Just Perfect (18 page)

A few hours later, Christine had a whole new appreciation for the men and women of search and rescue. She’d always admired their dedication and willingness to work long hours under adverse conditions. Nothing drove that home, though, quite like screaming leg muscles and raw hands.

“How you holding up?” Alec asked, joining her at the base they’d set up around the helicopter. The craft protected them from the wind, which had picked up as the day wore on.

“To be honest, I could use a three-hour session with a masseuse and a soak in a hot tub.” She reached for a thermos and poured them each a cup of hot coffee.

“That can be arranged.” He smiled as he accepted the coffee, then patted the floor of the helicopter. “Up, Buddy. Let me check your paws, boy.”

Buddy leapt into the helo, looking tuckered out. He panted while Alec checked each paw and sprayed them with a fresh coat of cooking spray to keep the ice from sticking.

While Alec tended to his dog, Christine watched the search effort. The volunteers had formed a line at the bottom of the avalanche field and were steadily working their way upward, probing the ice with metal rods. The field had set up so hard, they’d actually broken several rods. The steep slant and uneven ground made the work grueling and time-consuming.

Christine looked down at her tattered ski gloves. “I’ve worn out my gloves.”

“That’s why we carry spares.” He leaned his hips against the floor of the helo and joined her in watching the others. Handlers with two other dogs worked higher up on the field, where they’d found one of the snowmobiles.

“How long do you estimate this could take?” she asked.

“Minutes, hours, days.” He lifted his sunglasses to rub his eyes. He looked exhausted, and she realized this was the first break he’d taken since the others arrived. “Longest avalanche rescue I’ve been on was when I was still a volunteer. We spent five days recovering twelve bodies. The space was cramped though, not open like this. The coordinator at the time had us set up base on the actual field, which is a big no-no, but we didn’t have much choice. Turns out our food table was sitting on top of three bodies.”

“Really?” Her lip curled at the thought.

“Yeah.” He reached back and ruffled Buddy’s ears. “This guy kept trying to tell us, but the coordinator said he was poorly trained and begging for scraps. I didn’t argue, even though I wanted to. Avy dogs are trained to ignore food and sniff for scents like sunscreen. Buddy and I were a new team, though, so I kept my mouth shut. Turns out Buddy was right. Weren’t you, boy?”

Buddy gave Alec’s face a few sloppy kisses. Christine smiled as she watched the show of mutual devotion.

“Okay, that’s enough. No tongue in the mouth.” Alec shook his finger at the dog. “Only Chris gets to do that. Got it?” Buddy stared at Alec with worshipful eyes while Alec stroked his fur. “That rescue taught me to trust him more. Unless there are rabbits involved, like earlier.”

“Rabbits?”

“We were working the far edge, over by the cliff, and we scared up a snowshoe rabbit. That’s Buddy’s big weakness.”

Buddy pricked his ears at the word “rabbit,” then barked and danced in place.

“See? He’s obsessed.” Alec shook his head. “We’ve been working on it, and I thought he was getting better, but nope. One glimpse of a rabbit, and he was ready to go charging off, completely away from the search area.”

“Are you sure it was the rabbit that had him barking?”

“Hmm?” Alec looked at her.

She raised a brow. “Weren’t you just saying you should trust him more?”

“But… that doesn’t make sense.” He looked toward the cliff edge several yards away. The avalanche field stopped well before the edge. Logic dic tated that anyone caught in the avalanche would be buried in the field. When it came to nature, though, anything was possible. Even the illogical.

“Oh, man!” He straightened. Buddy came to attention instantly. Alec pointed toward the cliff. “Okay, Buddy,
search
!”

The dog took off like a shot. His red vest and golden fur were a vivid streak of color against the white snow. By the time Alec caught up, Buddy was standing at the cliff edge, barking down into the ravine. The wind howled up from the canyon, kicking up sprays of ice.

“Stay back.” He held his hand up when Christine came up behind him. “The last thing we need is to start another slide.”

“Well, be careful,” she said, staying at the edge of the hard-packed ice.

He inched up behind Buddy, testing the snow as he went. The canyon was deep, with jagged cliffs stair stepping down to a river far below. He’d pulled more than one unfortunate rock climber out of this area. Retrieving a body in winter would be even more challenging.

Reaching the edge, he leaned out, spotting a snowmobile first at the bottom of the ravine. Leaning farther, he found an outcropping of rock barely fifteen feet down and there on it’s ledge was the fourth victim lying in a twisted heap.

“Well, what do you know.” Turning, he split the air with a whistle, then waved. The volunteers stopped and looked his way. “I found him!”

“Is he alive?” Christine asked as he moved back to the edge of the packed ice field.

“Can’t tell. Maybe,” he said as everyone hurried over. Excitement and worry shone on several faces as others repeated Christine’s question.

“Everyone stay back,” he warned. “I don’t trust the snow here. Our man is on a cliff, not too far down. Aaron, Jeff.” He singled out his two best rock climbers. “Let’s get geared up.”

“What can I do?” Christine asked as he started back toward the helicopter.

“Pray,” he suggested, squeezing her arm as he moved past her.

She nodded, frustrated that she couldn’t do more, but not stupid enough to get in the way. The ER was her world; this was Alec’s.

The men returned with ropes and a stokes basket. She stood back, chewing her tattered glove as Alec and Aaron went over the side. Jeff stayed up top to help guide the basket down. With the wind screaming through the ravine, the men had to shout to communicate. Even then, she could hear only Jeff.

After several agonizing moments, Jeff turned to the group, a broad smile breaking over his face. “Looks like we need another life flight.”

The group cheered and hugged.

Relief flooded Christine as she held her hands to her mouth and gave silent thanks. If only she could be down there, working with the patient, not standing on the sidelines. Although, picturing Alec dangling from a rope off the side of a mountain, she decided maybe not. She consoled herself by petting Buddy. “You did good, boy. You did very good.”

He panted in agreement, then went back to staring in the direction Alec had gone.

A life flight arrived just as the stokes litter carrying Jenny’s husband made it to the top. Aaron and Jeff helped Alec get it up and onto safe ground.

Christine hurried over. “What’s his condition?”

“Hypothermia and a lot of broken bones, but he’s alive.” Alec wiped his forehead, breathing hard. “All things considered, this is one lucky son of a gun.”

The life flight crew stepped in, and Christine moved out of the way. She watched as they loaded the basket onto the helicopter, then they lifted up and headed for home.

She stood a moment, her hands shielding the sun from her eyes. Alec joined her, watching the helicopter disappear.

“Four out of four,” he said. “Do we rock, or what?”

“You, sir, definitely rock!” Laughing, she threw her arms around him. He lifted her off her feet and twirled her about. Setting her down, he turned to the others. “To the pub! First round on me!”

Another cheer went up.

As they headed for the helicopter, arm in arm, she smiled up at him, filled with admiration.

He tipped his head to study her face. “What’s that look about?”

“I was just thinking, you really know how to show a girl a good time on a first date.”

Laughing, he hugged her to him.

St. Bernard’s Pub burst into applause the minute Alec stepped through the door. Christine blinked in surprise as whistles split the air.

“Thank ya, thank ya.” Alec waved at the crowd standing around the fire pit, doing his best Elvis impersonation. “Thank ya verra much.”

“Get a lot of standing ovations, do you?” she asked as the volunteers filed past them, shedding coats and gloves.

“A few. You?”

“Never.” She stripped off her coat, then shivered from the cold coming through the door.

“Well, that’s a shame. Of course, you probably don’t work with an audience.”

“Audience?”

“These guys listen to the emergency frequencies the way some people follow baseball on the radio.” He pulled her to him and rubbed her arm to warm her.

“Good job, Hunter.” Steve came over to slap Alec on the back. He wore his sheriff’s uniform today, with a gun on one hip and a radio on the other.

Christine looked about as the two men talked and saw four firefighters and two forests rangers along with men and women in street clothes. Vacationers at the tables looked on with open curiosity as the new arrivals received high fives.

Steve turned to her, holding out his hand. “Thanks for taking time out of your vacation to lend a hand. Word from the life flight crew is you make a good field doc.”

“Thank you.” She accepted the handshake.

“She’s not bad.” Alec tightened the arm he had draped over her shoulder.

“Not bad?” She jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow.

He gave a satisfying grunt, then led her into the pit. “Who wants beer?” Voices and hands rose all around. He turned to her. “How about you? Is beer okay? Or would you like something else?”

“Beer.” She nodded, welcoming the warmth from the open hearth. Bright flames crackled from the logs as smoke scented the air. “Most definitely.”

“Harvey!” Alec called to the bartender. “Put three pitchers on my tab. After that, these guys are on their own.”

“You got it.” The bartender started filling pitchers from the tap.

“Any news from the hospital?” Alec asked Steve as he took one of the big chairs.

Christine let out a startled shriek when Alec pulled her down to sit with him. The wide chair easily held them both, although it was a tight fit. He moved her legs to drape over one of his thighs and looped his arms about her waist. She thought about protesting for half a second, then settled her back against the rolled arm of the chair.

“So far, the news has been mostly good.” Steve took a seat on the stone hearth, his back to the fire while Buddy sprawled on the floor for a well-deserved break. “The woman with the concussion has regained consciousness and is listed as stable. The first man you pulled out is out of OR but in intensive care.”

“What about paralysis to his legs?” Christine asked as the waitress arrived with mugs and pitchers.

Steve waved off beer since he had a cup of coffee. “Nothing definite.”

“And Paul?” Christine accepted a mug of beer. “The last man?”

“He’s still in OR but expected to pull through fine,” Steve said.

“Thank goodness.” Christine relaxed. “I can only imagine his wife’s relief.”

Alec let out a sigh. “All I can say is this beats the heck out of having a family thank me for finding a body and giving them closure.”

Steve nodded. “Or knocking on a stranger’s door to deliver bad news.”

“Or being blamed for not doing more,” Christine added.

The three of them fell silent for a moment, then Alec lifted his mug. “To happy endings!”

“I’ll drink to that.” Christine clicked her mug to his and took a deep sip of cold, foamy beer.

All around them, people recapped the events of the day and relived past rescues. Beer and food arrived in a steady stream for the humans, while bowls of water and treats were brought for the dogs.

“Hey, Alec?” Jeff called from his place by the fire. His wife, Linda, had been waiting with the others, and shared his chair much the same way Christine shared Alec’s. “Remember the time those two college girls went rock-climbing and decided to stop on a nice, flat ledge to do a little nude sunbathing?”

“Do I ever!” He let out a bark of laughter.

“Oh, really?” Christine shifted to see his face.

“Turns out a snake decided to catch a little sun on that ledge, too,” Alec explained. “In the girls’ hurry to, um, ‘vacate the area,’ they left their clothes and gear behind. Then got stuck on the side of the mountain and couldn’t get down.”

Everyone around the fire laughed and nodded at the memory.

“Care to guess how many male volunteers I had show up for that call out?” Alec asked.

“All of them?” Christine ventured.

“And then some! That one story has done wonders for our recruitment efforts.”

“I’ll bet.” She raised a brow.

As afternoon drifted toward evening, the stories continued to flow. Mellow from the beer and fatigue, she rested her head on Alec’s shoulder and watched the fire. His hand moved lazily up and down the outside of her thigh, stirring a low hum of desire deep in her belly. In the corner, someone dropped money in the jukebox and punched in the number for a slow, sexy ballad.

As the song played, he nuzzled her hair. “Hey,” he said near her ear. “You’re not falling asleep on me, are you?”

“No.” She smiled, thinking her body was far from that. Lifting her head, she watched the firelight play over his face and wished they were alone so she could take his mouth in a long, deep kiss. “Dance with me?”

“Ah—” He hesitated, then spoke low so only she could hear his words. “I’m not sure standing up right now is a good idea.”

His chagrined expression told her he was more than a little aroused and didn’t want to announce his state to the whole group. She smiled, slow and sexy, and let her eyelids lower. “That wasn’t a request.”

His brows went up. “Are you ordering me?”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

He seemed nonpulssed for a second, then looked down toward his lap and back up into her eyes. “Apparently not.”

“Good.” Sliding her legs off his lap, she stood with him coming up behind her in one fluid motion. He clamped his hands to her hips to keep her close in front of him as they left the fire pit.