LITMIR.BIZ

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smile. “Scott. What in the world are you doing here?”

      “I’m on assignment with DEMA. I’m studying prenatal care in rural Alaska, but when Lori went into labor, Daniel asked me to take over the delivery. What are you doing in Sparks?”

      “Doing my job. I’m a flight paramedic for Puffin Medical Transport, based in Anchorage.”

      “When did you go into emergency response? Last I knew, your plan was physical therapy.”

      Volta shrugged. “Plans change.”

      “You enjoy your job as a paramedic?”

      “I really do.”

      “I’m glad. So, tell me about yourself. What have you been up to for the past few years?”

      “Oh, the usual. Work mostly. Nothing like what you’ve been doing with DEMA. I saw in the last newsletter that you were in the Caribbean during that tropical storm last month.”

      “You follow DEMA?”

      “Um, sure. They do good work.” She wasn’t going to admit that she was from time to time looking for news of him.

      “You know, you used to talk about seeing the world, and your skills could be invaluable to DEMA. If you were interested—”

      “No,” she said, too quickly. She smiled to cover her nervousness. “I’m settled here in Alaska. My family is here.”

      “You’re married?”

      “Not anymore.” At his questioning look, she added, “I’m a widow. How about you? Are you married?” she asked, trying to avoid that awkward conversation where people felt compelled to ask about the details of her husband’s death.

      He shook his head. “Never in one place long enough.” He paused. “But that goes with the job.”

      At least he’d been honest about that. An insecure part of her had always wondered if his explanation of how he couldn’t maintain a relationship with his job was just an excuse to brush her off. She’d met Scott when he was still a resident, working in a hospital in Hawaii. She was going to college then, studying kinesiology, with plans to become a physical therapist. They’d met, oddly enough, at the botanical gardens in downtown Honolulu. Oddly because neither of them was in the habit of taking off from their busy schedules for things like walking through gardens.

      But Volta had hardly left her dorm room for three days, working on a research paper. She’d turned it in and decided to spend the afternoon outdoors among the tropical flowers. Scott was there, de-stressing after a rough day at the hospital. They’d fallen into conversation under a plumeria tree, which led to dinner, which led to more dates. They both knew it was only temporary. Volta was a sophomore, after all, and Scott would join DEMA as a traveling doctor once his residency was finished.

      But Volta’s heart failed to get the message. She fell hard for Scott Willingham, and from the tender way he treated her, she thought he loved her, too. Despite knowing his plans, Volta came to believe that love would triumph, that somehow they would find a way to be together. She was wrong.

      Toward the end of the semester, he’d called it quits. He said it wasn’t fair to lead her on, that he wasn’t the kind of man who could balance work and marriage, especially in his sort of career. Devastated, she’d limped through her finals and then dropped out of college and gone home. To Alaska. Where she belonged.

      Where she’d never expected to run into Scott. “Is it everything you thought it would be? Working for DEMA, I mean?”

      “Yes and no. I love being able to help the people who need me most, but sometimes it’s a finger in the dike. And I never stay anywhere long enough to get to know my patients. It can be lonely. But I feel like we do a lot of good, not only in emergency situations but in setting up programs for ongoing improvements in health care.”

      “DEMA doesn’t usually work within the US, does it?”

      “Not to give medical care, but I’m here as a consultant. Have you heard of Leo Travert?”

      “The billionaire aviation guy in Oregon who died last year?”

      “Yes. He got his start in Alaska, as a bush pilot.”

      “I heard that somewhere. But what does that have to do with you?”

      “Well, when Travert lived in rural Alaska, his wife died in childbirth, due to complications that might have been avoided if she’d had better access to prenatal care.”

      “How sad.”

      “Yes. But in his will, he left a great deal of money to start a foundation with a mission to improve prenatal care in rural Alaska.”

      “That’s great news.” Anything they could do to make medical care more accessible was a step forward. In many of the villages, medical services consisted only of a volunteer health aide.

      “A lot has changed in the years since Travert lost his wife, but the infant mortality rate in the bush is still twice that in the cities. The focus of my study is to learn about what care is available now, and how the Travert Foundation can help fill in the gaps. The chairman, Ransom Goodman, was a good friend of Travert’s. He hired DEMA because of our experience in dealing with hard-to-reach populations.”

      “So you’re in Sparks to see how a village clinic works.”

      “Yes. I’ve already learned a lot from Daniel and Libby about the setup here. I’ll need to get a feel for the facilities around the state before I can make specific recommendations, but I have some ideas.” He gave a sheepish smile. “I’m not sure how to incorporate volcano eruptions into my recommendations, though.”

      “Some things you can’t anticipate. You just have to take them as they come.” Like the realization that the attraction she’d felt when she met Scott at the botanical gardens was still there, tugging on her heartstrings. But she could ignore it.

      Scott shrugged. “You’re right. No use worrying about what can’t be changed. Let’s get this incubator going.”

      Together they carried the incubator into the exam room and set it up, further crowding the small area. “I need to examine my patients,” Scott said. “Bridget, could you stay with me, please? The rest of you can wait in the other room.”

      Daniel nodded and slipped through the door. Paul handed his son to Bridget and watched her carefully tuck the baby inside the incubator. It was only after Bridget had taken the other baby from Lori’s arms and snuggled her beside her brother that Paul kissed his wife and left, with Volta filing out behind him.

      Paul crossed the waiting room to stand beside Daniel at the window. Volta followed. The landscape had transformed since she arrived. Outside, a fine gray powder had coated every surface, and more drifted from the sky in a parody of a snowstorm. Across the street, a woman with a bandanna tied around her face made her way home from the washateria, huddling over a basket of laundry in a futile attempt to keep the ashes out.

      “It looks like another planet,” Paul commented.

      A few minutes later, Scott joined them. “Everyone is doing fine. Paul, your wife would like your company. Bridget has volunteered to stay here with you for the time being and suggested the rest of us get some lunch.”

      “In that case, I’ll head home and have lunch with my wife,” Daniel said. “Call me if you need me.”

      “Wear a mask,” Volta suggested. “You don’t want to breathe that stuff.”

      Daniel nodded and pulled on a surgical mask before he slipped outside and started up the street. Paul returned to his chair beside Lori’s bed, and Volta could hear them murmuring to each other.

      Scott turned to Volta. “Are you ready? Libby said something about a special treat. I can’t remember what she called it.”

      Volta chuckled. “Akutaq?”

      “Right.

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