Page 1 of An Avalanche Hero Christmas

Prologue

“Antiseptic, check. Scissors and bandages double-check. Ibuprofen…oh, there it is. Triple check. Thermometer…oh, God, I must’ve left it at home.”

With a groan, Mallory Teaks zipped the MediPack shut and leaned back in her seat, staring out the window on her left. For a split second, she almost forgot where she was and expected to see the blurred landscape of a city street or the familiar lights of a train tunnel. The scenery that greeted her instead was a blanket of blue sky overlooking an expanse of white, puffy clouds.

There was no horizon, no periphery, and no other airplane within the scope of her vision. Flight 18 was alone in the sky this afternoon as far as she could see, anyway.

A wave of turbulence sent a light shudder through the plane. Mallory bit her lip, fighting the sudden urge to make another routine check as if she hadn’t been checking for the past half hour.

The MediPack, as she’d fondly called it since she bought it at that dollar store last year, was a fuchsia pink fanny pack barely three times the size of her fist. Stuffed inside it, thankfully without too much trouble, was everything she needed to makesure she didn’t get caught off guard. At least, that was what she told herself when packing the first-aid kit this morning.

If it had been up to her, she would have brought a lot more items along, but there was only so much she could bring onto a flight without being considered a security threat. Mallory scoffed as she remembered the first time she’d checked out the flight restrictions.

“What in the world do you mean my scissors have to be less than four inches long?” she’d complained aloud, causing several heads to turn in her direction.

At least she’d been allowed to bring the MediPack on board. If anything happened, if anyone needed medical assistance, she’d be there to offer her professional assistance. Not that she was expecting any emergencies during this flight. It certainly would suck if someone got a cut or fainted and needed the help of a nurse. It would suck really, really bad.

Fingers crossed.

Brushing her red hair out of her face, Mallory glanced around the cabin, wondering not for the first or second time why she hadn’t just taken a bus or train instead. Tickets certainly cost less, and with so many stops, at least she wouldn’t feel like she was stuck on a one-way trip with all these. Not to mention, she’d probably still be in Vegas by now, not back at the Living Grace Hospital, unfortunately, but in the city, nevertheless.

Heck, she could’ve refused to travel altogether. She would be standing in the emergency ward or powerwalking through the brightly lit halls of her workplace in her teal scrubs to administer her assistance. Ah, those were the good times.

Too bad she’d put a pause on them a couple of days ago.

A series of thuds against the back of her seat shook her out of her reverie. Another groan escaped her lips, and she unbuckled her seat belt to get a glimpse of the culprit, a barrage of choice words already forming in the back of her mind.

“Cut that out, will you?” she said.

The man who’d been kicking her seat looked to be in his mid-thirties, maybe a couple of years older than she was. He was blond, with a buzz cut and a silver nose ring she thought was a bit too large for his face. Headphones covered his ears, and he looked engrossed in whatever he was listening to. Probably one of those really annoying podcasts that keep going viral these days. Mallory wasn’t one to make hasty assumptions about people, but she already didn’t particularly like this guy.

“Hey.” She snapped her fingers before his face to get his attention, breathing a tiny sigh of relief when he slipped the headphones off one ear. “Could you stop kicking my seat?”

The man merely shrugged and pulled his headphones back on. Mallory fought back a wave of irritation. Her gaze swept from him to some of the other passengers in the cabin. Business class was certainly calmer than what she figured flying coach must be like. It was mostly quiet; nearly everyone looked bored out of their minds, from the men in suits to the women, some of whom were dozing off. A couple of rows away, Mallory caught sight of a woman with a panicked expression on her face.

She looked like she could use some therapeutic assistance. Mallory’s heart gave a leap.

She wasn’t a doctor, nor had she any professional experience with psychiatry, but she’d always been interested in matters of the sort. It was no surprise, considering she’d had to do whatever she could to remain stable in a busy, evolving world that seemed to attack her from all directions.

Deciding it wouldn’t be proper to offer the woman any assistance she hadn’t specifically requested, Mallory relaxed in her seat, strapping herself back in.

Three days. For three days, she’d been away from work. As much as she hated to admit it, it was slowly driving her nuts.

Why had she agreed to take a sabbatical? Mallory loved her work more than, well, pretty much anything else she could think of. To be frank, it was more like an obsession—at least, that was what Dr. Grace had called it.

“You work too hard, Teaks,” he’d told her, looking almost weary as he cleaned his glasses. “I can’t believe I’m even saying this. Usually, I have to tell people they’re not working hard enough or not doing a good enough job. You’re doing amazing, don’t get me wrong. But you need to take a break.”

Mallory had flashed him a look of indignation. “But everything’s fine.”

“Yes, but for how long?” He settled the glasses on his nose, peering over the still-foggy lenses at her. “Ever heard of burnout? That’s what happens when you work too hard. And if you don’t take a break soon, you’ll hit a wall. I can’t have you caring for patients in this hospital in that condition. I expect you to be at your best.”

“Iamat my best!” she’d protested.

“You need a break,” the doctor pressed. “Everyone does at some point. I’m not letting you go. You’re one of our best nurses. Just take a couple of months off. It’s a paid leave, in fact.”

But Mallory didn’t care about the money. Asking her to take a break from work sounded only a little better than firing her outright, keeping her from doing the one thing she loved. Being at the hospital, in her opinion, was the perfect way of coping with this world. It was easier worrying about the lives of patients than worrying about everything else, from her sustenance to her own safety.

“What am I supposed to do?” she’d asked Dr. Grace.

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