Special K slams the door shut behind us.
I help Phoebe out of the harness and helmet and get her buckled into her seat.Then I position her headset, take my seat, and slip on my headset.
She’s panting.Her eyes are huge.But she’s okay.
I smile at her.
She manages to smile back.That’s when I notice she has a wide charcoal smudge across one of her cheeks.
Phoebe is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Only then do I notice Special K.His face is frozen in shock and his eyes are bugging out.He’s shaking his head.
“What?”
“Any emergency medical situations?”
“No, but we both need to be checked out.”
“Roger that.Hospital, then.”He keeps staring at me.
“What is it, Kevin?”
“Nuthin’.You smell like a Moroccan hookah bar.”
At that moment, Declan is kind enough to pipe in some music to keep us entertained on our short flight.It’s the rhythm section opening from Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.”
“Hilarious,” I mutter.
I tell Declan to cut the tunes and use the heli’s satellite phone to patch into the Travis Ranch landline.Phoebe gives him the number through her mic.
To give her some privacy, K and I remove our headset for the duration of her call.
Tears glisten in her eyes as she speaks to her mom.
“I’m fine!I’m totally fine!I’m headed to the hospital just as a precaution.No, Mama, please don’t cry.Please.Tell Daddy I’m perfectly fine.I know, know.It’s crazy.Yes!I’m in the MacLaine helicopter.”
She glances at me.“It’s kind of a long story, so I’ll tell you all later.But listen, Declan’s dropping us at the hospital and…no, absolutely nothing serious.I have a minor cut and Evander…uh, yes…thatEvander.”
She wags an eyebrow at me.
“He has a burn on his forearm.Yes, yes.So you’ll need to get the boys to plow a spot for the helicopter to land and Declan will pick you up and get you to the hospital.I don’t know.Hold on…oh…thank you, Declan!Two hours then.You and two to three more people.Did you hear that, Mama?It’s all the helicopter can carry.”
Phoebe shoots me a huge smile before she resumes her conversation.But not a second later, her smile evaporates.I watch her spine straighten and all the light leave her face.“Whaaaaat?”
Her eyes flash to me.“Oh holy shit, no.”
She doesn’t even say “pardon my French,” so it must be bad.I touch her knee.“Is your dad—?”
She shakes her head and mouths that he’s fine.
I shrug.“Then what?”
“When?Okay, okay.And he’s been staying—?”Phoebe’s eyes squint like she’s in pain.
“They are?Okay…” She groans.“But they have to plow first so Declan can land.If you think it’s safe.Yes.I know, I know.Mama, listen, I’m totally fine and I’ll see you at the hospital.I love you.Bye.”
She ends the call and stares at me, as if she’s paralyzed.
