The Single Dad's Guarded Heart

“I’ll pamper him,” Jo Beth declared loyally.

“How sweet.” The nurse glanced at her patient. “Funny, I don’t believe you mentioned having a daughter, Mick.”

“I don’t,” he said. “This is my very best niece.” He tugged at one of Jo Beth’s curls. “Tell Nurse Tammy what a fantastic uncle I am, kid.”

“You’re my only uncle,” she scoffed. “Dean thinks you’re okay. He said you care a whole lot about kids and animals.”

“Hear that?” Mick winked at the young woman, but she was talking to Marlee, who had asked how to find Gordon Maclean.

Jo Beth leaned on Mick’s bed. “Dean said to say thanks for the books. And he asked if you got the dog you told him about on your last visit. I said no, but I wish you’d get one, Uncle Mick.”

“You do? We’ll have to see what your mom thinks of that idea. I’ll have time to train a dog while I’m recovering at home, I guess.”

“Train him to do what?”

Mick stopped rubbing his leg below his sore hip, and tweaked the girl’s nose. “To help keep track of you and Pappy Jack, since I’m not going to be fleet of foot for a while. Hey, it sounds as if you and Dean got along famously.”

“Uh-huh. He’s nice. And he’s smart,” she said, clearly enamored of her newfound friend.

“I agree. So, does your mom feel the same about Dean’s dad?”

Jo Beth wrinkled her nose and twisted her mouth from side to side before she shrugged both shoulders.

Mick turned to his sister, who’d just parted from Nurse Tammy, and was now using his bedside phone. “Marlee, did you have a problem with Wylie Ames?”

“Problem?” She smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. “An earthworm is probably a better communicator. What? No, not you, Pappy. It’s Marlee. Sorry I’m late phoning. Jo Beth and I are with Mick. No, I don’t know his status. Hold on a sec.” Marlee put a hand over the receiver as the nurse breezed back in.

“Mr. Maclean is still in surgery,” Tammy said. “From what I gather, it’s going well. His son is one floor above us in the B Surgery Suite waiting room.”

“Thank you so much. We’ll run up shortly to see how Josh is doing.” She returned to her call and relayed an identical message. “Are you anxious for us to get home, Pappy? Are you on your own?”

She listened intently. “Why should I phone Ranger Ames?” After an irritated toss of her head, Marlee tried to temper her sharp response. “I’m sure everyone who lives in the backcountry is a friend of the Macleans, but I can’t call them all. Okay, Pappy. Someone will notify you and the ranger as soon as any report comes out of surgery. Mr. Maclean’s son is here. Maybe he’ll call everyone after he updates his mom. Pappy, I’ve gotta go. According to Mick, I need to call Angel Fleet.”

“Don’t!” Marlee put down the phone and held up a hand as her brother opened his mouth. “I know the ranger’s your friend. But he rubbed me the wrong way, okay? If you asked him, he’d say the feeling is mutual.”

“I was just going to give you Angel Fleet’s number.”

“Oh. I thought you were going to…never mind then. What’s the number?”

He gave it. “When you reach Arlene Thomas, their night coordinator, explain that I’m laid up. Have her take Cloud Chasers off the volunteer list until further notice.”

“Uh…Mick. I’ve had a change of heart. I forgot how isolated people are up here. Leave us on the volunteer flight schedule.”

“Are you sure? Gordy’s accident is a one-time flight. Sometimes our requests are the beginning of a series of treatments or doctor visits for a patient. Angel Fleet operates differently than some mercy groups. They feel it’s difficult enough when a very ill person has to be in and out of the hospital. If the patient gains confidence in a pilot flying them back and forth, it’s one less stress.”

Marlee knew what Mick was saying. “Surely no one expects weeks, months or years of continuous service. Rose drove Cole to treatments for four years.”

“Six flights is the most I’ve made for any single patient. If care is ongoing, most people arrange to stay temporarily near the hospital.”

“Then I can do this, Mick. What we went through with Cole was different. I’ll have no close ties, no relationship with anyone who may need us.” She broke away from Mick’s unwavering gaze to check her watch. Then she stretched out a hand toward her daughter. “Jo Beth, tell Uncle Mick goodbye.”

“Bye-bye. When I call Dean, is it all right to say you’re still getting a dog?”

Mick’s hearty laughter drowned out his twin’s reprimand. “Yes,” he said. “And when you call him, make sure you tell him how Mr. Maclean does in surgery. That’ll save your mother from having to communicate with an earthworm.” Mick pushed a button and lowered his bed. At once he groaned and grabbed for his bad hip, but he recovered enough to lean up on an elbow. “You two run along. Marlee, I’ll call Angel Fleet for you tonight. I’ll tell them to be kind to you.”

She gave him a tight smile over her daughter’s head. Mick’s bringing up Wylie Ames again produced a well-formed image of his brooding, handsome face, which Marlee did her best to push out of her mind.

CHAPTER FOUR

MARLEE LOCATED JOSH sitting in the B Surgery Suite waiting room, as she’d expected. The boy had his head in his hands. He looked up when they came in, and stood when he recognized Marlee.

“My dad’s been in surgery a really long time.”

“Josh,” Marlee said carefully, “it takes a while to prep a patient and get underway. I waited four hours for word the day of Mick’s operation.”

“Four hours?” The boy glanced at his watch. “I haven’t been here for two yet.”

“Did you let your mom know we landed?”

“It’s a pay phone. She said to call collect.”

Marlee dug in her purse. “Here’s money for the phone. I know the wait’s hard for you, but she’s sitting at home with no idea of what’s going on.”

“Thanks. I’ll pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about it. Would you like a soda? We passed vending machines in the hall. I’ll go get us something while you make your call.”

He accepted her offer, and Marlee and Jo Beth left the room.

By the time they returned, he was off the phone and looked markedly better. Marlee passed him the cold can and a ham sandwich.

“My Uncle Rod and Aunt Sammy are coming to help finish baling our hay.”

“That’s good. Will it take them long to get to the ranch?”

“They live in Spokane. It’s a hundred and fifty miles. Mom asked them to swing by here to see Dad and bring me home. Uncle Rod’s my dad’s brother.”

“I wasn’t sure if I needed to fly you back to the ranch. Forgive me if I’m out of line, but it looks like you came straight from work. Do you have money for food?”

He glanced at his dirt-and-blood-smeared shirt and jeans. “Mark Hart, our hired hand and me…we were repairing a fence knocked down by Chili Dog. That’s our bull. Dad went to track him. When we heard him holler, me ’n Mark dropped everything and ran to help, but the bull threw Dad against a fence post. Hooked ’im three or four times before we drove Chili Dog off.” Hunching, the boy rolled the cold can across his brow. “Don’t know what got into that ol’ bull.”

While Marlee tried to imagine the scene, Jo Beth went over and hugged Josh. “It’s okay if you wanna cry. Sometimes I did when my daddy had to stay at the hospital. And if your tummy aches, crying helps.”

The teen looked surprised, then looked guiltily at Marlee. “Did your husband get in a bad accident, too?”

Marlee shook her head, and took a long pull from her soda. “He had cancer. Of the lymph glands. Jo Beth and I are no strangers to hospital waiting rooms.”

Like everyone she told, Josh didn’t seem to know what to say. They were saved an awkward moment when the desk clerk told Marlee she had a call. She walked over, expecting it to be Mick. “Hi, there.”