Page 6 of Vanishing Legacy

The team began resuscitation procedures. Compressions. Epinephrine. Defibrillator. Every possible procedure. Cash and his team fought hard for ten minutes, but Dante remained pulseless.

“Enough,” he said. “Enough.”

Giving up wasn’t in his nature, but he wanted to spare Dante’s body more abuse.

He stepped back and called the time of death.

Cash tore off his mask and surgical gown, stuffed them into the biohazard bin, and headed for the locker room for a breather. After all these years, some patients got under his skin more than others. And facing Dante’s family was the last thing he wanted to do right now.

At the sink, Cash splashed cold water on his face and watched the water swirl down the drain. Just like that kid’s life.

A knot formed in his stomach. He ran a wet hand over his eyes and let out a soft groan. Informing the family a loved one had died was the worst part of his job. But the family had a right to answers. He wouldn’t shirk the responsibility, no matter how difficult.

He turned off the water and dried his hands. Ready or not, it was time to face them. On the way out of the locker room, he almost bumped into Brooke rushing across the lounge that connected the men’s and women’s locker rooms.

“Oh! Sorry, Dr. Thomas. I was checking to see if you were in here before I paged.” She ran her thumbs under the brim of her surgical cap and tucked the dark hairs back in place. “The family is asking for an update.”

“Thanks, I’m on my way. I needed a minute.” His words came out a tad more defeated than he’d intended.

Brooke sat on the arm of the couch and stared at her shoes. “Yeah, that was a rough one. It’s hard to lose them so young.”

“Senseless.” Cash put his hands behind his back and leaned against the wall. He studied his own shoes and pictured the operating table. “That kid didn’t deserve to die. They come in, clinging to life, and we have no idea who we’re working on or why he was near a gun in the first place. Then they die and it’s like I failed them. I couldn’t buy him a few more years. I couldn’t even buy him a few more hours to say goodbye. And the biggest gut punch of all...did he even have a chance to hear the gospel before he died? I never know, and it’s all so frustrating sometimes.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. No one else could have kept that boy alive as long as you did. One thing’s for sure—I know I’ll be hugging my husband and son tighter tonight.” Brooke stood. “Shift’s almost over. Maybe you can cut out early?”

Cash sighed. “I’d love to but can’t. If I want to make chief, I need to prove I can handle the hard things.”

Chief of surgery would mean more responsibility but regular hours. No more on-call rotations. He could be home with his daughter instead of entrusting her to a nanny. Something he’d been working toward since his ex-wife had died and he’d become a single dad.

“The unspoken rule is you can go home after two traumatic events in a shift and no one can say anything. This makes three today.”

Three? Had it really been that many in one day? He must’ve blocked it.

His first case this morning had been an abused infant. When the father’d realized the police were on the way, he’d tried to take his baby and leave. Cash intervened. “That dad needs to work on his right hook. Easy block.”

“Well, yeah.” She laughed. “You managed to handle things just fine, but I was referring to the condition of the infant.”

“No one should see a baby in that condition.” Knowing it’d happened at the hands of the father made his blood boil. All he’d wanted to do after he’d handed off the patient was leave, drive straight home, and hold his daughter so she knew how much he loved her.

“You know, maybe I will head out a bit early. Give the nanny the evening off,” he said. “I’ll take Penny out to dinner on the Riverwalk. Then a nighttime ferry ride.”

“Penny likes the ferry?” Brooke had been one of the few who’d helped him come to grips with the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and suggested he take Penny to a speech-language pathologist specializing in ASD.

“Well, she’s not wild about the boat part, but she sure loves to watch the lights of River Street from across the water.”

Brooke smiled. “Sounds like a wonderful daddy-daughter date.”

Penny’s curiosity around all things shiny and sparkling never grew old. The awed look on her little face as she pointed out the purple, orange, pink, and blue hues reflecting off the water always made him smile. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I need tonight. A daddy-daughter date.” He straightened and retucked the back of his undershirt into his waistband. “But first, I’ll update the family.”

Brooke stood and headed for the coffee. “Dr. Shiro offered to handle the family if you want to?—”

“No, it’s my responsibility. I’ll go now while I have time. Thanks for the offer though.” Cash smiled and headed for the door but paused when his name was announced on the intercom. The pager on his waist vibrated.

“Spoke too soon.” He read the message aloud: “Twenty-year-old female. GSW to the abdomen. Right lower quadrant.” He glanced at Brooke.

“Should I ask Dr. Shiro to inform the family?”

“Yeah, I’ll take him up on the offer if he’s still available. If not, inform the family I had another emergency and I’ll be out as soon as possible.”