Authors: Jessica Matthews
Regardless, Dana didn’t intend to sit in Turning Point’s fire station all day. She’d come here to do a job, and by George, she’d find one to do.
Mitch acknowledged her raised hand with a nod. “Okay, we have one brave soul.”
Dana’s relief at being chosen changed to curiosity as he surveyed the room in search of a suitable partner. His gaze landed in the far corner of the room, behind her.
“Flynn,” he said. “This one is yours, too.”
She glanced over her shoulder to find the man with the gorgeous smile leaning nonchalantly against the back wall, arms crossed in a casual pose over his broad chest.
“Then I volunteer,” he drawled.
The rest of Turning Point’s all-volunteer firefighters chuckled and the tension in the room eased several degrees.
“You and Ms. Ivie should be able to handle this,” Mitch announced.
Curious about her new partner’s reaction to the fire chief’s
news, Dana glanced back to his corner. To her surprise, he’d straightened and was frowning.
“Do y’all know what sort of accident we’re walking into?” Flynn asked.
If, by chance, his appearance didn’t weaken the opposite sex’s knees, his deep, husky voice would.
“You’re not walking. You’re flying.”
Flying?
No wonder Flynn came across as supremely self-assured. Such confidence was ingrained in pilots and rightfully so. Defying the laws of gravity on a regular basis had to boost their self-esteem to mile-high levels. She only hoped that same confidence didn’t exceed his flight skills.
As for the notion of flying, she truly was surprised that Mitch expected them to pull off something so risky in this weather. At the moment, it was a toss-up to decide which of the two was the most incautious—the man who would fly in the face of a hurricane or the man who would send them.
She knew Texans believed they were special, even invincible, but this seemed like sheer folly. Part of her was tempted to rescind her offer, but she’d never backed out of an assignment in her entire career and wouldn’t start now. Resigned to the inevitable, she listened to the chief’s report.
“Apparently a minivan with four Boy Scouts and their adult leader collided with some livestock. They’re from Laredo, so the kid who called us couldn’t give a fix on their position before his battery ran out. The cell phone tower is trying to locate them, but it’s taking time we don’t have.”
“What’s their condition?” Dana interrupted.
“As near as I could make out from the short conversation, their driver and troop leader lost consciousness for several minutes. A few of the boys have possible broken bones, but no one’s bleeding or having any problems, so I assume they’re relatively stable.”
“Can’t we drive?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Even if we knew their exact location, it would take forever for an ambulance to squeeze through the highway traffic. Our best option is to find them by air and, if possible, bring them back the same way.” Mitch waved toward the rain-spattered window as he glanced at her new partner. “Will you have any trouble going up in this, Flynn?”
“If we leave shortly, I shouldn’t,” he answered without hesitation.
Mitch nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that. Which is why you got drafted.”
“And I thought I’d volunteered.” Humor laced Flynn’s voice and Dana caught several smiles from the other men.
“All right. Then you two—” Kannon glanced at Dana “—can get going and the rest of y’all can finish batting down the hatches. Dismissed!”
Cheryl accompanied Dana to the corner where she’d stowed her gear. Worry shone out of her dark brown eyes.
“Are you sure it’s wise to be winging around in a tin can right before a hurricane? I’d hate to hear that you two are the next ones we have to rescue.”
Dana smiled at the woman she’d gotten to know during the last twelve hours. “I’m sure that the chief wouldn’t send us if the situation were dangerous,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers that she was right. “I also can’t imagine a pilot risking life, limb and his plane if he had any doubts about the weather conditions. We’ll be fine.”
Cheryl nodded, but her eyes still showed concern.
Dana rose. “To be honest, you’re the one I’m worried about.”
“Me? What for?”
Dana smiled. “If the only thing the chief can find for you to wear is that Texas-size gear, then we’re in danger of losing you before you leave the building.”
Cheryl laughed. “Those waterproof trousers are a little big, aren’t they?”
“Big? They’re huge. We could have fit two of you in there and still had room to spare.”
Dana glanced up and saw that both the fire chief and the pilot had disappeared. “Whoops. I’d better go. Can’t make my new partner wait on me. See you soon.”
“S
HE DOESN’T HAVE ANY
business going along, Mitch,” Micky stated in no uncertain terms. “It’s not a smart idea to take a greenhorn into this type of situation. She should stay here where she’ll be out of the way.”
“I might agree with you, but she’s the only one I can send and you can’t go alone. We don’t know how banged up the car is or what will be involved in extricating the victims, which means Dana is more qualified for that part of the rescue than either the nurse or doctor. She comes highly recommended, so don’t sell her short so quickly.”
“She may have proven herself in California, but this is Texas.”
Suddenly a distinctly feminine voice interrupted. “Is there a problem?”
Micky discovered Dana standing near his elbow. “Yes,” he began.
“No, there isn’t.” Mitch directed a frown in Micky’s direction.
“For the record,” Dana said coolly, her arms crossed, “I’m a ten-year fire department veteran. That doesn’t make me a
greenhorn,
Mr. Flynn.” Her gaze dared him to comment.
“I don’t care how many years you have under your belt,” he said brusquely. “Whatever you’ve done before doesn’t apply here in Texas.”
“Oh, really? Somehow I thought injured people were the
same all over. They still bleed red, no matter what state they live in.”
He couldn’t argue with that. “I’m not saying you can’t handle the medical aspect,” he said, opting to placate her. “I’m sure you can splint a broken bone with the best of them. The thing is, the situation we’re heading into calls for people with Texas ingenuity.”
She’d obviously heard his emphasis on
Texas
because her jaw suddenly squared as if she’d ground her teeth together. “If you’re implying that Texans have cornered the market on common sense, then I beg to differ.”
He ran his hands through his hair, exasperated. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. What I
am
saying is that you’re not familiar with reading the weather. Can you look at the clouds and detect any rotation that indicates a possible tornado? Do you know which creeks have a tendency to flood over which roads? Which bridges sometimes wash out and which ones don’t?”
She started to protest, then stopped as if she realized that she had no grounds. “I may not know much about hurricanes or tornadoes,” she admitted, “but can you start an IV? Do you know what certain drugs can do to a person, especially one with a head injury? Do you know how to run an EKG strip, or defibrillate a patient if necessary?”
Micky grudgingly conceded the point to her.
“I didn’t think so,” she replied smugly. “You need me, so now what?”
“What if brute force is called for to free those people? What if we have to lift several hundred pounds to accomplish the mission?” He eyed her slim frame. “I don’t think you’re the right man for the job.”
“I’m stronger than I look,” she insisted. “You may not believe this, but I pull my own weight.”
He heaved a sigh. Logic wasn’t getting through to her, but maybe he could get through if he took another tack.
“Maybe you can and maybe you can’t.” As she sputtered a protest, he raised both hands. “The point is, I need someone to be an asset, not a liability. Someone who won’t need me holding their hand or looking over their shoulder. For both of our sakes, I need someone I can trust to watch my back and vice versa. This isn’t personal. It’s a safety issue.”
She squared her shoulders. “I understand, but I can do this.” She turned to Mitch. “I know I can.”
Mitch frowned, pressed his mouth into a thoughtful line, then nodded. “Okay. Get moving. The sooner you both leave, the sooner you’ll come back.”
“Now, hold on,” Micky protested, but his comment fell on deaf ears. Mitch had walked away.
Dana motioned to the door with her arm. “Shall we go?”
Micky hated everything about this picture, but what choice did he have? His frown deepened as he met her gaze. “If you want to be part of this mission, then understand that I’m in charge when it comes to flight decisions.”
She nodded. “But on the ground,
I’m
the ranking member of this team, even if I’m not from Texas and haven’t lived through a hurricane before.”
“You’re in charge of treating our victims, nothing more,” he countered. “If you can’t agree to my terms, then you can stay behind and I’ll manage without you.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “When we’re in the air, you’re in charge, but I’m the one responsible for medical care, whether we’re in the air or on the ground. Are you happy now?”
“Happy?” he drawled. “There’s only one thing that would make me happy right now, but it isn’t going to happen, so let’s go.” He grabbed a yellow slicker from the row of pegs near the entrance and started to open the door.
When he crossed the threshold and warm humid air hit him along with a few droplets of rain, he realized that she hadn’t followed. He paused to turn and glower at her.
“Are you coming or not, Red?”
“Red?” she responded coolly as she dropped her case to tug on her own shin-length yellow slicker. “That’s not very original.”
“I call it like I see it.”
“The last person who called me that got a bloody nose. He learned not to repeat his mistake.”
He chuckled. “Is that a threat?”
She shrugged. “Take it for what it’s worth.”
“If you say so.” He eyed the heavy chest she’d hoisted again. “You’re not bringing that along, are you?”
“Unless you can carry medical supplies in your hip pocket, then yes, I am.”
“Leave it,” he ordered.
“Leave it?” she repeated, her voice rising. “Now, see here. We just decided that I was in charge of medical issues. I can’t treat these people without—”
“I keep a fully stocked medical kit on the plane.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How stocked? This isn’t a discount store first-aid kit, you know.”
He bit back a pithy comment. Clearly a detailed explanation was in order. “Sometimes I flew our paramedic to the scene before the ambulance arrived, so to save time I kept his supplies on board. I’ve even used a few first-aid items from the box myself.”
“Oh. Do you carry IV fluids and medications and—”
“And more, all duly authorized by Dr. Holland, long before he suffered a heart attack and landed in a hospital in Houston.”
“When?” she demanded. “For all I know, your kit hasn’t been updated in ages.”
“Our paramedic checked everything before he moved to North Dakota two weeks ago.”
“Are you sure nothing has become outdated?”
“Positive.”
“I still think I should take mine.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Does your kit include the antidote to cottonmouth snake venom?”
“No,” she said reluctantly.
“I rest my case. Leave it. As the pilot, I say what goes on my plane and what doesn’t. I refuse to carry extra weight under these weather conditions.”
“Okay,” she grudgingly acquiesced, “but heaven help you if I need something you don’t have.”
He nodded. “So noted. Now, stow your gear so we can get moving. I’ll meet you outside.”
M
ICKY PULLED THE BILL
of his black baseball cap out of his waistband at the small of his back and jammed it on his head. After a quick swipe of the Harley’s seat to remove the moisture, he straddled his bike to wait for his unwanted passenger. He’d already resigned himself to bringing Dana along, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
He was used to being in control, having the final word in every aspect of his life from his plane to the women he dated. Wrangling with the opposite sex, other than his sister, just didn’t happen. He was more familiar with sweet, even-tempered gals who were more than ready to please and to accept his decisions as final. Dana Ivie clearly didn’t fit in that category. In fact, she was the most infuriating, hardheaded woman he’d ever met.
Why couldn’t she see that he was only looking out for her—and his—safety? On this mission of man against the Texas elements he wanted a teammate he could count on
without a second’s hesitation. Dana Ivie was a variable in a situation where variables weren’t wanted.
While part of him groused that she hadn’t deferred to his superior judgment, another part of him felt oddly energized by the way she stood her ground. With reddish-brown hair that shimmered with life, he shouldn’t expect her to act otherwise.
Yes, indeed. It would be interesting to discover if Dana Ivie’s copper-haired temperament spilled over into every aspect of her life or if it just flared when her professional skills were questioned. He could still see the greenish flecks in her deep-brown eyes flashing with fury, the twin spots of color high on her sculpted cheekbones, her feminine jaw squared and her lush mouth pressed into a hard line, and decided that anger didn’t disguise the fact she was a knockout even in her uniform. Her skin didn’t sport the freckles common to redheads, but instead glowed with a pink blush that resembled a Colorado peach.
To add insult to injury, he was a sucker for long hair, and this woman had plenty of it. Her braid hung past her shoulders and it had taken very little imagination on his part to picture those fiery tresses unrestrained.
He’d noticed her when he’d first arrived at the station and some of his friends had happily filled in the blanks. It had been nice to know that people with medical backgrounds were readily available for emergencies, but he’d pictured getting to know the elusive Dana Ivie in the school gym where people would wait out the storm, not having to depend on her in a life-threatening situation.