North of Heartbreak (2 page)

“I have a nursing assistant.”

“What about him?” he asked, angling a thumb at Tommy who seemed more concerned with hanging on to his door and stomach than talking.

“He doesn’t work for me. He’s the patient’s nephew.”

“So, aside from a nurse’s aide, you’ve got
no
help?” Mr. Handsome shook his head. “There’s something seriously wrong with that.”

A chunk of ice formed in the pit of her belly. “Like what?”

“You’re so…” he paused, obviously searching for the right word, “…small.”

Willa froze. It had been a long time since someone assumed her size meant she wasn’t capable of doing her job. At five feet even she’d had to fight for respect everywhere she went, but in the two years she’d been working in the Alaskan Arctic no one had implied anything remotely close. The people here cared about what you could do, not how you looked. Having this stranger judge her ability because of her size was worse than a slap in the face.

“I assure you I’m quite capable of handling most of the emergencies I see.”

He gave her a skeptical look. “I’m sure you’re fine with the medical stuff, but what happens when you have to move a two-hundred-pound man?”

“I find a way.” She glared at him. “I’m not stupid.”

“I never said you were.”

“No, you said I was small.” It had taken too much hard work to build up her self-confidence after her disastrous marriage. She wasn’t about to let this man make her feel worthless. She maintained eye contact, daring him to keep arguing.

“Sorry,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I’m sure you can take care of yourself.”

But not someone else. He never came right out and said it, but the hesitation in his voice told her what he was thinking.

Willa jerked her attention away from him. She had a patient to worry about. She went back to Joe, checking and rechecking his vitals.

“You’ve been up here long?” Mr. Handsome asked a minute later.

“Two years.” Let him find fault with that.

“Two weeks for me,” he said, though she had no intention of asking anything so personal. “Jason said I’d have to get rid of a lifetime of preconceived notions when I got here.” Mr. Handsome shook his head then turned and smiled at Willa, his crooked grin impacting her hormones like a testosterone missile hitting its target. “I guess I’d better get started.”

She didn’t bother with a reply to his attempt at charm, just made sure her expression declared her disbelief as blatantly as anything she could’ve said out loud.

Joe lifted his head, his gaze searching.

“Joe?” Willa took her headset off. “Joe? What’s wrong?”

His mouth moved, but she couldn’t hear him.

“Say that again.” She put her head close to Joe’s.

“Can’t feel my feet.”

“Nothing?”

“Cold,” he mouthed.

She pulled the blankets off Joe’s feet. His toes were white tinged with blue. She quickly tucked the blanket firmly around both feet then checked his thigh. Blood continued to drip onto the floorboard.

She rammed the headset back on. “Pilot, what’s our ETA to Fairbanks?”

“About forty-five minutes.”

“Can we go any faster?”

Mr. Handsome turned his head to look over the seat at her. Willa didn’t know what he saw on her face, but whatever it was must have convinced him speed was of the essence.

“I’ll do what I can,” he said.

As Willa tried to stem the flow of blood, she could hear the engines rev higher. She smiled at Joe and leaned down to talk directly into his ear.

“I’m sorry it’s so cold in here. I just asked the pilot to turn up the heat and fly faster. You know how these new guys are. They don’t have a clue how far it is between places up north.”

Joe’s lips twitched upward and he nodded, but his head wobbled and his eyes drooped. It wouldn’t be long before he fell unconscious.

She checked his pulse. Slow and thready.

Willa moved forward, sticking her head between the front seats so Joe wouldn’t see the concern she couldn’t hide anymore.

“Pilot,” she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Liam, my name’s Liam. What’s happening with our patient?”

“He’s losing blood and going into shock.”

“I’ve got the engines at top RPMs now, but I’ll see if I can coax any more out of her.”

“Thank you.” He might be judgmental and arrogant, but at least he was willing to go the extra mile for Joe.

“Fairbanks is on the radio for you,” Liam said.

A click and a second of static then the voice of the head nurse from the hospital’s ER. “What have you got, Willa?”

“I’ve got an Inuit male, late forties with a compound fracture of the left femur. The wound is bleeding and the patient is shocky with decreased blood flow to the extremities.”

“Have you started an IV?”

“Yes, I’m running albumin.”

Background noise filtered through the radio then a male voice spoke. “Hung any blood yet?”

“No, I only have two additional units of albumin and a few bags of saline.”

“How far out are you?”

Willa glanced up at Liam and he flashed three fingers at her.

“Approximately thirty minutes,” she answered.

“Start a second IV with saline. We’ll push packed cells into him as soon as you arrive.”

“Understood,” Willa said. “I’ll keep you advised if his condition changes.”

“Roger that, Fairbanks out.”

She opened another equipment kit and removed a bag of clear fluid.

Tommy waved at her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Your uncle is bleeding too much, too fast. He needs a transfusion and the closest place for that is Fairbanks.”

“We’re going as fast as this machine can fly,” Liam said. “I should have you on the ground in less than thirty minutes.”

“Good.”

Willa took a deep breath and deliberately relaxed for a second before starting the second IV. Joe was a strong, stubborn man. He’d pull through this.

“Joe.” She put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. His face had faded to a dull pale white, but he still managed to meet her gaze. “I need you to stay awake for me, okay? We’re almost there.”

Joe nodded slowly.

Willa started the second IV in Joe’s other hand, but as she started the drip, his eyes sagged shut and his body went limp.

“Joe? Joe?” She yelled in his ear and shook him, but got no response.

“What’s going on?” Liam demanded.

“He’s unconscious and I can’t wake him,” she hollered back. “I don’t care if you wreck the engines, get us to Fairbanks
now.
”

Chapter Two

Willa’s focus narrowed on Joe. His respirations, heart rate and blood pressure became her universe. She increased the feed on both IVs, hoping the additional saline would help, but he remained unresponsive.

He needed blood, and soon.

A gentle bump yanked her attention from her patient. They were on the ground, ambulance lights flashing close by.

The plane came to a stop next to the emergency vehicle and the waiting EMTs attacked the plane’s rear doors almost before it stopped moving.

Willa hoisted the IV bags in the air as the EMTs, two middle-aged men she’d worked with several times before, unhooked the stretcher and pulled Joe out. Within seconds, they were in the ambulance, Tommy in tow, pulling away from the plane. She glanced out the back window of the vehicle. Liam stood there, staring after them with a lost look on his face.

His job was over for now. She was still in the middle of hers.

The trip to the hospital was blessedly short, the transfer into the ER fast and Joe’s assessment completed by the ER doc in near record time. The surgical team took charge and rolled him away and into surgery, leaving Willa standing in the ER, blood covering much of her clothes.

One of the nurses handed her a pair of scrub pants to change into, then she settled down to chart everything she’d done on the trip down. It would give her something to do while waiting to find out if Joe survived.

An hour later she knew.

Joe kept his life and his leg.

Willa almost broke down in tears when the news filtered back to the ER. He had a long road of physiotherapy ahead of him, but she knew Joe. He was stubborn. He’d be fine.

She called home, letting Mary and Joe’s wife know the good news and ended up crying with them on the phone.

Afterward, she tidied her boxes of equipment and headed back to the airstrip. She needed to get back to the clinic, restock her kit, prepare for tomorrow’s visit to the hamlet of Summerset Inlet, plus a million other things that had to be done. Hopefully, Mr. Handsome…Liam, had waited for her, but who knew what he might do. People new to the north often did all kinds of strange things until they settled in, seemed to forget how far apart settlements were.

The paramedics drove her back to the airport and dropped her off next to the plane. The pilot was nowhere in sight.

She straightened her shoulders. At least he hadn’t taken off without her.

Willa loaded her equipment into the aircraft, then walked into the terminal and almost got trampled.

“Oops.” A man chuckled and a strong arm wrapped around her waist before she toppled over. “Sorry about that. I didn’t see you there.”

She looked up into Liam’s laughing gaze, fought the intense physical pull of attraction and pushed against his chest with both hands. He wasn’t getting under her skin that easily. “Of course.”

He set her away from him as if she were a piece of bone china. “You okay?” A small grin played at the corners of his mouth.

Willa slowly uncurled her fists. She told herself he wasn’t taunting her. He was just being polite.

She lifted her chin, but to meet his eyes she had to crane her head back a long way.

“How tall are you?” she blurted out, then winced.

“Six two. You?”

Fair was fair. If she could ask so could he.

“Five feet.”

His smile widened. “Ah, that’s the problem then.”

“Problem?”

“I’m too tall. Allow me to apologize in advance for any inconvenience that might cause.”

Willa stared at him with narrowed eyes, certain he was laughing at her. She searched his face for any sign of sarcasm or satire, but could see no indication of either.

“This is for you.” He handed her a paper cup.

She took it, but held it at arm’s length. “What is it?”

“Tea. Two sugar, two cream, right?”

Willa blinked in surprise. “How did you…”

“Jason told me. There’s also a BLT waiting for you in the plane, and we—” he glanced at his watch, “—are due back in Stony Creek.” He swept his hand toward the waiting aircraft. “After you.”

Frowning, Willa exited the terminal and headed in the direction of the plane. As happy as she was to be leaving, why was he being so nice to her? She watched him closely, but he seemed oblivious to her as they walked across the tarmac.

Stop it. Good-looking doesn’t always equate to selfish jerk.
Though, in her experience, most of the time it did.

She circled around the aircraft to the passenger side door.

“Do you need a hand getting in?” he called out.

“No, thanks.”

“Good enough,” he said, jumping into the pilot’s seat and shutting his door.

She got in, buckled up because he’d probably quote regulations again if she didn’t, then stared at him.

He ignored her, his hands moving over the controls with a confidence she’d only seen in his boss, Jason.

“Something wrong with my face?” he asked after a few seconds.

“No,” Willa said with a snort, then realized how that must sound. “Of course not.”

“Of course not?” He gave her a sexy grin and a wink.

Darn it, this was a conversation she didn’t want to have. “Never mind,” she said quickly. “Just forget it.”

He turned his head away, but not before she caught a glimpse of another smile. When he turned back a second later, it was gone.

“Good. Better put that tea down.” He pointed at a cup holder on the floor between their seats.

Willa rolled her eyes. “Another regulation?”

“Yep.” He put his headset on and the plane moved forward, taxiing toward the runway.

Willa shook her head and opened the lid of her cup to take a swallow of tea before putting it in the holder. She didn’t trust this Liam fellow. Not at all. Surviving her ex-husband had taught her how to be strong, how to take care of herself, how easy it was for a man to misrepresent himself.

She put him out of her mind. Joe was going to need a fairly long recovery period and months of physiotherapy. She didn’t have a lot of equipment, so she would have to improvise, something she’d gotten good at. But improvisation only went so far. She’d have to write yet another letter to the town council begging for more money to buy that equipment, a larger space and a full-fledged, honest-to-God doctor.

Liam kept glancing at her, then finally handed her the copilot’s headset. She took it and put it on.

“I taxed the engines pretty hard on the way down,” he said. “Didn’t quite wreck them, but our ETA to Stony Creek is around two and a half hours.”

She looked at him then. “That long? I was hoping we’d get there sooner. I’ve got a lot to do.”

“Sorry.” He shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it. Getting Joe to the hospital in time is more than worth it.”

Silence.

After several long, empty seconds he asked, “How often do you go to the city?”

“I’m in Fairbanks every couple of months for staff meetings and training, why?”

“No, I meant Seattle or Portland. You do go south once in a while don’t you?”

“Sure.” She darted a confused look at him before replying, “Once every six months or so. I visit some friends, see a bunch of movies and shop. Why?”

“Just wondered. I’ve only been up here for a couple of weeks.”

“So you said before.”

A long pause.

“What brought you here?”

This was beginning to sound like twenty questions. “I like small towns, and city life had become…” How could she put this without giving too much away? “Too restrictive.”

“But there’s so much to do in a city.”

“That’s not what I mean. Here, I work for myself and every day is a new challenge, without eighty-five different people telling me what to do.”

“Yeah, that I get. The work is different and interesting.”

“Yes.”

“So…no boyfriend either then?”

His question jerked her head around. “Are you hitting on me?”

“No.” He winced. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to ask that out loud.”

“But you were thinking it.”

“Yes…no. Look, Jason told me a little about you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why would Jason tell you anything about me?”

“He’s my uncle. He knows what kind of a joker I am. I’m harmless, really, but he was afraid I’d upset you.”

Well, this was news.

“What does that have to do with having or not having a boyfriend?”

“Um, nothing.”

Willa stared at him then shook her head. “I’m not looking for a relationship or anything else for that matter. Just in case you were wondering.”

“Message received.” Liam smiled. Again. “I’m a good guy. You’ll see.”

“I’m sure you are,” she said, barely glancing at him.

“I promised Jason I’d be good, and I keep my promises.”

“You can start by not flirting with me. It’s unprofessional.”

“I’m not flirting.”

“Yes, you are and what’s worse, you don’t mean it.”

Liam looked at her, both his brows riding high on his forehead, but Willa avoided his gaze, her cheeks burning.

“What if you’re wrong?” he asked in a careful tone. “Maybe I do mean it.”

“That’ll be the day. Guys like you don’t like women like me.”

He stared at her with wide eyes. “Wow, that’s a heck of a generalization. What kind of guy am I?”

His question surprised her into looking up, and for one long moment Willa considered throwing herself out of the plane.

No. No backing down. She’d finished with that long ago.

“Have you seen yourself in a mirror recently? You’re hot. I, on the other hand, am as ordinary as they come.”

“And?”

Liam’s challenging stare seemed designed to goad her into speaking too soon, but Willa took a second to compose a reasonable response anyway. “All I want to do is go home and get the hours of work waiting for me, done,” she finally said.

“You’re very natural,” he said after a few moments.

Willa burst out laughing. “Natural?” She laughed some more. “You’re hilarious.”

“What’s so funny? The thought that you’re attractive, or that I might like you?”

She shook her head.

“I’m just trying to be nice.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t try so hard.”

An over-the-top look of horror flashed across his features. “You don’t mean…have a normal conversation do you? Where we discuss current events and, God forbid,
the weather?
”

Willa had to stifle a laugh. At least he had a sense of humor. “Is that so difficult?”

He grinned. “I’ve never tried it before.”

“You’ve just never come across a woman who didn’t swoon at your outrageous flattery.” She had no wish to be the woman to educate him.

“True. This will be a whole new experience for me.” He gave her a sidelong glance full of mirth. “Where do I start?”

Willa shook her head and bit her lip. “Oh no, you’re a big boy, you figure it out.”

He didn’t answer, but his hands shifted on the controls and he twisted in his seat. The smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a small frown.

How could a man go through thirty odd years of life without learning how to have a real conversation?

She rolled her eyes and turned toward him. “Start by thinking of me as a man.”

The sexiest grin Willa had ever seen slid across Liam’s face and he looked at her chest. “There’s no way I could ever think of you as a man.”

Sucker.
She might as well wear a T-shirt announcing it.

“Very funny. I give you advice and you turn it into a joke.” She turned away and stared resolutely out the window. What had she expected? He was probably used to getting whatever he wanted with a crook of his eyebrow.

Well, not her. She knew better.

After another minute of silence, Liam cleared his throat. “So, is our patient going to be okay?”

Willa gave him a sharp glance. Now he wanted to talk business? A sigh eased its way out of her throat. Better late than never. Despite her misgivings she did have to work with the guy. “Joe was still in surgery when we left, but the news was he’d keep his leg.”

“That’s good. There was a lot of blood to clean up back there,” Liam said, angling his head toward the backseat. “Had me worried.”

“Me too. I wish I could have done more to stem the bleeding, but…” She sucked in a deep breath, determined to be fair. “I appreciate the way you followed my orders when it really counted.”

He glanced at her. “You say that as if it hurts.”

Willa pressed her lips together. She couldn’t even give him a genuine compliment without commentary.

A moment of silence then he said in a quiet voice, “You’re welcome.
You
acted like a pro. I’ve never flown a medical flight, though I trained for it. It was easier and harder than I thought.”

“It usually is. If we had taken much longer to get Joe to Fairbanks he could’ve died.”

Liam speared her with an incredulous look. “Seriously?”

“Yes. The length of time it takes to get the injured to treatment can literally be the difference between life and death. That’s why the air MedEvac system in Alaska is so important.”

“But, the Otter isn’t the fastest plane in the air, not even close.”

“It’s the only one that can land anytime, anywhere. There are lots of places without an airstrip. You might have to land on a river or lake in the summer and ice in the winter.”

“Not many planes outside the Otter can do that,” he said. “But what about you? Wouldn’t it be better to have help? How come there aren’t more medical people working out of your clinic?”

“I’d love some help, but life in the north isn’t for everyone. It’s not so bad in the summer, when the sun is up all day and night, but in the winter when it’s isolated, bitterly cold and dark all the time…” Willa shook her head. “A lot of people can’t hack it.”

“When you put it that way, I’m surprised anyone lives up here.”

“Oh, but there are reasons to stay.”

“Like?”

“Have you ever seen the northern lights?”

He shook his head.

“Once you’ve seen them you’ll never forget.” She closed her eyes. “Picture a dark night, so cold your breath hangs like a lost ghost in the air around your face. You look up and across the heavens dance undulating curtains of blue, green and white light moving to a melody you can almost hear.” She smiled. “We get a lot of tourists in winter to see it.”