Sarah Morgan - High-Altitude Doctor

‘Are you proposing?’

Neil lifted her hand to his lips and gave a boyish grin. ‘Believe me, if I thought I had a chance I would have proposed years ago, sweetheart. But my daughter, who is about your age, would undoubtedly die of embarrassment and my wife wouldn’t be too pleased either.’

Juliet leaned across and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Given that you’re away from home, climbing mountains, for at least half the year, there’s no way I’d marry you, but there’s no one I’d rather have as part of a summit team. And this year we’re going all the way to the top.’

Everest.

The highest mountain in the world.

Her goal.

‘Why?’ Neil let go of her hand and shot her a curious look. ‘Why would a slip of a girl like you need to climb Everest?’

Something dark and terrifying stirred deep inside her, something Juliet preferred to keep locked away. She had her own reasons for being on Everest. And they were personal.

‘You sound like one of those journalists.’ She kept her tone light and Neil settled himself more comfortably in his seat.

‘So what do you tell the journalists when they ask you that question?’

Juliet shrugged. ‘Depends on my mood. If it’s bad then something like, “Mind your own business.” Sometimes I tell them it’s because it raises my credibility when I’m lecturing a thousand doctors on high-altitude medicine.’ She tilted her head to one side and gave a wry smile. ‘It’s hard to grab the attention of an audience if you’ve never been near a mountain. Sometimes I just tell them I like pushing myself to the limit.’

‘And what a limit. Do you know how many people have died attempting to climb Everest?’

Her insides tensed and knotted.

Oh, yes, she knew.

‘Nine per cent don’t come back,’ she said flatly, ‘and I don’t know why you’re giving me this lecture, given that you’re planning to climb it, too. At least I’m single.’

And she intended to stay that way.

‘Is that why you never get involved with anyone? You never talk about your love life.’ He turned his head and gave her a curious look. ‘Do you stay single because you have a life-threatening career? Even the promise of a floaty white dress and a bunch of presents you don’t need aren’t enough to tempt you to marriage?’

‘Now you definitely sound like a journalist,’ Juliet said lightly, rummaging in her bag for some sweets to suck, ‘and the answer is mind your own business.’

‘Well, whatever the reason, I’m glad you’re our team doctor. It means you can mop my fevered brow when I’m struck down by altitude. Who knows?’ He gave her a saucy wink. ‘I might even get mouth to mouth.’

‘You should be so lucky. And, anyway, I might be the one who’s struck down. Doctors don’t have immunity to the effects of altitude, as you well know.’ Juliet risked a glance out of the window and immediately felt her stomach lurch. ‘We’re coming in to land. Let’s hope we live to climb a mountain instead of slamming straight into one.’

She didn’t even want to think about the angle of the runway.

‘There are some strong teams attempting the southeast face this year,’ Neil told her, ticking them off on his fingers as he listed a few. ‘There’s a small Spanish team, the New Zealand team are exceptional and the Americans are filming an ascent.’

Juliet caught a glimpse of the runway ahead of her and the mountain ahead of that. She tightened her fingers into a ball and tried not to notice the abandoned wreckage of a plane on one side of the field. ‘If you’re trying to distract me, I have to tell you that it isn’t working. You need to try harder.’ She closed her eyes again and concentrated on her dream.

Everest.

Soon it would begin. The thirty-five-mile trek towards Base Camp, which would then be her home for the coming weeks.

Theoretically it was possible for an extremely fit, acclimatised person to make the distance to the foot of Everest in a few days but, as expedition doctor, Juliet had insisted that they take over a week to cover the same distance. Altitude sickness had been her area of study for several years and she understood the importance of allowing the body time to adjust to the decrease in oxygen. She was responsible for the health of the trekkers who were going with them as far as Base Camp, as well as the expedition members. And she was also responsible for her own health.

And she knew that her own health was important.

Without her, the team would have no medical backup in a remote and potentially lethal environment.

And if she didn’t stay healthy, she wouldn’t be climbing the mountain.

And this year she was aiming for the summit.

She was going all the way.

Lukla, in the foothills of the Himalayas, 2850 metres above sea level

The village was tiny, little more than a cluster of huts around an airstrip, and as the plane juddered to an uneasy halt, hordes of Nepalese villagers hurried forward to unload the plane.

With her baseball cap tugged down over her eyes and her hands shoved in the pockets of her combat trousers, Juliet watched as they shifted crates and bags, checking that her medical supplies had survived the flight. Her green eyes were sharp, observant, missing nothing. Crates of vegetables, live chickens, long rolls of carpet and other cargo were mixed up with her own supplies and she watched closely as they were sorted into piles. She’d spent months calculating what she’d need to support an expedition to the world’s highest mountain and she didn’t want to lose any of it at this stage.

The sun blazed overhead as Neil gathered together the trekkers who had been on the flight from Kathmandu and would be joining them as far as Everest Base Camp. The rest of the climbers in their party had made the same journey a few days earlier.

Only when she was satisfied that all her packages had made it in one piece did Juliet turn away. She felt grubby and hot and in desperate need of a shower.

And that was when she spotted him.

He stood slightly apart from the other climbers and trekkers, a battered hat pulled down over his eyes, a disturbingly intent expression in his dark eyes as he watched her.

And Juliet watched him back.

What woman wouldn’t have?

She saw unreasonably broad shoulders and a strong, athletic physique. She saw a man who was both arrogant and confident, a man who would lead while others followed. She saw a man who was tough and uncompromising and totally comfortable in these harsh surroundings. And she saw strong masculine features designed to make a woman dream and want.

But most of all she saw danger. The sort of danger she avoided at all costs.

For a moment Juliet struggled with her breathing. Then she told herself firmly that it was nothing to do with the fact that she was on the receiving end of that intense dark gaze, and everything to do with the sudden increase in altitude. She’d just gained six thousand feet in elevation. It was hardly surprising she was breathless.

Neil followed her gaze. ‘That’s Finn McEwan. Bit of a legend. He’s climbed almost all the big ones, but Everest has always eluded him. Mostly because the guy is always playing the hero. Two years ago he risked his neck bringing an injured climber down from the South Col, the year before that he rescued a bunch of climbers who’d been caught in an avalanche. I hope he makes it this year. Handsome devil, isn’t he? Can’t believe you don’t know him.’

For a moment Juliet didn’t respond. She was held, locked in visual communication with the man on the opposite side of the runway. ‘I’ve read his research,’ her voice was croaky. ‘I’ve seen him interviewed and I—’

‘That’s not the same,’ Neil interrupted her with a wave of his hand. ‘It’s time you met each other in the flesh, so to speak. Come on.’ He grabbed Juliet’s arm. ‘I’ll introduce you. He’s the male equivalent of you. Both doctors, both climbers, both driven and competitive. And both single.’ His tone was dry. ‘It’s a match made in heaven.’