by Cap Daniels
I was thankful for the sermon. “You’re starting to sound like a wise old man, Baby Face. Now let’s go to the Pancake Shack and get some real breakfast—none of that continental crap.”
We ate more than either of us should have. Conversation was meaningless, and it was nice to pretend, if only for an hour, we were regular guys having a regular breakfast before we headed off to our regular jobs. Of course, regular would never be a word that could describe men like Clark and me.
On our way back to the airport, I said, “You know, Skipper has a major crush on you.”
“No, it’s not a crush. It’s confusion. Come on, Chase, you’re a psych major. You’re supposed to know stuff like that. She’s been stuck in a world where men want one thing and one thing only from her. When a guy’s nice to her like I was, she doesn’t know what to do with that, so her body responds with affection, and her brain turns that into infatuation. I’m the first guy who’s been nice to her without trying to get her clothes off. Of course she’s going to like me. It won’t last long. She’s young. Her body and mind will heal in time, and she’ll figure out the world isn’t completely filled with assholes . . . like you.”
I slugged him. “Thanks for the psychology lesson, old man.”
When we pulled up to the hangar, I was surprised to see Skipper sitting on the ground outside the door. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her chin was resting on top of them. I shut down the van and ran and kneeled in front of her.
“Skipper, what are you doing here?”
She slapped my face. “You tried to do it again! You promised you’d stay, but you didn’t. You tried to disappear again. Why do you keep doing that?”
I took her hands and helped her to her feet. “Let’s go inside and talk.”
I unlocked the door and flipped on the lights. It took a few minutes for the mercury vapor bulbs to warm up and fill the hangar with yellow light. I led her to the couch and had her sit down.
“It’s difficult to explain, Skipper, but I don’t belong here anymore. I made a promise to your father that I’d find you and bring you home, and that’s what I did. When I watched you with your family, I knew I wasn’t part of that family anymore. I don’t belong there. I knew the longer I stayed, the harder it’d be to say goodbye, so I walked away. I thought it was the best thing for everyone.”
“Not for me, it’s not the best thing. I asked you to stay and you told me you would. I don’t belong here anymore either. I’m not the same. I don’t know what you’ve been through and what you’ve done, but I know how it feels to not belong. Like you, I’m not the person I was when I left here. I can’t do it. I can’t stay here. Take me with you. Please, take me to your boat and to wherever you live.”
I stopped her. “Listen to me, Skipper. Your parents love you, and to heal, they need you with them. They’ve been hurting for a long time, hoping you’d come home and praying you’d be safe. It’s been tough on them.”
“I know, but I’m not ready to be back in that house. I’m not ready to be that little girl again. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that. It’s not fair for them to ask that of me. And it’s not fair for you to ask me to do that either.”
I closed my eyes to gather my thoughts. What was I going to do? I couldn’t take a nineteen-year-old girl into my world. What would I do with her when I got my next mission? What would I tell Coach and Laura?
I opened my eyes, and for the first time, I saw Skipper as a woman rather than a girl. She was troubled and alone and damaged, just like me.
I took a deep breath. “Okay. We’ll go talk to your folks, and we’ll tell them—not ask them—that you’re coming with me for a little while. We’ll make them understand you’ll be perfectly safe and protected with me. We’ll make it clear to them that you need time to heal and return to life as it used to be.”
She smiled through her tears. “Thank you, Chase. You keep rescuing me, and someday I’ll do the same for you.”
Clark came through the door. “Hey, guys. I’m going to clean the plane up. She’s getting a little grungy. Where are you two headed?”
Skipper smiled at him coyly. “Oh, hey Clark. We’re headed to tell my parents that I’m going with Chase on his boat for a while. I’m not ready to be here yet. We’ll be back in a little while.”
Clark raised his eyebrows at me.
I spun the VW keys on my finger. “What can I do?”
* * *
We drove back to the house and pulled to a stop in the driveway.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I asked. “They’re not going to be happy, and this isn’t going to be easy on them.”
She exhaled and eyed the front door. “I know, but I can’t stay here. I’ll be safe with you, and they trust you.”
We walked up the stairs, and Laura was tense when she opened the door. “Skipper, where did you go? We’ve been worried sick. Get in here.”
Skipper set her jaw and gritted her teeth. I placed my hand on her back, encouraging her into the house.
Trying to defuse the already tense situation, I said, “Laura, Skipper’s fine. She’s been with me. Can we have a little talk? Is Coach here?”
Coach Woodley came through the French doors of his study and into the living room. I’d spent years in that house, and it almost felt like my own home.
Coach glared at Skipper. “There you are. You had us worried sick. You cannot be disappearing like that.”
“Yes, I can, Daddy. I can go anywhere I want, whenever I want. I’m not a little kid anymore, and you can’t expect me to pretend like nothing happened and that everything’s okay. Nothing’s okay. Tell them, Chase.”
All eyes were on me.
“Okay, I think we should all take a breath,” I said. “There’s a lot of emotions flaring right now, and tensions are high. This is overwhelming for everyone.”
“Look, Chase,” Coach Woodley said, “don’t come into my house and think you’re going to lecture us about how to raise our daughter—”
I stopped him right there. “I’m not lecturing you, Coach, but you’re not raising your daughter anymore. She’s a grown woman now, and she’s been through more than any of us can imagine. She’s not ready to be your little girl again yet. She needs some time to adjust and heal.”
Laura broke down in tears. “We can’t lose you again, sweetie. You’re our whole world.”
Skipper took her mother’s hands. “I know, Mom, and you and Daddy mean the world to me, too, but it’s all too much right now. I can’t tell you what I’ve been through yet. I’m not ready. It’s going to take me some time.”
I was proud of her. She was staying calm and standing her ground. The little girl we’d all known and loved was becoming a woman, but it wasn’t easy for her parents to watch.
“Your daughter’s safe now, and she’s going to stay that way. She’s going to come with me for a while and spend some time on the boat. I’ll make sure she has a safe, comfortable place to live while she’s putting the pieces back together. I wasn’t just a ballplayer, Coach. I was a psychology major, too. I can help her work out what’s going on in her head, and she—”
Coach stood and pointed his finger at me. “If you let anything happen to our little girl, so help me, Chase . . .”
I stood and pushed his finger back down to his side. “Coach, don’t threaten me. You have no idea what I did to get your daughter back, and more than that, the woman I love gave her life saving your daughter. So you don’t get to point your finger at me and make threats.”
His eyes went wide and Laura stood with her mouth agape. She said, “No, Chase! Not Ana!”
“Her name was Anya. And she used to be a Russian intelligence officer. She was defecting to America, and she saved your daughter’s life . . . and took a bullet in the back doing it.”
“I’m so sorry, Chase,” Laura said. “I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
Coach rubbed the back of his neck. “Chase, I . . . I don’t know what to say. I’m sorr
y. I . . .”
“As I said, Coach, emotions are high all around. Skipper needs to decompress, and I don’t think I should be alone. She’ll be safe with me on the boat. I have plenty of room, and it’ll be good for both of us.”
Coach and Laura pulled their daughter in for a hug, and Skipper took my hand, pulling me into the circle.
“I’m going to pack a few things, okay?” Skipper climbed the stairs toward her old room.
“Tell us what happened down there, Chase,” Coach said.
“I can’t tell you everything, but what you need to know is that those so-called friendships she left here with didn’t last long, and Skipper wound up in the hands of some pretty nasty people. I made sure many of them paid dearly for what they did to her, and they’ll never hurt anyone again. Your daughter’s safe now, and she’s going to be fine. It’s just going to take a little time.”
“Thank you, Chase. We’ll never be able to repay you.”
“It’s family, Coach.”
Skipper rushed down the stairs with a bag thrown over her shoulder.
“Give us some time,” I said. “The two of you will have to come spend a few days on the boat with us.”
“You tell us when you’re ready, sweetheart,” Laura said to Skipper.
“I love you, Mom and Daddy. I’m going to be okay. I’ll be with Chase. Just give me a little time, okay?”
18
My Hero
“Thank you. You were amazing back there,” Skipper said when we pulled out of the driveway.
“No, you were the amazing one. I lost my temper, and I don’t like doing that. You kept your head and never got heated. I was impressed . . . and proud of you.”
“Well, whatever. Thanks anyway. You’re my hero.”
“I’m no hero,” I said. “I’m just glad I found you. I’ve really missed you. We had a lot of fun together over the years.”
“Yeah, we sure did. I’m really glad you found me, too.”
We pulled up to the hangar, and Clark had the King Air sitting on the tarmac with the fuel truck alongside. I parked the car where Dr. Richter had always parked in the hangar.
“I told the gas guy you’d pay for the fuel,” said Clark when we walked up to the plane.
“Of course you did.” I handed the fuel man my credit card.
“I’ll have to take it back up to the office to run the card. I’ll bring it right back, okay?” he said.
Skipper tossed her bag into the airplane. “I need to go the restroom before we leave. Is it okay if I ride up there with the gas guy, and I’ll bring your card back?”
“You don’t have to ask permission to do stuff, Skipper. Just do it,” I said.
She laughed and jumped in the front seat of the fuel truck.
“So, how’d it go with the parents this time?” Clark asked.
“About like I expected. They weren’t particularly happy, but I think they understood. I think it’ll be good for both Skipper and me to have a little time on the boat to decompress. She’ll have some tough days ahead getting over all she’s been through, and I don’t expect it to be a cakewalk for me, either.”
“I think you may be right,” he said. “Now let’s taxi up there and get her so she doesn’t have to walk all the way back.”
We climbed aboard and Clark pulled the door closed behind us. He plopped down in the first seat inside the cabin door. “You can fly this leg,” he said. “I think I’ll sit back here and enjoy doing nothing for a change.”
I squirmed my six-foot-four-inch frame into the cockpit and adjusted the seat. I went through the startup procedure and watched the temperatures come up on both engines. With all the required checks done, I added enough power to get the big plane rolling, and then pulled the throttles back to idle. Approaching the terminal, I shut down the number one engine and feathered the prop so Skipper could climb aboard without getting blown around by the wind from the propeller and exhaust. Clark opened the door, and she skipped up the stairs into the cabin.
“I brought you a bottle of water,” she said, handing one to Clark.
“Thank you. You can ride up front with Chase if you want. I’m gonna sit back and relax. Besides, he’ll probably need your help. He’s not as good at landing as you are.”
She joined me in the cockpit and slid her headset on like an old pro. “So, you’re a pilot, too?”
I fired up the number one engine as soon as I saw Clark close and lock the rear door. “Yes, I’m also a pilot.”
She put on that crooked grin of hers. “You really are James Bond, and you really are my hero.”
I made the radio calls and got taxi instructions to the runway. Shortly thereafter, we were cleared for takeoff and climbing to seventeen thousand five hundred feet for the short two hundred mile hop to Jekyll Island. I let Skipper do most of the flying with only a little help from me. I showed her how to use the autopilot, but she preferred flying by hand. Soon, the Atlantic Ocean came into view, and we could see the barrier islands off the coast. I showed her how to zoom in on the GPS screen and how to pick out airports on the ground. We pulled the power back and started our descent into Jekyll Island.
She screamed into the headset, “I see it! I see it! There’s the airport!”
“You don’t have to yell,” I said. “I can hear you fine.”
“I’m sorry. I got excited.”
We set the power, flaps, and props for the approach and set up for runway one-eight. I made the radio calls and Skipper flew the airplane—with my assistance. When we were about five miles out, I said, “Gear down,” and she reached for the landing gear lever. The three red lights came on, indicating the landing gear was in transit to the down position.
When the three lights turned green, she said, “Gear down and locked. Three green no red,” just as Clark had taught her on the flight from Key Largo.
She positioned herself in the seat so she could clearly see the runway, and then placed one hand on the yoke and the other on the two throttle levers. She let us get a little too low and slow at one point, so I nudged the throttles up a hair and slightly pushed the nose over to get our airspeed back up.
“We’re a little low and slow,” I told her.
“If we’re low, why did you push the yoke forward?”
“The yoke doesn’t control our altitude—it controls our airspeed. The throttles control the altitude. It’s a little complicated, but I’ll show you next time we go flying.”
It was obvious she wasn’t grasping the concept, but she watched our speed increase and our descent rate decrease after the adjustments I’d made. We touched down a little harder than I liked, but we rolled out nicely without a bounce. All in all, it was a good landing.
Clark stuck his head in the cockpit. “That was Chase’s landing, wasn’t it? I told you he was going to need your help.”
I shoved him back into the cabin. “If I can get rid of the bad habits you taught her yesterday, I think I can teach her to fly.”
“Ha!” he said. “Elizabeth, you come spend a month with me, and I’ll have you flying like an ace.”
She twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “All you have to do is tell me when and where.”
“He’s thirty-four,” I reminded her . . . again.
“We’ve been through this. He may be thirty-four, but he looks twenty-four, and he’s so cute.”
We went through the shutdown procedure together and soon had everything turned off and secured. By the time Skipper and I left the cockpit, Clark had our bags out of the plane and was tying the propellers. We locked the airplane and decided it would be a nice day for a walk rather than borrowing a golf cart or having someone from the Jekyll Island Club pick us up.
* * *
The island is beautiful every day of the year, but springtime on Jekyll Island is magnificent. Perhaps it wasn’t the beauty of the island that brought me such peace. Perhaps it was the contrast to the concrete jungle where I’d hunted and killed, and where I’d watched the woman
I loved give her life trying to save someone she’d never met. Perhaps I so hated the high-rise condos and filthy industry that had imprisoned Skipper that I would find any place beautiful and pure compared to that hell.
Skipper yanked me from my self-pity when she danced around, then took my hands in hers and skipped backward as we walked the tree-lined lane leading away from the airport.
“Hey, Chase. Thank you,” she said.
“Thank me for what?”
“For letting me fly. And for bringing me here. And most of all, for coming back. I cried for a whole year after you left. Every night, I cried. I missed you so much.”
Sincerity from a nineteen-year-old? Amazing.
“You’re welcome.”
She let go of my hands and grabbed Clark’s. “And thank you, Clark, for helping Chase find me. You guys . . . and Anya . . . saved my life.”
Hearing Anya’s name felt like a stake being driven through my heart.
“You know, Chase tried to kick me off the team, but when I saw your picture, no way was I going pass up saving someone as cute as you.”
She giggled and kissed him on the cheek. “Hey, where are we going?”
“I need to talk to the manager at the club and let him know I’ve come back for my boat. Also, I thought we might grab some lunch while we’re there. They have an incredible dining room.”
“When do we get to see your boat?” she asked.
“Right after lunch.”
Jack Ford, the club manager, wasn’t on the grounds, but he’d left explicit instructions to call him immediately when I or my representative showed up to get the boat.
I told the desk clerk I had Jack’s number and I’d call him myself. That satisfied her, and like Skipper, she seemed to be drawn to Clark.
What is it about this guy that makes women melt at his feet?
I dialed Jack’s number and listened to three rings before he picked up.
