Page 64 of Deathmarch

For additional reassurance, Allie lifted her hand and gave a thumbs-up. “I’d forgotten the good things about this town, how some people are really nice. I only remembered people being judgmental. I used to think everyone wished my father and I would just disappear.”

“I didn’t.”

Another car stopped. Then another. Harper thanked each person, but there wasn’t much to do. Finally, about half an hour after he’d called 911, the sound of a siren reached them, and then the ambulance turned the corner, pulling over in the same spot as Jose had.

That woke up those who’d slept through the excitement up to that point. Lights went up behind dark windows. Heads popped out of front doors.

Even Shannon ran out, blinking sleepily, lost in the giant brown robe she’d wrapped around herself. “Oh dear. What happened? Are you all right, Allie?”

While Allie assured her that she wasn’t too badly injured, the EMTs took over.

Harper knew them both from various accident scenes. Had even bought them beers a time or two at Finnegan’s. “Darius. Booker.”

“Harper.” They nodded at him, but their focus was on their patient.

Darius was a big guy, got his medic training courtesy of the US Army. Booker was a shrimp compared to him. Used to be a jockey at various tracks in Jersey until he had a bad accident. Medics saved his life, so he’d decided that was what he wanted to do next.

They were an odd couple but, from what Harper had seen in the past, damn good together.

He moved out of their way.

“What happened?” Shannon asked, in her house slippers, her teeth chattering already.

“Let me walk you back inside.” Harper offered his arm and escorted her to the front door to make sure she didn’t slip. The cold was beginning to freeze some of the snowmelt onto the front steps. “A car jumped the curb. Hit Allie as we came home from her performance. I think it’s just her ankle, but I’m going to go to the hospital with her.”

“You’re a good boy. You do that.” Shannon patted his hand. “I’m so disappointed I didn’t make her show. My blood pressure shot up again. Damn old age. I was too dizzy for the walk.”

“Are you all right now?”

“Popped my pills. I’ll be fine.”

“I would have driven you over,” Harper told her as he opened the door for her. “You know, if you ever need help, you can give me a call.”

“I’m not going to call the police for high blood pressure.”

“Then call me as a friend.” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “What’s your number?”

She told him.

He dialed it, could hear the ringing on the hall table inside, so he hung up. “Save that. It’s my personal number. You can call any time.”

Shannon nodded with approval. “Rose raised her boys right.”

“No wooden spoons were spared,” Harper deadpanned, then glanced back over his shoulder.

The EMTs had Allie on a gurney and were about to load her into the back of the ambulance.

“I’d better go. You take care, Mrs. O’Brian.”

Shannon grabbed his hand and squeezed. “Allie’s grown up to be a fine young woman. You take good care of her, Harper Finnegan. You bring her back here all fixed up.”

“I’ll do my best, ma’am,” he promised, and then hurried back down the steps to talk to the EMTs. “How does it look?”

“She’ll be fine.” Darius lifted the front end of the gurney at the same time as Booker lifted the back.

“At first glance,” Booker said, “badly twisted ankle and a concussion.”

“She’s a friend of mine.”