North of Heartbreak (14 page)

“Could someone else have built this Inukshuk?” Liam asked.

“Yes. Some of them have been standing for hundreds of years. Think of a road sign on a highway. The Inuit used them to show a good trail or route to travel. Some of them have food caches nearby.”

“So even if the boys didn’t build it, they’d go in the direction that arm is pointing? Seek out another one?”

“I think that’s very possible.”

Something moving caught her attention. “What’s that to the east?”

Liam turned the plane. “It’s a pack of wolves.”

“Are they running because of the plane or because they’re chasing something?”

“I don’t know. Wow, there’s more than a dozen of them.”

“Oh my God, two boys wouldn’t be able to hold off that many wolves.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. There’s caribou in the area. Those wolves would hunt them first.”

“But one of the boys is injured.”

Liam looked at her with his mouth pressed tightly together. “Okay, you got me there, but let’s not borrow trouble. We need to think positive.”

“Ha.” Willa shook her head. “I’ve been borrowing trouble for a very long time. I really wish I could give some of it away.”

The radio crackled to life. “Found…tracks heading north.”

Liam responded. “This is Med-One. We’re searching north of Inukshuk. No sighting yet.”

“I see more smoke,” Willa said. “At two o’clock.”

As the plane got closer, movement became visible. “Look, someone is waving. It’s got to be them!”

“Boys sighted two miles north of Inukshuk,” Liam relayed over the radio. “Will attempt landing and rescue.”

“Roger, Med-One. Please advise.”

“Roger. Med-One out.”

“Where are we going to land? It’s so rough.”

“There’s a rocky area not far to the east. I’ll try there.”

“I wish this were a helicopter.”

“I’ll buy you one for Christmas.”

“You can’t just buy me a helicopter.”

“Sure I can. If that’s what you really want.”

“No that’s not what I want.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I…” She closed her mouth. He wasn’t talking about Christmas anymore. “I don’t know. What do you want?”

“I thought I wanted the freedom to fly, and that’s still a need I’ll always have, but I’ve discovered there are more important things.”

“Like what?”

“Hang on, we’re about to land and it’s going to be bumpy.”

Willa glanced out the windshield and grabbed the sides of the seat. Loose rocks and shale filled her field of vision. “Bumpy?” she yelled. “We’re going to crash.”

Chapter Fifteen

The wheels touched down, but rather than rolling, the plane slid to the left, turning a full 360 degrees before slowing to a stop.

“And you thought we’d crash,” Liam said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, well, I had no idea we’d spin around enough to make me nauseous.”

He gave her an assessing glance. “Do you need a barf bag? Maybe you should sit there for a couple of minutes.”

“No, I’m okay. I’m just not going to do anything too energetic for a while.” She glanced out the side window. “Here comes one of the kids.”

She opened the door and stepped out of the plane. “Are you injured?” she asked the teen when he got close enough to hear her.

“A few cuts, but Danny’s hurt bad.”

Liam came around the plane. “I’ll bring the equipment. You go ahead.”

Willa followed the boy as he led the way back to his friend. She didn’t see him right away, then spotted some movement on the ground near the Inukshuk. The clothing he was wearing blended right in with the landscape. “What’s your name?” she asked the first boy.

“Clark. Danny is my cousin.”

“I’m Willa and the pilot is Liam. Just a couple of cuts?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Danny isn’t.”

A few more feet and she was at the second boy’s side. “Hi, I’m Willa. Can you tell me about your injuries?”

“I got trampled by a caribou,” Danny said. His face was pale and a sheen of sweat glistened on his skin. “A bull. He stomped me good. Broke my right arm pretty bad.”

“Can I see?” she asked, reaching for the zipper on his jacket. She pulled it down and opened the coat. Blood, tacky and cold to the touch, coated most of the right side of his shirt. Someone had used some kind of fabric to lash Danny’s arm across his chest. “Is there a bandage on this?” she asked, pointing at his arm.

“I made one out of my shirt,” Clark said.

“Are there any pieces of bone sticking out?”

“No, but you can see some bumps under the skin that I think are bones.” Clark screwed up his nose. “Looks really creepy.”

She nodded. “Any other injuries, Danny?”

“I think maybe something on my right side is busted, but I don’t know what. Sometimes it’s hard to breathe.”

“But not always?”

“Yeah. It’s getting worse though.”

Willa turned to look for her first-responder kit and found Liam there with it, waiting. She nodded at him, took the stethoscope and listened to Danny’s heart and lungs. Then she palpated the boy’s abdomen, stopping when he sucked in a pain-filled breath. “We’ll need the stretcher.”

“What’s wrong?” Danny asked, his face even more pale than before.

“Looks like you’ve lost some blood. That bull broke your arm badly and didn’t do your insides any good either.”

“It really hurts.”

“I’ll give you something for pain as soon as I get an IV in.”

Liam arrived with the stretcher. He laid it down next to them.

“Don’t try to get up,” she told Danny. “Liam and I will lift you.” She nodded at Liam to take the boy’s shoulders while she grabbed his feet. Clark grabbed a leg and helped too. They got Danny onto the stretcher and strapped in then carried the stretcher to the plane. Once the stretcher was in the plane Willa directed Clark to sit up front with Liam while she went to work on Danny in the back.

“We need to get to Fairbanks as soon as humanly possible,” she told Liam when she got her headset on.

“Are we looking at another Joe situation?”

“Yes. I believe Danny is bleeding internally.”

“Got it. Wreck the engines.”

“Yeah.” Willa smiled for a second. What a difference from their first flight together when he’d questioned nearly every request she made. Now, he seemed to know what she needed as soon as she did.

She put an IV in Danny’s left, uninjured hand, giving him a dose of painkiller. She talked to the hospital and they asked her to start a second IV in one of Danny’s feet so they could give meds in one and plasma or blood in the other.

He stayed conscious and his color improved a little as he warmed up. She could hear Liam telling the search teams over the radio that the boys were found, in the air and on their way to Fairbanks.

Danny arrived at the Fairbanks hospital in stable condition and was taken immediately into surgery. Willa and Liam waited around until they received an update from the surgical team. Danny’s right arm had been broken in seven places. He’d need a steel rod and pins to hold his arm together while it healed, but the doctors didn’t anticipate any long-term reduction in mobility.

The bull caribou had also punctured Danny’s spleen when it stepped on the boy. Luckily it had been a small puncture, resulting in a slow bleeder, otherwise Danny would have bled to death in the first few hours after the injury occurred. The surgeons were able to stop the bleeding, but he’d have to take it easy for several weeks.

Clark seemed envious of Willa’s large estimate of his cousin’s surgical scar.

“I will never understand boys,” she said, shaking her head as she and Liam left the hospital. Clark had elected to stay behind with his cousin.

“We’re simple creatures really,” Liam told her. “Food, shelter, sex and cool stuff are pretty much our top priorities.”

“You’re equating yourself with a boy?”

“Boys, men, same thing. Age doesn’t change much.”

“Huh. You’re the first man to ever admit that to me.”

“That’s because I’m smarter than I look.”

She laughed. “You know, you
are
smarter than you look.”

“You’ve made your opinion on pretty boys well-known.”

She stopped walking. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I had no right to—”

Liam’s laugh cut her off. “Are you kidding? After what you’d been through with your ex I’m lucky you didn’t kick me in the family jewels.” He bumped her shoulder with his. “I acted like a jerk that first flight and would’ve deserved it.”

“No.” She’d been so wrong about him and hadn’t wanted to find out different. “No. I took one look at you and let fear rule my head. It was a mistake and I’m sorry.”

He looked at her, really looked. “You’re forgiven.”

Who knew those two words would bring her to tears? “Thank you.”

He smiled and led the way to the plane.

Willa thought she might try to sleep on the trip back to Stony Creek, but her mind was too busy going over all the things Liam had said since she told him about the baby. Going over how she felt and what her options were. One conclusion stood out from any other.

She didn’t believe he’d hurt her or the baby.

She wasn’t afraid of Liam.

She owed him more than the apology she gave him earlier. Much more.

“Can we talk?” she asked.

His answer was to reach out and take one of her hands in his own, his thumb stroking her knuckles. For several long minutes that’s all he did, hold her, caress her. Yet that light touch was enough to send waves of need through her.

She’d never met a man as gentle and tender as Liam. Never known a man could be so loving and compassionate. She couldn’t have chosen a better man to father her child.

But she’d given him no choice in the matter. She’d taken that away from him. He was going to be a father now, regardless of his feelings, needs or wants.

His departure would rip her apart, but he deserved to choose the course of his own life. She wouldn’t take that away from him.

Grief was an ache in her throat and a weight on her tongue. “Liam, I…” For a moment she forgot to breathe, the lack of air strangling the rest of her sentence. She tried again, but instead of words, a sob bubbled its way out of her and several more followed close behind. She clutched his hand with both of hers, unwilling to let go, even though she knew she should. She had to. If she loved him she had no other choice.

She loved him.

“Willa?” Just the sound of her name from his lips had the power to shatter her self-control.

“I’m sorry,” she said, hiccupping. “Just…just give me a minute to calm down.”

“Hey, it’s okay, cry all you want.” He squeezed her hand. “Everybody’s got to have a stress release once in a while.”

She laughed and cried at the same time. “I’m not crying to relieve stress.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Oh.” He glanced at her, concern and worry etched on his face. “Did I do something to upset you?”

“No.” She looked down at her feet, sucked in a couple of deep cleansing breaths and prepared herself for the worst. “I’m sorry. I never meant to get pregnant. My doctors assured me I’d never be able to.” She cupped one hand over her belly.

“I know. We talked about it, remember?”

His words didn’t register. He was calm, too calm. “I won’t bother you with anything. No paternity tests, no demands. I promise.”

He frowned at her. “What?”

“We’ll stay completely out of your way, so you can live your life the way you want.”

He drew her toward him. “Out of my way? What are you talking about?”

Willa resisted his pull and shrank back into the corner. “I promise, we won’t burden you.”

“You’re not a burden. Where did you get that idea?” He tried to pull her toward him.

She shook her head. He couldn’t mean it. He was just being nice.

“Willa, what’s going on?” He looked at her, then looked again. “What are you so afraid of?”

The laugh that tumbled out of her mouth had an edge of hysteria to it even she could hear. He had the power to hurt her far worse than her ex-husband ever had. “You said repeatedly that you don’t want children. You said over and over again that all you wanted was fun. No commitments, no regrets, just
fun.
” How could she have known then that she’d want more? His love? She’d destroyed any chance of that now. “You don’t even want a relationship. Remember?”

“I remember discussing birth control and coming to a mutual decision not to use any. Mutual, as in equal partners. As in this baby is just as much my responsibility as yours.”

Responsibility? “But—”

“Willa, look at me.”

She raised her eyes and gazed into his face. No longer confused or worried, now he looked sad.

“I could never hurt you. Never.”

She stared into his eyes and saw the sincerity and caring that was such a large part of who he was. “I know,” she whispered. He might never hurt her, but she could never have him. She couldn’t accept what he couldn’t freely give.

“Good. Okay, let’s talk about what happens next.”

“Next?”

“Yeah, you know, those baby classes couples take before a birth.” He grinned. “Although, we sort of had our crash course already didn’t we?”

She didn’t understand how he could just carry on like they were having a normal conversation. “I didn’t think you’d want to bother.”

“Bother? Willa, I’ve spent every waking moment possible with you since the day we met, made love to you more times than I can count and you didn’t think I would
bother?
”

“You said we were just having fun. Taking classes isn’t fun, it’s work.”

He gave her a half grin. “I was an idiot when I said that.” He reached out and squeezed her knee. “Besides, I’ve had more fun with you than a human being has a right to expect. Do you really think I’d want to give that up?”

“I understand.” Ice seeped into Willa’s arms and legs, numbing her nerve endings. “You like the sex.”

“You’re missing the point.”

“Am I? I don’t think so. I need more than instant gratification.”

“Yes, exactly,” he said with a triumphant expression on his face, as if he’d won the argument.

She stared at him. “I thought you’d be angry, that you wouldn’t be able to get away from me fast enough.”

“I was surprised, then I realized I wanted more than fun. I want it
all.
I want you.”

Willa ignored the hot thrill that streaked up her spine, melting the ice encasing her heart. His words were magic, as if he’d read the needs of her soul and put words to them. But he couldn’t be serious. Not now. “But I’m pregnant. A package deal. You couldn’t possibly want both of us.” That was too much to ask.

Liam was silent for a moment then said with no trace of a smile, “But that
is
what I want. I want you
and
the baby.”

Willa sighed. “Look at you, you’re gripping the controls so hard your knuckles are white. You don’t really want an instant family and I won’t burden you with it.”

“Burden me? Are you kidding? You’re the lowest maintenance woman I’ve ever met. Besides, it’s a miracle I got you pregnant at all. How many more chances do you think we’ll get in the baby lottery? We’ve struck it rich, Willa. We’ve won the top prize.”

She closed her eyes and willed her tears away. How she’d prayed to hear those words from him, but now that she had, she couldn’t believe them.

She opened her eyes and gazed out the window. Thin clouds obscured the ground from sight. She had to get away from him and give herself time to regain her composure. “Shouldn’t we be landing soon?”

“We will, just as soon as we hash this out.”

“What do you mean? Hash what out?”

“The wedding, of course.”

She whipped her head around, eyes wide. “You’re out of your mind.”

“Yep.” He chuckled. “Out of my mind for you.”

She had to be imagining this. “Stop talking like that.”

“Talking like what, a lovesick dope who should have told you weeks ago how he really felt?” He looked directly at her with a smile that turned her insides to jelly. “I love you.”

It was impossible. “You don’t mean that. You’re just feeling sorry for me.”

“Nope. I. Love. You.”

“No.” She shook her head, her hands gripping her thighs until they were white. “Please don’t say it.”

“Too bad, I’m going to keep saying it until you believe me.”

She could see it in front of her, the dream of a future with Liam and their child. It hung just out of reach, a mirage she’d never touch. “Liam, don’t.” Hot tears dripped down her cheeks and off her chin, scalding the backs of her hands. “Please stop.” Her voice caught. “I don’t want your pity.”

“That’s good, because I haven’t got any for you.”

A sob worked its way out of her throat, followed by another and another.