‘You all right?’ he asked.
‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
‘Easy. Just asking.’
‘Sorry, don’t mean to snap.’
They’d reached the fence and Gio and Bess held one end of the scoop while the others took turns to climb over the fence before they could take hold of it again.
When Malcolm said, ‘Fiona,’ yet again, Bess called out to him before the scoop was on the move.
‘Fiona is fine, don’t worry.’
It was what she’d do if it was any other patient and they were worried about their loved one. It happened often that one victim was worse off than another and so they didn’t travel to hospital together, especially when the air ambulance was involved as ithad limited space and required everyone on board to comply with weight limits.
Bess told Gio to climb over the fence first. ‘I’ll hand you my bags once you’ve cleared it.’ She ignored the hand he held out once he was over.
‘Perfectly capable,’ she said but with less of the snappiness of her previous remark.
‘Did you hold hands with your date the other day?’ he asked with a hint of the cheekiness she was very familiar with.
‘I didn’t.’
‘That bad?’
Laden with equipment and gear, they trudged towards the helicopter.
‘I don’t think there will be a second date, put it that way. He was forty-five and lives with his parents.’
‘Cost of living is steep.’
She added, ‘And he has no intention of moving out; rent is cheap, meals are free.’
Gio’s laughter lifted her stress for a moment, especially when she caught sight of his smile as they both negotiated the slippery mud. His rugged, dark good looks probably had most women turn to putty in his hands, but not Bess. She’d put him firmly in the friend zone a long time ago and it was probably for the best. He’d likely used his charms on plenty of Whistlestop River’s female population since he moved to town and she didn’t want to be just another number to him or anyone else. She wanted something long term; she wanted stability.
Gio caught her arm when she slid and stopped her falling on her behind. ‘You needed me that time.’
As they followed the others, the bags not getting any lighter, he asked, ‘So that’s your mum’s boyfriend?’
Maya had spotted them and headed over to help with the kit.
‘It seems that way,’ Bess replied.
‘And I take it you didn’t know about him.’
‘No, I didn’t.’ The wind almost whipped her voice away.
The three of them caught the others up. Noah and Bess got the patient from scoop to litter, ready to transport, and with all the equipment on the helicopter, Bess thanked Gio, agreed to meet up with him again soon, and climbed into the cockpit.
Gio stood back to avoid the downdraft from the aircraft as they lifted up into the sky and Bess gave him a wave as she radioed through an update to the HEMS desk. Noah monitored the patient in the back and as they flew, Bess assisted Maya as needed, all the while the spinning rotors not quite loud enough to drown out the niggling thoughts in her head.
The patient – Malcolm – a man who was not her dad, was involved with her mum.
Ron had been Fiona’s one true love. They’d been each other’s perfect; that was how they’d described one another often. Bess’s dad died suddenly three years ago and thinking of her mother with any man other than him…
Of all the things she’d expected her mother to want to talk to her about today, she’d never anticipated a new man in Fiona’s life to be it. Her dad wasn’t replaceable; he never would be.
Bess updated the hospital on their approach and when they arrived and hovered above the helipad on the roof, she pushed everything else aside other than this night, this job, everyone’s safety. She climbed out of the aircraft once they touched down and were clear to do so and it was time to hand over the patient. She had to yell above the sound of the wind this high up, Noah gave them further details, and soon they were back on board ready to return to base.
