Tina Beckett - Doctor's Mile-High Fling

“A what?” His head jerked to stare at her. “You mean you’ve never flown before in your life?”

Indignation washed over her. She had, but why should it matter? It was ridiculous to expect everyone to have flown all over the world from the time they could crawl. “I have flown. Just not recently. I—I couldn’t.”

Not since her father’s accident.

“Oh, hell.”

She shifted in her seat to face him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means if you’re looking for a pilot to help you get past your fear, you’d better keep looking. A desensitization expert I’m not.” He laughed and the sound was no longer low and mellow. “I know of at least one person who’d testify to that fact. Only she’s no longer speaking to me.”

The anger behind that last comment made her hackles rise. Had he purposely scared someone during a flight? If so, he was right. She didn’t want him flying her anywhere. “Fine. Once we get back to Anchorage, I’ll make sure you never have to—”

“Wrong. Those ‘bumps in the road’ I mentioned? They’re going to get worse the closer we get to the islands. And the landing strip at Dutch Harbor is barely up to FAA standards.” He glanced up as if sending a distress call to some higher power. “Listen, I signed on to take a doctor to Unalaska to scope out the work at the clinic. I’m not here to be the next rung on your twelve-step ladder. If you expect me to sweet-talk you into getting back on the plane tomorrow, you’re out of luck.”

Her chin went up. “I guarantee that’s not going to happen.”

“You’re right. It’s not.” His dark eyes swept over her face and the expression in them chilled her to the bone. “If you’re not on the plane, strapped into your seat, by eight o’clock in the morning, you can find yourself a new pilot.”

* * *

Okay, so he could have handled that better. A lot better.

But from the moment Blake had noticed her clutching her seat, a warning siren had gone off in his brain. He’d quickly dismissed it, chalking up her reaction to takeoff jitters. A lot of people got nervous, especially on flights to the Aleutians, where landings could be very hairy. Transitioning from a jet engine to a turboprop seven years ago had given him a few gray hairs of his own, so who could blame her?

Besides, her dad—a man Blake had looked up to and respected—was famous in these parts, so he’d had some ridiculous notion that Wayne McKinna’s daughter would have logged some serious flight hours. Her physical appearance had only added to that impression. Brown, choppy locks were cut in a way that gave her delicate face a fearless impudent look. And the bold, take-charge style drew immediate attention to her eyes. Green. Intelligent. Framed by incredibly thick lashes.

She looked ready to take on any challenge that came her way.

Desensitization classes. Great .

What the hell was she doing, taking a job that involved medevacing patients to Anchorage?

Even Sharon hadn’t been that afraid of flying. And yet her constant nagging to move back to the mainland and to switch to flying passenger jets had proved to be the final straw in an already disintegrating marriage. Wayne had understood exactly where he was coming from, said he’d fought the same battles with his own wife.

Blake loved the island where he’d grown up. Loved the challenge of landing on that tiny airstrip in Dutch Harbor.

Sharon hated both.

After the divorce, he’d decided no one would take those things away from him. Not again.

He glanced over at Molly. She was furiously staring out the front window, her arms folded across her chest, her full bottom lip thinned.

You can find yourself a new pilot .

The fact that she’d answered his outrageous declaration with silence told him everything he needed to know.

He’d blown whatever chance he might have had with her.

If he’d even had one. The woman probably had men doing penance laps until their knees bled, hoping for a chance to go out with her.

He’d noticed Molly bustling around the ER over the past year as he’d checked on some critical-care patients he’d flown in from the islands. Her cheery attitude and gorgeous smile had attracted his attention immediately. When someone had told him she was the daughter of the late, great Wayne McKinna, what had started as a tiny spark of attraction had caught and held. She’d been away at medical school when her father had shown him the ropes, so they’d never been officially introduced. By the time he’d realized who she was, she was already spoken for. Besides, he was from the islands, and Molly appeared to be very much a city girl at heart.

As he’d found out the hard way, oil and water might flirt with each other for a while, but they eventually separated.

He should have reminded himself of that fact and kept his distance.

Then she’d broken off her relationship and signed up for the new health-care position the government had opened up in the Aleutians. The temptation had been too much. He’d juggled his schedule so he’d be the one flying her to the islands. Hoping he was wrong and that they might not be so different after all. Surely Wayne’s daughter had vestigial wings hidden somewhere under that lab coat—the love of flying must be bred into her.

Wrong.

His jaw tightened. When would he learn? He should swear off marriage forever.

But he eventually wanted a wife. A family. Just not with someone who wanted to crush who he was and remake him into someone completely different.

That need went both ways, however. If he expected a woman to love him as he was, she had a right to expect the same.

Could he love a woman who was afraid of flying, who might end up hating the islands as much as his ex-wife?

Not a chance—he’d already tested that theory once. But that didn’t mean he had to be an ass about it.

“Hey, listen. About what I said—”

“Don’t worry. As soon as we land, I’ll be out of your hair.”

“Let me hook you up with someone I know who can fly you back. He’s totally safe. Doesn’t take any unnecessary chances.”

“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

She might be all grown up, but the quiet joy that had caught his attention at the hospital was gone.

Reaching over, he touched her hand, marveling at the softness of her skin. “Molly, we haven’t got off to the best start here.”

“You think?”

“I just didn’t expect Wayne’s daughter to be…”

Was there any good way to finish that phrase? He didn’t think so.

“You didn’t expect her to be what? A wimp?”

“I wasn’t going to say that.” Well, not those exact words, but the meaning was still there. “Knowing how your father died, it can’t be easy for you to get back on a plane.”

“Good thing you won’t have to deal with that problem any more, then, isn’t it?”

He waited for her to finish chopping him to bits, but Molly was evidently done, and rightly so.

Before he could figure out a way to smooth over the situation, the plane bucked, then settled back into place. He glanced out the cockpit window, realizing their heated words had diverted his attention for the past several minutes. Not good, because they were heading right into a long line of clouds stretching from side to side.

A front.

And an ugly one, from the look of it.

Molly threw him a panicked look, and Blake tensed.

There’d been nothing in the weather reports to indicate rough conditions today. But he knew things could blow up out of nowhere in this part of the world. This wasn’t exactly the way he’d hoped the day would go.

But then again, when did his plans ever fall smoothly into place?