Fly Away, page 14
part #5 of Baxter Boys Series
A knock on her door had her hurrying to answer. “I’ve got it, Blanche,” she called to her housekeeper who was preparing dinner.
It was probably Eve at the door. She had called earlier and was going to swing by, dropping off Dusty’s purse which she’d left at Riley’s when she’d visited the new baby last evening with Roland.
She opened the door with a big smile, which froze in surprise. Tucker stood on the step.
“Don’t look so happy to see me.”
She laughed. “I’m sorry. I was expecting someone else. Come on in.”
“Roland?” Tucker asked. “Are you and he still fake seeing each other?”
“We’re actually ‘real’ seeing each other now,” Dusty said, closing the door behind him. “But he won’t get off work for another hour.”
“Big surprise.” Tucker gave her a grin, and she smiled back. Yeah, it wouldn’t be a big shock to him that Roland and she were together.
She’d never noticed the cleft in his chin. It was adorable. His blue eyes sparkled, and she realized with a start that Tucker would be considered handsome by most of the female population.
“I’m actually here because of you and him.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t he tell you about some woman named Abigail?” Tucker asked, his brows going up in surprise.
“No?”
Tucker pressed his lips together, but it was too late now.
“What about Abigail?”
“She’s the one that saw you guys kissing when I was here a few weeks ago. She turned Roland in, but she said she’d take it all back if he set up a date with me.” At that, Tucker laughed. Five minutes ago, Dusty would have laughed even harder, but Tucker, with his broad shoulders and strong jaw, was actually a good-looking guy. She had a bad first impression because of his dad.
“I think she found out our family has money somehow.” He shrugged.
Dusty wasn’t so sure. But she didn’t argue. Why wouldn’t Roland have told her about that? It wasn’t like they didn’t see each other almost every day. Maybe he just forgot. Although she had a hard time thinking that Roland would forget about something that probably jeopardized his whole career.
“So you agreed to a date to save Roland’s career?”
“No. Actually I agreed to a date to keep—” The doorbell rang.
“Oh, just a minute.” Dusty turned, calling, “I’ve got it, Blanche,” again, walked a few feet back, and opened the door.
Eve, having obviously come from her job at the diesel repair shop, since she had black grease on her face and up both arms, held Dusty’s purse out away from her greasy clothes with two fingers. Her teeth gleamed white in her face. “Sorry. I’ve got the hook, and I’m on the way to pick up a wreck...” Her voice trailed off.
Dusty looked back over her shoulder to see what had caught Eve’s eye.
Tucker stood with his mouth open. When he realized they were both looking at him, he threw his hand out and rushed forward, like he was going to introduce himself.
Unfortunately, he tripped over the potted plant on the floor, bumping the coffee table and knocking the lamp off. He leaped to grab the lamp, which he caught. But the tree fell in front of him, and he tripped over it, again. This time, he flew forward, facedown. The lamp flew out of his hand, the cord ripping from the wall. The lamp hit the side of the open door with a crash and shattered into a million pieces that fell to the floor with an elongated tinkling sound.
Silence descended on the house.
Blanche appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Is everyone okay?”
Dusty had thrown an arm up to shield her eyes, and as far as she could tell, she was okay. But a big streak of red was pouring out of Eve’s cheek, just below her eye.
“Oh, wow.” Dusty looked closer. “Don’t move, Eve. There’s still a piece of glass in your cheek.”
“I can feel it.” Eve closed her eye. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I don’t have time. I’m on my way to an accident, and I have to leave. Right now.”
“But there’s glass in your face.”
“It will have to wait.”
Dusty grabbed the purse Eve still held.
Eve gave a heroic attempt at a grin. “There will be medics on scene. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
She did not look at Tucker as he scrambled to his feet. She was already out the door and headed back down the sidewalk before he was up and had reached the doorway.
“I’m sorry,” he shouted after her. He turned to Dusty. “I should go after her.”
“No. She said she was on the way to an accident. Better let her go.” Dusty watched as she jogged to the big tow truck and climbed in, moving down the driveway almost immediately. She closed the door.
“I’m sorry.” Tucker looked around at all the colorful pieces of broken glass on the floor. “Where’s the broom? I’ll start cleaning it up.”
Chapter 19
Roland pulled into Dusty’s drive on the bike that had been sitting at Tough’s. He had not only bought it but gotten his motorcycle permit and been driving it back and forth to work, as well as taking it out for an hour or so in the mornings before work.
Dusty didn’t know about it, yet, since he always parked it and took his car to her house. He’d wanted to wait until he felt comfortable on it and like he could keep up with her if they went out together. He knew she’d be a better driver than he was, and he was okay with that, but he at least wanted to appear competent.
The bike was loud enough that she heard him, like he’d figured she would, and she was standing on the walk in front of her house as he came to a stop in her drive.
He lifted his helmet up, and her blue eyes just about popped out of her head. He had to smile. He’d wanted to surprise her. Mission accomplished.
“I am shocked.”
He grinned, bumping the kickstand down and dismounting. There was definitely a gleam in Dusty’s eye as she watched, and he made a mental note to himself to thank Tough. He’d do pretty much anything to have Dusty look at him like that.
She laughed and came running. He grabbed her up in a hug, spinning her around.
“I can’t believe you’re riding a Harley!” she gasped between laughs. “Is it yours? Did you buy it?”
Her excitement was contagious, and he couldn’t stop grinning as he answered. “Yep. It was sitting at Tough’s. Tough said I needed some excitement in my life. Or something like that.”
“Wow.” She strode over and walked around it. “Tough definitely knows what he’s talking about. This is about the best thing ever.” Her shining eyes lifted to his. “Is this your surprise?”
“Yep,” he said proudly. He felt pretty good about himself. This was definitely a great surprise.
Her smile got even bigger. “I’ll get mine out, and can we ride together to go to my surprise?”
He nodded, laughing. “Sure. We have to ‘go to’ your surprise?”
She got a little secret smile on her face and rubbed her hands together. “Yep. And my surprise is every bit as good as yours!”
“You definitely look excited about it.” Which made his heart beat faster.
She came around the bike and slipped back into his arms. “I love your bike. I love that you bought it because you know I love riding.” Her glowing face looked up into his. “I love you.”
His eyes flew open. His arms tightened around her. His heart scudded and skipped like crazy in his chest. He stared down at her big, deep blue eyes. Time seemed to stand still as his smile faded.
He reached up and brushed her hair with his hand. “I love you.” He swallowed. “It scares me how much.”
Her lips curved up again, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “This is where you kiss me.”
“This is where I confirm that I’m not your fake boyfriend anymore.”
“You’re my real boyfriend.”
He hesitated, but the words on the tip of his tongue wouldn’t be stilled. He had to make sure this was a long-term thing. “I want to marry you.”
The shock rolled through her body under his hands. She blinked, and his heart trembled. But then her lips curved up again. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
“No. I’m telling you what I want.” He begged her with his eyes to understand. “I want to make sure that you know this is not a passing thing for me. I’m not ever going to walk away from you.”
A shadow crossed her face, and he felt instant guilt for poking in her vulnerable spot, but he needed her to know how much she and what they had together meant to him.
“You know how hard it is for me to trust that anyone will stay.” She closed her eyes. “But I know you mean it. I know you’ll never walk away from me.”
“This is when I kiss you.” He lowered his head and kissed her cheeks and the tip of her cute, upturned nose before touching his lips to hers.
She clutched at his neck, and he held her tighter, lifting her up and swinging her around, their mouths and bodies both pressed together while the world spun.
He set her down and stepped back. “If we’re going to make it to see your surprise, we’d better go. Although if you want to show me some other time, I’d be more than happy to keep kissing you.”
Her mouth formed an “o.” “We’d better get going. Let me run in and get my leather jacket and put boots on. Come on. Blanche made a snack in case you were hungry.”
He followed her in, chatting and eating while she changed. Then he helped her get her Harley out of the garage.
His life up to that point felt dull and colorless. Riding down the drive, beside Dusty, with her slightly in the lead, gave him an amazing feeling that swelled almost to bursting in his chest. He could hardly stand how wonderful it felt to know that the amazing woman beside him loved him.
He admired her slender form in the black jacket and dark helmet, her hair all tucked up inside. “Keeps it from knotting up,” she’d said with a grin when he asked her why she didn’t let it out and down.
He needed to buy her a ring. Now that he knew exactly what he wanted and knew she’d take him, he wanted to put a ring on her finger right away. Be a family. Settle down. Be together, grow old together.
Once she showed him her surprise, he’d take her out to eat. They could hash out the details. Maybe he could push her for a fall wedding. A late summer wedding. They could elope this weekend. He grinned and almost missed her hand signal to turn right.
He stayed slightly behind her, allowing her to lead the way, still enmeshed in his daydreams of the happily ever after he was going to have. Maybe they could talk about whether he should step out and start his own business or talk to...
He came out of his daydream with a start when she signaled a left and took the road directly in front of the big Brickley Springs Regional Airport sign.
It had been years since Janice’s death on the runway, but he hadn’t been to an airport since, and as they drove their bikes along the fence which separated the road from the landing strip, his heart squeezed painfully before it tried to jump up into his throat.
He took a calming breath. There was a restaurant back here too. Or maybe she’d had something delivered to the airport.
Yeah, that must be it. She’d bought something and had it delivered to the airport; now they were picking it up. He forced his gasping lungs to calm down.
The sky that had been bright blue just moments ago darkened, and a chill breeze blew across the tarmac. He glanced at the sky. Thunderclouds billowed in black columns. After the heat of the day, a thunderstorm wasn’t unexpected, but the same dark clouds seemed to billow in his chest.
She parked her bike and hopped off, taking her helmet off and shaking her hair out. Her smile had only grown bigger and wider.
He forced his lips to turn up and tried to settle his stomach. She was picking something up. He didn’t need to even look at any of the five or so planes on the tarmac, let alone touch them or get in them.
“Are you okay?” Dusty asked, walking over and laying a hand on his shoulder.
He hooked his helmet over his bike. “Kinda looks like rain.”
“Yeah. These babies don’t like to get wet, but I’ll show you how to take care of them later tonight.” She waggled her brows at him. “But first, my surprise.”
She took his hand and dragged him through the airport doors. Since it was a small, regional airport, there were very few people milling around and even fewer TSA agents. He barely saw the polished floors and high windows. The doors she opened and the hall they walked down. But the choking feeling in his throat got thicker and heavier. He felt like he could smell smoke and the acrid, burning scent of raw fuel. Feel the heat as the flames shot up, and, worst of all, hear Janice’s screams as the flames licked at her...
He shook his head. They stood outside now, and Dusty shook him. “Are you okay?” she asked for a second time.
He nodded, his eyes on a man, tall, slightly stooped with steel gray hair, walking toward them.
“That’s Whiff,” she said to Roland.
She grinned as Whiff strode up and stopped with his hand out. Dusty shook it and then indicated Roland. “Whiff, this is Roland. Roland, this is Whiff, my flight instructor.”
Her bright eyes shone into his. This was her surprise and her excitement. This is what she’d wanted to tell him. To show him.
He tried to get his lips to function. But she was speaking again.
“I took lessons after I graduated from high school, but motocross took up all my time, and I quit. After you said to replace motocross with something else, this came immediately to my mind.” Her smile hadn’t slipped, but her brows drew together just a little, like she was concerned about him. Still, she continued, “Today is the first day that I get to take someone with me.” She squeezed his hand. “It means a lot to me, and I wanted you to be with me.” She tilted her head. Maybe at his lack of response. “I wanted to share this with you.”
“She’s ready,” Whiff said. “She’s got a steady hand on the controls and a cool head in the air.” He gave Dusty a look like a proud father might give his child. “I can tell she raced competitively. She’s got everything it takes to make an exceptional pilot.” He nodded, slapping his gloves against his pant leg. “I’ve seen men leave the Air Force with less control than she has.”
Dusty beamed. Part of Roland beamed with her. Her dad might not be here to share the moment, but Whiff was just as proud of his protégé.
A gust of wind blew, pushing into them and rattling a metal can down against the building. Whiff looked around at the sky. “I’d like to get in the air before those storm clouds come any closer. Or we won’t be flying tonight.”
Sudden realization made Roland stiffen then shake. He had to get in the plane.
He looked at Dusty. He didn’t want to disappoint her or let her down in any way, but... He turned to Whiff. “I need to talk to Dusty for one minute, please.”
“Sure. I’m going to go do a preflight.” Whiff turned.
Dusty nodded, her face drawn with concern. “If you’re not well, I understand. We can postpone it.”
Somewhere in his brain, he realized he had been considering making some excuse, trying to put her off, maybe just getting out of it for today. But Roland knew that was wrong. He needed to come clean.
Dusty needed to know the whole story about Janice.
He put his hands on her shoulders, squaring her to face him, then dropped them. He couldn’t touch her. “You know Janice died in an accident.”
Dusty nodded. Her brows remained knitted, but as he waited, he saw realization steal over her. “An airplane crash?” she whispered.
He nodded.
“When you said ‘crash,’ I assumed a car crash.”
“My fault. I avoid talking about it, and I only said what was necessary to you.”
“Okay.”
“I’m telling you everything now. She had her pilot’s license.”
“I thought she was going to be a doctor.”
“Yeah. She started taking lessons in high school and got enough hours in to get her license before we even started med school. She loved it.”
Dusty nodded. He was sure she could relate.
“I rode with her a lot but never caught the bug to pilot.” He hooked a hand around the back of his neck and rubbed, like that would help ease the tightness in his spine. “I don’t know what happened. It was right after taking off, the plane went up then came down. It burst into flames, from the fuel, I guess. I don’t know. You saw my scars.”
She nodded again, biting her lips and fingering her hair.
“The pain from the flames was beyond anything I’d ever felt before, but at least I could get out.” He swallowed. “She was wedged between the door and her seat, with the controls in her lap.” He took a breath. “Screaming. The fuel must have splashed up on her side somehow. I really don’t know. I didn’t take the time to examine the wreckage. But her seat was on fire. Her clothes. Flames all around. Smoke. And that awful smell.” He paused. “I was able to get her out.” He couldn’t go into the details even now. He’d been thankful for his pocketknife that day, but he’d never carried one since. He’d never live that nightmare again. “But not in time for her to be saved.”
A shudder ran through him. “I quit med school because the recovery was awful and I never wanted to be in a hospital again. My therapists were great, and I decided I’d rather help people that way.” He dropped his hand back down to his side. “I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier, but I hate reliving the memories.” He silently begged her to understand. “I never thought the topic would come up. But I haven’t been in a plane since.”
She stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around him. Relief flooded through him. She understood. She would quit flying. She’d find something else to replace motocross. They’d find something else to do together. Maybe mountain climbing wasn’t so bad after all.
He glanced over at Whiff. “Maybe you’d better tell him you changed your mind.”
Her jaw dropped, and he knew immediately he’d been wrong. She didn’t even have to open her mouth, but she did. “Maybe it’s time for you to face that fear.”
