Page 11 (1/2)
Bo let his return s that sir sound like a put-down"
"Hey, at least I don’t have to worry about you sniffing afterher out with some advice on university courses"
"Just so it stays that way"
"Yeah, yeah, we all hear you loud and clear around the squadron No crewdogs for your baby girl"
They shared a laugh at the fa
Sure, he didn’t have any answers But at least he noasn’t a nutcase for wanting to fix things that weren’t his concern But hadn’t he already ress? He’d taken care of her pilot probleer encounter at the air show That should have brought satisfaction, resolution
It didn’t
Tag’s words shuffled around in Bo’s head aboutfor ways to act There were still problems She needed nize that, and he liked to think he was at least slightly above idiot level Logic told hi coo
She needed relief from that pain
He couldn’t erase the heartbreak her scu wohter, it was Paige Haugen So he would play it laid-back, tease a shten her load until he pinpointed the rest of the probleht He’d come up with a solid transitional plan
Not a convenient excuse to play with a flahter
Sipping flae stared out at the Cessna wing slicing low-lying clouds in asky while Bo piloted beside her Okay, so she was actually checking out his reflection in the ith her new glasses, but hey, she was being covert and cool about it His left hand on the yoke, his right, rested on the throttle
The steering yoke in front of her mirrored his movements until it soht she’d never entertained when Seth flew--or that awful substitute pilot who’d pitched an unholy fit over being given the heave-ho
Radio chatter echoed froh they could talk across the console over the low drone of the engine Thethe dials, controls and clouds His self-assurance inspired confidence that she could drink her coffee without fear of scalding
Chicory-scented steaht Sunday at the old frames down and off, a lasses she’d bought in defiance right after she arrived in Minot The glasses would offer a constant reht on by this e of her T-shirt, she swiped washed-soft cotton along the condensation Coffee, a good night’s sleep and a new clear vision of the world-- her raw stoh her with a much-needed boost The weekend attraction le of awareness prickled to life, and she paused cleaning her lenses Her gaze skated left andyep Bo atching her Actually, he atching her clean her glasses, which hitched her T-shirt up to bare a band of skin
She dropped her shirt and jalasses back on her face Coffee Now
Ahhh She gripped theher head in the clouds Jeez He was just amelodrama moment from Friday and Saturday must be just that
Melodrama, not reality She’d been a victiht on fro the base There could be no other explanation for why sitting in a stinky dog kennel with a e checked her watch again Four minutes since takeoff Chuck Anderson’s far the travel tiht rather than contending with slow- bumpy and narrow roadways And every minute counted for the horse hit by a car Luckily she was qualified to take this call since her brother was already outBo’s legs flexed inside snug jeans as his tennis-shoe-clad feet rested on the rudder pedals How coht confines inside this plane before? She could smell the leather of his brown aviator jacket ith jeans and a white T-shirt, transforht out of Top Gun
Of course, he was probably too young to remember that movie since he would have been about ten or eleven at the ti Bo pilot the plane through the low-lying clouds with such confidence, she began to question her guess on his age, even knowing his recent promotion to captain meant he was likely less than thirty
"How old are you?" The words tumbled out of her mouth ahead of rational restraint
"Twenty-seven" He cut a quick look her way, a telling glance with a slight sed there was really only one reason she would ask
"I’m thirty-three" Only a month away from thirty-four, actually, her conscience prodded her She tipped the travelfor another sip
"Guess that ue and throat with a choked gulp "I can’t believe you said that Are you always this--"
"Blunt?"
"Audacious"
"Audacious? Hell, no That’s a sissy word"