by Kim Watters
Noah drew back. Raw anger threatened to crush the last piece of sanity he’d struggled to hold on to. He wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive Brad. “You sound like Ruth.”
“Try and see the positive for once.” Brad continued.
“What positive? You’ve been my friend for fifteen years. You were my best man. You were there when Jeremy was born. You met me at the hospital when they brought Michelle and Jeremy in after the accident. You helped with the funeral arrangements.”
A tear slipped down Noah’s cheek.
His tight fisted hand pushed it away.
“What positive, Westberry? Answer me.”
“Your son’s organs saved other lives that day. Michelle’s could have, too, if she’d been an eligible donor. But you’ve been too wrapped up in the guilt and denial to see past that crooked nose on your face. Maybe I should break it again.” Brad drew back and flexed his fingers.
“Touch me and this partnership is over,” Noah growled. “The doctors I counted on to save Jeremy’s life created a donor so that someone like Ruth Fontaine could harvest his organs and offer them to the highest bidder.”
Brad shook his head, concern etched across his face. His harsh voice pushed through Noah’s thoughts. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. The doctors did everything they could. If you want to blame someone, blame the drunk who hit them. If you don’t take the call when it comes in from AeroFlight, we may as well dissolve the business and go our separate ways.”
Noah downed the remaining soda and wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. He watched his friend leave to go flirt with Hannah. Brad didn’t understand.
Sure, Michelle had been his cousin and Brad had introduced them, but his partner hadn’t had the close relationship that only a husband and wife could have.
Had.
Michelle was gone. Jeremy was gone.
Emptiness consumed him.
His fingers crushed the empty can. Burying himself in the business wasn’t working anymore. He’d been a fool to think it would work in the first place. Or maybe he’d been lucky it had lasted as long as it had.
Noah whistled for Houston so they could escape the four walls confining him. No matter what Brad said, he had no intention of flying Ruth or any other group of vultures around.
Chapter Four
Ruth watched the King Air touch down through bleary eyes as she stood by the window of the tiny shack located at an airstrip outside of Rio Salado City. At least the airplane brought a little lightness to the drab brown high desert surrounding the lone runway.
Fatigue wrapped around the muscle in her temple and yanked the pain winning out over the satisfaction of another successful coordination. Even her stomach was too tired to protest. How long would it take the pain relievers she’d taken with a sip of warm water to get rid of the migraine? Probably as soon as she got some sleep. And a decent meal. The sandwich from the hospital cafeteria left a lot to be desired, but at least her hunger had subsided.
Ruth disposed of the empty wrapper from the chocolate bar she’d bought for dessert from the vending machine into the garbage can as the aircraft approached. She didn’t recognize the prop plane and wondered which company had come to pick her up—or more specifically, who piloted it.
“Bye, Joe. Thanks for waiting with me.” She waved to the staff employee from the hospital that had stayed with in her the tiny building that protected them from the elements.
She slipped out of the metal door, her footsteps echoing off the concrete still wet from the monsoon that blew through an hour before. Thankfully, she hadn’t had to face the brunt of the storm outside while she waited for flights to resume so the pilot could land the plane.
After inhaling the fresh, damp smell, Ruth faltered about thirty yards from the aircraft. The staircase lowered from the plane, and a dog bounded down the steps.
“Houston.” Pushing aside her exhaustion and headache, Ruth squatted down and held her arms open. The tiny dog jumped up, batted her with a muddy paw and licked her face. So much for her nice, clean shirt. “Oh, boy, I’m so happy to see you. How’ve you been?”
As she scratched the dog behind the ears, her heart skipped a beat. That meant Noah had come for her. She hadn’t seen him since he’d changed her flat tire five days ago, and so much had happened in that time. Margaret Ann had taken a turn for the worse and succumbed to the infection Monday. Ruth was devastated at the loss. Then Tuesday the heart meant for Marissa had to go to another child because Marissa was too weak for an operation. Ruth wondered if the little girl would live to see her sixth birthday this weekend.
A tear crested her eyelash, but she shoved it away. God had a plan for everyone. Including Ruth. And Noah. At least Noah’s familiar face was better than another anonymous one, even if only one of the plane’s occupants was happy to see her. Scooping up the wiggly dog in one arm, she stood, hefted her duffel bag on her shoulder and stepped toward the plane and the man standing in the doorway who piloted it.
Sighing, Ruth grabbed the railing and pulled her body up the steps while her eyes skimmed over Noah’s khaki pants, past his muscular chest underneath the green polo shirt he wore today and grazed his firm lips. Without his sunglasses on, Ruth noticed his blue irises deepened to the color of the clearing sky before they darkened like the receding monsoon clouds. The cold, remote look etched across his features signaled his attitude toward her profession hadn’t changed much either.
Once Ruth stood next to him, Noah frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. He should have known Ruth would be the coordinator today. He didn’t like the effect she had on him. She made him want to feel again. The call had come in right after Brad had lost the coin toss and had taken off on a scheduled trip to fly some executives to San Jose with the other pilot, Seth.
Hannah had left for another doctor’s appointment, her second this month, which concerned him, but he didn’t want to pry into his office manager’s personal life, and Noah had been stupid enough to answer the phone instead of letting it go to the answering service. The only reason Noah was here was because he couldn’t afford not to be. Turning down any job would put a strain on his business no matter what it cost his emotions. He’d deal with any repercussions after he paid his bills.
“Hi, Noah. Thanks for coming. I wasn’t sure anyone would be able to get in with that storm.”
“Ruth.” His gaze raked over the blonde, taking in her appearance. Curly wisps of hair had escaped from her ponytail and framed her pink, heated face. Her white T-shirt covered now by his dog’s paw prints made her look more like the girl next door that Brad had mentioned on their first fly-out together. Only the lab coat draped over her arm clued him in to her profession. “A little rain isn’t going to keep me from my contractual obligations.”
“Oh. Okay then. I’m glad of that. Well, thank you anyway.” She glanced down and ran her fingers up and down the strap of her duffel bag.
Noah checked his resentment and wished he could retract those spiteful words. He hadn’t meant to say them out loud. He hadn’t meant to hurt Ruth. Using the tip of his finger, he tilted her chin back so he could lose himself in the color of her eyes that reminded him of the acres of green grass he’d mowed weekly on his granddad’s farm. “I’m sorry, Ruth. That was uncalled for. Even if I didn’t have a contract, I would have come for you.”
Her expression softened to the caring one he associated with her. “It’s okay, Noah. I know you have issues with my job. If you want—”
“No.”
Ruth touched Noah’s arm, the contact almost making him forget what she did for a living. “Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here for you. Before I forget again, thanks for changing my tire Friday and for following me home.”
“No problem. I’d do it for anyone.” Noah shifted uncomfortably. He sure knew the right words to say today. Finding two coins in his pants pocket, he rubbed them together as silence loitered between the two.
“Where’s the rest of the bunc
h?” Uneasy, Noah shifted his attention past her shoulder to the empty tarmac. He swatted at a lazy fly buzzing around his head. In the distance, monsoonal clouds were rebuilding behind the mountains.
“It’s just me. I was on a case.” Her voice hitched, signaling a death spiral to his resolve to remain unaffected by her charm. Would he ever be able to separate her from her job?
“A case?” A bead of sweat dripped into his eye before he could shove it away.
“I represented a local donor. Instead of bringing a team in to retrieve an organ, I came in by myself, found the recipients and coordinated the surgeries when the other teams arrived. What about you? Where’s Brad?”
“I’m solo today, too. We’re flying in a turbo prop that needs only one pilot. It saves money.” Noah lost his battle not to get any more involved when he saw the fatigue clinging to the delicate skin under her eyes. He didn’t recall seeing any flight requests by AeroFlight for Desert Wings Aviation in the past few days. “So how long have you been here then?”
“A little over twenty-four hours.” Ruth’s attempt at a smile failed to make it past her lips.
“Twenty-four hours? With no sleep?” Noah passed a hand across his face. Regardless what some people thought, he still had feelings. Lack of sleep made people careless and forgetful and maybe even a little overwhelmed. Especially doctors in residency at the hospitals in July. The worst time to be admitted. As if his wife and son had had a choice.
But then again, Ruth’s patients were already dead. Or so the doctors claimed. Bile scraped the back of his throat.
The wail of an emergency vehicle careening along the empty stretch of highway to his left seemed to prove his point. His frustration mounted, but this time he kept his lips firmly shut. Desert Wings Aviation needed this contract.
“I’m used to long hours.” Ruth’s sigh drew an unwanted response from inside the wall surrounding his heart.
She was soft, sweet and vulnerable, in need of his protection. Wrong. So why the sudden need to wrap his arms around her waist and hold her close? Claim her warmth for himself and breathe in the clean scent he associated with Ruth. There was no way he would even contemplate falling in love again and risk losing her. Noah scanned the horizon. “We’d better get going before that storm decides to circle back for round two.”
Once inside the plane, Ruth quickly buckled herself in the copilot’s seat. Crazy to do so without Noah’s permission? Yes. But she figured seeing what was in front of her might be easier than guessing.
Or maybe not. The tiny window didn’t instill her with much confidence.
Neither did Noah’s unyielding expression as he closed the door. So much for drawing some type of conversation out of him even if her tongue suddenly felt two sizes too big for her mouth. She knew it was crazy, but Noah’s tenderness with her at the entrance to the plane affected her equilibrium.
Maybe she’d be better off in the back with Houston.
“Here. Wear this one.” Noah crouched next to her, a headset in his hands. His expression softened as he gazed at her. She couldn’t see his eyes because of the sunglasses he’d put back on, but she suspected they’d turned from ice to liquid pools of deep water.
His nearness affected her ability to take in oxygen. His fingers caressed a loose curl as he moved it out of the way. Then he placed the headset over her ears, his quickening breath like a gentle whisper. He stared at her as if memorizing every detail.
“Thanks.” She tilted her head slightly and wondered briefly what it would be like to get a chance to know him outside of work. If she had the time. If she wanted to take another chance.
He wrenched his gaze from hers and moved away. He wasn’t interested in her any more than she should be interested in him. If she’d learned anything from David, it was not to get involved with anyone who didn’t share her beliefs, her values or her faith.
Ruth needed to focus on finishing her reports, not Noah.
Still, her gaze betrayed her. She watched, mesmerized as his long, lean fingers wrapped around his own headset and placed it over his ears. She remembered how he gently tousled Houston’s fur and the careful way he treated his dog. She wanted that for herself.
“You decided to learn how to fly after all?” Noah’s voice filled the sudden silence in her ears.
Ruth jumped and adjusted the volume.
“Wrong. I just thought since we were the only ones in the plane that it might be easier to sit up front.”
Because against her better judgment, she needed to draw him out. She wanted to find some of the missing pieces of the Noah Barton puzzle that fascinated her. She pulled out her BlackBerry and a piece of gum from her purse.
“I could teach you.”
But suddenly, Ruth wasn’t sure what exactly Noah really wanted to teach her. The easy grin spreading across his face hit some turbulence. A jittery feeling erupted in her stomach that had nothing to do with the upcoming flight. Forcing oxygen into her lungs, she held it for a few seconds. As she released it, she pretended that all her fears rode the current of air she expelled from her body.
“Or maybe not.”
At Noah’s one-eighty attitude adjustment, she yanked off the wrapper and thrust the cinnamon flavored stick into her mouth. Then she started to search for an Internet connection on her BlackBerry to check her e-mails, even though she knew she was probably still in a dead zone.
“Please wait until we’ve landed before you turn it on.”
“Right.” Heat crept to her cheeks. Ruth knew the rules.
She stared out the front window at the stretch of concrete as Noah set the plane in motion. Sitting up front gave her a much different perspective—to both pilot and the responsibility of flying a plane.
“Are you all set?” Noah’s voice resounded in her ears again. The intimate tone surrounded her, the headset no barrier for her fragile heart.
“Ready when you are.” Ruth squeezed her stress ball as Noah taxied onto the runway. The silent prayer she whispered every time she flew in an airplane crossed her lips. Bad idea to sit up front. The not-so-distant mountains loomed ahead like a plane-eating dinosaur. Whose brilliant idea was it to build an airport so close to a mountain range?
“Relax, Ruth. Everything will be okay. I’ll keep you safe.” Noah reached over and squeezed her fingers. “I promise.”
Minutes later, Noah’s hands strangled the yoke as the plane accelerated, the whiteness of his knuckles becoming a familiar sight with Ruth around. I promise? He wanted to cram those words back inside his mouth. He’d been saying the wrong things all day.
He hadn’t kept Michelle and Jeremy safe.
He’d failed his own wife and son. He’d probably find some way to fail Ruth if he allowed himself to care for her.
In the corner of his vision, he saw her mouth chewing double time. He remembered her lips. Wide and generous. Made for kissing. He’d been a fool to touch her hand in comfort.
Concentrate. The plane wasn’t going to fly itself.
At least he could control the plane and make sure he got Ruth back to the Scottsdale airport in one piece. The runway fell behind them, the surge he felt at every take-off crammed out all other emotions. A temporary calm seeped into his body with the increase in altitude.
“So, Noah, how did you learn to fly a plane?” Ruth’s voice crackled in his headset, popping his peaceful vision.
“My dad taught me.” He banked the plane north and slightly west. The woman had gotten inside his head while his guard was down. She didn’t belong in there any more than she belonged inside his aircraft. He shouldn’t have let her remain up front.
“Really? That’s neat.”
The softness in her tone threatened to draw him out. If he let her. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t.
He did.
“So your dad’s a pilot, too?”
“Yes. But he’s retired now.” Thinking of his dad calmed him.
“That’s cool how you followed in his footsteps.”
“
He thinks so, too.” Noah’s own questions gelled into his mind. He didn’t want to know, didn’t need to know, yet the sentences tricked their way into the stillness of the airplane. “What about you? Where you always a—” He paused a second, barely keeping the word vulture from passing his lips. “Coordinator?”
“I started as an O.R. nurse and then transferred to the ER. I came to the donor network just over two years ago.”
“Interesting. What made you change?”
Ruth toyed with her bracelet. “The opportunity to do more for humanity.”
Humanity. Right. As if that made her profession more likable. More agreeable. More necessary. Ruth’s moment of silence added another layer of emotion inside the aircraft. Another level of awareness to her vulnerability and his reaction to it.
“Do you always wear that bracelet? It doesn’t distract you?”
“Yes and no, it doesn’t. It was a present from a friend.” Ruth didn’t embellish her statement, but from the way her fingers touched one of the little multicolored butterflies, he suspected it wasn’t an ordinary gift. Noah still carried a wallet-sized photo of the family portrait his wife had given him their last Father’s Day together in a frame hidden in the pocket next to his seat.
“So did you always want to be a nurse?” Noah’s question surprised him. He’d meant to remain silent for the rest of the trip, yet he couldn’t stop the words from leaving his mouth.
“Did I always want to be a nurse?” Ruth repeated his question and appeared to think for a moment. A passion infused her and threatened to carry him along with it. “Yes. There’s nothing more fulfilling or satisfying to know you’ve helped someone at the end of the day.”
“I bet you were one of those kids who used to put bandages and slings on all your dolls.”
He turned toward her just in time to see a blush creep into her cheeks. She twisted her lips before she bit down on the bottom one. “Well, my intentions were noble, but my actions weren’t exactly.”
