“It looks like the winds have died down,” he said. “I don’t know how long that will last, so I need to radio RMSAR and set up the pick-up.”
She glanced toward the north. Smoke tinged the sky gray and an odd shade of pink, but there was no longer ash floating down. That was a good sign. “Maybe the fire’s under control.”
“I hope so. Hard to tell. It’s so damn dry.”
He started to turn away, but before she could stop herself she reached out and touched his arm. Pausing, he turned back to her, hitting her with those cool eyes.
“Thanks for taking care of Eddie this morning,” she said.
“You were exhausted.”
“So were you.”
Shrugging, he looked over where Eddie was carrying on a conversation and sharing his hot chocolate with Bunky Bear. “He’s a great kid.”
She smiled despite the burn of tears. For a crazy moment she wanted to say just like his dad, but she didn’t. Buzz might be his biological father, but he wasn’t going to be his dad.
“He likes you,” she said.
“Kids aren’t afraid to open up their minds and give their hearts.”
The words went through her like a bullet searing through flesh and going deep. She stared at him, her heart rolling into a frenetic staccato. “Buzz, about last night—”
“Don’t, Kel,” he said gruffly.
“But I—”
“You made your position clear. I got it. It’s okay. I’d rather not discuss it this morning if you don’t mind.”
She didn’t want to discuss it either, but she knew at some point they would have to. For the life of her she couldn’t think of how to make things right. She didn’t want Eddie hurt by a man who spent his days jumping out of choppers and scaling sheer cliffs. She didn’t want her son following in those lofty footsteps.
She watched Buzz walk over to the radio, wanting desperately to do the right thing. If only she knew what that was. Her heart broke because deep down inside, she knew the only man who would ever matter to her was the only man she could never have.
“Homer One this is Tango Two Niner. Do you read?” Buzz walked several yards away from the makeshift camp, speaking into the radio.
“Homer One standing by.”
“Is Eagle available for a pick-up?”
“Stand by.”
“Standing by,” Buzz said, aware that Eddie had wandered over, his eyes as wide as his open mouth as he watched Buzz speak into the radio.
A few seconds later, Dispatch’s voice belched from the radio. “That’s affirm, Tango. What’s your twenty?”
“I’m a quarter mile north of Woody Creek Pass.”
“Terrain sucks, Buzz.” Static hissed for an instant. “Eagle, do you read?”
“Roger that, Homer One.” Chopper pilot Tony Colorosa’s voice crackled over the radio. “How’s tricks, Malone?”
“About like the terrain,” Buzz grumbled.
“Come again?”
“Never mind. What’s your ETA, Eagle?”
“Sixteen minutes if there’s a place where I can set this tin can down.”
“Negative. We’ve got trees and rock all over the place up here.”
“There’s no time for a hike, Buzz. Winds are going to start kicking once the sun heats things up.”
“Terrific,” Buzz muttered.
“You up to a swoop and scoop?” Tony asked, using the search and rescue term for a pickup made by winching a man down from the chopper and picking up a subject using a steel cable and harness. It was the riskiest kind of rescue, but it was also the fastest.
Buzz didn’t even want to think of a swoop and scoop when it came to Eddie. The kid had already been through a lot. But he was even more worried about Kelly. She’d been terrified of helicopters since losing her father and brother in that fiery crash.
“What are the stats on the fire?” Buzz asked.
“We lost four more homes last night. It’s contained for now, but the weather service says winds are going to start kicking in a couple of hours.”
Buzz cursed, knowing he didn’t have a choice but to agree to the winch pick-up. “That’s affirm on the swoop and scoop.”
“Hold your panties on, ladies, we’re gonna rock and roll!” Tony belted out a whoop.
Buzz wasn’t in the mood for the pilot’s antics, but let it slide since his mood had nothing to do with the poor taste of words and everything to do with a woman with big brown eyes and a child who’d suddenly become one of the most important people in his life.
“I’ll put out a flare,” he said.
“Roger that,” the pilot replied. “ETA fifteen minutes. Eagle over and out.”
Switching off the VHF radio, Buzz crammed it into its case, then spun back toward camp only to find himself facing a curious set of huge gray eyes.
“Is that a real radio?” Eddie asked.
Buzz studied the small, freckled face for a moment, felt his mood shift, lighten. “As real as it gets.”
“Can I talk on it?”
“We’re on the emergency channel at the moment, and we don’t want to clog that particular channel up with conversation.”
Eddie shoved his hands into his pockets and looked dejected.
“How about if I let you hold it?” Buzz offered.