Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel, Pamela Clare [i can read book club .TXT] 📗

Jason saw Winona setting bread and rolls on the table. He willed himself to look away. “Let’s finish this and wash up.”

By the time they were done and Jason had washed his hands—he always carried paper soap to use with water from his water bottle—lunch was waiting for them. Volunteers drifted toward the picnic tables, joking and laughing with one another.

Winona explained to the group how it worked, the breeze teasing tendrils of dark hair that had come loose from her braid. “It’s a do-it-yourself sandwich smorgasbord. Start on this end with the plates and forks. There’s turkey, roast beef, salami, baloney, bread, and rolls, with all the fixings. We’ve got cookies and fruit for dessert.”

Naomi pointed to a large cooler at the end of the table, fingers massaging one temple. “We’ve got soft drinks and bottled water on ice if you’re thirsty.”

Jason motioned Grandpa Belcourt forward. “You first, Grandfather.”

It was an almost universal Indigenous custom to refer to all elders as Grandfather or Grandmother—or Uncle or Auntie—out of respect.

The old man gave a nod of thanks and picked up a paper plate.

Winona stood across from him, hands on her hips. “Are you working hard, Grandpa?”

“I’m hardly workin’.” The old man tossed two pieces of white bread onto his plate, chuckling at his own joke.

“That’s not true.” Jason found himself wanting to draw her gaze. “He’s keeping the rest of us in line.”

But Winona’s attention seemed to be reserved for her grandfather, concern on her pretty face. “Promise me you won’t overdo it, okay?”

Grandpa Belcourt slathered mayonnaise on his bread then piled on the roast beef. “Have you met my granddaughter, Winona? She fusses over me like an old hen.”

“She and I bumped into each other this morning.” Jason put mustard, turkey, and Swiss on wheat bread. “Thanks for the meal, Winona.”

At last, she looked up at him. “Thanks for your help today.”

The moment her gaze met his, Jason felt it—a bone-deep sense of awareness. He found himself searching for words and finding none.

Grandpa Belcourt spoke, giving Jason time to pull himself together. “Winona is a wildlife vet. She helps our furry and feathered relatives.”

Jason stupidly repeated what the old man had just said. “A wildlife vet.”

So, she was smart, too.

She nodded. “I rehabilitate sick and injured animals.”

A hand came down on Jason’s shoulder. “Hey, Chiago. Kat said you’d be here.”

Jason turned, found Gabe Rossiter standing behind him, a broad grin on his face. Jason shook his friend’s hand. “Good to see you. I hear you were a hero this summer.”

Gabe laughed. “Is McBride telling stories about me again? I’ll grab some food, and we can sit down somewhere and catch up.”

“No cutting in line,” Jason teased. “You have to go to the back.”

“Ah, man!” Rossiter headed to the rear of the line.

Jason had just finished making his sandwich when he heard Winona gasp.

“Naomi!”

Winona ran to where Naomi lay in the dirt. “Are you okay?”

Naomi pressed her fingers to her temples. “I feel … funny.”

Then Chaska was there, kneeling beside his wife. “What happened?”

“She just sank to the ground.”

“I’ve had a headache, and then I got so dizzy.”

That’s when Winona noticed the swelling in Naomi’s ankles.

Oh, God.

She met Chaska’s gaze, tried to show him she was serious without upsetting Naomi. “She needs to go to the ER now.”

Naomi shook her head. “We’ve got all of these volunteers here. I don’t have much time before the baby comes. Someone needs to start making the stew for—”

“These guys can order pizza if they have to.” Chaska fished out his keys, handed them to Winona, and scooped Naomi into his arms. “We’re taking you to the hospital. Nothing is more important than you and our baby.”

Kat ran down the steps of the mess hall toward them. “Is she in labor?”

Winona shook her head. “She got dizzy and sank to the ground. We’re taking her to the ER. Can you watch over everything until I get back?”

“Of course.” Kat waved her away. “Go.”

Winona hurried to the SUV, unlocked the doors, and stood back while Chaska lifted Naomi into the front passenger seat. “Do you want me to drive?”

“I’m fine.” He helped Naomi buckle her seatbelt.

Winona found the button that reclined Naomi’s seatback. “I think you should lie back and rest, okay?”

Naomi nodded, clearly anxious. “Thanks, Win.”

Winona smiled, doing her best not to let her fear show. “What are sisters for?”

She got into the back seat and saw Grandpa hurrying toward them. “Hang on, Chaska. Grandpa’s coming, too.”

Grandpa climbed into the back seat. “Hoka hey! Let’s roll.”

They kept the conversation light on the drive down to Scarlet, talking about the morning’s progress and how kind and helpful the volunteers had been. But Winona couldn’t shake her fears.

Naomi had been under so much stress since the fire. First, she’d believed for a few hellish hours that her husband, her grandfather, and people who had depended on her had burned to death. Then she’d had to face rebuilding the camp. That much stress would be hard for anyone, but for a woman in her third trimester…

Winona wasn’t an obstetrician, but she was medically trained and had cared for lots of pregnant animals. Stress put both mother and baby at risk, no matter the species.

“That Jason Chiago—he knows how to use a hammer,” Grandpa said. “He worked construction in college.”

Chaska met Grandpa’s gaze in his rearview mirror. “You did some construction work back in the day, didn’t you, Old Man?”

“That was a long time ago. In those days, living was hard. You had to build and repair your own house if you didn’t want to freeze to death.”

Not that life on Pine Ridge was easy now.

The charred landscape gave way to green forest as they reached the edge of town. Chaska took the shortest route to Mountain Memorial Hospital, where he parked outside the emergency entrance.

Winona opened her door, climbed out. “I’ll go get a wheelchair.”

Naomi shook her head. “I can walk.”

“I’ve got you.” Chaska carried Naomi inside and hurried over to the