The Single Dad's Guarded Heart

“Was his wife’s disappearance investigated?”

“By whom? Rangers are more or less police themselves. Did something happen over at Wylie’s?” she asked.

Marlee spent a moment in thought. “Actually, no. It’s just that Pappy Jack mentioned the rumors, too. I have to say, though, I didn’t find Ranger Ames sociable.”

“Jo Beth said he served you two lunch.”

A ghost of a smile flickered at one corner of Marlee’s lips. “Dean invited us to stay. His dad tried every way possible to wiggle out. Lunch was delicious but far from the most comfortable time I’ve ever spent. Saying he’s not much of a talker may be too big of a stretch.”

As Jo Beth skipped out of the house, her mother’s smile broadened. “I was about ready to send out a search party. What took you so long to wash?”

“I saw another fluffy kitty and stopped to pet her. Gosh, that cake looks yummy.”

Mary patted a chair. “Climb up, and dig in. See if it tastes as good as it looks.”

Rising, their hostess excused herself to fetch Jo Beth’s milk. When Mary returned, the three ate slices of cake while the adults discussed how much Northwest Montana had grown in the years Marlee had been away.

“Growth’s another reason Finn’s talking of selling out. Used to be word of mouth brought in enough guests for us to make a decent living. Now there’s a resort, a lodge, or bed and breakfast in every scenic byway.” Mary stacked her plate and Marlee’s as she talked. “Owners have to advertise with the tourist bureau, the Ranch Vacation Association and the Board of Outfitters. We’re told we need a Web site that’s accessible through the chambers of commerce of nearby towns. People used to just call and book a cabin, and ask if Finn had time to show them the best fishing holes. Now they ask if we have certified river guides, liability insurance and oh, a lot of silly stuff. It’s like they want to claim they’re roughing it, but their kids demand cable TV, DVD rentals, a hot tub and swimming pool.”

Marlee shook her head in commiseration. “And in the few days I worked on Mick’s books, I saw how property taxes have tripled.”

Inside the house a phone rang. Mary excused herself and went to answer it.

“Are you almost finished with your cake, Jo Beth? Nice as this visit’s been, I want to head home before much more of the day slips away.”

The girl’s lower lip protruded. “I want to stay and play with the dogs. They like me, Mama. See, they’re all waiting for me to be done eating.”

Marlee glanced down at the ring of eager pet faces. She thought it more likely the animals were hoping for a crumb.

Mary burst out of the house clutching a cordless phone. “Marlee, it’s Pappy for you. Gordy Maclean has been gored by a rogue bull at his ranch near Whitefish Lake. Angel Fleet called to see if Mick would fly him to the Kalispell hospital.”

Marlee’s stomach dropped. She accepted the phone with a shaky hand. “Pappy, Marlee here. Mick said he’d ask Angel Fleet to remove Cloud Chasers from their roster until he’s able to fly again.”

The old man either wasn’t hearing the fear in Marlee’s voice or else he didn’t understand. She didn’t want to handle mercy flights. Her grandfather kept repeating Angel Fleet’s request. Finally, he took a breath and said, “Twin, here’s the deal. There’s no other plane available. Gordy’s wife told Angel Fleet he’s gonna bleed to death if somebody doesn’t transport him to a hospital fast.”

Marlee was rattled further by that news. The last thing she needed was for Jo Beth to see anyone else on the verge of dying. “Pappy,” she began, but he had hung up.

The cake and coffee Marlee had just consumed balled in the pit of her stomach along with the gumbo she’d eaten at Wylie’s.

“Are you all right, Marlee?” Mary collected the phone, which was sliding from the younger woman’s grasp. “Are you worried about landing without an airstrip? Gordy will have harvested his wheat. I think you can land in his field. If you look at Finn’s wall map, you’ll see exactly how to reach Gordon’s ranch. Will that help?”

“Probably.” Marlee stood on legs that felt pulpy. She concentrated on the issue front and foremost. No other plane was available. She tried not to think about what Pappy had said about a man maybe bleeding to death.

“Jo Beth, we need to make another stop. Please go to the bathroom if you can, and hurry.”

The girl scuttled off while Marlee checked the map showing an excellent overview of the northwest woods. She mentally logged coordinates. “Mary, thanks for the refreshments. If you’ll send Jo Beth out, I’ll go warm up the plane.”

Her daughter appeared before Marlee had climbed aboard. She boosted her in and helped settle her earphones.

Before Marlee taxied to the end of the runway for takeoff, she radioed Pappy. “This is Arrow one-three-six-niner. Come in home base.” Her radio crackled. “Pappy, I’m in transit to Maclean’s. Do you have any other word on the patient? Out.”

Pappy didn’t answer until after Marlee was fully airborne. “Affirmative on first directive. Negative on second.”

Marlee would’ve asked if he’d spoken with Mick today, but Pappy cut off their transmission. She’d heard a woman’s voice in the background. Probably Mrs. Gibson, the occasional housekeeper Mick had arranged to keep tabs on Pappy.

If she had to fly the injured man to Kalispell, she’d stop by and see Mick. It’d be good for Jo Beth to visit her uncle, and see him improving. Each hospital stay of Cole’s he’d gone progressively downhill.

The Maclean ranch had been hollowed out of an aspen grove. White-barked trees were resplendently decked in yellow and gold. Grassy fields were thick with cattle. Marlee banked and came around for a sweep at a lower altitude.

Mary Glenroe had suggested she land on wheat stubble, but Marlee spotted a gravel road running from the house to the barn and beyond to lodgepole pine corrals. There was room to set down there as long as the people who’d run out of the house didn’t get in the way. A huge yard flanked all four sides of a two-story farmhouse. If the grass wasn’t too soft it’d give her room to turn around and be headed outbound again.

She executed another perfect landing, and once again said to herself, Wylie Ames take that! Not that she gave a damn what Ranger Ames thought about her piloting acumen.

“Jo Beth, don’t unbuckle. Here comes our patient.” Two men were carrying him out of the house. “Honey, I just need a minute to assess his condition, then we’ll leave.”

A dark-haired woman and a girl of about fourteen ran up to Marlee as she exited the plane. Worry had settled in the woman’s eyes. “Angel Fleet said we should expect Mick Callen. I pray to heaven you’ve come to move Gordon.”

“I’m Mick’s sister. Did Angel Fleet happen to say if they’ve arranged for an ambulance to meet us at Kalispell airpark?”

“The dispatcher said they’d handle everything. My son and our hired hand tore up a sheet and wrapped Gordy’s chest real tight. But the blood has soaked through. I’m so worried. Is it okay if Josh goes with his dad? He’s old enough—sixteen.”

“The problem is, Mrs. Maclean, I have my daughter with me, and this is the smallest of Mick’s planes. Can you tell me approximately what each of them weigh?”

“I’m guessing Gordon’s one-eighty. Josh is maybe one-fifty.”

Marlee did some rapid calculations. “The only space I have available is the cargo area behind the seats. From the look of it, your husband needs to lie flat. I’ll depend on your son to anchor his dad in place on bare floor. Do you have a sleeping bag we can use to cushion him?”

The woman directed the teenage girl to run to the house and check in the hall closet with the camping gear. No one said much thereafter.

The hired hand and Maclean’s son worked to stabilize Gordon in the spot where the freight had been. When the man cried out, Marlee took a deep breath and stepped back. Irritated by her uneasiness, she told herself this mercy mission work wasn’t so very different from rescues she’d flown for the navy. Once she made that connection, her jitters dissipated.

“He’s not far from help now,” she said to Mrs.

Maclean in much the same way she’d reassured field medics who’d entrusted her to save lives.

However, her discomfort with the situation returned when she had to gather speed across the lumpy gravel road. As stoic as Maclean had tried to be when the younger men had manipulated him into the awkward space, his face now turned pasty white and sweat drenched his forehead. Even with earphones on, Marlee heard him scream seconds before she soared aloft. Jo Beth, however, calmly turned sideways in her seat and reached back to pat the injured man’s shoulder.

Marlee dredged up a warm smile for the child. She’d thought Jo Beth needed a break from all reminders of her dad’s long illness. Then Mick had announced he needed surgery, and now this unexpected mission for Angel Fleet. Neither fazed her daughter.

Some fifteen minutes out of the airpark, Marlee sensed more than saw that Gordy Maclean’s breathing had become shallower. What if she lost the first patient placed in her care? She unhooked a fleece-lined jacket Mick had draped over the back of the passenger seat. “Cover your dad with this,” she told Josh, as she coaxed more speed out of the Arrow. She recognized shock. God knew she’d seen enough men and women suffer from it during her two deployments. The big difference now was she wasn’t facing flying bullets.

So why was she a nervous wreck by the time she called the tower at the Kalispell airpark? She consciously restrained any shaking in her voice as she spoke to the controller. “I’ve got a man on board who needs immediate medical attention.”

“We’ve been expecting you, Arrow one-three-six-niner. Ambulance and medic are parked at runway four. You’re cleared to land. Do you have any special requests?”

“Blankets, blood, Ringer’s,” Marlee responded automatically. She knew this emergency routine well. More’s the pity, she thought.

The red lights of the ambulance cut through the thickening dusk, moving toward them slowly as Marlee set the Arrow down in the smoothest landing she’d made all day. This time she didn’t let visions of the smug Wylie Ames intrude—much. She braked, removed her headphones and was out the door, racing around the tail section to throw open the cargo doors well before the propeller stopped spinning.

A paramedic team hustled to load the patient onto a rolling stretcher. One medic strapped on a blood pressure cuff while another attended oozing wounds, then swabbed Gordon’s arm before inserting needles for blood and Ringer’s solution, which would keep him hydrated and hopefully from going deeper into shock.

Marlee lent a much-needed third pair of hands. It wasn’t until she heard Jo Beth’s shoes hit the tarmac behind her that she realized she’d reacted as she would have at her old job. In so doing, she’d left her daughter to fend for herself. Awash in guilt—of the type Rose Stein had heaped on her at their recent custody hearing —Marlee removed herself from the scene at hand.

She gathered Jo Beth against her. Mom and daughter stood with arms wrapped around each other, watching medics load the gurney and boost Josh into the ambulance. The doors slammed and the vehicle roared off into the night with sirens blaring.

Her part in the rescue was over and she didn’t personally know Maclean. But she recalled the fear etched on his son’s face. Marlee had spent more time in Josh’s shoes than she cared to think about. The kid was sixteen. What if his father’s injuries were too massive, and Gordon died in spite of their efforts?

“Mama, you’re squeezing me too tight.”

“Sorry, Jo Beth.” Marlee loosened the arm anchoring her daughter to her. Stifling a sigh, she raised an unsteady hand and rearranged her hair, which had come out of its clip during the afternoon.

“Why don’t we go inside to see if we can rent a car to drive to the hospital?”

The child looked up and nodded solemnly. “That would be good, Mama. Josh might need us. He’ll have to sit in the hospital waiting room all by himself.”

The understanding filling the eyes of her five-year-old surprised and concerned Marlee. “Honey, Grandmother Rose never left you alone in the waiting room. Didn’t you stay next door when Daddy went for his treatments?”

“Sometimes he had ’mergencies at night. Grandmother didn’t have time to wake up Mrs. Griffith.”

Marlee battled more nagging guilt. Of course, over time she’d come to realize Cole had kept the truth about how sick he was from her. He’d outright lied during her last ten-month deployment. But Jo Beth’s admission meant Rose hadn’t been honest, either. She had denied the extent of Cole’s illness. It stood to reason his mom would do that, she thought, as she opened the door to the so-called terminal office.

A single clerk stood at the counter working a crossword puzzle. “May I help you?” he asked, glancing up.

“I just landed the Piper Arrow. Do you have a car available to rent or if not, the number for a cab?”

“That Mick Callen’s plane?”

“Yes, he’s laid up at the moment. I’m his sister.”

“And you don’t trust that eyesore he parks here? Can’t say I blame you. Mick claims he leaves it in my lot so his grandpa can’t hop in and take off.”

Marlee found a smile. “Is it a ’62 Caddy, robin’s egg blue and cream?” At the man’s nod, she said, “Mick and I learned to drive in that old tank.” She studied a cork board filled with tagged keys behind the clerk. “I don’t suppose Mick keeps a key to it here.”

The young man turned and lifted one from a pushpin and handed it to her. “Now I know all pilots thrive on danger.”

“How late is someone here?”

“I’m here till midnight. If you come back later, park the car in the same spot and shove the key through the mail slot in the door.”

“Is midnight when the tower shuts down?”

“Yep. And that’s when we turn off all runway lights except for number one. That stays lit for emer gency landings.”

“We’ll be back long before then.”

Marlee helped Jo Beth into the back of the Caddy, and dug for a seat belt wedged under the seat.

“Mama, this backseat is the biggest I’ve ever seen. I bet it’s as big as my bed.”

“This was your grandpa’s car. They made them bigger in the old days.” If Jo Beth had been older—a lot older—Marlee might have joked about modern cars not being nearly as good as this one for making out.

Behind the wheel, she cursed the engine that wouldn’t turn over. It took five minutes but finally it caught. As she left the lot and merged with highway traffic, she decided she’d been wrong to tell Mick that she absolutely wouldn’t fly for Angel Fleet. If Gordon Maclean pulled through, it’d be due in large part to the fact that she’d had a plane in the area and been willing to help.

A sign on the highway told her where to turn for the hospital.

Marlee debated whether to go to Mick’s room first or try to locate young Josh Maclean. Stopping to see Mick won out, because she knew where his ward was. Maybe a nurse there could help her track down Gordon.

Two women in print smocks and white slacks were helping Mick out of bed when Marlee and Jo Beth walked into his room. The anguish on his face made it clear that standing was very painful. Marlee hovered in the doorway, not sure she should’ve brought Jo Beth, after all.

Mick hailed them. “There you are. What the hell, sis? Pappy’s called here three times in the last half hour. Didn’t you take your cell phone today?”

She quickly dug the phone out of her back pocket. “Oh. I thought I’d put it on vibrate, but it’s shut off. Is something wrong?”

“How’s Gordy?” Mick had been bent over with his weight distributed between the two nurses. He straightened marginally.

“So you know about my side trip? I don’t know yet how Mr. Maclean is. He looked pretty rough when we landed. Maybe a little better when they loaded him into the ambulance.” Marlee stepped into the room. “Why has Pappy been calling you? He reached me at Glenroe’s. I told him I’d take the Angel Fleet job.”

Mick mustered a brief smile. “According to Pappy you didn’t agree without dumping some harsh words on me. Not that I don’t deserve every one. I totally forgot to ask Angel Fleet dispatch to delete us from their roster. I feel doubly bad that you had to make a run without us ever discussing the process.”

“Yeah, that would’ve been helpful,” Marlee agreed, with a smile to soften her words.

“How it works is a coordinator phones the volunteer nearest to a victim. If the volunteer’s plane is free, we go. At the scene we touch base with Angel Fleet to let them know we’re underway. And volunteers sign in again after transfer is complete.”

“Ah, so I didn’t phone them nor did I contact Pappy from the airpark. It’s my turn to apologize, Mick. I’m not a novice at rescue. I guess since most missions I flew in Iraq were under strict radio silence, I didn’t even think to call in.”

“Pappy wasn’t the only one worried about your whereabouts. Wylie called Cloud Chasers twice. He apparently decided you’d fallen out of the sky.”

“Wylie, as in Ranger Ames?” Marlee’s chin shot up several inches. “Why, in heaven’s name? I left his place ages ago.”

Mick shuffled a few feet, but had the nurses take him back to bed. Once they’d settled him, he un-clenched his jaw. “Pappy said it started out with Dean Ames phoning to speak with Jo Beth.” He found a real smile for the little girl who still hovered in the doorway, staring at him with huge eyes.

She waltzed up to his bed, finally. “Mama said Dean and me could call each other.” She slid her small hand into Mick’s larger one. “Do you hurt a lot, Uncle Mick? Can the nurse give you a pill to make the pain go away? That’s what they did for my daddy.”

One of the nurses involved in exercising Mick flipped through his chart. “The doctor ordered Vicodin as needed. I see you’ve refused any pain meds up to now.”

“I’d rather not use painkillers. The months I spent in military rehab, I saw far too many guys hooked on prescription drugs.”

Marlee broke in. “On the other hand, Mick, won’t you heal faster if you take the edge off your pain?”

His features relaxed into a grin. “I wouldn’t be in pain if the nurses were nicer. If they didn’t barge in here and force me to get up and walk. Four times today,” he drawled, clearly angling for sympathy.

The petite brunette holding his chart rolled her eyes. “You’re so full of bull.” She glanced at Marlee and backpedaled, “Uh…we’re just following doctor’s orders. By the way, I’m Tammy, his evening nurse.”

“Don’t pay any attention to Mick. He’s squeaked by on charm since he was born. You have my permission to whip him into shape before you send him home. ’Cause we sure won’t be pampering him.”

“I’ll pamper him,” Jo Beth declared loyally.

“How sweet.” The nurse glanced at her patient. “Funny, I don’t believe you mentioned having a daughter, Mick.”

“I don’t,” he said. “This is my very best niece.” He tugged at one of Jo Beth’s curls. “Tell Nurse Tammy what a fantastic uncle I am, kid.”

“You’re my only uncle,” she scoffed. “Dean thinks you’re okay. He said you care a whole lot about kids and animals.”

“Hear that?” Mick winked at the young woman, but she was talking to Marlee, who had asked how to find Gordon Maclean.

Jo Beth leaned on Mick’s bed. “Dean said to say thanks for the books. And he asked if you got the dog you told him about on your last visit. I said no, but I wish you’d get one, Uncle Mick.”

“You do? We’ll have to see what your mom thinks of that idea. I’ll have time to train a dog while I’m recovering at home, I guess.”

“Train him to do what?”

Mick stopped rubbing his leg below his sore hip, and tweaked the girl’s nose. “To help keep track of you and Pappy Jack, since I’m not going to be fleet of foot for a while. Hey, it sounds as if you and Dean got along famously.”

“Uh-huh. He’s nice. And he’s smart,” she said, clearly enamored of her newfound friend.

“I agree. So, does your mom feel the same about Dean’s dad?”

Jo Beth wrinkled her nose and twisted her mouth from side to side before she shrugged both shoulders.

Mick turned to his sister, who’d just parted from Nurse Tammy, and was now using his bedside phone. “Marlee, did you have a problem with Wylie Ames?”

“Problem?” She smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. “An earthworm is probably a better communicator. What? No, not you, Pappy. It’s Marlee. Sorry I’m late phoning. Jo Beth and I are with Mick. No, I don’t know his status. Hold on a sec.” Marlee put a hand over the receiver as the nurse breezed back in.

“Mr. Maclean is still in surgery,” Tammy said. “From what I gather, it’s going well. His son is one floor above us in the B Surgery Suite waiting room.”

“Thank you so much. We’ll run up shortly to see how Josh is doing.” She returned to her call and relayed an identical message. “Are you anxious for us to get home, Pappy? Are you on your own?”

She listened intently. “Why should I phone Ranger Ames?” After an irritated toss of her head, Marlee tried to temper her sharp response. “I’m sure everyone who lives in the backcountry is a friend of the Macleans, but I can’t call them all. Okay, Pappy. Someone will notify you and the ranger as soon as any report comes out of surgery. Mr. Maclean’s son is here. Maybe he’ll call everyone after he updates his mom. Pappy, I’ve gotta go. According to Mick, I need to call Angel Fleet.”

“Don’t!” Marlee put down the phone and held up a hand as her brother opened his mouth. “I know the ranger’s your friend. But he rubbed me the wrong way, okay? If you asked him, he’d say the feeling is mutual.”

“I was just going to give you Angel Fleet’s number.”

“Oh. I thought you were going to…never mind then. What’s the number?”

He gave it. “When you reach Arlene Thomas, their night coordinator, explain that I’m laid up. Have her take Cloud Chasers off the volunteer list until further notice.”

“Uh…Mick. I’ve had a change of heart. I forgot how isolated people are up here. Leave us on the volunteer flight schedule.”

“Are you sure? Gordy’s accident is a one-time flight. Sometimes our requests are the beginning of a series of treatments or doctor visits for a patient. Angel Fleet operates differently than some mercy groups. They feel it’s difficult enough when a very ill person has to be in and out of the hospital. If the patient gains confidence in a pilot flying them back and forth, it’s one less stress.”

Marlee knew what Mick was saying. “Surely no one expects weeks, months or years of continuous service. Rose drove Cole to treatments for four years.”

“Six flights is the most I’ve made for any single patient. If care is ongoing, most people arrange to stay temporarily near the hospital.”

“Then I can do this, Mick. What we went through with Cole was different. I’ll have no close ties, no relationship with anyone who may need us.” She broke away from Mick’s unwavering gaze to check her watch. Then she stretched out a hand toward her daughter. “Jo Beth, tell Uncle Mick goodbye.”

“Bye-bye. When I call Dean, is it all right to say you’re still getting a dog?”

Mick’s hearty laughter drowned out his twin’s reprimand. “Yes,” he said. “And when you call him, make sure you tell him how Mr. Maclean does in surgery. That’ll save your mother from having to communicate with an earthworm.” Mick pushed a button and lowered his bed. At once he groaned and grabbed for his bad hip, but he recovered enough to lean up on an elbow. “You two run along. Marlee, I’ll call Angel Fleet for you tonight. I’ll tell them to be kind to you.”

She gave him a tight smile over her daughter’s head. Mick’s bringing up Wylie Ames again produced a well-formed image of his brooding, handsome face, which Marlee did her best to push out of her mind.

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