And Colton wasn’t far behind. Everything around them was a shade of Colton’s favorite color. The smattering of white now and then, the sun rising in the sky, the ocean stretched out on one side, and the beautiful South Brazil coast on the other, everything filled him. But more than that, he liked the smell.
“I love the way these planes smell,” Ivy said.
His mouth dropped open, but he didn’t tell her she’d just said his exact thoughts.
“Okay, Tenderfoot. Show me what you can do.” He grinned behind his mask, intuitively sensing she wouldn’t like that challenge. Ivy had a daring edge, a competitive glint that Colton could not resist, but she was governed by the strongest sense of dedication to structure and governance he’d ever seen. It was like the woman raged inside a spreadsheet. And right now, she was probably up there biting her delectable lower lip, trying to figure out just how much to show off and still follow all the rules.
He waited, grinning.
“I can see your smile, you know.”
He laughed. “No, you can’t.” His mask covered half his face.
“It’s beaming out of your eyes. I don’t know why taunting me is so enjoyable for you . . . but hold on.” She pulled back so fast he felt like his whole body was thrown to the back of itself against the seat behind him. The Gs hammered against him, and his skin felt like it might stretch and sag when they were done.
They rode straight up until even Colton wondered if he should say something. Then she shifted again and let them free fall, the tail dropping, the nose twisting, the plane picking up speed from gravity alone. His stomach dropped to his toes. “Wuh!” No time for laughs, he watched their readings.
When she engaged the throttle again, they shot forward, and the momentum felt comforting. She tore across the horizon, finding her way out to the ocean.
They went through all the basic training exercises, and Ivy performed them all with precision.
“Well done, Tenderfoot. It’s time to bring her home.”
Her soft sigh found a way to his heart where it caressed him for a moment. “It’s hard to land.”
She turned the craft. “Even though I know I’ll go up again, at least I hope so, I’m always sad to quit.”
They began to lower in altitude.
“I like the way it smells too.”
She lowered the plane the rest of the way in silence. She was probably mourning the end of the flight, and he was mourning seeing this side of her.
“You’re an excellent pilot. I would fly with you any time.”
“Thank you.”
“But next time we’re trading places.”
She didn’t answer, and he couldn’t even begin to guess what she thought about him taking the controls next time. She probably didn’t trust him. Then he realized part of her problem with him was trust. In everything. She didn’t trust him because he moved outside of her expected boxes.
When they walked in together, Ivy picked up her pace.
“What?”
“We left Omar to handle orientation all by himself.” She glanced back over her shoulder like he was a dufus for not remembering.
“I think he can handle it.” Colton checked his watch. “It’s only been going for twenty minutes. They’re in the middle of the welcome video. Or they should be. Watching Ace’s face is always so motivating.”
Ivy smiled and then fell back into pace beside him. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I just . . . I would normally have been here early, have greeted all the pilots. I know their names.” Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged. “You do things differently than I do.”
“But maybe different isn’t always so bad?”
“Maybe.” The gaze she flicked in his direction was unsure.
“I would never begrudge time spent up in the air, especially not in exchange for twenty minutes early for class . . . Ivy, these pilots are going to be with us for months.”
Her conflicted expression pinged at his heart. She was correct, as well. He knew it. They gave a much more favorable impression if they were on time, all standing together as a team. It just didn’t seem like a good enough trade-off to miss that time with Ivy up in the air. The look she’d given him, filled with yearning . . . he couldn’t resist. He knew he couldn’t. So he’d given in.
If only one day, such a look could be directed at him.
He cleared his throat. Ivy watched him too closely. Could she read his mind? They approached a door, and he placed his hand on the knob. “Like I said, I have to submit quality ratings of your flying. That flight was work too.”
She frowned.
“Hey now, what’s this?”
“That’s all it was to you? Work?” She looked away.
“What do you want from me? Work or play? Because I can usually do both just fine. But you’re messing with my usual.”
She stepped closer, and he waited. Her eyes were open, expectant. Was she going to touch him, fall into his arms? Apologize? Agree? Disagree?
“Well? Are you gonna go in?” She reached around him and turned his hand on the knob. The door opened, and Omar waved. “We just finished the video. Excellent timing.”
Colton stood taller and clipped to the front of the room. “Very good.”
They stayed in the classroom all day. The new pilots seemed knowledgeable, and that always helped. Their own country had already trained them well.
Toward the end of the day, they were about to release the pilots. Colton stood at the front of the room again. “Tomorrow, we are going to start taking you up a few at a time for in-flight training. You will learn from Top Flight how to fly with precision.” He grinned. “And, we pride ourselves in helping you see how some maneuvers can be utilized in unconventional ways.”
“While still following the book,” Ivy piped in from the back.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Ivy Hatfield, our book follower.”
They laughed, and Ivy frowned.
“Obviously, I’ll be the one instructing you on when to toss the book out the window—”
“Surely, we never train them to toss it out. I understand a need to take some risks sometimes, to prevent death, but it’s not as though we are recommending a total disregard to the general and internationally accepted rules of safety in these planes.” Ivy obviously tried not to frown, but it wasn’t working well for her, eyebrows coming together and all.
“We are saying precisely that sometimes the rules must be broken to save lives.” He laughed, trying to keep the tone light. “And to have a little fun.” He switched off the screen monitor. “You are dismissed. We will see you bright and early at 0800.”
Everyone filed out, and when they were gone, Colton called out, “Omar, could you close the door?”
While he waited, he tried to formulate a congenial response. He locked his fingers behind his back in a semi-relaxed stance, but inside he was tense, every string in his body taut.
Omar got the conversation started for him. “You can’t be at odds with each other.” He crossed his arms. “Well, you can. You can do whatever you want outside of this room. But that little sparring match, that was unprofessional. And you lost the respect of everyone in the room, one way or another.”
Ivy’s face paled. “But we can’t be encouraging pilots to break the rules. They’re new. They’re green. Their country won’t thank us.”
“They will thank us, Ivy. You aren’t on the board. You didn’t write the mission statement of Top Flight, and you don’t know as much as you think you do. Ace, Bear, Mustang, and I hire specific trainers, like you and Omar, pilots who know that sometimes the safest way to fly a plane is to break a few rules.” He stared into her face.
“I can see that. I know intuitively there are moments when you do what you have to do, but how many moments of those actually exist in real life? Isn’t it better to just fly by the rules?”
He stared at her for long enough that she turned away. “I already know your answer to that question. Look.” She gathered her things.
“It’s one thing for you to fly the way you do. You’re dangerous, and I can’t do anything about that. But if you encourage other pilots to do the same, now you’re risking lives. More lives.” She shook her head. “And I’m not comfortable with that.”
She made to step away, but Omar held out his hand, resting it on her arm. “Ivy.”
She shook her head and stepped out of the room.
Omar turned back to him. “You should tell her.”
“About what?”
“About Afghanistan.”
“I don’t think it will do any good.” He slumped down in a chair. “I’d hate to lose Ivy. But I don’t know what else to do to show her that good flying is good flying and sometimes just being in control of your plane is the safest way to be, rules or no rules.”
“I think she knows. She’s just not looking at it that way.”
“You should have seen her up there just now. We did a massive free fall for hundreds of feet, then she pulled up and out of it like it was nothing.”
“See, she understands.”
Colton wasn’t so sure. “Well, she can’t contradict me in front of the class.”
“That’s between the two of you to figure out. You can’t make fun of her in front of the class either. We didn’t do Top Flight any favors just now. That’s all I’m saying. I can’t believe I’m saying this stuff. Me.”
“You old hothead.” Colton made his way to the door. Ivy was waiting outside. “Thanks, Omar. Maybe Ivy and I can have a minute.”
“I think I’d rather have Omar here.”
“Fine.” Colton’s frustration grew. He returned to his seat. When Ivy didn’t sit as well, he stood. “Should we sit or stand?”
“I’m standing.” Her stance was tight and filled with tension.
“Tenderfoot. You interrupted me and contradicted what I said to our students.” He waited for her to say something, and when she didn’t, he continued. “If you have a problem with something I say, I need you to express it after class when there are no other pilots around to hear you.”
“Then those pilots will be left with a misrepresentation of how they should govern themselves.”
“I’m going to say this again. I don’t know how many more times I’ll have to say it, but I hope this will be the last. You’re not on the board. We’ve already made decisions about what kinds of things to teach the pilots. I’m in line with the mission of Top Flight, which by the way, I helped create. And you are out of line.”
“But if you continue teaching the way that you do, you’ll be filling the world with more pilots who fly like you do.”
“And that would be the purpose.”
“I have a problem with that.”
“Your problem has been noted. A few times now, in fact. It is painfully clear to all of us just what you think of my flying.”
“I don’t think making light of my addition to the conversation solved anything.”
He considered her. “I had two choices: make light, or treat your outbursts as an infraction. Either way, the goal was to discredit you.”
She huffed. He could imagine the old cartoon steam coming out of her ears. But she didn’t say anything else, which he found interesting.
“Are we finished here?” He made his way back over to the door.
“I have nothing else to say to you that has not already been said.”
“Great. Let’s go back to Fatima’s then.”
Omar walked between them, and for once, Colton was grateful for his relative calm. How odd that Omar would be the most levelheaded of the three.
Chapter 10
Colton didn’t even look surprised when Ivy showed up the next morning with her letter of resignation in her hand.
He took it from her, glanced it over, and handed it back.
“That’s it?”
“That’s what?”
“You’re gonna let me fly out of here without another word?”
“I don’t imagine you’ll be flying out of here any time soon.”
“I just gave you my resignation.”
“That’s what I assumed it was. But you also signed a contract. For six months. So, if you want to resign from Top Flight, that’s your decision, but if you break your contract for this job, you might have a hard time finding work anywhere else.”
“Would you blacklist me?”
“Of course not. But I’m not going to recommend you either, not when you would step away in the middle of a job.” His eyes told her he was serious. She couldn’t tell if any of this was personal to him. He’d created such a blank mask over his face that she didn’t know what he was thinking. But what he said was fair.
“You’re right. I’d like to finish this job, of course. I just wasn’t sure if you wanted me to.” She hated the vulnerability of her comment, but there it was. She was equally irritated with his methods and embarrassed she had interfered, and she wanted to give him an out if he’d prefer she just leave. In truth, she half-hoped he would give her some kind of reaction, some indication that he wanted her to stay.
“I’ll be up in the plane all day today,” he assured her. “You and Omar will be working together on most of the classroom instruction. I don’t imagine you’ll see much of me at all.”
She told herself that was a good thing. Then she nodded. “Very well.”
The pilots started filing into the room, and she was kept busy with them and Omar for the rest of the day.
After training, they piled back into the truck, Omar and Colton laughing about some of the stunts the other pilots had tried to pull in the air. Ivy just looked out the window, quiet. How had she let things get like this?
Colton applied the brake. “What’s this?”
A woman with a basket of fruit sat in the dirt on the side of the road. A few children ran around behind her, playing in the tall grass. Before Ivy could even hop out herself, Colton had lifted the woman from the dirt, and she and the children were climbing into the cab. Colton hefted her basket and placed it in the back.
Three squiggly little boys squirmed and scurried into the cab next to her. But when they saw her, they became very still and solemn.
“Hello.”
Their eyes widened.
“Oi?”
They just continued to stare.
Colton jumped back in the front seat. “Where can I take you?” When the woman didn’t answer, he said, “A onde?”
The stream of Portuguese she responded with didn’t help Ivy understand anything more.
But Colton seemed to grasp something of what she was saying. He turned in his seat and showed her his phone map and his translator, and pretty soon they were on their way to the woman’s destination, wherever that might be.
He kept up a friendly chatter with her the whole way, which ended up being a significant distance. Would this woman have walked all that way on foot if not for their help?
They turned up a street that led straight up a hill. Soon, they had attracted an audience. People followed the car all the way up the hill along the narrow road between rows of houses. A crowd was growing, getting larger while they went.
“Aqui.” The woman pointed. The car slowed in front of a home with a gate. Her boys were scrambling to climb out. They’d already spotted some of the children they knew, apparently. She stepped out so that they could leave.
Colton moved to the back of the truck and lifted her basket and then followed her to the gate.
She rattled it and put in a key, opening it to a tiled-in area on the inside. The house sat on the top of the hill, and as Ivy compared all the other houses, this one was clearly the most well-kept and it was in a prime location. Why was she stuck on the side of the road with her children so far from home?
But as soon as she walked in the door, a shrill voice came from inside, and what sounded like a harsh scolding gave Ivy the answer. A woman stepped out, dressed in fine clothes, calling to the children to get inside. Her face was pointed, her features harsh. But when she saw Colto
n and Omar, everything relaxed, the lines disappeared, and she smiled. “Welcome to my home. Thank you for bringing home my nanny and my boys.”
“You’re welcome. They were stranded. I don’t know what they would have done if I hadn’t happened along.”
She clucked. “Angelica is dramatic. She would have been just fine. Buses run along that line all day.”
“We were happy to bring her home. I hope that she will be treated well.” Colton stepped closer. “I’ll check in on her tomorrow. I know others who would like a nanny as good as she is.”
Ivy stepped closer. What was Colton doing?
“Oh, we are good to her. We love our Angelica, ask my boys. They can’t live without her.”
“I’m happy to hear it.” Colton nodded. Then he waved up the stairs at the woman herself and her boys. “Ate logo!”
She waved in response and then scurried away with the boys in tow.
When they climbed back into the car, Omar grunted. “Do you think she’s gonna be good to her?”
“No, but once I send a guy by for a few days running, I bet she’ll change her tune.”
“You would do that?” Ivy couldn’t wrap her head around this other side of Colton. It just didn’t seem to mesh with the reckless, careless sort of man she thought him to be.
“Of course.” He didn’t turn to her. His attention seemed to have been distracted by something across the way. “Is that what I think it is, Omar?”
She and Omar followed his gaze.
A group of guys playing soccer in an open area of dirt was not usually something to draw much attention, but Colton closed the door. “Let’s go check this out, shall we?” He pocketed the car keys and started walking in that direction.
Omar jogged after him, and so Ivy was left to herself, her feet dragging slower the closer she came. It wasn’t as if she didn’t like soccer—or football, as they called it. She just couldn’t figure out Colton. And one thing had begun to tug at her conscience. He obviously had a good heart. What if all her judgments of him had been misplaced? Or at least some of it. Today he had seemed less reckless and more careful. Could a person deliberately choose to set aside the rules? Why would someone do that?
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