Page 96 of Life To My Flight

Cleo started back towards the ambulance with Ross close on his heels, running and shielding his eyes against the blades of the helicopter.

As soon as they were close enough, I climbed back inside, doing my best to stay out of the way as Cleo put the patient in the back.

Once the stretcher was locked into place, Cleo stepped back, letting Ross inside; Ross sat and immediately started making himself busy.

The doors behind us slammed shut, closing us in.

That was when I finally understood why Cleo did it.

This was his passion.

He literally had the lives of three people in his care right now.

How empowering that must feel, and what a gift it was when a passion and an occupation came together.

***

Rue

“My head feels like it weights fifty pounds,” I groaned when my head met the pillow twenty four hours later.

Cleo grinned and fell back on the bed beside me.

His bed, might I add.

I hadn’t been back to my apartment in over two days now.

Which, if I were being honest, was okay with me.

It was nice not to be alone.

It was even nicer to have someone take off my shoes and pants for me when I was too tired to do it myself.

“That’s what happens when you do twenty four hour shifts,” Cleo grunted as he threw my pants across the room, aiming for the large laundry hamper in the corner of the room.

My eyes got heavy, sleep already settling in to take me under.

“I enjoyed it a lot, though. Let me know when you’re hiring,” I teased.

His hand smoothed down my back. “You got it.”

The day had gone well.

We’d gotten the little boy to the hospital in Dallas, and from what Cleo told me earlier in the day, the boy had lived through surgery after they cut a hole in his skull to reduce the intracranial pressure.

They expected him to have a full recovery, and go on to live a full life.

We’d run two more calls after that. Both had lived.

And both would’ve died without Life Flight.

“The seed’s been planted, hasn’t it?” Cleo asked as he settled next to me, pulling me into his chest.

I snuggled deep. “Yes, the seed’s most definitely been planted.”

Chapter 18

Life isn’t a fairytale. Sometimes one has to pull up her big girl panties and get the fuck over it.

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