‘No one is dying on my shift,’ he said easily, and Matt made a sound that was halfway between a sob and a moan.

‘If the pain doesn’t kill me, my mum will.’

Jenna closed her hand over his, checking that Lexi was safely out of the water. ‘Your mum won’t kill you,’ she said huskily. ‘She’s just going to be relieved you’re OK.’

Ryan’s gaze flickered to hers and she read his mind.

Matt was far from OK. He had two fractured femurs and he was still losing blood. Knowing that she had to help, Jenna let go of the boy’s hand and dug into the rucksack, finding what she needed. Thinking clearly now, she ripped open the sterile dressings and talked to her daughter. ‘Lexi? Do you have your digital camera with you?’

‘What?’ Soaked through and shivering, Lexi stared at her mother as though she were mad. ‘Matt’s bleeding half to death here and you want me to take a photo of the view?’

‘He’s not bleeding to death.’ Taking her cue from Ryan, Jenna kept her voice calm. ‘I don’t want you to take the view. I want you to take a picture of Matt’s legs. It will help the ER staff.’

‘Good thinking.’ Ryan injected the Ketamine. ‘Do you have your camera, Lex?’

‘Yes—yes. But…’ Baffled, Lexi cast a glance at Matt and rose to her feet, holding the rocks so that she didn’t slip. She was wearing jeans, and the denim was dark with seawater. ‘In my jacket pocket. What do you want me to do?’

‘Take several pictures of the wounds. I’ll do it, if you like.’ Jenna was worried about her daughter seeing the extent of the injuries, but Lexi just gritted her teeth and pointed her digital camera. She took several photos and checked them quickly.

‘OK. It’s done.’

‘Good.’ Now that the pictures were taken, Jenna covered the wounds. ‘It saves the receiving team in the hospital from removing the dressings from his legs to see what’s going on.’

‘Oh. I get it.’ Several shades paler than she’d been a moment earlier, Lexi nodded. ‘What else can I do?’

‘Stay out of reach of the waves,’ Ryan said immediately, his hands on Jenna’s as they packed the wound, using a bandage to hold it in place. ‘Any change—tell me. Jen, I’m going to splint both legs together.’

They worked as a team, Jenna following his instructions to the letter. It didn’t matter that she’d never done anything like this before because his commands were clear and precise. Do this. Do that. Put your hands here—

Later, she’d look back on it and wonder how he could have been so sure about everything, but for now she just did as she was told.