Page 10 of One Last Storm
Winter was grinning, her dark hair under a wool hat, and a parka hood. She wore snowpants and thick leather mittens, the attire of someone who flew the back country and just might spend the night in the wild. “About time you guys showed up!” she called out, breath forming white puffs in the frigid air. “Starting to think we’d have to wait for the thaw.”
“Jingle, jingle,” Axel said, getting out the other side. “Just call us Santa’s elves.”
Shep grinned, shaking his head. “You okay? Any injuries?”
“Cold and tired, but we’re fine.” Winter gestured toward her plane. “Ice buildup forced me down, and somehow my radio got damaged. Topher and I set up camp and waited for…the elves.”
Topher, bundled in a heavy parka with medical patches on the sleeves, nodded toward the helicopter. “Never been so glad to see Air One in my life. That tent’s warm, but it’s not exactly the Ritz.”
“Let’s get you loaded up and back to Copper Mountain. Or…maybe back to Anchorage, given the weather?—”
“Nope,” Winter said, shaking her head.
Shep was walking over to the tent with Topher, to help him gather the supplies. Now he turned on Winter’s word.
“Nope?” London asked, having also climbed out of the chopper.
Winter pointed toward her plane. “I’ve got the Christmas mail delivery for four different villages. Kids’ presents, medical supplies, letters from family. If we don’t get these packages delivered before this storm really hits, those families won’t have Christmas.”
Moose made a face and for some reason, glanced at Shep.
He nodded. Poor guy had been searching for a puppy for his daughter, Hazel, and come up short. So yeah, probably Winter’s words latched on, twisted inside him.
Christmas would come and go without gifts and baubles and letters and a cooked goose. He’d learned that much watching the Grinch. But, he could admit to the tug to ensure a gift or two showed up under the tree for some of these kids who lived so remotely.
“How much cargo are we talking about?” Axel asked, already moving toward the plane.
“Maybe three hundred pounds,” Topher replied. “Christmas packages for the Clearwater homesteads, plus three other villages down river.”
Moose was already calculating in his head. “We can handle that load. What’s our weather window, London?”
“Maybe ninety minutes before conditions deteriorate,” she said, reading the clouds. “But it’s doable.”
“Operation Santa’s Elves?” Axel said, grinning.
“Okay,” Moose said and for the first time in days, he smiled. “Let’s make some kids’ Christmas dreams come true.”
Shep helped Topher pack up camp, while the rest of the team transferred packages from Winter’s plane to the helicopter, London updated the flight plan with Echo as Moose checked weight distribution. Winter and Topher sorted the packages by drop off.
This was what he’d be leaving behind. Not just the adrenaline and the danger, but moments like this. Doing the good thing.
“You okay?” London asked as he hefted a box marked ‘Merry Christmas, Sarah, love Grandma.’
“Yep,” he said, but his voice sounded weirdly choked. Sheesh.
She frowned at him, but Winter’s voice broke through any reply.
“The medical supplies for the Thompson family are priority one. Their baby’s been sick, and that antibiotic could save his life,” Winter said, indicating a box.
Moose nodded. “We’ll hit their place first.”
See, this was exactly why his conversation with Moose just stuck inside him, glued to his chest.
“All right, people,” Moose called out, doing a final check of the cargo straps. “Let’s go spread some Christmas cheer.”
CHAPTER 4
AXEL
