Heaven Sent

by Sarah Hoss

  Table of Contents

  Heaven Sent

  Copyright

  Kudos for Sarah Hoss

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  A word about the author...

  Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  Heaven Sent

  by

  Sarah Hoss

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Heaven Sent

  COPYRIGHT © 2012 by Sarah Hoss

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: info@thewildrosepress.com

  Cover Art by Debbie Taylor

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Faery Rose Edition, 2012

  Digital ISBN 978-1-61217-597-3

  Published in the United States of America

  Kudos for Sarah Hoss

  HEAVEN SENT won first place in the contemporary category of the Novellas Need Love Too! Contest

  put on by Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.

  Dedication

  To Lizzie Walker, my friend and critique partner.

  Acknowledgements

  I want to acknowledge my husband, Andrew.

  Thank you for standing by me as I follow my dreams.

  To the members of my critique group, Celtic Critters, Melissa Stark, Dawn Hamilton, Pam Johnson, and Derek Dodson for their time in critiquing this story.

  To Cindy Everett for her help with the medical issues

  in this story and teaching me about her job.

  To The Wild Rose Press for taking a chance on me.

  To Frances Sevilla, my editor, for all of her patience in teaching me the right way to write a novella. I appreciate her help in making this story the best it can be.

  Chapter One

  He glided across the ground purposefully toward the building. Having been summoned by Malachi, Sam knew it was important, and when the Archangel of Heaven called upon his people there was no time to waste.

  The door closed without a sound behind him, and he let his hand fall to his side. Waiting to be acknowledged, he stood stoically, staring straight ahead.

  He knew this room well from his many visits. To the left, golden rays of sunlight poured in through a tall vaulted window. In front of him sat Malachi with his head bowed, writing steadfastly, lost in thought.

  Malachi glanced up and smiled at him. “Thank you for coming.”

  “You’re welcome,” Sam said with a slight nod of his head.

  Malachi stood and strode around his desk. Stopping half way, he motioned for Sam to join him.

  The wall to Sam’s right was bare to the naked eye. Malachai waved his right hand in a slow arc and a diaphanous screen appeared. It reminded Sam of a veil a woman might wear on her wedding day and his hand ached to reach out and touch it. Sometimes he missed simple things like that.

  “I’ve summoned you here because you are to receive your next assignment.”

  Standing straighter, Sam’s wings unfolded. A mixture of grey and white feathers, the wings expanded to an impressive span.

  A woman appeared on the screen. As the event’s played out, Sam leaned forward, drawn to the red head and the tragic events unfolding in front of his eyes.

  The majesty of the mountains covered in their white blanket took Sam’s breath away. Snow fell in large, fluffy flakes. The wind didn’t blow, and the trees never danced, as if they stood still in respect to the scene below.

  Red and blue lights pulsed a beat all on their own, and even though the road was slick, people ran to and fro in a frantic pace to save a woman’s life.

  A car sat mangled on the side of the road. The roof, having been cut, rested on the ground beside it. A few feet beyond, a woman lay motionless. She wasn’t breathing as the EMT’s worked desperately to save her life. Sam closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. But it was no use. If he was here for an assignment then the lady on the ground was not going to live. He said another prayer, hoping that there would be no pain and she would slip easily into his world.

  The woman with the red hair sat on the ground near the deceased woman and cried, rocking back and forth.

  “That is her mother.”

  Malachi’s deep voice broke into his thoughts and Sam turned to acknowledge him.

  “No, keep watching,” Malachi said.

  The scene on the screen changed. Months passed, for now the trees were green and glorious in their summer splendor. A manicured lawn hugged a log cabin, nestled in the woods. Flowers sprung from pots here and there along the ground and deck. The place looked cozy. Scenes continued to change as did the weather. Snow decorated the landscape once again.

  Searching the scene for all of the details he could gather, Sam spotted her, just past the cabin, in the woods. She sat quietly on a swing hanging from a tree branch. The sadness etched in her features gripped Sam and tore at his emotions. He ached to go to her, to comfort her.

  His chest rose and fell with a deep breath. Breathing wasn’t necessary for him, but one doesn’t do something like breathing for a life time without the mind and body remembering the simple action. Because some of his human actions still continued, he sighed.

  “Your assignment, Sam, is to go to her and help her. She blames herself for her mother’s death—a death in which she played no part. Her life is spiraling downward.”

  Sam tore his attention away from the woman to stare at Malachi but quickly looked back at her. He’d been on many assignments before. What was so different about this one? What was it about her that made him long to be near her?

  “Sam, you have one month to succeed.”

  His head jerked around so he could stare at Malachi, until the words sank in and his meaning became very clear. He ran his hand through his hair as his mind repeated the words. You have one month to succeed.

  Chapter Two

  “When you see the sun beams shining down sweetie, you know God is talking to someone.”

  What Tenlee wouldn’t give to have those rays warming her now if it meant one last conversation with her mother.

  The cold wind stung her cheeks as she steered the snowmobile through the woods behind her house. A squirrel darted to her left when she veered to the right. She turned back left to reach her favorite spot. The massive sycamore loomed ahead. Her gaze touched the large branch hanging low. Last spring, with the help of a ladder, she discovered it was low enough to suspend a swing from it. Stopping the snowmobile, she turned the engine off and stared at the swing moving gently in the breeze. A slow smile crossed her face. She got off the snowmobile and strode toward the giant tree.

  The forest stood thick, the animals abundant, and the peace she always found in this place settled over her. At least once a week, she drove her four-wheeler or snowmobile to her tree and sat in her swing for a spell. The demands of her job melted away and the word “hurry” didn’t exist here.

  As a flight nur
se, every time the medic chopper took off, she was reminded of how quickly life could change. When she worked on an emergency scene, she needed to be quick to save a life, but up here in her forest, she was amazed at how some things didn’t change. She could breathe here.

  For a precious moment, her heart felt light and she closed her eyes to relish the feeling.

  My own piece of heaven.

  Moments passed. She didn’t know how long she stayed lost in her own little world. A twig snapped nearby, and she opened her eyes. A doe stood off to the right, her nose in the air sniffing and her ears alert for any sign of danger.

  Sunbeams broke through the trees. Beautiful streaks of gold shone down on the earth, making Tenlee smile. The light from the beams tickled the snow causing it to sparkle like diamonds.

  For a moment, she wondered who God was talking to now? What sort of problems was He solving or what blessing was He granting?

  Tenlee sighed and looked away. How long had it been since she’d talked to God. Lately, it seemed the only thing she would have done was yell at him. That was probably why she kept quiet.

  How could this have happened and why did He allow it? So many questions and not a single answer to show for it.

  Returning to her snowmobile, Tenlee slid her goggles into place and started the engine. Cold seeped into her orange Carhart snowsuit. She circled her tree to head back the way she came. Ten minutes into her ride, she spotted something in her path. Slowing the snowmobile down, she stood up and searched the area ahead.

  “What the...” Tenlee stopped the snowmobile suddenly as her heart sank in her chest. Her throat tightened as tears formed in her eyes. A flashback of her mother’s accident caused a moment of crippling grief before Tenlee realized where she was. She jumped off and ran to the figure lying in the snow. She slid to a stop, sending snow everywhere and knelt beside him. The nurse in her instinctively took over, checking him for blood loss. She felt for a pulse and listened to his breathing. Her hands ran over every inch of his muscled frame to check for broken bones. Finding none, she breathed a sigh of relief.

  Glancing around, she noticed the large tree branch lying beside him and concluded that the tree branch likely broke off and hit him in the head. Where was his coat, though?

  Tenlee needed to get him out of the cold and warmed up as soon as possible. His body temperature would drop quickly, if it hadn’t already. She had no idea how long he’d been out in the woods without a coat. How long had she been at her tree? She didn’t remember seeing anyone. She’d been so lost in her thoughts, she must have missed him when she came by this way earlier.

  “Wake up,” she shouted at him, hoping for movement. “My name is Tenlee.” Patting his large, tanned hand as she spoke, she waited for a response, but he remained still. Black hair swept low over his brow, and Tenlee reached out to brush it back. The nurse in her still evaluated his condition, but for a brief moment, the woman in her took in his beauty.

  Shouting at him had no effect on the guy. Moving him into a sitting position, she touched a bump on the back of his head where her hand cradled his skull. She mentally noted the bump on the outside. That was a good sign. There was a better chance there’d be no swelling on the brain.

  Putting her shoulder under his arm pit with his arm around her shoulders, she slowly stood the two of them up. It took a lot effort on her part to lift his dead weight. She mentally noted he was probably over six feet tall and must have weighed well over two hundred pounds. He was all solid muscle.

  By the time she managed to drag him to her snowmobile and get him into a sitting position in front of her, facing in her direction, her brow was damp with the effort. He leaned forward resting against her, which made starting and driving the machine awkward.

  Despite the chill in the winter air, more sweat dripped from her brow. Was it only moments ago that she’d sat in the swing, enjoying the peace of the mountain air while she talked to God for the first time in years? Hard to believe at the moment.

  Travel was slow, and she feared it would take forever to get to her house. When the woods cleared and her yard came into view, some of the tension drained out of her. She gripped the handle bars a few times and blew out a steady breath.

  Tenlee dragged the stranger over the porch and into the house, struggling to lay him on her couch. She covered him with blankets, hoping to raise his body temperature while Nannook, her Malamute-Wolf mix, stood guard, sniffing the intruder. Trying to catch her breath, she leaned over and swatted at Nannook.

  “Get back.” When the dog stood her ground, Tenlee gave a little shove. “Go to bed.”

  Nannook gave one more sniff for emphasis and walked to her bed in the corner and lay down. Grabbing the phone from its holder, Tenlee dialed 9-1-1. She removed the stranger’s shoes and began to rub his feet while she waited for the 9-1-1 operator to answer.

  ****

  The loud bang of the ambulance doors closing behind her was a familiar sound, but one she ignored. Tenlee kept her focus on the gentleman she’d found in her woods. He remained unconscious. EMT’s wheeled him into the trauma bay of the ER as Tenlee jogged a few steps over to the waiting team, and then they all walked over to the patient.

  “You received my call on his vitals. All I can tell you is that I was snowmobiling through my woods when I came across him. He wore no coat and had no ID. I saw no one else in the area and found no weapons. He has not been conscious since I found him.”

  The doctor began to ask Tenlee a question when her cell phone went off. She recognized the number.

  “Hawkins here.”

  “There’s been a bad crash in the mountain pass, no other chopper available. I need a nurse to take this flight. Can you take it?”

  Tenlee glanced over at the man she had found. She hated to leave, but knew she had to. “I’ll be right there.”

  Chapter Three

  Tenlee clicked the seat belt into place. The sound from the helicopter’s blades as they began to spin above her were slightly muffled by her helmet. She tapped her earpiece.

  “Clark County to THI Medic Unit, request you be in route to Miller’s Pass, reference a ten-fifty PI.” The deep voice of the dispatcher came over the earphones, loud and clear.

  A personal injury, it had to be bad. “EMT on scene advises—one Caucasian female, fifty-two years of age…”

  Struggling to block out the voice speaking through her headphones, she thought back to Christmas day last year. If she had worked her shift like she was scheduled, she would have gotten the call that would have sent her to her mother’s accident with the flight crew, instead of arriving after it was too late. She could have done something that would have saved her mother’s life.

  She shook herself to focus. There was no time to let her mind wander. She had to be ready for the emergency unfolding now. Someone else’s life lay in the balance between life and death, and she needed to have her head on straight to do the job she was trained to do.

  As the helicopter landed, the scene bustled with activity. Police, Fire Rescue, and EMT’s worked diligently. They used the jaws of life to extricate the woman from her car as smoke billowed out from beneath the crunched hood. Skid marks on the road indicated a loss of control. The momentum of the vehicle sliding into a tree head on, shoved the front end in like an accordion. Roads in the mountains were slick no matter how careful a person drove.

  As Tenlee approached the car carrying her medic bag, her partner carried a backboard. The EMT counseled them regarding the victim’s vitals, and they didn’t look good. She nodded her head in acknowledgement and knelt down by the woman. For a moment, Tenlee only stared. Blonde hair lay in the snow, tinted red. Flashes of her mother snuck their way into her mind, and the only thing Tenlee could see was her mother’s face. She closed her eyes to block out the image.

  “Hawkins, what are you doing?”

  Tenlee opened her eyes and the face of the woman came back into view. It wasn’t her mother. This wasn’t Christmas day. She looked over at
her partner. “What?”

  “What the hell are you doing? Focus.”

  Tenlee nodded, relied on her training and worked to save the woman’s life.

  ****

  The clock on the wall ticked by the seconds. Uncomfortable from waiting for the hospital’s Chief of Staff to come and talk to her, Tenlee sighed and adjusted herself in the chair. She knew why she was here. Her performance today had been unacceptable, and shame filled her. Her shoulders slumped. The way she flaked out at the scene was something she’d never done before. Tenlee always kept a level head and was very good at what she did. She loved being a flight nurse.

  Today, the memories were more than she could take. Her head throbbed with an out of control tension headache. She needed to focus on something else.

  An image of a man lying in the snow, unconscious, entered her mind. His dark hair, a stark contrast against his pillow of snow. With his eyes closed, long lashes shadowed his cheeks. She hadn’t had time to be scared or worried at that moment. But as she sat in the leather seat in her boss’s office, she wondered how he was doing. Maybe while she was here at the hospital, she would go and visit him.

  The door behind her opened, and Tenlee deserted her thoughts. She inhaled, taking a deep breath as Mr. Walker came around the desk and took his seat, Tenlee smiled nervously. The hand lying in her lap tightened into a fist.

  He studied her a moment. “Would you like to tell me what happened?”

  Tenlee sighed. “We got a call today about a car accident on Miller’s Pass. A personal injury. When we arrived at the scene, we noticed a female lying on the ground. EMT advised…”

  Mr. Walker interrupted her, leaning forward to place his elbows on his desk. “I know what went on. I saw the reports and spoke to personnel. I want to know what happened to you. Garrison said you zoned out for a minute or two.”

  Tenlee tried to find something over his shoulder to look at. Finding nothing and knowing she was being a coward, she concentrated on her boss and met his eyes.