Bess leaned forwards, her voice soft, understanding. ‘I’ve got plenty of time; we’re quiet.’
Noah heard the sound of paperwork being dumped in the tray beside him and Nadia, the one responsible, let out a sigh. ‘Bess, you’ll jinx us with comments like that and we’re scheduled for a training session in half an hour.’
When Nadia left them to it, he shifted the focus to Maya and the fact he was still nervous about working with her. ‘I saw her at the supermarket, you know.’
‘When?’ It was enough for Bess to latch onto a different direction for their conversation as she was obviously worried about her friend.
‘Earlier in the week.’
‘And how did she look to you?’
‘I don’t really know her well enough to comment but at the wedding, she was concerned about her sister yet in control, and when I saw her shopping, she seemed tired, worried.’
Bess’s concern gave way to a tut and a sigh. ‘That’s because she’s racing around after herex-husband when she shouldn’t be. I mean, I’m not a total bitch, I know he doesn’t have any close relatives, but he’s on the force, he knows people.’
‘He’s in the police?’
‘He’s a detective. Not here in Whistlestop River but in the next town and I heard enough of his colleagues turned up to see him in the hospital. You’d think it would take the burden off Maya, but she’s not made it clear to the medical staff that they’re no longer together. There’s talk of discharging him but the doctors will only do so if there’s someone at home with him.’
‘Let me get this straight. He’s her ex-husband and they no longer live together?’
‘Correct. The divorce finalised nearly two months ago.’ She opened her bottle of water. ‘Conrad seems to have missed the memo about that, though. And now if the hospital assumethey’re together…’ She shrugged. ‘…Maya will be saddled with the responsibility. For some reason, he clicks his fingers and she comes running when what she really needs to do is tell him to?—’
The shrill alarm of the phone put a stop to the completion of Bess’s sentence and everything else they were doing. Noah picked it up, the temporary pilot filling in for Maya went out to start the helicopter and it was action stations once again.
‘Told you,’ Nadia called to Bess as she and Noah picked up their helmets. ‘Don’t you ever say we’re quiet again.’
‘Sorry!’ Bess hollered back before they went out to the waiting aircraft on the helipad.
It wasn’t long before they were up in the air, their focus shifting from talk of anything else to the patient who needed them.
Maya parked up at the hospital. She could hear helicopter blades chopping through the air up above and when she peered out of her driver’s side window, she saw the familiar red and yellow air ambulance she usually flew passing overhead, likely on the way to a job.
A week ago, life had seemed simple enough, with a son she adored, a job she loved and she was continuing to do her best to make it clear to Conrad that the both of them had to move on properly, separately. But then there was the accident and she felt as though she was back where she was before, putting his needs before any of her own. And he knew he held the trump card, that he could use what he knew to get his way. Already, she was tired of toing and froing at the hospital to visit. His work colleagues came and went, he had a bit of a chat and a laugh with them, but those visits were infrequent. Isaac had come down fromScotland the day after the accident and he’d been an incredible emotional support. He’d stayed to see his dad for a couple of days but Maya suspected the main reason he’d come was for her because the pair had barely spoken and Isaac’s relief when he got to go back to Scotland was obvious.
Maya grabbed the bag from the backseat. She’d found Conrad’s other iPad for him so he could keep himself entertained since the one she’d brought was glitchy and giving him no end of bother. Keeping Conrad’s spirits up was no walk in the park and she needed all the help she could get. It was an exhausting, constant rally managing his temperament from one minute to the next. When he’d first woken up, he was grateful to be alive, and when he realised he’d make a full recovery, he was full of gratitude until gratitude gave way to frustration. From that point, everything became something to complain about – the glitching iPad nearly took a journey across the room but Maya had rescued it at the last minute. His fingers were sore, couldn’t they give him stronger painkillers? His arm itched and he had nothing to poke down the plaster to scratch it. He threatened to yank the plaster off if he didn’t get something to ease the discomfort soon. He was being a complete arse by all accounts.
Maya smiled at one of the nurses coming off shift as she went inside the hospital. ‘How is he today?’
‘Your husband is in good spirits,’ the redhead replied tactfully because so was she; she was heading home.
‘I’m sorry if he’s been difficult.’
‘All in a day’s work, love.’ The nurse smiled and went on her way.
Maya still hadn’t corrected anyone’s referencing of Conrad as her husband or her as the wife. The only time their divorce was mentioned was when she’d seen Conrad’s bag of personal effects with a little pot containing his wedding ring. The doctors andnurses would have had to remove the jewellery before he went for any x-rays or scans when he first came in. She’d asked him why he was still wearing it and he’d bitten her head off, saying their marriage had clearly meant more to him than it ever had to her. He admitted he wore it when he wasn’t around her, took it off when he was so she wouldn’t have a go at him.
Maya said hello to the nurses outside the ward but before she could get to Conrad’s bedside, one of them called her back.
‘We hear you fly the air ambulance,’ she beamed at Maya.
Maya smiled. ‘That’s right, I’m with The Skylarks.’
All three nurses were suitably impressed. ‘You do a wonderful job, all of you.’
‘Right back at you,’ said Maya.
‘My son,’ said one of the women, ‘dreams of flying the air ambulance one day. Any tips?’
