Page 55 of Where We Bloom (The Blackwells of Montana #3)

BLAKE BLACKWELL

Denver International Airport is always busy. I have plenty of time on this layover, which I scheduled on purpose in case there was any weather to worry about. Of course, Denver’s having a heat wave this year, so we won’t have any issues taking off.

Which is good because I’m due back at the hospital tomorrow.

I make my way to the gate and see that they’re boarding, so I get in line and find my seat in first class. I always sit in the aisle.

Just as I’ve fastened my seatbelt and settled in the seat, a woman who immediately has my attention boards the plane.

Hello, gray-eyed beauty.

She’s tall and lean, with thick dark hair that’s currently up in a messy bun .

She’s wearing glasses, and those gray eyes narrow as she looks down the aisle toward the back of the plane.

As she waits for the person ahead of her to shuffle forward, her gaze lowers to mine. She doesn’t smile. She blinks. And then, to my utter delight, she lifts one perfect eyebrow.

And I couldn’t stop my grin if I wanted to.

She smirks and walks past me, and the moment is over.

The flight attendants go through their routine of making sure everyone is buckled up, and then, to my surprise, we’re taking off on time.

“Hello everyone, this is your captain from the flight deck. We’ve reached our cruising altitude of thirty-four thousand feet.

Should be a smooth ride up to Bitterroot Valley, but they are having some weather tonight that could make things dicey for us.

If we have to divert, we’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, sit back and relax and enjoy the one hour, fifty minute flight. ”

Christ, I hope we don’t have to divert.

Why do I always agree to attend these conferences when the weather is the most unpredictable? Last year, I was stuck in Denver overnight because of a storm for this same conference.

I'll look for something different next year.

I'm reading an article about celiac disease when a flight attendant comes over the loudspeaker.

“Is there a doctor on board? ”

Christ.

“If there is, please press your call button.”

Resigned, I press the button above my head, and the attendant hurries up to me.

“Can you come with me, doctor?”

“Sure.”

I walk behind her and am surprised to find the gray-eyed woman sitting in the middle seat next to a man in the aisle, in the exit row, with her fingers on his neck, taking his pulse. The man appears to be in his mid-sixties. He’s pale and clammy, and I don’t like his breathing.

“I’m Dr. Blackwell,” I say as I crouch beside them.

“I’m Harper,” Gray Eyes replies and licks her lips. “I’m a nurse. I don’t like his color or his breathing.”

“Agreed.” She’s fucking smart. “Sir? What’s your name?”

“Ronald.” He’s panting as if he can’t catch his breath.

“Do you have pain in your left arm, Ronald?” I grabbed my backpack on the way back here. So I pull out my stethoscope and put it in my ears, then listen to Ronald’s heart.

“No,” he says.

“Does your chest hurt or feel heavy?”

“No.”

I need an EKG machine. I do have my smartwatch.

“Ronald, I’m going to put my watch on your wrist. It’ll take a measurement of your heart for me. It’s not perfect, and I’d rather we had you in my ER, but it’ll do for now. Is that okay? ”

Ronald nods, and Harper gives me a half smile.

“I was about to do the same thing.”

She helps me get the watch on him, and I run the ECG function. It doesn’t show a heart issue, but it’s not a fail-safe.

I flag down the attendant.

“Do you mind if we put this gentleman behind me”—I gesture to the guy sitting across the aisle from Ronald—“in my seat, and I’ll take his so I can monitor this until we land?”

“Of course.” She escorts the other man to my first class seat, and I turn back to Ronald.

“I’m going to have the pilot call ahead to have an ambulance on standby to meet us when we land. Okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t feel great.”

“How do you feel?” I ask him.

“It’s hard to breathe. I’m sweaty. A little dizzy.”

“Are you prone to panic attacks?” Harper asks him. She’s holding his hand, doing her best to keep him calm.

“Never have been before.”

“This is your captain again. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to land in Bitterroot Valley tonight. There’s just too much fog and snow, so they’ve rerouted us to Missoula. We’ve begun our descent and should be on the ground in about twenty-five minutes.”

“Shit,” Harper mutters.

“Doctor,” the flight attendant says, “there will be an ambulance waiting for us when we get there.”

“Good. ”

Ronald’s breathing has calmed down considerably, but he’s still sweaty, and his heartbeat is fast.

He’s nervous, and I can’t blame him. I would be, too.

“Are you married, Ronald?” Harper asks. She’s trying to distract him.

Smart girl.

“Forty-two years,” he says. “Six kids.”

“ Six ,” Harper says with a chuckle. “That’s a lot of kids. Boys? Girls?”

“All girls. All gorgeous.”

“I bet they are.” Harper’s humor-filled gaze finds mine, and she winks. “How old are they?”

“Oldest is forty. Youngest is twenty-nine.”

“Any grandbabies?”

“Three.” He nods. “Would be four, but one didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Harper says quietly.

“He had a heart defect when he was born. Spent a month in the NICU. Never got to come home.”

Harper nods sympathetically. “I work in the NICU. You’re my first adult patient in a long time.”

That gets a smile out of Ronald.

And me.

Christ, she’s fucking beautiful.

“I don’t envy your job,” Ronald says to Harper.

“Some days suck,” she admits. “Like on days when the babies like yours don’t make it. Can I tell you a secret?”

He nods, and she glances my way and raises an eyebrow .

“Your secret’s safe with us,” I reply, speaking for the first time in a while.

“Every time a baby passes when I’m on shift, I spend my lunch break in my car, crying. You’d think after five years of doing this job, it would get easier. But it doesn’t. But then there are the days when the babies go home, and that’s the best. It’s all about checks and balances, I guess.”

The plane lands, and everyone is asked to stay seated while we get Ronald off the plane and onto a stretcher. When he’s loaded into the ambulance, Harper glances my way, then grabs her bag and starts walking away.

“Hey,” I say, and she stops.

“Yeah?”

“Where are you going?”

She looks around and then back at me. “I’m going to figure out how to get home from here.”

I shake my head and hold my hand out for hers. “Come on. You’re with me.”

After just one second of hesitation, she slides her palm against mine, and I lead her away.