“Let me get Amber into the truck and I’ll tell you.” I carry her over and put her in the back, then I send Zac, a ranch hand, to retrieve her bag.
I tell Aaron about the engine failure, then ask, “How did you know?”
“Ken called me. I had him check on Amber’s flight, and when he said she never got on, I knew something was wrong. He was putting together a search party, but I wasn’t about to wait. We’ve got ten trucks out looking for you.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be at home with your wife?”
“Got back from the hotel this afternoon. I wasn’t going to sit this one out.”
I pat him on the back. “Thanks. As soon as I have a signal, I’ll call the authorities. They’ll want to interview me and do an investigation, then we need to get the chopper fixed as soon as possible.”
He uses a flashlight to survey the helicopter. “Doesn’t look worse for wear. You really landed her without power?”
“Damn right I did.”
He nods to his truck. “Is she going to be okay?”
“She needs to get to the hospital for an x-ray. Jammed her leg against the frame when we landed. She’s one tough lady. Took it all like a trooper.”
He steps back and studies me by flashlight. “You fucked my cousin, didn’t you?”
“Not today. Well, maybe today, if you count early this morning.”
“Jesus. Have you no boundaries?”
“Cleared it with Maddox, so if you have an issue, take it up with him. But for now, can we please get her some medical attention?”
More headlights come our way. Men jump out of a truck and run over. “Holy shit,” one says. “I’m Nathan Glover, ranch manager. Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Unbelievable.”
“Hey, don’t touch the chopper. The NTSB investigates all aviation incidents. They’ll come out to look at her, and then we’ll have her moved to the repair facility.”
“You got it. I’ll rope it off.”
“Thanks.”
“How in the hell did you miss hitting anything?”
I glimpse over my shoulder to see if Amber is listening. “Pure dumb luck,” I say.
“And a hell of a lot of skill,” Aaron adds.
I go to get in the truck, then turn. “Hey, Nathan? Think you can talk Butch into putting a cell tower out here? We could have been in one hell of a pickle if things went south.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, man.”
I hop into the truck. “You know where the closest urgent care is?”
“Shouldn’t take long to get there,” Aaron says. “You okay back there, Amber?”
“Yes. Thanks for showing up. I thought I might have to spend the night out here with the cows.”
Aaron thumbs to me. “Not to mention this asshole.”
“That would have been torture.”
I turn and catch her smiling. Is it wrong of me to wish Aaron wouldn’t have found us until morning?
I’m at the lodge fixing a stuck window when Amber hobbles by on her crutches. Luckily, she didn’t break it. It’s just a bad sprain.
“You’re getting better with those things.”
“The stairs are a bitch.”
“I’ll bet.” She goes into the kitchen. I follow. “Whenever you need a ride to the airport, I’d be happy to take you. By truck, that is. The chopper won’t be fixed for a while.”
“I’m not going to the airport.”
“Then how will you get home?”
She pulls out a chair, sits, and puts her leg up on another. Joe, the chef who prepares food anytime guests are at the lodge, hands her a cup of tea. She thanks him. “I’m not going home. Not until I can rent a car. The doctor says it might be a few weeks before I can do a 1500-mile drive.”
“Tea?” Joe asks me.
“I’m good. Thanks.” I nod to the stove. “What smells so good?”
“Makin’ my famous pot roast. The trick is to brown it all around, then put it in a slow cooker all afternoon. Wanted to make everyone’s last meal here the best. There’s enough to go around if you want to join them.”
“No, that’s all right. It’s a family dinner.”
“I might not be here either, Joe,” Amber says. “I have work to do. Save me some, though.”
“Will do, Missy.”
“Work?” I give her the side-eye.
She shrugs. I don’t question her further. I know how she feels about family. Well, actually, I don’t. She doesn’t talk about it much.
“Anyway,” I say. “I didn’t peg you as a woman who’s scared of anything.”
“That’s before I saw my life flash before my eyes. I’m not going back in the air anytime soon.”
I shake my head. “But you’ll brave twenty hours in a car on dangerous highways?”
“Leave the lady alone, Quinn. She probably has PTSD after the crash.”
“Would everyone please stop calling it a crash? We didn’t crash. There’s barely a scratch on the chopper.”
“What would you have us call it?” Amber asks.
“I don’t know. An unfortunate incident? A bad turn of events?”
Joe refills her tea. “I’d call it a damn miracle.”
“Nobody asked you, Joe,” I say.
He chuckles and goes back to his cooking.
“So, two weeks, huh? Where will you stay? I hear there’s a large group coming here in a few days. Did Maddox offer you the guest house?”
“His dad will be staying there for a week or so. I guess Gavin wants to see how things are running around here.”
“Shame. It’s really nice there.”
“He said there’s a furnished apartment I could use by the stables.”
I have a hard time holding in my smile. “He did, huh?”
“I’m moving there tomorrow when everyone leaves.”
“Great. I’ll see you around, then.”
“I don’t know. I’ll probably be holed up in the apartment working. Maddox says they have great Wi-Fi.”
“Okay then. I guess this is goodbye.”
For a second, a look crosses her face. I almost think she’s disappointed. She recovers quickly, though. “Bye, Quinn,” she says, before picking up her phone to busy herself.
I turn and leave, suddenly excited about the next two weeks.
Chapter Eight
Amber
Piper sits opposite me at the table. “Thanks for agreeing to have lunch with me. I know it’s been a crazy few days. Are you doing okay?”
I lean my crutches against an empty chair. “I will be when the ankle is all better.”
A waitress hands us menus, and we order drinks. “Maddox said you’re staying on for a while?”
“I’m not eager to get back up in the air just yet.”
“I can’t blame you. It must have been terrifying.”
“Kind of. I mean, part of me thinks I’m overreacting. We didn’t exactly crash. It was the thought of crashing that was the most disturbing. But Quinn was cool and collected and got us down safely. The ankle was all my fault. It had nothing to do with him.”