Chapter 26
Maya flew the crew to the next job. The helicopter was capable of reaching over 170 miles per hour but with all the equipment they carried on board, it was difficult to achieve that speed. They could fly a lot higher too but that was no good for scoping out landing sights which they would be doing shortly as they made their way to a patient who’d fallen off a ladder at his home in the countryside.
‘Good for fuel?’ Bess checked. They’d gone to this job from their previous one and so far, the rain had held back despite the bruised clouds lurking.
‘All good for fuel,’ Maya confirmed. Pilots were obsessed with fuel, which was calculated according to the weight you were carrying on board as well as other factors including outside temperature and air density. Every ninety days, the crew underwent a review ensuring they were all current with the technical aspects of aviation for the air ambulance and part of the tests involved getting weighed, which in winter included all the cold weather gear which made a significant difference. At the last weigh-in, Maya and Bess had joked that they were carrying a bit of extra Easter weight given the number of eggs that had been given to the crews by the general public to show their appreciation and support. Those chocolate eggs had kept them going for almost a month at the airbase.
Dorset was laid out below them, beautiful despite the murky weather, a low-lying valley giving way to their destination. Bess and Noah were on the lookout for a suitable landing spot because the man’s home was in a cluster of houses in a village and there were scant options for setting the helicopter down too close.
‘There’s a school,’ Bess began before immediately backtracking. ‘Nope, the playground is far too small and doesn’t seem as though they have a field.’ She was using the iPad which would let her assess size and looking down at the landscape to draw her own conclusions. ‘What’s that over there to our left?’
Noah’s voice came over the headset. ‘Looks like the cricket pitch I mentioned earlier.’ Maya knew he’d be zooming in on his own iPad. ‘As long as they aren’t playing a game or practising, we should be good.’
Maya directed the helicopter that way, keeping the aircraft as steady as she could in the wind which seemed to be picking up. The rain had started, big, fat droplets hitting the windscreen. She only hoped it wouldn’t get any heavier. ‘I’ve got a visual of the pitch. Looks empty.’
‘All clear from what I can see,’ Bess confirmed.
‘All clear for me,’ said Noah.
The pitch unfortunately wasn’t that close to the actual job address but it was as good as they were going to get in a village with so many houses and not a lot of open spaces. Even the roads were the sort of country roads with sharp turns and blind bends that rendered them impossible to land on.
Maya’s wish for the rain to hold back wasn’t granted and already the skies had decided to unleash their fury, with rain coming down harder, and the wind doing its best to jostle the helicopter. But Maya had done this plenty of times before. She’d flown in worse conditions.
Bess and Noah grabbed their gear as a man waving his arms came running towards them. The man stayed a distance back as the helicopter blades slowed, but only just. As soon as Noah and Bess went over to him, he led the way. Hopefully, he had a car and they’d get to the patient quicker.
Sometimes Maya hated waiting by when her crew had such a tough job. Going a distance to a patient was always hard and then there was the trek back to the helicopter. It was her job to be ready and waiting. Often, while she was on standby, passers-by would come over, ask what she was doing – it was a good chance to promote the Whistlestop River Air Ambulance. Mostly it was kids who wanted to approach but adults were interested too, although today the weather was so awful, she doubted anyone in their right mind would be outside unless they had to be.
As soon as Maya got word over the radio that Bess and Noah were coming back with the patient, she prepared the helicopter and from there, they transported the man to the closest major trauma centre. The patient had a blow to the head from his fall off a ladder cleaning out guttering – a job he’d apparently started before the weather turned from the dry morning they’d had earlier, and a job which, according to his wife, he’d refused to stop doing because of a little rain.
Once the patient – who was mostly concerned about his wife and how she’d manage without him, as she was housebound – was handed over to the staff at the hospital, it was back to base. First up was to talk with patient and family liaison nurse Hudson who would be able to alert the appropriate support services and ensure that the patient’s wife was all right, which would in turn allay the patient’s fears. Over time, Hudson and Paige, who both worked part time for the air ambulance, had built and enhanced relationships with hospitals to provide the much-needed support for patients and their families.
As Maya finished her paperwork, Frank cornered her on her way to the kitchen and asked whether she had any idea what was up with Noah. ‘He’s none too chirpy,’ said Frank, his top lip and moustache clinging onto a bit of froth from his coffee.
Maya pointed it out and he wiped it off with a smile.
‘He has a few things on his mind,’ she said, ‘but he’s okay.’ It wasn’t for her to elaborate.
In the kitchen, she found Noah looking out of the window as he finished a cup of tea. He didn’t turn round so she prompted him with a ‘Hey.’
He came out of his trance. ‘Hey. Good job today, nasty weather for that call.’
Bess came in and grabbed a cold can of Fanta from the fridge.
‘You and Bess are the heroes,’ said Maya, ‘it was a long way for you to have to take the kit, but you got to our patient in good time and Hudson spoke with the hospital; he’ll likely only be in for twenty-four hours and then back to his wife. She’s got help in the meantime.’
‘That’s good,’ said Bess.
Noah rinsed his cup and set it into the dishwasher. ‘He was worrying in the helicopter on the way to the hospital, not about himself, only her.’
‘That’s sweet.’ Bess had a thirsty gulp from her can. ‘And Maya, it’s not just me and Noah, we’re all heroes and don’t you forget it.’ With a smile, she left them to it.
Noah sounded like himself when he called after her, ‘You’ll be my hero if you do the paperwork.’
‘Can’t hear you,’ came Bess’s voice, fading as she walked away.
When it was just the two of them again, Maya couldn’t ignore the conversation they’d had last night. ‘Did you get any sleep?’
‘Some. Eva must’ve known I had things on my mind. She slept through.’
‘Bless her.’
His smile disappeared and he turned to look out of the window again.
‘I’ll leave you to it. Half an hour till end of shift. Bess and Frank are up for a late lunch, or you could call it early dinner, at the pub if you can make it. Eva would be quite welcome in there; they have highchairs.’
‘Appreciate the invite. But I’ve got a few things to do.’
‘Noah…’
He ignored the concern in her voice. ‘Actually, while you’re here, do you know much about how overtime works? Is it best to ask Nadia?’
‘There isn’t usually a lot of overtime unless one of the blue team is out sick. And even then, it’s a stressful job; are you sure that with a baby you could even do more hours without pushing yourself to the limit?’
‘I’ve got to raise some serious cash and fast. I don’t have a choice.’
Maya left him to it and after shift she decided to give the pub a miss.
There was somewhere else she needed to be. And this time, it wasn’t Conrad’s. He still had the cast on his arm but this morning, he’d left a message to say that his dizzy spells had passed, he was steadier on his feet, he was going to go out for a short walk. Maya had almost laughed. He’d been going stir-crazy stuck inside, more like it, so had decided to be honest and admit he was on the road to recovery.
Now it was time to swallow her pride, push aside any of their grievances, and go to see another man in her life. She needed help and she was about to request it from the one person she’d vowed never to ask.
‘I wasn’t expecting you.’ Her dad looked past Maya, who had come in the back way, having parked by the garages. He was most likely looking for Julie because that was usually the only reason for Maya to come here.
‘It’s just me today, Dad.’
‘Oh. Well, would you like a coffee or a tea?’
‘No, thanks.’
He seemed disappointed not to have something to occupy his hands. ‘How’s Isaac?’
If in doubt, talk about Isaac.
‘He’s good, looking forward to being home soon.’
‘I shall look forward to seeing him.’
Maya knew she had to come out with it; it was too awkward standing here knowing what she needed to say, her dad waiting for her to reveal why she’d turned up.
‘I need some help,’ she blurted out. ‘It’s not for me, actually; it’s for a friend.’
She told him the basics: that Noah had guardianship but the biological father was going to go for custody. She didn’t get a chance to add in anything about the blackmail before her father’s defences came up and rendered her silent.
‘So you want me to give legal advice to this Noah, for free.’ Nigel folded his arms in front of him and moved backwards to the island in the centre of the kitchen, leaning against it, his legs crossed at the ankles.
‘I know it’s a big ask?—’
‘And this is so he can stop a biological father going for custody.’
‘There’s a bit more to it than that.’ She felt like a little kid caught doing something wrong; she could barely meet his gaze, uncomfortable at being here and having to ask him for a favour. Maya had always been determined and part of that determination had been to maintain independence, which meant not turning to her dad for money or favours. After she left the family home and their relationship became even more strained, she didn’t want to have to rely on him for anything; she wanted to make it on her own. She’d put herself through flight training, she’d parented Isaac, she’d built herself a different home when her marriage ended.
Nigel shifted edgily, crossing his feet the opposite way round. His arms were still tightly folded across his chest. ‘Don’t you think biological fathers have rights?’
Her gaze snapped up. The morality of this thing was what he was questioning? She’d expected him to say something along the lines of he couldn’t give much more than basic advice for free, that he was too busy with his paying clients, she hadn’t expected an argument so directly related to the case itself.
‘Dad, there’s stuff you don’t know?—’
But he cut her off. ‘Biological fathers have rights.’ He turned and faced the island bench, his back to his daughter.
And all Maya wanted to do was get out of there. Julie might want her to try but the effort had to come from both sides. And right now, he wasn’t even willing to hear her out.
‘Forget I asked,’ was all she said before she fled.
She wished she’d never even bothered.