Flirting with Forever

by Jennifer Bernard

  “Wait! Also, can you tell him that…that it’s my turn to talk and that I have a lot to say.”

  Dan Stone gave her a sideways look. “Sounds like he’s in trouble.”

  “Does it? No no, that’s not what I mean.” She raised her voice for the other pilot. “It’s all good things. I have good things to say. Can you tell Dr. Finnegan that?”

  The unknown pilot snorted. “Dr. Finnegan, there’s a lady on the comm here who wants to say something but she’s not making a lot of sense.”

  Ugh, this was not going at all well. She should have waited until she saw Ian in person. But now that she’d started this ridiculous process…

  “Look, pilot. This is Chrissie Yates, I’m a Mediguard pilot. Tell Dr. Finnegan that I feel the same way he does.”

  “Confused? Because that’s what I’m picking up from the look on his face.”

  She could just picture Ian’s scruffy face, deep green eyes blinking behind his glasses the way they did when he was trying to figure something out. The image made her heart sing like the harmonic sequences she used to study with Gramps.

  “No! I’m not confused anymore. That’s the thing. I was, a little bit, because of old habits. But not anymore. Can you tell him that?”

  “Jesus, lady…Chrissie…this isn’t a goddamn therapy session. Spit it out, we’re ten minutes from the city.”

  “I love him! Tell him I love him.”

  A pause, punctuated by another quiet snort. “Want a tip from a married man? I think you should tell him that yourself. Signing off.”

  Chrissie sat back in her seat, frustrated beyond belief. She glanced at Dan Stone, whose face had gone brick red with suppressed laughter.

  “What?” she demanded.

  “Nothing. The stories about you are true, that’s all.”

  “Stories? What stories?”

  “That you’re a wild card. Dr. Finnegan better buckle up. Something tells me he’s in for the ride of his life. In a good way,” he added hastily, after she shot him an indignant glance.

  She couldn’t be too mad. Dan had a point, after all. Did Ian, the consummate professional who valued his privacy, really want her declaration of love relayed over a medivac comms system…while he was tending to her injured ex-boyfriend, no less? This would probably be all over Lost Harbor before either of them got back.

  Talk about messy.

  Back at the Misty Bay hospital, Dan took over the post-flight checklist so she could collect Bo. She found him curled in a chair in the makeshift office assigned to Ian. Dr. Bethany Morrison, the ER doctor on duty, gave her a quiet update before she disturbed him.

  “He was dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion. He said he hadn’t slept in three days. We administered IV fluids and gave him a mild sedative. I can keep him here overnight, but he insisted he’d rather go home. He may also have a mild concussion, so keep an eye on him tonight.”

  “Do I have to wake him up every hour? Is that still a thing?”

  “No need. Sleep will do him good. But if you notice any odd behavior—confusion, disorientation, light-headedness, dizziness, just call me. I put my cell phone number on the discharge papers.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Morrison.”

  “It’s Bethany. Please.” The doctor gave her a smile that lit up her heart-shaped face. “Ian is like family here. That extends to Bo. Call me anytime, day or night.”

  She helped Chrissie get the yawning Bo onto his feet. “Aunt Chrissie,” he murmured.

  Chrissie shot Bethany an embarrassed glance. “I guess he’s still a little out of it.”

  “Mmm-hmmm.” The other woman tucked back a smile. “For what it’s worth, I approve.”

  Ian had left the keys to his Mercedes with Bo, which meant that Chrissie had to convince the half-asleep youngster that he was in no condition to drive his uncle’s car. He fell asleep in the car, and then again as soon as she helped him into his bed.

  She lowered the lights but left them on just in case he tried to get up in the night. Ian’s bedroom was right across the hallway, which made it the closest place for her to be. As much as she’d love a shower, she didn’t want to be out of earshot in case Bo woke up. Instead, she decided it made the most sense to get some sleep.

  She left both doors open, stripped down to her long underwear, and crawled under the covers. Her last thought before sleep claimed her was a prayer for Tristan, and gratitude for Ian’s miraculous presence in Lost Harbor and in her life.

  Sometime in the middle of the night her phone rang. She answered it under the covers so as not to disturb Bo.

  It was Ian. “The surgery went well. Tristan’s going to be fine.” The sound of his deep voice, in the warm comfort of his bed, made her insides melt. “I had to remove a hematoma that was significantly compressing his—”

  “I love you, Ian.” Muffled under the blanket, she could barely hear her own voice.

  “What did you say?”

  She tried again, louder. “I said—I love you.”

  “You do?” The hushed amazement in his voice made her heart twist.

  “I do. How could I not love you? You’re the rock I didn’t know I needed. You’re the nerd who snuck into my heart like some kind of safecracker. I love you so much and I didn’t let myself see it at first. I’m sorry about that.”

  He let out a long breath. “Thank God.”

  She smiled at his heartfelt expression of relief. “Were you really that worried? I think I’ve loved you ever since you got Shuri that chew toy. I’m just so used to doubting myself. Especially after Bo nearly—”

  “Bo just had one of the best experiences of his life, thanks to you. He seems about a year more mature.”

  She released a half-sob of a breath. “He does, doesn’t he? I noticed the same thing. I’m just so relieved the entire crew survived. It just made me think, what if I don’t get another chance to tell you how I feel? What if we’re like…helicopters passing in the night?”

  “Literally, we were on helicopters passing in the night.”

  “I know.” Another sob. “I love your literalness. Please don’t ever change that. I love your awkwardness, even though you aren’t really awkward, you’re just…yourself. I love that you took a chance getting to know me, and that you listened to every word I said about flirting, and everything else. I love you, Ian. I’m sorry I picked like, the most chaotic way possible to tell you. Using your pilot as a message boy. I mean, come on.”

  “Don’t be sorry.” His voice was dense with emotion. “I love your chaos, if that’s what you want to call it. I don’t, for what it’s worth.”

  “What do you call it?”

  “Beautiful. Just like everything else about you.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you too. You know I’ve said that more times tonight than ever before in my life?”

  She gave another of those heartfelt sobs. If she didn’t lighten things up soon, she’d drown in a puddle of tears. “Also, I love these sheets. Are they yours or did they come with the house?”

  “You’re in my bed right now?”

  “I am. It smells like you. It makes me want to touch myself. Where are you?”

  “Hospital cot. Not alone.”

  “Well then, I guess I’ll have to do all the talking. And the touching.”

  “For now. But not forever. I promise you that.”

  They whispered more promises to each other, until she drifted off to sleep on a magic carpet of contented bliss.

  When she woke up, Bo was sitting cross-legged on the bed, freshly showered and bright-eyed. “Wake up, Aunt Chrissie. We gotta go.”

  Thirty-Eight

  The sight of Chrissie, Bo and Shuri waiting for him outside the front entrance of the Anchorage Providence Hospital sent all of Ian’s professional demeanor flying into the wind.

  Despite Bo’s oversize black beret and plaid knickers, he looked more grown-up than when Ian had seen him last. Chrissie wore a creamy woo
l coat with big pockets and a blue knitted scarf and looked so beautiful he could cry.

  Grinning widely, he jogged over to them and opened his arms wide. He ignored the surprised glances of passing nurses and hospital staff. They all knew the reserved and serious Dr. Finnegan, not Ian-in-love.

  Bo darted forward for the first hug. Ian managed to check his pupils first. “You look fine. Are you still feeling fine?”

  “I’m great,” Bo assured him. “I already started going through the material from the Desperado. I think I might sell my skateboard and buy some better software.”

  “Didn’t you earn any money from the trip?”

  “Oh. Right! I forgot!” He slapped himself on the un-bandaged side of his forehead. “All that adventure, and money too? That’s insane.”

  Ian drew away from Bo and gave into the magnetic pull of Chrissie’s presence. “Hi.”

  “Hi.”

  Their long kiss drew whistles and cheers from bystanders. Shuri bumped against his leg until he bent down to give her a pat. “Is there any chance we can do any of this privately at some point?” he murmured in her ear.

  She laughed and gestured with her chin toward the parking lot. “We have time. I think you mentioned forever, right? Anyway, your chariot awaits. A prince for a prince.”

  They piled into Prince Valiant, with Bo taking the backseat next to Shuri, who immediately curled up and planted her chin on Bo’s knickers.

  “I can’t get rid of the fish smell,” Bo said. “That’s why Shuri won’t leave me alone.”

  “Lemon,” Chrissie advised. “It’s the only thing that works. My gramps had a special solution, I’ll try to find his recipe.” She steered Prince Valiant onto the highway heading south. “The Mercedes had a rough night. A sensor light went on while I was driving Bo home last night.”

  “Probably because I’m so awesome I make things light up wherever I go,” said Bo.

  They all laughed, and Chrissie stuck her hand into the backseat area for a “low five.”

  “Thank you for taking care of him,” Ian told her softly.

  “Of course.” She flushed slightly under his passionate gaze. “It was no big deal. We had a nice drive up. Bo has some pretty great ideas about Yatesville.”

  “Yes! Aunt Chrissie told me about your idea to sell the water filter system and I had this stupendous thought about why don’t we…”

  As he talked, Chrissie shot him an embarrassed glance and murmured, “Your plan was a good one. Sorry I reacted that way. Sorry about the ‘aunt’ part, too, I keep telling him to knock it off.”

  “I like it,” he told her gravely. “I like it a lot.”

  “Maybe we should talk about it later. You know, in private.”

  “Probably. But just so you know, I’m for it, whenever…” Bo’s words finally penetrated, and he swiveled his head around to glare at him. “No.”

  “You don’t like the name Bo’s Brewery? Whatever, the name’s not important, but—”

  “No. You’re not opening a brewery. Do you want Elinor to go to prison for murdering her own brother?”

  “Don’t be so dramatic.” Bo sighed exaggeratedly. “Honestly. Neurosurgeons, they’re worse than teenagers.”

  Ian and Chrissie both burst out laughing. Despite his fatigue after the intense night and barely any sleep, a deep contentment filled him to the brim.

  Then it occurred to him—“Wait. Back up. Did you make a decision about the property, Chrissie?”

  “I did. I’m not selling it, or at least not all of it. I want to preserve the lighthouse for the community, so I’m going to make an arrangement with the Lost Harbor Historical Society. I want to turn the lighthouse into a kind of Museum of Eccentricity and Alaskan Oddities. Lord knows this town has enough material! It’s a way to honor the ingenuity of people like my Gramps. I mean, his journals can be a display all on their own.”

  “I bet he’d love that,” Ian said thoughtfully.

  “Do you?”

  “Yes. From what I picked up, he wanted people to see his ideas. He just didn’t want to see the people.”

  Chrissie laughed. “I think you nailed it. I talked to Jeff Starling on the way up. He offered to help broker the water filtration system sale. He thinks it should give me enough funds to get started.”

  “It’s a good thing we had some time in that lighthouse first,” he murmured.

  She slid him a naughty smile. “There’ll be more time before anything changes.”

  “Noted.”

  Bo cleared his throat loudly. “I can drive if you two want the backseat.”

  Ian laughed again. It occurred to him that he’d laughed more since he’d known Chrissie than he had in all of his pre-Chrissie years. Interesting.

  “So what else do you have in mind?”

  Her eyes lit up. “A million things. I want to create something special for Lost Harbor, all centered around the lighthouse museum. I’ll add onto that with the brewery—yes, that part’s real. I have to take advantage of that delicious water. People can come out to visit the museum, then watch the sunset while sipping their Yatesville Ale. And then all the little cabins will be for inventive types—writers, scientists, inventors, filmmakers—to get some peace and quiet along with some community.” She smiled at Bo in the rearview mirror. “Also, Bo agreed to help me go through all of my grandfather’s journals and see what other gems are in there.”

  “I need some time off before I go fishing again,” Bo explained.

  “You think you’re going fishing again?”

  “Maybe in a few years.” They all laughed again.

  “Anyway, I want to work on my movie too.”

  “Bo’s my first official employee,” Chrissie said proudly. “I can’t pay him until the sale of the filtration system is complete, but after that I should have some money. I’ll still fly shifts for Mediguard because I love it. I’m going to try to lure Toni away from the Olde Salt to help with the brewery. Toni knows how to run a business more than I do. I realized that’s been my problem. This might come as a shocker, but I’m not actually a lone wolf.”

  “You need a pack, is what you’re saying.”

  “Exactly. I need friends. I need a community. That was the thing about my Gramps, he kept driving people away. Maybe because he was anti-social, or maybe because of his dementia, or both. But that’s not me. I want people around. I need people. Of course I’m still very self-reliant and skilled in all kinds of random ways,” she clarified.

  “I can vouch for that.” He rested his hand on her thigh. “Just look at what a good teacher you are. You took a raw, awkward student and taught him how to flirt and look at him now. The happiest man in Alaska.”

  She gave him a beautifully misty smile. “You’re such a sweet talker. I’m so proud.”

  “I’m glad you’re proud, but I was perfectly serious. That wasn’t flattery.”

  She winked at him. “I know. I was just teasing.”

  “Damn. You’re always going to be one step ahead of me, aren’t you?”

  “No. I’m going to be exactly where I want to be, which is by your side. Forever.”

  The Trivia Contest Fundraiser for Old Crow’s trigeminal neuralgia surgery was so packed they’d had to move it from Gretel’s Café to the auditorium of the high school. It seemed that half of Lost Harbor had paid some kind of donation for the right to guess how many elements were in the periodic table and which Star Trek actress had married a politician.

  Even with so much competition, Chrissie and Ian’s team was far and away in the lead.

  “Damn, woman. Why didn’t you hook up with this guy earlier?” Toni was practically dancing in her seat with glee.

  “You know me, I like to take the long way home.” Chrissie bumped her shoulder against Ian, who’d dragged his chair right up next to hers so they could mind-meld while they answered trivia questions.

  “I’m just glad you made it. And you, Ian? Are you staying? Do they need you back in Anchorage?”


  “I’m based here now, but I’ll still fly to Anchorage for surgeries. How’s Tristan doing today?”

  Chrissie and Ian had gone to visit Tristan a few times during his recovery. He was in good spirits and claimed that Ian had improved his brain during the surgery.

  “Good, good. He’s reading War and Peace right now.”

  “Is that right?” Ian adjusted his glasses, looking impressed.

  “No, but he told me to tell you that. More proof of your magical brain enhancement powers. Can you sign me up next?”

  Everyone at the table laughed. Chrissie used the moment to lean forward and ask Toni the question she still hadn’t answered. “Have you considered my proposal yet?”

  “Yes. I’m very interested. But don’t get too excited yet,” she added quickly, when Chrissie clapped her hands together. “I’ve also been offered a chance to buy the Olde Salt.”

  “What. It’s up for sale?”

  “Big news, huh?”

  “Earthshaking. I guess you have a big decision to make. I won’t try to influence you, but lighthouse…brewery…magical sunsets…” She lifted her eyebrows enticingly.

  Toni laughed. “I do have a referral for you, though. A chef. You’re going to need at least appetizers on the menu. You may not realize this, but uh, I can’t cook.”

  Chrissie snorted. “Yeah, the toaster oven clued me in to that.”

  “I happen to know of one who might be available. Alastair Dougal.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Chrissie had heard of Alastair, but she hadn’t met him. “If you can get him onboard, sure. I told you I’d leave the brewery management up to you.”

  “I’ll mention it the next time he comes into the bar. It’s always fun hearing that Scottish accent.”

  “Well, if you need some extra lessons in flirting, you let me know. I come highly recommended.”

  Toni glanced at the man by her side. “Let me guess. Satisfaction guaranteed?”

  Chrissie laughed, then everyone hushed each other as the emcee read off the next question.

  “What is the original meaning of the word ‘flirt’?”