Page 32 of Wrecked on the Mountain (Stone River Mountain #2)

"All units, we have a developing situation on the north face," Martha's voice cuts through the warm atmosphere. "Potential casualties, helicopter rescue needed. Stand by for details."

Suddenly, all jokes are off the table.

Adrenaline spikes through my system, but for the first time since arriving in Stone River, it's excitement instead of anxiety. My body hums with readiness, with purpose.

Jamie's already moving toward the communications desk, his entire demeanor shifting into commander mode. "Talk to me, Martha."

"Multiple hikers reported overdue from yesterday's expedition. Last known location was Devil's Backbone trail. Weather's looking okay, but if it changes, it'll close in fast up there."

I set down my coffee and reach for my gear bag, my heart racing with anticipation instead of dread. This is what I'm here for. This is what I'm good at.

"Alright, team," Jamie announces, turning back to us with that commanding presence that makes everyone snap to attention. "You heard Martha. This is a helicopter rescue. Knox, Chase, you're with me. Brooke—" his eyes find mine across the room, "—you up for your first aerial rescue?"

My breath catches as the hairs on my arm stand tall. "Are you serious? A helicopter?"

Jamie grins and nods. "First a snowmobile, now a helicopter. You're experiencing a lot of firsts with me, Doc."

Chase chokes on his coffee then sprays it across the room when he can't contain his laughter.

" Firsts ?" Knox repeats loudly. "That's... interesting phrasing there, Boss."

"Jesus Christ, you guys," I mutter, heat flooding my cheeks as I double-check my medical kit.

"I mean, we're just saying," Chase adds with a smirk, slinging his gear over his shoulder, "some firsts are more memorable than others, right Doc?"

Jamie stomps across the room and smacks them both around the back of the head. "Focus, idiots. We've got people to save. Now move!"

Without even enough time to think about it, I find myself strapped to the seat, my heart pounding as I prepare for my first helicopter ride.

Except it's not a ride.

It's a fucking mountain rescue.

The helicopter's rotors slice through mountain air as we lift off, and my stomach drops in the most exhilarating way possible.

Through the curved windows, Stone River Mountain spreads below us like a living postcard. I stare in amazement at the endless peaks dusted with snow, valleys carved deep with shadow and light.

"First time in a bird, Doc?" calls out Marcus, our pilot, his voice crackling through my headset.

"First time for mountain rescue," I shout back, gripping my medical kit as we bank sharply around a granite outcropping. The g-force presses me into my seat, and I can't stop grinning.

This is nothing like the sterile ambulance rides I attended in my first year in Chicago.

This is flying into the heart of the wilderness to save lives, and every cell in my body is singing with purpose.

Dad would fucking love this.

Jamie's voice cuts through the radio chatter, calm and commanding from his position coordinating the ground teams who are already on the scene.

"Brooke, we've got visual on the climbers. Three on the ledge, approximately two hundred feet down. One appears unconscious."

Marcus works carefully, getting us closer. I lean forward, scanning the cliff face until I spot them—tiny figures pressed against grey rock, one motionless while the other two wave frantically at our approach.

"I see them," I confirm, moving to check my equipment.

"It's gonna be tight, Doc," Marcus warns as we hover near the cliff face. Wind buffets the helicopter, making it dance in the air. "You sure about this?"

The old me might have hesitated. The burned-out trauma surgeon who second-guessed every decision would have listed a dozen reasons why this was too dangerous, too risky.

But that woman feels like a stranger now.

"I've got it," I say firmly, double-checking my harness. "Jamie, talk me through the approach."

"Roger that. We're setting up the rappel line now. Knox and Beau are going down first to stabilize the casualties. Critical patient appears to be a male, early twenties, possible head trauma from the fall. He'll reach you first."

My medical training kicks into high gear, running through protocols and possibilities. Head trauma at altitude, potential hypothermia, unknown mechanism of injury.

But instead of the crushing weight of responsibility I felt in Chicago after losing that nine-year-old boy… today, there's only clarity.

This is what I was meant to do.

Marcus brings us into position, the downdraft from our rotors sending snow swirling off the cliff face. Through my headset, I hear Jamie coordinating the technical rescue with the same calm authority he brings to everything.

"Alright! Brooke!" Jamie's voice is sharp in my ear. "We're bringing the first casualty up now. Male, twenty-three, altered mental status, possible skull fracture. Critical, I repeat, critical condition."

"Copy that. Trauma kit ready, IV lines prepped," I respond, staring down as the man is hoisted up beneath the chopper.

Knox and Chase signal from below. As they winch the unconscious climber into the helicopter, I'm ready despite how fast my blood is pumping right now.

By the time he arrives, his face is pale, blood matting his dark hair, but his pulse is strong under my fingertips.

As I work, the helicopter continues its deadly dance around the mountain face, Marcus communicating with the team below.

For the first time in months, I know exactly what I'm doing and why it matters. This isn't about precision or hospital politics or trying to save my father through every patient who comes through the door.

This is about being exactly where I'm needed, when I'm needed, armed with the skills to make a difference in this world.

We extract the other two climbers—one with a broken ankle, another suffering from mild hypothermia—and I treat them all while Marcus navigates us back toward the Rescue Station where they will be transported to a larger facility.

The work flows naturally, each decision feeling right in a way Chicago medicine never did.

"Beautiful work up there, Doc," Jamie says as we touch down at the landing pad behind the base. "You were incredible."

The pride in his voice makes me smile. We work together to transfer our patients, and I find myself stealing glances at him as we move.

The way he commanded the entire rescue operation on the ground, the trust his team placed in him, the seamless coordination between his technical expertise and my medical skills.

If I stayed here permanently, we would be unstoppable together.

I'm barely a month into my three-month contract… what would it be like if I really did stay here forever? With Jamie?

Back at the station an hour later, I'm still flying on adrenaline and pure joy. Knox cracks open a beer while Chase regales us with an exaggerated version of the rescue that makes it sound like we single-handedly conquered Everest.

"To Dr. Shields," Beau raises his bottle, "for proving she's got ice in her veins and fire in her heart."

I'm laughing, feeling more alive and purposeful than I have in years, when my phone buzzes against my leg.

Piper: Hey babe! Surprise! I'm flying out to visit you this weekend. Can't wait to see this mountain paradise and meet your mysterious mountain man! Flight lands Friday at 2 PM. Pick me up?

My stomach drops faster than it did in the helicopter.

Piper's coming here. To see this . To meet Jamie and the team, to see the life I've built, to witness firsthand how completely I've transformed from the burned-out surgeon who fled Chicago just weeks ago.

"Everything okay?" Jamie asks, noticing my sudden stillness. He curls an arm around me and presses a kiss to the top of my head.

"More than okay," I say, unable to hide my grin as I lean into his warmth. "My best friend from Chicago is coming to visit this weekend. She wants to meet my mysterious mountain man."

Jamie's eyebrows shoot up. "Your mysterious mountain man?"

"That's what I've been calling you in my texts," I admit, laughing at his expression.

Chase perks up from across the room. "Oh, this is gonna be good. City girl meets Stone River Mountain? We need to roll out the red carpet."

"Please don't embarrass me," I say, but I'm still smiling because I can already picture it…

Piper falling in love with this place the way I have, seeing Jamie through my eyes, understanding why I never want to leave.

"Sweetheart," Jamie says, squeezing me closer, "if she's anything like you, she's going to fit right in."

As I look around at these people who have become family, at this place that has become home, I feel a desperate need for Piper to see it all exactly the way I do.

To understand that this isn't just a temporary escape…

This is where I belong.