by Scott, Laura
“No, thanks. I’ll be finished in a few minutes.” His voice sounded wooden to his ears, but hopefully Samantha wouldn’t notice.
Dr. Kearn. Get it through your concrete-lined skull, she’s Dr. Kearn!
“This is a first for me, being grounded to de-ice,” she admitted softly, stepping into the line of his peripheral vision. “I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
No, it was better to be safe than dead. The living were the only ones who were sorry. Reese mentally drew himself back on track. No sense in scaring the daylights out of the rest of the crew. Better that he kept his dark thoughts to himself.
“There, I’m finished.” He verified the chemicals had performed their magic and pronounced the helicopter back in flying form. “I’ll put this stuff away, then we can board.”
“Reese?”
Bracing himself, he slowly turned to face her. For a moment he couldn’t speak. She was so beautiful, no matter how hard she tried not to be. She’d caught his eye that very first day, her glorious red hair pulled into a no-nonsense braid and her creamy complexion free of makeup. She appeared oblivious to the male attention she drew from the other paramedics and physician crew members. Several pilots had commented about her, wondering about her availability, but Reese noticed she never made a flirtatious gesture or remark. Almost as if she made it a point to never cross the line of polite friendliness. The “off-limits” signs couldn’t have been any clearer.
Which was fine with him. He was happy enough to admire her from afar. She’d only be part of the Lifeline crew for another five months before she’d graduate to a full-fledged physician.
“Yes? What is it?” He pulled himself together with an effort.
“With the ice on the blades, how close were we to crashing?”
He hesitated, tempted to gloss over the risk, but decided he couldn’t lie to her. It wasn’t fair, not when her life had been on the line as much as his. “Too close.”
“I see.” Her eyebrows drew together to form a solemn line. “Thanks for telling me.”
He nearly groaned. Why couldn’t she just yell at him or something? He deserved that much. He was the captain of the ship. And he’d almost gotten her killed.
“Get your gear, we’re ready to roll.” His brusque response dimmed the sparkle in her eyes, but he told himself it was for the best. Theirs was a professional relationship, nothing more. He quickly stashed the supplies back in the hangar, then pulled the bird out of the shelter. Within moments, they were airborne once again.
The return ride was less than ten minutes, but there was an obvious lack of chatter amongst the crew as he set the helicopter on the ground. He gave Samantha and Andrew the signal to disembark, then shut down the engine.
Reese took a few extra moments to go through the basic post-flight checklist, then headed into the Lifeline lounge. Andrew and Samantha were standing there, along with some sort of delivery man holding an flower arrangement.
“Dr. Samantha Kearn?” The guy was asking as he stared down at his clipboard.
She didn’t answer right away, forcing him to look up at her. “You’re Dr. Samantha Kearn?” he repeated.
She nodded.
“Flower delivery for you, ma’am. Please sign here.”
He thrust the clipboard at her, and she signed the form, a careful blankness in her normally expressive gray eyes. Reese frowned. What was this about? Most women were thrilled with surprise gifts, but Samantha looked green, as if she might throw up.
“Wow, Dr. Kearn, someone loves you,” Andrew teased. “Who is it from? Hey, there isn’t a card.”
The tiny hairs on the back of Reese’s neck lifted in alarm. The delivery man thrust the cellophane-wrapped flower at her, but Samantha quickly pulled her hands away, stumbling backward out of reach. When she regained her footing, she gestured to the table. “No, ah, set it there, please.”
There was something wrong with this picture. Reese recognized pure fright when he saw it. In fact, Samantha looked as awful as he’d felt when he’d seen the ice coating the chopper blades.
“Andrew, did you file the flight paperwork yet?” He pinned the paramedic with a pointed look.
Andrew shook his head. “No, but I will.”
“Good. I have my report here, too. Let’s get these finished.”
Andrew took the not too subtle hint and obediently left the lounge. Reese followed more slowly. At the doorway, he hesitated, then turned to walk back inside, just in time to see Samantha gingerly pick up the flower, still encased in plastic wrap and hurtle it into the metal trash can in the corner. A loud crash reverberated through the room.
Definitely, something wrong.
“Who sent it?” Reese asked softly. He wasn’t just being nosy, he could feel Samantha’s tension all the way across the room. He suddenly wanted to protect her from whoever was bothering her.
She spun around to face him, swallowed hard, then squared her shoulders, bravely meeting his gaze. “There wasn’t a card.”
“Still, you know who sent it, don’t you?”
She remained stubbornly silent, but the guilty flash and abrupt lowering of her eyes was answer enough.
ALSO BY LAURA SCOTT
A Doctor’s Secret
A Doctor’s Dilemma
A Doctor’s Trust
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Untitled
A Doctor’s Secret
Also by Laura Scott