Chapter 76 Leaning on His Chest
Matilda secured her medical bag, locked up her beat-up van, and asked, "Where's Harry's house?"
One of the young men grinned at her. "You here to play doctor?"
"Yes."
"You're awfully young. You actually know what you're doing?" His laugh carried a mocking edge.
Matilda didn't bother responding and reached for her phone to contact the patient's family.
Just then, a white-haired old man came rushing down the hillside. The moment he spotted her, he called out, "Are you the doctor? Quick, come with me!"
Matilda hurriedly locked her car and followed him, medical bag bouncing on her back.
Stomach pumping wasn't major surgery, but given the primitive conditions here, she had to use old-school methods combined with induced vomiting. After working for over an hour to clear the child's stomach, she monitored him for another two hours until she was certain he was stable. Only then did Matilda allow herself to breathe.
She prescribed medication for the boy and firmly instructed the family to keep all detergents and cleaning supplies well out of the child's reach before finally feeling comfortable enough to leave.
By the time she emerged, dusk was settling in.
December's chill was deepening, and snowflakes had started drifting down. Matilda pulled her down jacket tighter and stepped into the snow. The accumulation already reached her ankles, and her regular sneakers offered zero protection against the bone-deep cold seeping through.
She'd never found time to hit the town's outdoor store for proper snow boots—every single day was a whirlwind of non-stop emergencies.
She fished her keys from her coat pocket and unlocked the van door.
The moment she slid into the driver's seat, those same two men from earlier started walking toward her.
Her stomach clenched.
What did these guys want?
She pretended not to notice and turned the ignition.
One of them saw her preparing to leave and immediately jogged over, banging on her window.
"Hey, beautiful, where's the fire?"
"You heading back to town? How about giving us a lift? We need to get there too."
Matilda's instincts screamed danger. She just shook her head, signaling it wasn't convenient, and hit the gas.
She thought she'd lost them, but after driving for a while, her rearview mirror caught a motorcycle rapidly gaining on her.
Those same troublemakers!
Matilda immediately floored it.
But the snow was falling harder now, the road surface had turned to ice, and her tires kept slipping. She didn't dare push it too hard.
'The motorcycle won't be able to keep this up in weather like this,' she reasoned.
But the bike only seemed to go faster, hitting nearly forty miles per hour.
Matilda gritted her teeth and pressed harder on the accelerator.
A van and a motorcycle tore through the desolate, snow-covered highway.
The road twisted and curved, full of S-turns, forcing Matilda to juggle speed with constant vigilance.
Suddenly, a military semi-truck appeared around the bend ahead. She yanked the wheel hard to avoid it, but overcorrected. The van shot off the road and slammed into the snow-covered base of the mountain.
The snow was so deep that her wheels lost all traction. The van rolled over.
Matilda's head crashed hard against the door, making her gasp in pain. Her medical bag and equipment went flying, pinning her in place.
When the troublemakers saw the van flip and spotted the military truck stopping, they immediately turned around and fled.
"Captain, that looks like Dr. Spencer's car..." Danny called from the back seat.
Before he even finished speaking, Wentworth had already jumped down from the truck.
Several soldiers quickly followed suit.
Matilda caught her breath, then caught the smell of gasoline and panic shot through her. She fumbled to unbuckle her seatbelt, preparing to crawl out through the window.
The moment she got free, she saw Wentworth crouched at the opposite window.
Seeing him in this helpless moment sent a tangle of emotions coursing through her.
Half a month without seeing him, and her heart—which had finally settled—started acting up all over again.
Wentworth extended his hand, his voice steady and commanding. "Grab onto me."
Matilda reached out, and with just a slight pull, he dragged her free.
Danny and another soldier helped steady her as she landed, her legs giving out completely. She ended up leaning against Wentworth's solid frame.
"You okay? Anything hurt?" Wentworth asked.
She had just been in a car accident, after all.
Hearing him ask made her eyes sting with unshed tears, but she held it together and shook her head. "I'm fine."
Wentworth frowned. "You shouldn't have been driving that fast in weather like this."
Matilda bristled. "Someone was chasing me! That's why I was speeding. How was I supposed to know you'd suddenly appear? I only crashed because I was trying to avoid hitting you guys."
The mention of being chased immediately sharpened Wentworth's gaze. "Who?"
"I don't know them. Two punks from the village back there."
Wentworth made a mental note.
He glanced at her van. "Get in the truck first. Danny, Rick—get that van upright."
Matilda tried to walk over on her own, but her legs were too shaky. Wentworth ended up supporting her waist and guiding her up into the truck.
She sat inside, watching the soldiers work together to flip her van back onto its wheels. Rick gave it a once-over and confirmed that aside from a small oil leak, there wasn't any major damage.
Wentworth pulled out disinfectant spray and bandages from a first aid kit. "You've got a cut on your forehead. Let me take care of that."
Matilda didn't object at first, but when she noticed Danny and the other soldiers watching, she said, "I can handle it myself."
Wentworth's tone brooked no argument. "You can't see the wound. I'll do it."
She had no choice but to let him treat it.
The truck fell completely silent—nobody dared make casual conversation.
The soldiers couldn't figure it out. Wentworth had been ice-cold toward Matilda when he first saw her, so why was he now protecting her like she was some VIP?
Danny was seriously confused. 'Is the Captain really about to cause a scandal?'
He cleared his throat quietly. "Captain, Dr. Spencer is... well, she's a single woman. Maybe I should handle the first aid?"
Wentworth shot him one frigid look, and Danny immediately shut his mouth.
Matilda caught Danny's meaning—she and Wentworth weren't involved anymore, so if he got too close, people might get the wrong idea.
She snatched the cotton swab from Wentworth's hand. "I've got this. I can use my phone as a mirror."
Wentworth had no choice but to let her take over.
The truck dropped her off back in Stoneford, with Rick driving her van behind them.
Rick suggested she might want to consider replacing the vehicle—this van was getting pretty ancient.
Matilda just thanked him. Whether or not to replace it wasn't her call to make. Her principle was simple: don't waste the clinic's money, just do her job well. If she was going to donate anything, it would be when she left Stoneford Town.
Back at the clinic, Matilda stowed her medical bag and discovered that Levi and nurse Sarah had already left for the day. The place felt eerily empty.
She'd barely eaten anything all day, and her stomach was practically eating itself from hunger.
She decided to grab dinner at the diner on the corner.
Because of the cold, thick windscreen curtains hung over the diner's entrance. She pushed through them—and found Wentworth and several soldiers already seated inside.