Smoky Mountain Sweethearts

by Cheryl Harper

  “I got the job and I’m taking it.” Sam had to repeat the last two words twice, but eventually he knew she understood him. “This might slow things down but I’m going to Colorado.”

  Her slow smile was reassuring. He wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but he knew she was going to be his friend.

  “You’ve had a bit of a day, haven’t you? Did they call today?” Avery leaned over him to offer him the water again, even before he knew he wanted a drink. Seriously, she was so good at this. He should have felt like a real baby, but instead, he knew she cared. That was something he’d never experienced before, a woman other than his mother who cared.

  “They did. I told the chief before we loaded up to head out.” And then everything had fallen apart. He hoped that wasn’t a sign, but if it was, he was going to turn it around.

  “Learned something, too.” Sam studied her face. He wanted her to get what he was saying but saying it would be a challenge. “Cheating death is nothing to celebrate. I’ve never really been there before, but now I know. If I was careful before, I’m going to be obsessed.”

  Avery frowned. “Well, it’s not a bad lesson to learn.”

  “My crew could have been injured. That’s nothing to mess around with.” Sam would never have been able to live with himself if anything had happened to the rest of his crew, accident or not. He had to take care because the success of the rest of the team depended on all of them being safe.

  But he couldn’t say that, not that night. He should take up letter writing or something. Sure would come in handy.

  Avery bent forward to press her lips to his. In his state of impending painkiller happiness, Sam was too slow to respond, so she was back in her seat before he knew she was kissing him. That was going to be his first complaint as soon as he got his voice back.

  “Sam, I’m not ready for you. Not yet.” Avery leaned closer so he could see her eyes. Whatever was coming, she wanted him to get how important it was. “You deserve a woman who faces fire head-on and I’ve been a runner, but I want to change that. I’m making my turn, getting ready to run forward instead of away. Give me some time to feed Courage.”

  Sam wanted to argue. He wanted this conversation, but even if he could have put all the words together, sleep was slipping up over him. And before he was ready, the pain faded and his eyes shut.

  The next thing he knew, he was in the middle of a flurry of activity and three solemn faces were staring at him intently.

  But none of them were Avery’s.

  Had he dreamed the night before?

  Sam scrubbed the sleep away with his right hand and tried to sit up until the ache in his side convinced him he was fine as he was. “What’d I miss?” He hated being pinned center stage like this. Hospital beds were the worst prisons invented.

  The doctor he vaguely recalled from the evening before checked his eyes. “How’s the head today, Sam?”

  If he’d had more than thirty seconds to take stock, Sam might have a better answer, but it didn’t matter. He knew the right one. “Good, Doc.”

  His mother, wise to his ways, dipped her chin and waited.

  “I mean, it’s a dull ache. I’ve had worse.” That much was true. Sam met her stare. “Really.”

  The doctor pursed his lips as he studied the chart that must contain whatever readings the nurses had managed to gather through the night. He couldn’t recall details, but he remembered a blood-pressure cuff here and there. “Everything looks normal to me.” The doctor closed the chart. “I’m ready to release you if you’re ready to go.”

  Sam immediately nodded in the affirmative and eased up slowly to sit. “Ready.”

  “Right. I’ll need you to walk to the end of the hallway and back. Need to check for coordination, make sure blood pressure remains level, no dizzy spells or renewed headache.” He stepped back and stopped, clearly ready to observe Sam’s dismount from the hospital bed with a critical eye.

  Determined to seize his chance for early release, Sam eased his legs over the side of the bed and did his best to ignore his audience. Then he realized the dangers of the hospital gown and motioned his mother toward the door. “You guys wait outside.”

  Her immediate frown made it clear she disapproved of his order and his tone. “Sammy, I am your mother and I will—”

  “Get a view you haven’t seen in many, many years if you don’t wait outside,” the doctor interrupted. Sam rolled his eyes, irritated that he needed any interference because he was a grown man.

  Then he watched his mother meet the doctor’s stare and brush her hand through her hair.

  As if she was worried about the state of her hair after a night of sleeping in a hospital chair.

  Because the doctor was there?

  “I’ll step out for a second,” his mother said with a sweet smile, “but if I hear one bit of a commotion, I am back in this room in a heartbeat. I have seen your birthday suit before, young man.” Then she turned on a heel and ushered Janet Abernathy out ahead of her.

  The doctor, instead of following or returning to the business at hand, watched her leave. Sam cleared his throat, ready to try standing, but he didn’t want to take the man out like a toppled pine if it didn’t work. “You might want to step back.”

  The doctor followed directions while he shook his head like a man coming up for air. “Your mother...”

  Sam waited. He’d heard the beginning of that sentence a few times in his life, but there was no way to predict how it would end.

  “She’s single? Not dating anyone?” The doctor dropped his chart on the table beside the bed. “Seriously, at least?”

  Sam froze on the side of the bed. Was this guy really asking for a date while he was about to demonstrate his ability to walk? Unprofessional. Sam wished Avery was around. She’d be able to set the guy straight with one lawyer-type stare.

  As it was, he wanted the chance to go home more than shooting down the doctor’s interest in his mother, so Sam slowly, painfully stood. “Yes. Single. All single.” He took a cautious step, ready for his knees to buckle with pain or his head to swim, but he was steady. Sam straightened carefully, each centimeter a stretch that shifted the pain in his side, but he was able to keep it up until he could meet the doctor’s stare head-on. “But that doesn’t mean she’s alone.”

  The doctor whistled. “Pretty tough words for a guy who’s going to be shaky and sweating by the time he walks two hundred feet and back.” He tapped the bed’s rail. “But I get the concept and I like it.”

  Sam frowned as he reached behind him to make sure his gown was covering all the important pieces and securely. Then he said, “Pretty brave words for a guy who thinks I’m the only guy who would protect my mother. I’m a firefighter, Doc. We stand together.”

  The doctor’s lips curled in a reluctant smile. “Got it. Mess with her, your whole crew has your back.” Then he bent forward. “Naval physician here. I get a brotherhood.”

  Sam studied his face and then turned for the door. “She’s an adult. She makes her own decisions.” He yanked the door open, uncertain how he felt that his mother had attracted the attention of this guy. He wanted Avery’s opinion, but she’d bailed on him.

  He tried not to blame her for that. She’d waited with him through the night. He was pretty sure about that. He was less certain that her promise that she’d eventually catch up to him was real.

  His mother and Janet were gossiping in the doorway to the empty room across the hall. He had no doubt he knew the subject.

  Ready to put some distance between himself and this place, between his mother and the doctor, Sam turned to make the long trek down the hall that led to the elevators. He’d been in the Sweetwater hospital only a few times, to visit friends and their newborns most often, but he knew the basic layout. He could do this.

  His breathing was lab
ored by the time he made it to the nurse’s station, a semicircular desk at the meeting of two hallways.

  Then he saw Avery. She was standing next to three boxes of doughnuts, a grateful expression on her face. When she looked up, she raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t expected to find him roaming the halls.

  And she hadn’t left.

  The surge of optimistic energy made it easier to stop in front of the elevator. He waved at the couple getting on before the doors closed and then turned to make the long journey back to his room.

  Before he passed the nurse’s station, Sam checked once more to make sure he wasn’t exposing more than he meant to and did his best to pick up the pace.

  Unfortunately, the doctor was right, and by the time he eased back in his bed, Sam was clammy with sweat, his heart was racing and he needed a drink. Water would have to do.

  Instead of the flirty doctor, Avery stepped back inside. She offered him his glass and waited until he drained it to put it back. “Good job, killer.” Her lips were twitching. “How bad do you hurt?”

  “It’s excruciating,” Sam grumbled, “but mainly my pride. The ribs are bad, but I can handle it.” With ibuprofen, another day of bed rest and his own clothes, he’d manage.

  Avery grinned. “I like seeing you like this.”

  “In pain? Sweet.” Sam frowned at her.

  “Humbled. It is sweet. Very sweet.” Avery squeezed his hand. “I thought you might like to give putting on your clothes by yourself a shot.” She reached into the tiny closet and pulled out a stack of clothing. “I left early this morning, rousted Ash up to meet me at your apartment and packed a duffel.”

  “Then you got doughnuts for the staff—”

  “—that I terrorized last night in order to make sure your mother and mine were as comfortable as could be. It was the least I could do.” Avery sniffed. “I feel guilty, but now they have doughnuts.”

  Sam laughed and then wrapped a hand over his ribs. “But only a little guilty.”

  “Right. Just doughnut guilty.” She stepped back toward the door. “You don’t push any harder than you can, Sam. If we need to call for someone, someone other than your mother, to help you get dressed, we will.” She had more to say but she shut up quickly when he raised a hand.

  “I won’t forget this favor, Avery,” Sam said as he patted the clothes. “You’ve proved yourself to be the best friend a man could have with this gesture.”

  She was grinning as she stepped outside. “I’ll guard the door, tough guy.”

  Sam wanted to laugh, too, but that would hurt. Slipping on the loose T-shirt Avery had brought was almost enough to knock him out, so he had to conserve his energy, but by the time he’d slipped on the sweatpants and shoved his feet in the ragged running shoes, he knew he was losing steam fast. He was stretched back on the bed, breathing as evenly as he could, when she stuck her head in. “Are you decent?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” Sam answered and coughed. His throat was better, less four-alarm fire and more hazy smoke. He had a feeling he’d have gravel in his voice for another day or two.

  Avery hustled in, followed by the rest of his team, his mother’s thunderous frown an indication of further storms. “We’ve got your discharge ready to go,” the doctor said from the doorway. “If one of you will go pull your car around, we’ll get a nurse to wheel him out.”

  “I can walk.” Sam wanted it to be true. If they believed him, he’d have to prove it.

  “Hospital policy,” all four of them said like some fancy chorus who’d trained together for years.

  “I’ll get the SUV.” Avery picked up her bag and waited for him to meet her stare. Her amusement at the situation was enough to lighten some of the black cloud over his head. She’d always been able to do that. If things got dark, Avery Abernathy could tease a smile out of him, and then he was strong enough to face whatever it was.

  When Gee had died, he’d been almost certain his whole life was over. Then Avery had challenged him to a race up Yanu and she’d beaten him. Had she cheated? Of course. Did it matter? Not a bit. That run had been about grief and fear and anger. At the top, she’d been kicked back like it was all in a day’s work. He’d never forget seeing her that way, the sunshine in her messy hair, her smile wicked and free, but her eyes so watchful.

  All along, Avery had been watching out for him, like he’d done for her. Whatever happened next, Sam hoped that would never change. Not again. Now that he knew what he had, he didn’t want to lose it.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  SAM’S GLARE AS he stared from the doctor to his mother and back made Avery grin as she pulled to a stop under the hospital’s pickup area. The day was full of sunshine, the skies blue and the cold air crisp after the storm, but Sam might as well have been sitting under his own rain cloud. Add that to the unnatural way he was posed in the wheelchair and it was clear Sam was over his stay at the Sweetwater hospital.

  The doctor pulled open the passenger-side door and bent to offer Sam his hand.

  Which was soundly rejected.

  Sam eased up on his own and settled against the seat with a huff. He snatched the seat belt the doctor helpfully held out and shoved it at Avery. She didn’t say anything but sent him a warning glare as she took the belt and clicked it in place.

  Then they listened to Regina and the doctor share niceties back and forth until Sam had enough. He grumbled, “Regina Blackburn. Hickory Lane. Look her up in the phone book. We need to get this show on the road.”

  Avery wasn’t certain but she thought she heard Regina’s mouth close with a snap.

  When everyone was seated and buckled, Avery eased away from the curb. “Tell me if I need to slow down.”

  Sam grunted and the silence inside the SUV was oppressive. She glanced in the rearview to meet her mother’s stare. Her shrug showed she had as little understanding about how to proceed as Avery did.

  When Avery made the turn down Hickory Lane, Regina said, “You didn’t have to be so rude, Samuel.” Her sniff was all about disapproval. “This new job of yours won’t take you far enough away that I’ll let you forget your manners.”

  Avery wasn’t sure he was going to answer, but he closed his eyes. “You’re right. When I go, you’ll have plenty of time to fill. You need to find someone else to cook for.”

  Avery bit her tongue. While she and her mother had spent plenty of time going round and round over the years, sometimes loudly and with the intent to win, Sam and his mother had been peaceful neighbors. His mother doted on Sam, and he was careful to let her.

  But Avery could feel the eruption building and set the car in Park as quietly as she could, aware the simplest thing could lead to a meltdown.

  They were out of the car and following Sam slowly up the steps to his mother’s porch when Regina stopped. She propped her hands on her hips. “You think I have nothing better to do than stack up leftovers, Samuel Blackburn? I ran my own business for more than thirty years. I’ve started a new business with Janet. You might not think much of my brains, but I can keep myself busy without you or any other man to cook for.”

  Sam’s lips were tight as he sat down carefully on the porch swing that had hung on the Blackburn porch for as long as Avery could remember. They’d once spent an afternoon jumping from the swing as it swung back over the edge of the porch.

  The fact that neither she nor Sam had any broken bones was a miracle.

  Then he wrapped his arm over his ribs and she realized that she was the only one who’d never broken a bone. That was a nice competition to win.

  “Mom, of course not, but I know you enjoy cooking and it’s hard for one.” He shook his head. “I would have told you this eventually, but I got the job offer yesterday. I can’t believe how quickly they moved, but they’re building a special team, one that splits duties with fire and search and rescue,
a year-round on-call crew permanently stationed on Copper Mountain. They want to start training in January. Possibly the worst time for fires but the best for search and rescue.” Sam closed his eyes. “I need your doctor friend to clear me to fly to Colorado in two weeks, so I can find a place to stay.”

  His eyes were serious as they met Avery’s. They didn’t have a psychic connection but she was nearly certain he wanted to say he wished he wasn’t leaving so soon.

  Or that was what she wanted to say.

  “I was planning to give my notice and make the move, begin working on acclimatizing to the altitude. I didn’t have too much trouble with the fitness test, but their search-and-rescue training could be a different story.” Sam cleared his throat. “It would be nice to get some climbing in before the snow makes some trails impassable.”

  Avery crossed her arms over her chest, the threat of impassable trails something she’d never considered. Here in the Smokies, they got snow, but winter was as unpredictable as the rains. One day might be freezing, while the next week was full of sunshine and spring temperatures.

  In the Rockies, the snow would be no minor inconvenience to the crews called to work it.

  Something else to worry about. Great.

  “You’re talking about moving in weeks?” Regina asked as she sat down next to him. “Can’t you wait until January?”

  Sam took her hand in his. “I could, but I want to do this, Mom. I want to try this, and the longer I stay here, the harder it will be.” No one looked at Avery at that point, but she could feel the weight of unspoken words.

  Regina didn’t say anything as she stared down at his hand. “Well.” She licked her lips and blinked rapidly. “Don’t you worry about me. I’ve got a business to build. We’re about to buy Smoky Joe’s, too. Avery still needs her head screwed on straight, so I can focus my efforts on her instead.” She shook a finger at Sam. “And I will go out with that handsome doctor if he asks me. I can get by without cooking as long as I got plenty of other excitement in my life, right, Sammy?”