Читать книгу Betrothed for the Baby - Kathie DeNosky - Страница 7

When Hunter O’Banyon glanced over at the pretty little blonde he’d met only moments ago, adrenaline began to pump through his veins. Her porcelain cheeks were flushed with a mixture of heat and excitement, and he could tell from the sparkle of urgency in her violet eyes that he was in for one hell of a ride.

“I hope you don’t mind, but this is going to have to be faster than I’d planned,” she said, sounding a little breathless.

Grinning, he nodded. “Bring it on. I can take it as fast as you want to go.”

“I like the way you think.” Her smile caused his heart to race like a twelve-stroke engine hitting on all cylinders. “Hang on, big guy. This might get a little wild.”

Hunter took a deep breath and braced himself. “Burn it, darlin’.”

At the same time as she pushed the gas pedal all the way to the floor, she reached out to flip a switch on the dash. Lights and the keening wail of a siren competed with the sound of spinning tires kicking up a huge cloud of gravel and southwest Texas dust as the pickup truck careened away from the tarmac at Devil’s Fork Community Airfield.

When Hunter had discovered there was no commercial air service to the little town, he’d wondered why the pilot of the Cessna Skyhawk he’d chartered to fly him to Devil’s Fork from El Paso had laughed like a hyena when Hunter had called it an airport. Now he knew why. The entire thing consisted of an asphalt landing strip that he’d bet barely met FAA standards, a storage shed that leaned precariously to one side and a wooden pole with a tattered wind sock attached to the top just above the United States and Texas flags. As far as he could tell, there weren’t even any lights for landing at night. He could only hope the Life Medevac operation looked better.

“By the way, I’m Callie Marshall, the flight nurse on the Evac II team,” the blonde said conversationally.

Nice name for a nice-looking woman, he thought as they approached the edge of town. “I’m Hunter O’Banyon.”

“Thank God.” She grinned. “When my pager went off, I didn’t give you time to introduce yourself, and it suddenly occurred to me that you might not be the man I was supposed to meet.”

His heart stalled and he had to clear his suddenly dry throat. When she smiled, Callie Marshall wasn’t just pretty, she was drop-dead gorgeous.

“What were the chances of anyone else flying into Devil’s Fork?” he asked when he finally got his vocal cords to work.

Her delightful laughter was one of the nicest sounds he’d heard in a long time. “Good point,” she said, nodding. “I think you’re the first person I’ve heard of flying into Devil’s Fork since I arrived two months ago.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.” He tightened his safety harness when she turned a corner, seemingly on two wheels. “Did you arrive by plane?”

“No way.” She shook her head, causing her ponytail to sway back and forth. “I drove over from Houston. I wasn’t about to take one of those puddle-jumper flights in here.”

As they sped down Main Street, Hunter decided that if he’d blinked, he might have missed the entire town. Besides the fact that Callie was going so fast it wasn’t much more than a blur, the business district was only a few blocks long and there wasn’t much more than two or three blocks to the residential section.

“Mary Lou, our dispatcher, said you’re from the Miami area. It might take a while for you to get used to Devil’s Fork. It’s about six hundred miles from the nearest beach and not exactly a hotbed of social activity.”

“No kidding.” He cringed when they sailed through a four-way stop on the opposite end of town without so much as slowing down. “I knew this place was small, but I expected something a little bigger than this.”

“I did, too,” she agreed. “After I drove through it the first time, I had a hard time believing there was enough of a call for a medevac operation to be based here. But I was wrong.”

Hunter thought back to what he’d read in the file he’d been handed on the business his grandmother had given him to run. “The way I understand it, we’re the only emergency service available for sections of five different counties.”

She nodded. “The population is so sparse in this part of Texas, it isn’t cost-effective for communities to have their own ambulance.” Shrugging, she steered the truck onto a dirt-packed road leading up to a large aircraft hangar with Life Medevac Helicopter Service painted on the side. “Besides, if they had a ground unit, it would take too long to reach most of the people and even longer to get them to a hospital. We’re their best hope for emergency medical care.”

When she drove the truck around the side of the building, Hunter breathed a little easier. The Life Medevac base appeared to be in much better condition than the Devil’s Fork airfield. Besides the well-kept hangar, there were two brand-new, top-of-the-line Bell EMS helicopters sitting on brightly painted helipads, and the entire area was ringed with what looked to be state-of-the-art lighting for night takeoffs and landings.

“I’ll see you when we get back,” she said, jamming the gearshift into Park at the same time she killed the engine and threw open the driver’s door. “I have a flight to catch.”

“Thanks for the ride,” Hunter called, getting out of the truck.

Turning, she gave him another one of her killer smiles. “I almost forgot to tell you—beware of Mary Lou’s coffee. She’ll tell you it’s the best you’ve ever had, but don’t believe it.” She grimaced. “It’s awful.”

As he stood there staring at Callie slowly jogging toward the waiting helicopter, he couldn’t put his finger on what it was about her, but something bothered him. Aside from the fact that she’d driven the truck through town as though the hounds of hell were chasing them and she now moved as if she had all the time in the world, there was something about the snug way her navy-blue flight suit fit her around the middle that didn’t seem quite right.

But when she disappeared inside the cabin space of the chopper and the door slid shut behind her, he quickly dismissed his concerns as Evac II lifted off the helipad. Although Emerald Larson had assured him that she’d seen to it that all the equipment was up-to-date and exceeded state requirements, he intended to order new flight suits in a color that could be more easily differentiated from other first responders that might be on scene when the Life Medevac crews arrived. And he’d make sure everyone wore the right size.

“You must be Hunter O’Banyon, the new boss of this outfit.”

At the sound of the female voice behind him, Hunter turned to face a woman he’d judge to be somewhere in her late sixties or early seventies. With curly snow-white hair, a perfectly round face and a pair of narrow reading glasses perched on her nose, she looked as if she could easily play Mrs. Claus in a Christmas pageant.

He smiled as he extended his hand. “That would be me. And you must be Mary Lou Carson.”

“The one and only.” Grinning, she firmly shook his hand. “Come on in the dispatch room and rest a spell. I’ll pour you a cup of the best coffee you’ve ever had, then I’ll show you your quarters.”

Reaching into the bed of the pickup truck, Hunter grabbed his luggage and followed Mary Lou out of the late-August heat and into the air-conditioned office of the hangar. When she led him into the dispatch room, he looked around at the framed military medals hanging on the wall beside the door.

“Did these belong to your husband?” he asked conversationally.

“Some of them.” Mary Lou walked over to a small kitchen area on the opposite side of the room to stir the delicious-smelling contents of a huge pot on the electric range. “The rest are mine.”

When she walked back over to where he stood, she handed him a cup of coffee, then motioned for him to sit in one of several chairs on the opposite side of a scarred wooden desk. “Take a load off, Hunter.”

“What branch of the military were you in?” he asked, sitting down.

“Lester and I were both career Navy.” She walked between the desk and a built-in counter filled with radio equipment, a computer and several telephones to settle herself into an old wooden desk chair that looked as if it might have been around since World War II. “He was an aircraft mechanic and I was a nurse. He died in an accident onboard an aircraft carrier not long before we were supposed to retire.”

“I’m sorry.” Hunter knew all too well what it was like to lose someone unexpectedly.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said, surprising him. “Lester died doing what he loved most—working on fighter jets. That’s the best way any of us can hope to go out of this world.” Before he could respond, she shrugged. “That’s why I’m a dispatcher here. After my arthritis forced me to stop working the floor in a hospital, I took this job. When people call with an emergency, I sometimes stay on the line and talk them through whatever medical crisis they have until one of our crews arrives. It’s almost as satisfying as nursing.”

Hunter took a sip of coffee as he considered what Mary Lou said. But as the bitter taste spread over his tongue, he had to force himself to swallow. Quickly setting the cup on the desk, he barely controlled the urge to shudder. What Callie had told him about the coffee being awful had been an understatement. The stuff was as thick as syrup and tasted as though it had been made with quinine.

Coughing, he looked up to see Mary Lou watching him expectantly. He could tell she was waiting for him to tell her how good it was.

“You like your coffee strong, don’t you?” he asked, trying not to grimace.

She shrugged. “I like my coffee to be just the way I like a man—strong and the best I’ve ever had.”

If he’d thought her coffee was enough to send his system into shock, her outspokenness finished the job. He couldn’t have been more dumbfounded if he’d tried. Unable to think of a thing to say, he waited to see what she’d say next. Unless he’d misjudged her, that shouldn’t take very long.

Her knowing smile clued him in on the fact that she’d known her statement would render him speechless. “There’s a few things about me you might as well know up front, Hunt. I don’t mince words. I say exactly what I think because I’m old enough to get away with it and I’ve never been one to beat around the bush.”

“I can respect that.” Hunter had no idea where Mary Lou was going with this, but he could tell she had more on her mind.

“I’m glad to hear you say that, because what I’m going to tell you now might not set real well.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’m going to treat you like I treat everyone else around here because I’m not impressed by much of anything anymore. And that includes you being Emerald Larson’s grandson.”

Hunter frowned. He’d specifically asked Emerald not to divulge his relationship to her. For one thing, he didn’t need the added pressure of living up to someone’s expectations. And for another, he still hadn’t fully come to terms with being her grandson.

“How did you learn about—”

“Emerald and I go way back. She hasn’t always been on the top of the heap. When she was a teenager, she worked behind the soda counter in my father’s drugstore.” Mary Lou grinned. “She was like an older sister to me, and we’ve stayed in touch over the years.”

Hunter wasn’t particularly happy about having one of Emerald’s lifelong friends working for him. He didn’t like the idea of not being able to make a move without his manipulative grandmother knowing about it.

“If you’re worried about me running to Emerald to report everything you do, don’t waste your time,” Mary Lou said as though she’d read his mind. “I don’t carry tales. If she wants to know what’s going on with you, she’ll have to ask you herself.”

“That’s good to hear.” Whether he should or not, Hunter believed the woman.

Draining the last of her coffee, Mary Lou placed her cup on the desk and stood up. “Now that we have that out of the way, I’ll show you to your living quarters and let you get settled in while I finish up the beef stew I put on for our supper.” She pointed to his cup. “Would you like that warmed up?”

He quickly shook his head. “I’m not much of a coffee drinker.” He didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but if he never drank another drop of the bitter brew, it would be all too soon.

She shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with you young people. I’m the only one working here who likes coffee.”

As Hunter grabbed his suitcase and followed her through a doorway and down a hall toward the back of the hangar, he suspected the others’ reluctance to drink Mary Lou’s coffee had everything in the world to do with self-defense and nothing to do with not liking coffee.

“This is your office,” she said, passing a door on the way to the back of the building. Pointing to a door across the hall, she added, “And this is the on-duty crew’s sleeping quarters. We have three crews working rotating twenty-four-hour shifts—two days on duty and four off. Of course, on the outside chance that we get a call while one crew is out, the first two days that a crew is off duty, they’re on call.”

“What about you? What are your hours?”

“I’m here round the clock. When I’m not dispatching a crew, I’m cooking and handing out advice that nobody seems to listen to.” She laughed as she pointed to a door next to the crew quarters. “This is my room. I have a ringer in here that wakes me up when we have a night call or I decide to take a nap.”

Hunter frowned. “Who’s the dispatcher on your days off?”

She continued walking toward a door at the end of the hall. “On the rare occasions that I take a day off, one of the members of the off-duty crew fills in for me.”

“You don’t have regularly scheduled time off?” He didn’t like the sound of that. Aside from Emerald taking advantage of Mary Lou, he wasn’t sure that it was even legal for the woman to be working that much.

“Don’t get your shorts in a bunch, Hunter,” Mary Lou said as if she’d read his mind. “I don’t have family, and working here at Life Medevac is what makes me happy and keeps me going. I love what I do, so don’t go getting any ideas about making me take time off on a regular basis, because I won’t do it.” She opened the door to his room, then, stepping back, pointed to his luggage. “Are all your things in that one suitcase?”

He nodded. “I stored the rest of my things until I find a place in Devil’s Fork.”

“Good idea.” The woman nodded her approval. “Now go ahead and get your gear stowed away while I radio Evac II and find out the status of their patient and what time they estimate they’ll get back to base.”

Hunter stared after Mary Lou as she breezed out the door and down the hall as if her working without regular days off was a nonissue. But he wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t just a question of the labor laws. Her age and well-being had to be taken into consideration, as well. She might seem like a dynamo with boundless energy, but working 24-7 would be hard on a much younger person, let alone a woman close to seventy.

As he lifted his suitcase and placed it on the edge of the bed to unpack, he decided there were several things he needed to do right away. Not only did he need to order the correct size flight suits for everyone, he’d have to check into Texas labor laws.

Putting away the last of his clothes, he looked around. It was a good thing he always traveled light. The room was barely big enough for the twin bed, small chest of drawers and bedside table. There was no way he’d have had room for anything but his clothes.

But then, he didn’t need a lot of room. For the past five years he hadn’t cared how spacious his accommodations had been or even where they’d been located. After working construction so hard each day that he’d been too tired to think or remember, all he’d needed was a place to sleep, shower and change clothes. With any luck, there would be enough work to keep him just as busy at Life Medevac.

At the sound of a helicopter landing outside, he walked down the hall to the dispatch room. “They weren’t gone long.”

Mary Lou nodded. “Juanita Rodriguez thought she was going to have her baby, but it turned out to be false labor.” Smiling, she added, “She’s only nineteen and it’s her first pregnancy. She and her husband, Miguel, are worried they won’t make it to the hospital in time.”

“I hear that’s a big concern for most first-time parents.” A twinge of regret ran through Hunter. Anticipating the arrival of a child was something he would never experience.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on the disturbing thought as the flight crew from Evac II entered the dispatch room. Besides Callie, the crew consisted of a sandy-haired man who looked to be in his forties and a fresh-faced kid of about twenty.

“The name’s George Smith,” the man said, smiling as he walked over to shake Hunter’s hand. Almost as tall as Hunter’s own six-foot-three-inch frame, George was built like a heavyweight prizefighter, and if his grip was any indication, as strong as one. “I’m the pilot for the Evac II team.” He nodded toward the younger man. “And that kid over there is Corey Timmons, the EMT on our crew.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. O’Banyon,” Corey said, stepping forward to pump Hunter’s hand enthusiastically. “We’ve been looking forward to you taking over.”

“Call me Hunter.” He wasn’t surprised to hear the employees had been looking forward to a change in administration. From the file he’d been given, when Emerald bought Life Medevac, the employees hadn’t been paid their wages in several weeks.

Grinning, the young man’s brown eyes danced mischievously. “We’re glad to see you survived the drive across town with Callie behind the wheel.”

Hunter chuckled. “Was there doubt?”

“After flying into Devil’s Fork with Crash Jenson at the controls of that little four-seater prop job, we kinda wondered if her driving wouldn’t finish you off,” George added, laughing.

“If you two keep joking about my driving, I’ll stop making those chocolate-chip-oatmeal cookies you love so much,” Callie warned good-naturedly as she crossed the room to the kitchen area, where Mary Lou was putting the finishing touches on the crew’s dinner.

“We take it all back,” Corey said earnestly as he walked over to grab a plate for Mary Lou to fill with a generous helping of stew.

“You bet,” George said, nodding vigorously. “We were just joking around, Callie. Whatever you do, don’t stop making those cookies.” Turning to Hunter, he confided, “You’ve never tasted anything as good in your entire life as her chocolate-chip-oatmeal cookies.”

“I’ll look forward to trying them,” Hunter said, enjoying the easy banter.

As George moved to get a plate of stew, Hunter watched Callie open the refrigerator to remove a carton of orange juice and once again noticed the way her flight suit fit. The navy-blue fabric was fairly loose everywhere but in her midsection and she looked as if…

A sudden cold feeling of intense dread began to fill Hunter’s chest and he had to swallow hard against the bile rising in his throat. Callie Marshall wasn’t just carrying a few extra pounds around the middle. She was several months pregnant.