Flyboy

by Sophia Summers

  Tiago approached. “I’m going to wash down the deck.” He indicated where Ivy had gone. “You going swimming?”

  “I think so. Snorkeling.”

  “Here? Nao, nao, Amigo. Wait for ten minutes. I’ll take you to the wreckage near a reef. She will like that much better. Colorful fish. The mystery of buried treasure . . .”

  “What? That’s awesome.” Ivy poked her head back out, and Colton had to force himself to swallow. His mouth had just become the desert. He couldn’t even answer her question. He cleared his throat. But nothing was going to work.

  Ivy looked from Colton to Tiago, who finally answered for him, chuckling to himself. He explained more about his idea and where they should snorkel. While Colton watched, trying to get a grip with his realization that not only was Ivy attractive, impressive, fun, secretly daring, and full of courage, but she was smoking hot, and right now, he wasn’t sure what to do about it.

  She wore a black swimsuit, probably covering more of her than most girls covered in their small bikinis, but the effect was twice as sexy on her than he would have ever thought. She was stunning in every way. He struggled to keep his thoughts respectful enough so she could hear them. But he suspected she might not love his immediately masculine response to seeing her. The fact that he was already half in love and had such huge respect only added to the attraction.

  “Does that sound like fun?” Ivy turned the full force of her smile on him, and all train of thought left.

  “What?”

  She looked at him twice before turning back to Tiago.

  “I’m just gonna go change.”

  She waved her fingers at him, and he stepped through the door she’d just left.

  “Get a grip on yourself, man.” He hurried to his bag, grabbed a different pair of swim shorts, went to the back bedroom, and slipped them on.

  Tiago tied the sails and used the motor to take them to the reef. “If you look straight down here, you will see the wreckage at the end of this reef. I’ll drop anchor right here where it’s shallow.”

  Ivy was the first to jump in the water. Colton had to hurry to keep up with her. He got the impression he would always be doing some hurrying to catch up with Ivy.

  She swam flat on the water, her fins flipping, and her arms stretched out along her body at her sides.

  Colton searched the water around her. Was he looking for sharks? Did the huge fish get him all freaked out too? He shook his head, reminding himself who was the reckless one and who the careful one. Since when did he get all worked up about possible danger?

  He knew the answer. He knew what no one else did. But now wasn’t the time to think about it.

  Then Ivy dove. And Colton’s breathing picked up. He jerked on the last flipper, yanked the mask down over his nose and eyes, and slid into the water. Immediately, he looked ahead, searching the murky water for Ivy.

  An old ship down below loomed up from the depths like something out of a horror film. And at first, he couldn’t see Ivy anywhere. His eyes flit about the whole area of the ocean below. She couldn’t be that deep. No one had that much air. He saw a shadow below in the wreckage. A long, sinister-looking fish-like creature. His breathing picked up, and he squinted, hoping to see more clearly.

  Then Ivy swam up to his side and tapped his shoulder.

  He shouted in surprise inside his snorkel. Could she hear that? His heart pounded wildly. Trying to recover, he knew he was being ridiculous. What was the matter with him? He tried to make his eyes smile but wondered if instead of happy, he looked deranged. She gave him a thumbs-up and waved that he should follow her.

  Her breath to prepare to go down seemed extra big, so he did the same. Then he submerged after and followed her flippers down toward the wreckage. He felt a bit calmer seeing Ivy right in front of him, and his curiosity took over. She hurried to the tallest mast, held on to the old and decaying wood, and pointed.

  The boat was mostly intact. And on the opposite side, a huge turtle hovered in the water. It turned its head, stared at them for a moment, and then slowly kicked away. Ivy’s hand on his arm squeezed. Then she pointed back up to the surface.

  Once they were at the surface together, she treaded water and took the snorkel out of her mouth. “That was incredible. How old do you think that turtle was?”

  “I don’t know. At least one hundred years. They live a long time.”

  He pointed to the boat. “So, should we call it a day?”

  She studied him for a moment. “You don’t like this.”

  “No, it’s great. What’s not to like?”

  “You really don’t.” She studied him, and he didn’t like how closely she was looking or how much she could see inside him. “You’re afraid?”

  He looked away. “No. Come on. What’s there to be afraid of?”

  “Well, I was afraid of running into the fish.”

  “True.” The depth beneath them suddenly felt very deep and unknown. He peered down into the water. Seeing everything helped. Then he lifted his face back up. “It’s better when I can see. Snorkel and mask was a good call.”

  “Do you want to look around some more?” Her eyes told him she was ready to stay there awhile.

  “Okay, sure.” They put their snorkels back in their mouths and moved along the surface away from the wreck and toward the reef. It had grown into the old ship and spread into a thick, green, and floral living thing, teeming with life. Smaller fish swam lazily, the kinds he saw in aquariums. He’d been snorkeling before. He’d been scuba diving once. None of this was that new. Something about being here with Ivy made it all seem . . . made him feel something he hadn’t felt in a long time—vulnerable. He felt the risk to her. Of course, they were perfectly safe, he told himself. People snorkeled all the time. But he couldn’t help his unease.

  He ignored the depth of the water just off the ledge. And he swam closer to the reef. They went up for air and then down to the shallow reef over and over, and he began to feel more comfortable. They discovered an eel and a sea anemone that just barely opened after a long time of their patiently watching one particular ledge when a dark shadow swam overhead.

  Colton almost sucked in water through his snorkel when a medium-sized shark hovered over them.

  And then Ivy swam closer. She held out an underwater camera she had attached to her waist belt and must have been clicking away on it. He raced to her, yanking on her ankle and tugging her until they were hiding behind a portion of the reef, further from the shark.

  When he was almost desperate for air, and he hoped the shark was far enough away, he gestured they rise, and he kicked furiously for the surface.

  He waved to Tiago, who thankfully saw them right away and moved closer. When Ivy’s head popped above the surface, she pulled the snorkel out of her mouth. “Colton. It’s gone. It didn’t even notice us or care.”

  “Are you out of your freaking mind?” He didn’t even try to temper his tone. “That was just plain dangerous. You trying to prove something? Because whatever it is, all you did just now is prove to me that you’re dangerous. Why would anyone let you up in a plane? Someone who takes risks like that belongs behind a desk, or with that clipboard, on the ground.” He turned from her toward Tiago, who had sent down a ladder. “We’re getting back onboard.”

  She didn’t respond. Her face had gone completely blank. And Colton was even more frustrated that he couldn’t tell what she thought. But he didn’t care anymore. He wanted them both out of the water and away from the shark.

  “Boss. I think we’ve got company.” Tiago pointed behind them.

  A dorsal fin surfaced.

  Colton felt battle training click on. He pushed Ivy ahead of him, nearly shoving her skyward and onto the ladder. He reached up and joined her. The fact that he hugged her with his face at her thighs didn’t even register as something enjoyable. “Go! Go! Go!” He muttered.

  “I’m going. Look, Flyboy. Relax.”

  “Says the woman who was afraid of a fish. Look, Iv
y, who even are you right now? There is a shark in the water. Can you pick up the pace?”

  “I think he’s after the tuna.”

  Colton groaned. “Of course.”

  They climbed back on deck. And all three of them moved to the back of the boat where the fishing line seemed more slack.

  “We should let him go.”

  The dorsal fin circled.

  And then the line went taut and started moving through the water.

  “I think our tuna noticed the visitor.”

  Tiago studied the water for only a moment and then took his knife to the line. “Tchao, tuna.”

  The fin submerged.

  Then Colton turned away. “We’re ready to get back.”

  “Right. Are we sailing? A nice sunset cruise all the way back?”

  “No. Motor is fine. Look. I’m kind of tired. I’ll be below.”

  Chapter 16

  Ivy fumed, pacing on the deck while the boat picked up speed. Had she just heard him correctly? He was accusing her of reckless behavior? Warning her she didn’t belong up in a plane? Flyboy? Had he heard himself? Had he looked in the mirror lately? Or seen his own flying record?

  She shook her head and rested her hands on the railing. No. She couldn’t bring up flying records, not when hers was what it was. But her record was maliciously and unfairly tainted. She pressed her lips together. She tried not to think about the only time she’d been disciplined and then written up in the military. It was a smudge that she would give almost anything to erase because it was so unfairly given.

  She’d been on a surveillance fly-by during her deployment in Iraq. It had been a long day, and she’d been ready for home when Guido had picked up some activity on their radar. “We’ve got bogies.”

  Ivy remembered every detail of the whole mess of an experience. And she wished over and over, countless times, that she could rewrite the past. He’d deviated from their direct course back to the aircraft carrier, disobeyed orders, and turned to engage the enemy planes.

  “Do not engage. I repeat. Do not engage. Return to base.” The voice repeated over and over in their ears, but Guido just kept saying. “No, I got this. I know we can do this.”

  Ivy had shouted rules in his ears until she was hoarse.

  They’d left without a skirmish. The plane moved on. And she and Guido had been soundly reprimanded for an hour, her perfect record ruined forever, and a sick dread had built in her gut. They were going to compare her to her brother.

  “You know, your brother was one of our best pilots, as you’re turning out to be, but he just couldn’t keep himself in check. There is a time and place for daring bravery and a time to run from engagement.”

  She’d bit her tongue. She wanted to tell the commander that she had no control over Guido. She knew that no explanation would present her in any better light in her commander’s eyes, so she stood, silent, while the commander said his piece. Of course he would think she was the one at fault, egging on Guido, wasn’t that just what her brother would have done?

  That incident had stayed with her for all other assignments, even clouding her next promotions, possibly even preventing some upward movement in rank. Some people who read her file admired Guido’s gumption, and some thought it careless. But either way, she’d had to explain the situation again and again. And with each time, having to prove that she was nothing like her brother, she hated recklessness more.

  But Colton had proved something about his recklessness . . . He wasn’t exactly reckless, was he? He was more . . . She shrugged. She’d figure it out. If she wanted to. She frowned. But right now, she wanted nothing more to do with him. How dare he throw that back in her face! When she was willing to see past his behavior to what was going on inside him, why did he have to be so . . . quick to form opinions?

  She stopped herself. Formed opinions. Exactly as she had done to him.

  Her pacing quickened. They just needed to start work again. No more going out on dates, no more . . . she waved her hands around . . . whatever this was. This date.

  They hardly spoke on the drive back to Fatima’s. As soon as she could, she made her way to her room and spent the rest of the evening on her computer. She had some paperwork to catch up on.

  Before too long, she pulled up the image of Alec, her brother. She’d studied his file. She’d gone over what went wrong with his plane. And the worst part about the whole thing was, Ivy knew how she could have saved him. She knew what she could have taught him. Top Flight included instructions on what to do in the middle of a tailspin as part of their standard curriculum. But hindsight never really helped anyone, did it?

  She stared into his face. It was a picture of them together at their usual family reunion up on Lake Hagatha in New Hampshire. His arm slung across her shoulders, his carefree smile tore into her heart now as she stared into it. They couldn’t afford to be carefree, could they? She considered her actions below water. Swimming toward a shark to take its picture? Probably not the best move. Probably not a risk worth taking. She closed her eyes. Tomorrow was a new day. Hopefully a day where she wouldn’t have to talk to Colton much. She needed some time to find herself again. He’d been a bad influence on her. But she could buckle down, stick to the rules, teach the pilots to do the same, and she would be back to normal safe ground.

  When at last she fell asleep, it was disrupted with anxious thoughts.

  Waking up after a night of ridiculous, emotional dreams involving her and Colton and dogfight after dogfight, where she was caught in a tailspin and he talked her out of it, was enough to give anyone a stiff neck. Ivy’s felt as though she might never move it again.

  As soon as she walked in the door, Colton called her over. “I need you up in the plane with me today.”

  Her breathing picked up. “What? Why?”

  The group he was talking to all stopped talking and turned to look at her.

  “Yes, sir. I’ll go suit up.” Her heart didn’t know how to function anymore. She was sure of it. It pounded, and then it fluttered, and for a moment she thought it might have stopped altogether. Why? Why did she have to go up in a plane with Colton today?

  Her hands shook. Get it together, Tenderfoot. Alec, Guido, the shark, Colton, her letter criticizing his recklessness, everything came flooding back to her in a great wave. What was the problem here? She reached a hand out to the wall. The other clutched her stomach. The world seemed to wobble, so she closed her eyes. She started to sink to the floor as darkness crowded in.

  Then strong arms encircled her. And Colton’s voice. “I’ve got you.” He pulled her close then lifted her in his arms.

  She leaned her head up against his shoulder.

  He carried her to an empty room that looked like it might be a storage room of some kind. Then he placed her on a chair, opened a bottle of water and offered it. “What’s this all about?”

  His eyes were wide and caring.

  She took the offered water and drank about half of the bottle before she faced him again. “I’m a mess.”

  “I can see that. You wanna explain to me what’s going on?” His words sounded harsh, but his eyes were full of fear, and concern, and possibly . . . love?

  She blinked. Then she saw caring, certainly, probably not love.

  “I—” What was she to say here? That she was all worked up about her brother and her record and that Colton made her crazy?

  “I—I’m sorry I swam toward the shark.”

  He studied her for a few moments, long enough that she couldn’t even begin to guess what was going through his mind. “That’s it?”

  “What do you mean that’s it?”

  “That’s why you went white when I told you that you were flying today? That’s why you almost passed out in the hall? Because of the shark?”

  She shook her head. “Honestly, I’m not totally sure what’s wrong with me.”

  He studied her some more, and then his maddening, slow smile took over his face, and she was caught up in it, watched
it, and felt its magic hover around inside.

  “What?” She returned his amused and caring expression with a growing smile of her own. “What is so entertaining?” She crossed her arms.

  “Well, for one, I don’t know if I can forgive you.”

  “What?” She was beginning to sound like a child on repeat.

  “That kind of reckless behavior that puts other pilots at risk.”

  She groaned. “And that’s the other thing.”

  “Ah, so there’s more.”

  “Of course. I’m not sitting up all night with terrible dreams because of the shark.”

  “Well, I would have been.” He eyed her. “Just saying.”

  “I’m sorry for that letter of complaint I wrote.”

  “So, you’re having remorse?”

  “Yes, no. Not really, no. I’m just sorry about the letter because I was wrong.”

  “Don’t worry about that. We all knew you were wrong.”

  “You did?” She wasn’t sure how she felt about her opinions being discounted.

  “Don’t get me wrong. I was struck . . . I considered your opinions. I may have toned down my original introductions to the pilots. I see how I’m coming across.”

  “Hmm.” She fidgeted. “And I want to tell you about my brother.”

  “Can we talk about it up in the air?”

  She shuddered.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I don’t know. I think I’m having a relapse of stress surrounding the actions of Guido.”

  “Guido? The guy who nearly lost his life going after some bogies over Iraq?”

  “Yes.”

  “You were up in that plane?”

  She nodded.

  “Now that is the first bit of sense I’ve heard you say in this whole conversation.”

  “No, hold on. Me apologizing has lots of sense in it.”

  “True. True. I’m not knocking your heartfelt, beautiful apologies.” He shook his head. Then he tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “But that whole mess with Guido, that explains a whole heck of a lot of stuff.”

  “Does it?”