Wherever they were, at least they’d have shelter.
Dragan switched off the engine and lifted away his headphones. His breath whooshed out in a powerful exhalation. “You can see to your babies now,” he said. “Try to keep them quiet while I radio for help.”
The twins were wailing at the top of their lungs. Tessa flung off her belt and scrambled back to the rear seat. At the sight of their mother, their cries diminished to whimpers. Unbuckling their harnesses, she lifted them onto her lap and hugged them fiercely close. Holding them this way had been easy when they were tiny. Now that they were active toddlers it was different. Missy flung her little arms around Tessa’s neck, hanging on as if she never wanted to let go. Maddie was already struggling to get down and explore the plane.
Love burned through Tessa like the stab of a hot blade. Her little girls were her whole life. What would she have done if they’d come to harm?
From the cockpit she could hear Dragan on the radio, shouting through the static at somebody on the other end. The relief that had swept through her when the plane landed was congealing into cold rage. Dragan’s skill as a pilot may have just saved their lives. But it was his reckless, high-handed behavior that had created the danger in the first place. The crash landing could have killed them all—including her precious babies.
If he hadn’t shanghaied her onto his flight by interfering with her plane, she’d be well on her way to Anchorage now, looking forward to a good meal and a comfortable night’s rest before the trial. Instead, almost as if he’d planned it, she and her twins would be stuck with this domineering alpha male in the middle of nowhere, maybe for days, until help arrived.
So help her, when she got back to civilization, Dragan Markovic would pay for this. He thought he’d had trouble before the flight, but she was just getting started. She would show him what real trouble was.
Meanwhile, she and her little ones would be dependent on him for their survival. The only sensible course of action would be to rein in her anger and cooperate. But it wasn’t going to be easy—when she could barely look at him without wanting to slap his arrogant face.
* * *
The radio reception had faded into static. Frustrated, Dragan switched it off. With luck it was just the weather interfering with the signal. He would try again later. For now he could only hope that somebody on the other end had heard his shouted transmission, giving their location and their need for help. Cell phones, he already knew, were useless here.
At least the twins had stopped howling. He leaned around the pilot’s seat to see Tessa cradling them in her arms, looking as fiercely protective as a tigress. “Is everything all right back there?” he asked.
“So far.” Her cheerful reply sounded forced. “How did you fare with the radio?”
“The reception was bad, but I think I managed to send our position before it cut out. If we’re lucky we could be seeing a rescue plane in the next few hours. But don’t count on it. There’s a big storm moving in. We could be here until it blows over.”
She pressed her lips together, as if biting back a caustic reply. If she was furious, he couldn’t blame her. His actions had likely caused her to miss the trial opening and put all their lives in danger. At least she was making an effort to be civil.
“Another question,” she said. “How are we supposed to get from here to solid ground? Will we have to swim?”
“Tomorrow morning when the tide’s out we could walk. But don’t worry, there’s a faster way.”
Moving past her into the rear of the plane, he found and opened the yellow valise that held the plane’s emergency raft. Raising the cargo door and dropping the sea anchor, he gripped the tether line and tossed the raft down to the water. With a loud hiss it self-inflated, rocking on the slight swell next to the plane’s float. A chilly wind rippled the water.
“Ladies first,” he said. “Take the minimum you’ll need for now. I’ll get the heavy things later.”
Slinging her purse and the pink-quilted diaper bag over her shoulder, Tessa rose with the babies and stumbled her way to the cargo bay. “Hang on to the girls,” she said. “Once I’m in the raft, you can pass them down to me.”
Dragan hesitated. He hadn’t held a baby since he was a boy in Sarajevo. But this was no time for memories, especially those he wanted to forget. He reached toward her, hoping he could manage two squirming toddlers long enough to get them safely into the raft with their mother.
“Here.” Tessa stepped close to him, her arms loaded with wiggly little redheads. “Take them and hold on tight. They won’t bite you, but they might try to get loose. Whatever happens, you can’t let them fall.”
Dragan caught the flash of worry in her deep hazel eyes. She was trusting her precious children to his inexperienced hands. She had every reason to be nervous.
One baby would have been easy enough to hand off. Two babies were a different matter. Dragan worked an arm around Missy, trying to ignore the intimate contact as the back of his hand slid over Tessa’s warm breast. Missy wailed and seized her mother’s neck in a frantic clasp, refusing to let go.
Giving up for the moment, he tried Maddie. She went to him readily, but as he lifted her against his chest, the stink that rose to his nostrils was unmistakable. “Good Lord,” he muttered. “This one needs changing.”
“She’s a baby. Deal with it.” Tessa looked frayed. “Give her back. I’ve got a better idea. You’re taller than I am. You climb into the raft and I’ll pass the girls down to you, one at a time.”
“Good idea.” Dragan wondered why he hadn’t thought of it himself. Handing the reeking Maddie back to her mother, he took the purse and diaper bag, looped the handles over his shoulder and climbed down onto the float. The raft was a step below, secured to the plane by the tether.
From the door he could see Tessa buckling Missy into her safety seat. She managed to do it while balancing Maddie between her arm and her hip, a remarkable feat. Dropping the bags into the raft he kept his weight on the float and held up his arms for Maddie.
The transfer was going to be tricky. The raft wasn’t made for standing, and he couldn’t risk putting Maddie down there by herself. He would need to take both twins, sit on the float with them and shift from there into the raft.
Maddie came to him without a fuss. Bracing his senses against her rank aroma, he circled her with his left arm. By the time he had a firm grip on her Tessa had unbuckled Missy and was ready to hand her down. Dragan could see the worry in her eyes as she passed him her whimpering child. She was trusting him only because she had no other choice.
* * *
Tessa watched, holding her breath as Dragan, with one twin under each arm, managed to maneuver from the float to the raft without a spill. Now she stood alone in the plane, looking down at them from the cargo door. Clouds were drifting across the inlet, graying the afternoon sunlight. The wind was getting stronger and colder.
Dragan placed the babies next to him and covered them with his leather jacket. When Maddie tried to crawl away he pulled her back and held her by her pink coverall straps. “Give me your shoes, Tessa,” he said. “You’ll have better footing without them.”
She stepped out of her low-heeled tan pumps and tossed them one at a time. He caught
