Roni surveyed the crash area and determined what supplies she’d need to bring up from the horses. She’d also have to find a more comfortable and safer place to tie the horses for the night. Two hours later, and after four trips to and from the horses, she was out of breath and walking on seemingly boneless legs. But there was still work to be done. It was getting breezy, and cold air was descending from the mountaintop. By utilizing part of the fuselage and the boulders it was wedged between, she hung two tarps to block the wind and reflect the heat from the fire Selena had been busy building.
Roni smiled at Dana who woke and silently watched them while they worked. She finished with the shelter and examined the girl again. She checked for swelling or tenderness in her abdomen and was relieved when she found none.
“How are you doing, Dana? Are you feeling any pain?” she said while checking the girl’s pupils.
“My leg hurts a little, but it’s not as bad now. I’m hungry.”
She smiled at her little charge. “I’m glad to hear that. Once we get the fire going really good, I’ll make you something to eat. In the meantime, would you like a chocolate chip protein bar to hold you over?”
Dana nodded and Roni rummaged through the food stash and gave her one. She looked over at Susan, who was still asleep.
“Will Mommy be okay, Roni?”
She turned and saw a tear escape from Dana’s eye. She squatted in front of her. “So far she’s doing pretty well. It’s important that she sleep so her body can heal. We’ll keep a special eye on her just for you, okay?” She brushed the tears off Dana’s face with her thumb. “You are one of the bravest people I’ve ever met. Just remember if you stay strong, it’ll help your mom too.”
She stood and caught Selena smiling at her.
She strode over to the fire. “What?”
“You’re good with her. She needs that reassurance.”
A corner of Roni’s mouth lifted and she shrugged. “I’m going to get one more load of firewood and then I think we’ll be set for the night.” She started to walk away, but stopped and half turned toward Selena. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me too,” Selena said to her retreating back.
Within a matter of hours, the daylight receded into complete blackness. Flickering flames cast shadows that danced eerily on the wreckage. Roni sat next to the fire while Selena checked Susan’s vitals and adjusted her IV drip. Dana had eaten well, and her mother had been conscious long enough for Selena to tell her there’d been a delay with the rescue chopper.
Roni closed her eyes and dropped her chin onto her chest. It had been a long day, and she could finally relax her bone-tired body.
A touch on her shoulder brought her out of her doze, and she smiled as she looked up at Selena. “Everybody doing okay?”
“Yeah. They’re both sound asleep, and I think we’re good for the night. Puller hasn’t left Dana’s side, which I think is helping her ignore the pain.” Selena sat down and rested her head on Roni’s shoulder. “What a day.”
“Yeah. You know I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m glad you’re here. I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to assess the woman’s condition as well as you.” She snaked an arm around Selena’s waist and warmed as she snuggled closer.
“You need to have more confidence in your abilities. I’m sure you could have done just as good a job as me.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“Can I ask you a personal question?” Selena lifted her head, and Roni watched the light from the flames play over her face.
“Sure, anything.”
“If Jeff hadn’t married Beth, would you have said something to her?”
Roni didn’t answer for a few minutes and then shrugged. “Probably not, for the same reason I never have said anything to her. I don’t want to lose her as a friend.”
“I guess I just don’t understand why you continued to torture yourself about Beth and not find somebody that could fulfill all of your needs.” Selena ruffled Roni’s hair.
“I think every baby dyke falls in love with a straight girl, don’t you?” She kissed Selena’s forehead. “I guess it’s because Beth and I are such good friends, and she’s always around. That makes it easy to love her.”
“Ah, but remember there are different kinds of love. Here’s something to think about. Having gotten to know you better, I have to wonder if you aren’t hiding your heart in Beth because you feel safe. You trust her, and the two of you have a lot of history.”
“God, Selena, did you ever think about psychiatry as a profession?”
“Tread onto my territory and seek all that is me.”
“And what famous person said that?”
“Me. Let’s hit the sack. We’ve had a long day, and we’re looking at another one tomorrow.” Selena got to her feet.
Roni stood up as well but didn’t immediately follow Selena. She fixed the fire for the night and stared at the funnel of sparks that twirled into the air from the pine resin. The depths to which Selena sent her thoughts amazed her. It also sapped her remaining energy. She headed for her bedroll and was asleep almost instantly.
Chapter Fifteen
AIR RESCUE SIX hovered a hundred feet above them. The noise was deafening. Fortunately a stiff breeze had cleared the fog from the mountain and nothing but deep blue sky showed above. Roni shaded her eyes against the brightness and watched as a medic descended from the open hatch. She glanced behind her and saw Selena bent over Dana’s mother. Dana was talking and pointing excitedly toward the helicopter.
“Yes, honey,” Selena said, “you and your mom will ride in that to the hospital.” She unhooked Dana’s and her mom’s IVs and laid them on their chests.
The medic reached the ground, and the cable retracted and a wire-sided transport basket floated down a few moments later. The medic unclipped it from the cable, and the helicopter moved off.
Roni looked into the green eyes of the woman dressed in a blue flight suit. She was slight of build and long brown hair showed from underneath her helmet. Attractive, she thought briefly.
“We have two survivors, one critical, but stable and . . .” She might as well been talking to herself.
The woman had yet to acknowledge a single thing she’d said. She looked past Roni with wide eyes, effectively ignoring her. A flirtatious grin spread over her face.
“Selena? Oh my God, is that you?” The medic’s voice was low and husky and instantly grated on Roni’s nerves.
Selena turned around, shock registering on her face. “Kim?” She got to her feet and walked over. “Kim, what are you doing here?”
“I got a job with Air Rescue as a medic. I heard you were in these mountains, but I never expected to find you here.” Kim opened her arms, and it seemed Selena reluctantly stepped into a hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“Yeah, um, we better get these people out of here before the wind picks up any more.” Selena spun on her heel and returned to the survivors with Kim at her side.
Roni wordlessly followed them. What did this sudden appearance of Kim mean? She couldn’t decide if Selena was happy or not to see her ex-lover. And was that a tinge of jealousy that coursed through her?
“I’ll need you to ride with me, Selena,” Kim said.
Selena stared at her. “What? Why? I thought it was SOP to have two medics on board.”
“It is. But I had the unfortunate luck to get paired with a rookie today. He’s been puking his guts out ever since we went airborne. I had to put an IV in the loser’s arm, and he’s probably zonked out again,” Kim said with a sneer. She turned to Roni and crossed her arms over her chest. “Other than me, Selena’s the best medic I know.”
“I can’t expect Roni to make the trip back by herself. No. We’ll have to think of something else.”
“Selena, if you need to go, I’ll be all right. We don’t have time to argue.” Roni tilted her head in the woman’s direction. She’d lost consciousness again.
Selena looked
uncomfortable. “Okay. It doesn’t look like I have much of a choice in the matter.”
“Let’s move it, then.” Kim picked Dana up and carried her to the basket.
It didn’t take long for Roni to decide she hated Kim’s arrogance. She might be an excellent medic, but she was bossy and a know-it-all. No wonder Selena left her. No. Wait. Kim dumped Selena. Could Selena still have feelings for this obnoxious macho medic?
“I’ll be back as soon as I can, Roni. I wish I could kiss you,” Selena whispered without touching her. “Be careful going back, okay?” At her nod, Selena strode toward the lift-off point.
Her heart clutched as she watched Selena disappear into the chopper. Dana and her mother floated up one by one in the basket, assisted by Selena. Kim stood waiting for the cable to drop again.
“Good luck getting back.” Kim’s voice almost sounded victorious. Or was it Roni’s imagination? “Air Rescue Eight is about an hour out. We gave them the coordinates so they can recover the deceased. You know you have to wait, right?”
“It’s not anything I haven’t done before,” Roni retorted, suddenly itching for a fight. What a bitch. She silently wished the pompous woman would get the cable caught around her neck.
SELENA UNHOOKED HER safety harness from the ropes that attached her to the helicopter’s boom. The other paramedic, whose name tag read Ward, sent the hook down and prepared to extract the first plane crash victim. Selena noted the greenish tinge of his face and the uneasy set of his mouth.
She watched as the basket carrying Susan rose up. As soon as it leveled with the door, she pulled it in and with the shaky help of Ward, carefully moved her to a stretcher.
While he retrieved Dana, Selena checked Susan’s vitals and replaced the nearly empty fluid bag with a fresh one. Just as she finished regulating the flow of the bag, Dana arrived and she repeated the procedure for her.
Satisfied with the condition of her patients, Selena looked toward the hatch in hopes of catching a glimpse of Roni. But Kim’s dark form filled the opening. Before she could react, Kim slid the door shut and the aircraft moved away.
God, I hope she gets off that mountain and back to the cabin safely, Selena thought as she ensured the straps securing the stretchers were tight. Disappointment and a strange sense of loss filled her chest.
She took a moment to appraise the interior of the helicopter. The cockpit was fully enclosed. The cabin they occupied offered enough room for two stretchers and three seated personnel. In addition to having medical treatment for CPR and endotracheal intubation, which was stored above her, there were small compartments containing various drugs, IV tubing, bandages, and saline bags.
“Pretty nice rig, huh?” Kim handed Selena a helmet, which she slid onto her head.
With a familiarity that made Selena uncomfortable, Kim adjusted the chinstrap and swung the boom microphone close to her mouth. She then flipped a switch that would allow them to speak to the pilot and each other without having to yell over the noise of the rotors above.
Kim offered her a cocky smile. “This is kick-ass work, Sel.” Selena cringed inwardly at the pet name Kim used for her. “Tom is our pilot. He’s a cool dude. Yo, Tom, we’ve got my ex on board. Her name’s Selena.”
“Nice to meet you, Selena.”
“Uh, same here, Tom.” Selena averted her eyes from Kim’s. She didn’t want to read anything into Kim’s gaze for fear the heartache she’d worked so hard to recover from would come storming back and slam full tilt into her chest. Instead she checked Dana and her mom every five minutes.
Ward sat next to her with his eyes closed. Apparently he’d unhooked his IV earlier while operating the hoist because he had his flight suit sleeve rolled up and was again connected.
Selena steered her eyes to Dana and thought the girl, more than anyone, could understand the pain of having a hole in her heart.
They mostly engaged in small talk. When they ran out of things they could say to each other that weren’t overly personal, the remainder of the way was quiet, except for the whine of the engine and thump of the rotors overhead.
THE HATCH DOOR closed and the helicopter started to move off. Roni lifted her hand in a single wave. She suddenly felt very alone. She wasn’t familiar with the feeling. She was normally comfortable spending time by herself and not being lonely.
Her gaze remained on the sky long after the chopper disappeared and the dull thump of its rotors faded into the mountains. Once again the birds chirped and sang, and a single raven called from the top of a high spruce tree. She tried not to feel sorry for herself. Two insistent paws on her leg drew her attention to the ground. Puller looked at her with expectant eyes and a wagging tail. She bent down, scooped him up, and cradled the little dog to her chest. “Good thing she didn’t expect me to fly with her. I would’ve pushed that egotistical, condescending bitch right out the door. I bet even the wolves wouldn’t touch that rancid piece of meat.”
She turned and gazed at the carnage before her. How sad. I sure hope Dana and her mom do okay. Her thoughts turned to the heartrending task at hand. She set Puller on the ground and started down the mountain to where the horses stood waiting. She glanced at Selena’s horse and a hollow throb expanded in her chest.
“Hurry back, Selena. I miss you already.” She lifted the flap on one of the packs, grasped two body bags, and began the arduous march back up the mountain.
Two hours later, after Air Rescue Eight had recovered the deceased and sped off, Roni navigated the four horses downward. The sun had already slid across the sky, and it was nearly dark as they splashed through Rhoda Creek at the precise spot she and Selena broke camp that morning. Right now it seemed like days since she’d woken up in the lean-to with Selena nestled against her. In reality it had been less than eighteen hours.
She sat atop Chenoa and weighed her options. She could make camp and start back at first light, or she could push on through. The sky was clear and she had no doubt she could navigate by moonlight, or opt to use the flashlight attached to her horse’s breast collar. But on the flip side of the coin, it was a tricky ride by day and overtly dangerous by night with or without a light. Besides that, Jeff and Selena would kill her if they ever found out.
Out of ideas and admittedly, energy, she dismounted. She put Puller down and plucked what she’d need for the night from her saddlebags and the packhorse. There was still a great deal of firewood left from Selena’s efforts, and she had a nice blaze going in no time. She decided to forego the tarp and sleep under the stars. She spread a thermal pad on the ground and tossed her sleeping bag on top. Puller crawled onto it and took up residence.
Her stomach growled and clenched, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since morning. Once again she pawed through the packs and found a freeze-dried, four-serving packet of beef Stroganoff. “You can have what I can’t finish, okay?” Puller sat up alert and wagged his tail. “You certainly deserve it.”
After she hung a pot of water over the fire to boil, she untacked the horses and left them to meander and graze on whatever grass they could find growing between the rocks. “You guys will be happy to be back in the meadow again, won’t you?” She patted Chenoa on the neck and walked over to the fire. The first tendrils of steam rose from the pot, and her mouth watered in anticipation of dinner. She emptied the package into the water, stirred it until it was thick, and ate with gusto.
Bright stars haphazardly littered the sky by the time she finished eating and cleaned up. She’d been able to keep busy since arriving and setting up camp, but now there was little else to do except feed the fire. Her mind wandered. She wished she’d had the foresight to pack a flask full of whiskey. A couple of healthy swigs would’ve been nice to dull her thoughts and settle her down enough to sleep.
She calculated the amount of wood she’d need for breakfast and threw the few remaining sticks on the fire. She undressed in the moonlight and slid into her bag. Puller nosed his way in and crawled down by her feet. A horse snorted and sighed nearby
. Another stomped its foot and then all grew quiet. They’d all settled down for the night.
Foremost in her thoughts was what Selena was doing at this very moment. Did they arrive at the hospital safely? Where was she spending the night? Was she spending it with Kim? An image of Selena and Kim in bed together sprung to her mind, and a well of panic rose. What if they realized they shouldn’t have broken up? What if she doesn’t come back? What if, what if? Those thoughts left her with no answers and a feeling of cold emptiness.
Despite all the reservations she’d had about a stranger spending the summer on the mountain, she couldn’t remember half the arguments she’d had against it. From nearly the minute she’d met Selena, she trusted her. Granted, she didn’t have much of a choice, being blind and all at the time. Selena had an easiness and self-assuredness about her. She was smart. No, not just smart. She was easily the most intelligent person Roni had ever known, with common sense to boot. That combination was rare in her opinion. When she looks at me, I know she’s listening, and when she laughs, she means it, she thought. In the weeks she’d come to know Selena, she discovered a beauty that went much further than skin deep.
She closed her eyes and relaxed in the warm bag. Puller was curled around her feet and snoring. Selena appeared in her mind. She was smiling and her face was all lit up. Deep down, Roni knew that smile was for her. She’d have to introduce her to Beth someday.
Beth! Roni’s eyes flew open. Wow, I haven’t thought much about Beth in days. Guilt immediately overwhelmed her. She felt like a traitor or a cheater. And just as quickly, Selena’s words came back to her: “You can’t waste your life pining for somebody you can’t have.” She contemplated that statement. What did she want from Beth? She’d always thought a relationship with Beth would make her the happiest woman on earth. She decided she needed to determine the level of relationship she could live with. Obviously a sexual one was out of the question, given that Beth was straight . . . and married.
When she compared Selena to Beth, she saw two completely different individuals. It was a very stark contrast. Beth would want a close friend, a confidant, and someone she could bitch to about Jeff. That thought made Roni smile. Selena on the other hand wanted . . . well, hopefully she wanted to be more than friends, and all indications, before Kim showed up, pointed in that exact direction.
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