The little boy closed his eyes and began crying in earnest.
“Strap in.” Tony Colorosa’s voice crackled in Buzz’s headset. “We’re going to put her down at Lake County.”
Buzz looked over at John Maitland. “You heard the man. Strap in.”
John took the jump seat at the rear and buckled in. “If anyone can get us down, Flyboy can,” he said.
Setting Eddie on the seat next to him, Buzz reached into the overhead cabinet and pulled out a helmet. It would be too big for Eddie, but if things got bumpy it would protect his head.
“Here you go, partner.” Kneeling before the boy, he slipped the helmet over his small head, then drew the chin strap tight.
“It’s too big.”
“It fits you just fine.”
Eddie’s chin trembled. “I want Mommy.”
Buzz wanted her, too—in ways that were far too complex to communicate to this child—so he said the next best thing. “I’m going to get her. I promise.”
The little boy nodded, but he was still scared. Buzz didn’t blame him. Frankly, he was scared, too.
He could only imagine what Kelly was thinking. He would never forget the look of utter horror on her face as he’d been swung wildly around and around before Maitland had been able to winch him up and get him on board.
“Okay, ladies, ETA two minutes,” came Tony Colorosa’s voice into their headset communication gear. “Hold on. This is going to be rough.”
The engines groaned. The chopper shuddered.
“You scared, Buzz?” Eddie asked a moment later.
The need to hold his child was strong, but Buzz knew both of them would be safer strapped into the seats. “A little,” he admitted. “How about you?”
“A little. You sure we’re not going to crash?”
“I’m sure.”
The chopper began to vibrate as they lost altitude and speed. Buzz glanced through the portal of the hatch across from them, saw the familiar roofs of the hangars. They’d reached Lake County airport.
“I want you to lean forward and put your head between your knees,” he said to Eddie.
The boy looked at him with huge, frightened eyes.
“Go on.” Leaning forward, Buzz demonstrated. “Like this. It’ll be okay.”
The child obeyed, but he’d started crying again. Buzz leaned close to him, wrapped himself around the small body as best he could. A moment later, the chopper jolted violently. A rooster tail of sparks spewed high outside the portal. The grate of steel against concrete screeched through the cabin as the skids scraped the tarmac.
An instant later the chopper went still. Buzz raised his head, looked wildly around for smoke or flames, but found nothing. Quickly, he worked off the straps, then turned to Eddie. “You okay, partner?” he asked.
Eddie’s chin quivered, but he nodded. “I want Mommy.”
“I’m going to go get her. Right now.”
“I want to go, too.”
Kneeling in front of him, Buzz took the boy’s small hands in his, rubbed them gently because they were cold, then looked into his eyes. “You’re the bravest young man I’ve ever met,” he said.
Eddie grinned, trying desperately to look the part even though he still had tears on his cheeks.
“I want you to stay here,” Buzz said. “You’re smaller than I am and you’ll slow me down. Understand?”
“I want to go with you, Buzz!”
Buzz looked over at Maitland. “Get on the horn. Get me an ATV. I want Jake Madigan looking for her. I want volunteers. I want another chopper. And I want all this yesterday. Got it?”
John started toward the door. “I’m on it.”
“I’ll meet you at the hangar office in five minutes.”
Maitland gave him a mock salute, then swung open the hatch and jumped to the tarmac.
Tony Colorosa looked satisfied with himself as he strutted out of the cockpit. “Not a bad landing job considering hydraulics were at 10 per cent, huh, Buzz?”
Buzz stood, unimpressed. “I’d like you to keep someone entertained while I go find my ex-wife.”
Colorosa looked down at Eddie, his smile faltering. “What?”
“You heard me.” Buzz might have grinned if he hadn’t been so terrified. Big, bad Tony Colorosa going pale at the prospect of watching a four-year-old for a few hours.
“I want to go with you!” Eddie shouted.
Tony laughed, but he was starting to look a little green. “Hey, wait a minute….”
Ignoring him, Buzz eased the boy closer to Tony. “He’s hungry and he needs a shower.”
“A shower?” Tony shot the kid a horrified look. “Hey, look, Buzz, I don’t do—”
“I think you’re familiar with the procedure.” Buzz started toward the door. “And be sure to get him some dessert.”
“Dessert? Malone!”