bad too.”

“This is Dr. Saunders, the OB/GYN currently on rotation in Wolf’s Harbor.”

Robert nodded curtly and then paused. “Thorne Saunders’ girl?”

“Yes,” Evelyn said, smiling. “Did you know him?”

“He was my doctor before…. A good man.”

A strange expression passed over Robert’s face as he helped carry the medical supplies up to his ATV. Derek couldn’t help but wonder what that was all about.

He shook his head. He didn’t have time to worry about it.

They secured the gear and then climbed into Robert’s ATV. He drove them away from the docks, up the winding path to the house furthest from the landing: a log house high up the hill, hidden in the trees of Yashee Island. It boasted beautiful views.

The door opened and Derek saw Martha’s mother Jocelyn standing there, waving.

“I’ll bring up the rest of the gear, Docs. Go on and take care of your patient.”

Robert handed Evelyn her medical bag and Derek led Evelyn up the path.

“So glad to see you, Dr. Taylor,” Jocelyn said nervously. “I’ve been so worried. It hasn’t stopped. The bleeding is so heavy.”

“Well, thankfully our clinic has one of the best OB/GYNs from the eastern seaboard in service this month. Dr. Evelyn Saunders—this is Jocelyn Washington.”

Jocelyn froze, her face paling, and Evelyn’s mouth dropped open as they just stared at one another.

Derek was confused. They knew each other. Or it appeared that way.

Evelyn snapped her mouth shut and looked as if she was staring at a ghost. “I would like to see the patient now, if I could. If she’s bleeding she needs medical attention.”

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