Page 94 of Life To My Flight

In fact, it impressed me.

He wouldn’t think of compromising himself or me just because I wanted to have fun.

“Normally, what I do when I first arrive on shift is do a check of the helicopter. I check my equipment, make sure everything is in proper working order. When I’m piloting, my partner’s the one who’s supposed to do the check of the supplies we have on board, but I’ll do that so I can show you what we normally do,” Cleo said as he opened the back doors of the helicopter, turned around, lifted me by my hips, and set me on the platform in the back of the helicopter.

He followed up behind me and sat down on the bench beside the cot where the patients were strapped down.

We were in there for twenty minutes as he showed me around the area before his partner came out.

The man was young; really young.

He must’ve gone into nursing school right out of high school.

He couldn’t even grow a full beard yet; and he still had the whipcord lean body of a youth who didn’t have the bulkiness of an older man.

He was cute, though.

There was no doubt about that.

“Hey,” the man said, holding out his hand to Cleo. “My name’s Ross Bradley. Nice to meet you.”

I raised my eyebrows at Cleo when Cleo stared at the man for a few long moments. “Are you any relation to Grayson Trammel?”

I blinked.

Now that Cleo had mentioned it, Torren (Grayson was his real name) and Ross did look incredibly alike.

Ross shook his head. “No, never heard of him. I actually just moved here because my ma’s in bad shape. She’s seeing a specialist here.”

Cleo stayed silent for a moment too long, so I intervened. “I’m sorry to hear about your mom. I know it’s not good losing a loved one. My Nonnie’s in assisted living with Alzheimer’s. It’s like I lose her every couple of weeks.”

Ross looked at me with sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear about that.”

“I’m just showing Rue…” Cleo started to say when a loud sound from the radio on his shirt interrupted him.

“Air Medic 1,” a disembodied voice relayed. “MVA on Interstate 20. South bound and East bound lanes are being shut down right now. Two year old male with major injuries to the right leg, right hand, and head. Sending coordinates to your navigation system.”

My stomach knotted as the implications of my decision to ride with Cleo meant for me.

I’d be watching a little tiny child fight for his life.

The next thirty minutes happened quickly.

It took us less than two to take off, and eleven to arrive on scene.

I’d been on an airplane before. However, a helicopter was an entirely different experience.

It felt incredibly weird to take off from a flat surface, straight up into the air.

It was loud, and we had to wear helmets to hear each other speak.

I watched from my perch in the Captain’s seat in the back, caddy corner to Cleo, who was awe inspiring.

The man’s movements were so smooth and controlled

He looked hyper focused on the land that was speeding by beneath us.

He had on aviator sunglasses; paired with the large white helmet that was covering his head, there wasn’t much I could see of his face.

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