Jack had just loaded up a bowl of chili and a plate of cornbread for a late lunch when the dispatch tones went off and the LED display in the kitchen flashed red.

Again.

It had been a crazy morning, this being the fifth call of the day for the engine crew; the ladder had run six calls themselves. He was glad to keep busy because every time he had any downtime, he found himself away from the men and on his computer. He’d discovered that Elizabeth was featured on the website for the Sled Dog Brewing Company, smiling and laughing with some customers as she mixed drinks.

Jack couldn’t get enough of that picture. Even though she sported a much different hairstyle now, the smile was all her. He was struck by how much he missed her and the thought of what might have been.  

“Engine One SERV for a fall injury off a horse, vicinity of Caribou Draw Lane.”

Jack was startled when he heard the dispatcher announce the location. That was his street. And a fall from a horse could only mean his neighbors at Pickens Stables. He left his chili on the kitchen counter and ran for the bay with more hustle than he usually did.

“Pickens?” Sean asked as they turned out into their snow rescue gear.

“Has to be,” Jack said.

Thirty seconds later, the crew was climbing into the SERV, the Snow Emergency Response Vehicle, a crew cab F-350 with a trailer hitched to the back. The trailer contained the department’s two rescue snowmobiles and transport basket sleds. Sean drove with his usual expertise on the icy roads, while Jack spoke with dispatch to get more information. In the backseat, Dylan Hart and Cody Bradford were quiet, also listening for further information.

“Engine One to Dispatch. Do you have any more information on the patient?”

“Female, calling from her cell phone. She gave GPS coordinates, uploading to you now.”

Female patient, Jack thought. For a wild, horrible moment, he thought of Elizabeth—she’d met Charlene Pickens. What if she’d decided to go horseback riding on her own? “Did the RP give a name?” he asked dispatch, trying to keep his voice even.

“Affirmative, the name is Charlene Pickens.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Jack switched his headset off the open dispatch channel so that he was speaking only to his crew. He was worried about Charlene, of course, but he was also relieved it wasn’t Elizabeth. His rational brain regained control, and he knew that Charlene would be dressed appropriately, wearing a helmet, and that she’d had the presence of mind of call 911 and give her coordinates.

“Charlene Pickens?” Sean asked. “Isn’t she your neighbor?”

“She is,” Jack said. “I just got the coordinates here—I can see exactly where it is on the trail system, about three miles in.”

“Anything on injuries?” Cody asked from the back.

Jack read the scrolling information on the computer screen. “She’s saying a probable leg fracture. Femur.”

“Yeesh,” Sean said.

Poor Charlene. She’d be in tremendous pain. Femur fractures were one of the most agonizing of broken bones, and that was without complications such as interference with the femoral artery. With the temperature just above zero, Charlene would be cold, and only getting colder, as well as wet from lying in the snow while waiting for rescue. She could go into shock. Could get hypothermia.

Sean got them to Pickens Stables in under twenty minutes. Together the crew unloaded the snowmobiles out of the trailer and rigged up a transport basket to one of them. Onto the other one, they loaded the medical and drug boxes. Jack did a radio check with all of their personal radios, fastened his helmet, and then hopped on the snowmobile with the basket. If it were him, he’d prefer to be towed behind someone he knew and trusted, and he figured Charlene would feel the same.

“Dylan, take the other snowmobile,” Jack said. When the weather was nice, Dylan rode a motorcycle, and in the winter he was just as skilled on a snowmobile. To Sean and Cody, he said, “Sean, call an ambulance code two, and we’ll be in comms all the way.”

“Go get her,” Sean said, slapping the front of Jack’s snowmobile, and then they were off. Jack went fast—but not too fast—in the lead down the trail system he knew so well. The GPS device was activated, but Jack didn’t need it; he’d known the exact spot just from one look at the map. It was a slight hollow, at a bend, with a massive fallen tree parallel to the trail.

He slowed as they approached the bend and then braked the snowmobile to a stop, with Dylan close behind.

Jack’s throat constricted when he saw the scene before him. Charlene was lying flat on the ground, covered in blankets, with her helmeted head in Rob’s lap. She must have called the house after 911; Rob’s snowmobile was parked just off the trail. Several yards away, Charlene’s black Friesian horse stood, tied to a branch, looking what Jack imagined to be abashed at having thrown his human.

Jack did a U-turn with the snowmobile, dismounted, and pulled off his helmet.

“Jack!” Rob said when he recognized him. “Thank God you’re here.”

“We came as fast as we could.” He went to Charlene and knelt beside her, cringing inwardly to see the pain in her eyes. “Old Bucket finally threw you, did he?”

“No, he didn’t.” Charlene’s lips were pale and her voice thin, but she glanced with affection at the horse. “He got spooked by a fox, and I fell off.”

“We’ll get you taken care of now.” Jack was relieved to see that she was wearing her helmet, which looked intact. “What hurts?”

“My leg,” Charlene said. “And my shoulder.”

Jack did his assessment and ruled out a head injury, but when he pulled back the blanket and saw the weird angle of Charlene’s left leg, he felt a twist of nausea. He got queasy whenever he saw a visible deformity, but because he knew Charlene, it was somehow worse. He also saw that her shoulder was possibly dislocated or fractured. “Let’s do a C-spine to be on the safe side,” he said to Dylan. “But first, drugs.”

“Yes,” Charlene croaked. “Give me the drugs.”

Jack and Rob both grinned.

“Hang in there, darlin’,” Rob said. He bent down and kissed Charlene’s forehead, and Charlene managed a smile for him.

Jack thought of Elizabeth and her smile and the way it made him feel. At that moment, he yearned for her, and to have with her what Charlene and Rob had—a simple life and a long love.

The dose of fentanyl took Charlene’s pain from a ten out of ten to about a six, and at that point, Jack and Dylan got her C-spined, on a lift sheet, and loaded onto the basket.

The radio crackled with Sean’s voice. “Ambo is staged.”

“We’re heading back with the patient now,” Jack returned. “ETA ten minutes.”

The ride back down the snowy trail took longer since Jack didn’t want to jostle Charlene unnecessarily. By the time they got to the stables, the sun was edging the tops of the trees. As Charlene was lifted onto the gurney and wheeled into the waiting ambulance, she murmured for Rob.

“I’m right here,” Rob said.

“Where’s Bucket? He’s not still on the trail, is he?”

“I’ve already called Danny,” he said, referring to their college-age son who lived in the Alaska State dorms. “He’ll be here in a few minutes and will ride out and get him.”

“But—wolves—” Charlene’s hands twitched with anxiety.

“Charlene!” A female voice broke through.

Jack turned and saw Kristy Barrow, his part-time employee, coming across the snowfield from the cabin she’d been working on. He lifted a hand and waved.

“Oh, no,” Kristy said, standing at the edge of the ambulance. “Charlene, what happened?”

“I’ll tell you the whole story later,” Jack said. “But she’ll be okay. It’s just going to take some time for recovery.”

Charlene moaned. “I don’t have time for this. How will we manage the stables?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Rob said. “I’m sure Danny will help.”

“He has school to worry about, and here I’ll be laid up for weeks,” Charlene said, although to Jack’s estimation it wouldn’t be weeks but instead several months before she’d be able to get back to work in the stables—and that was if she healed well. “I’ll need someone to help me manage all the day-to-day stuff. I’d never ask Danny to do that.”

“I can help you!” Rob said, somewhat indignantly. “I can take care of you as well as anyone.”

“But we need you in the stable,” she said.

“This can all be settled later,” Jack said, climbing into the back of the ambulance to ride into the hospital; as the paramedic, Charlene was his patient, and he would stay with her until the transfer of care at the ER. Rob Pickens climbed in, too.

Kristy Barrow, though, smiled suddenly. She was looking at Jack, and Jack wasn’t sure why.

“Don’t worry about who will take care of you, Charlene,” Kristy said. “I have an idea.” She looked again at Jack. “Can I offer to put someone up in one of the empty cabins for a few weeks to help out? I have a—a recent acquaintance—who’d be great, only she might need a place to stay.”

“Of course,” Jack said. “Whatever we can do to help.”

“Perfect,” Kristy said, and now she was outright grinning in a way that made Jack wonder what she was up to. But he didn’t have time to analyze it; the ambulance EMT closed the doors, and they were on their way to the hospital with lights and sirens.

* * *

Elizabeth’s phone rang just as she was moving the last of the drywall supplies into the garage. She and Emmett and his friends had worked all day, minus their coffee break with Bruce, and the roof and living room ceiling were both now repaired—or so they hoped. The next day’s impending snowstorm would be the test.

She dug around in the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her phone. She didn’t recognize the number.

“Hello?”

“Elizabeth? Hi, it’s Kristy Barrow. We met the other week at Jack Barnes’ house.”

“Kristy, hi!” Elizabeth was happily surprised to hear from her. In the kitchen, Emmett heard her and raised his eyebrows at the mention of Kristy. “How are you?”

“Well, I’m doing okay, but we have a bit of a situation out here that I’m hoping you can help us with.”

“Us being you and Jack?” Elizabeth asked, her heart pounding. She would love to help Jack. With anything. Anytime, anywhere. Including undressing him and running her hands down his muscled body and—except he didn’t want her. He’d told her as much.

“Yes, and Rob and Charlene Pickens, too,” Kristy said. “Did you meet them when you were out here? They own the stable next door.”

“Oh, yes! Well, I met Charlene, anyway.”

“Unfortunately, she’s had a terrible fall from her horse,” Kristy said. “She’s at the hospital now, and once she comes home, she’s going to need lots of help. I remember you mentioned how you want to be a nurse, and that you need money, and, well … how would you feel about helping out Charlene? She’d hire you as her personal caregiver. You could do it around your schedule at the Sled Dog, and if you want, you can even stay in one of Jack’s empty cabins. I’m still working on the interior renovations in number four, so you and I would be neighbors!”

“I’d stay in one of Jack’s cabins?” Elizabeth said, a warm rush coursing through her at the thought of being so close to him. So available to him. “And you’re sure Jack’s okay with that?”

Emmett was watching her closely. He’d probably also noticed the excitement Elizabeth was trying—and failing—to conceal in her voice.

“Definitely!” Kristy said. “He said so himself.”

“Hmmm,” Elizabeth said. She wanted to say yes—so, so bad. “The only thing is, I’m taking two classes that start soon, and then I’ve got my job at the Sled Dog. I could probably cut back my bartending hours a little bit if I had to.”

“I’m sure they can work around whatever schedule limitations you have,” Kristy said. “Rob’s around all the time—it’s just that he needs to work in the barn with the horses. So when you’re available, he’d be freed up to do that. You see?”

“It sounds great,” Elizabeth said. “Can you hold on a minute?” She covered the phone and whispered to Emmett, “There’s a caregiving position available that I could do around my schedule at the Sled Dog, and it would come with housing, my own little cabin. Plus, I’d be paid, and we can put the money toward repairs. What do you think?”

“You should do it,” Emmett said immediately. “I’ll work on the renovations with Bruce and work on getting the house listed for sale.”

“And I’ll still pick up Dad when he gets released.”

“If it fits with your schedule,” Emmett said. “Otherwise, I can get him.”

Elizabeth’s heart was buoyed by the idea of being able to slip so easily into a new job, a new living situation—and hopefully a new chance with Jack. “You’re sure?”

“Definitely,” Emmett said. “We’re moving forward, remember? This is how you do that.”

He was right.

“Kristy?” she said into the phone. “I’ll do it if you’re sure it’s okay with Jack.”

“Trust me,” Kristy said. “It’s definitely okay with Jack.”