Brace for Impact

by Becky Harmon

  www.BellaBooks.com

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  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Synopsis

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Other Books by Becky Harmon

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Bella Books

  Synopsis

  Dex Alexander has made an easy transition from flying planes in the Army to being a civilian airline pilot. Life in the military kept her from forming any romantic relationships—at least that’s what she tells herself. Analyzing the real reasons would force her to dwell on feelings and emotions she’d rather not think about.

  From the outside, it looks like Lucy Donovan leads an exciting life. Being a US Air Marshal takes her all over the world. But after fifteen years, the job has become a habit more than an adventure. She might finally be ready to settle down.

  As the two women battle the challenges in their own lives, their connection to each other becomes evident. Can Dex convince Lucy they have a chance together before Lucy disappears again?

  Copyright © 2019 by Becky Harmon

  Bella Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 10543

  Tallahassee, FL 32302

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  First Bella Books Edition 2019

  Editor: Medora MacDougall

  Cover Designer: LJ Hill

  ISBN: 978-1-64247-008-6

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Other Bella Books by Becky Harmon

  Tangled Mark

  New Additions

  Illegal Contact

  Listen to Your Heart

  Acknowledgments

  As always my first thanks is to Linda and Jessica Hill. Without them there would be no Bella Books. I love my Bella family. Each and every author at Bella makes us better and better.

  A big thank you to all the folks who work behind the scenes at Bella. Thanks for making each book a work of art. And, of course, to Kathy—thanks for another perfect title.

  I guess this is the part where I mention that I do own Lucy, the moose, on the cover. And yes, it was a Niagara Falls purchase. I jokingly mentioned how fun it would be to have it on the cover and my amazing cover designer made it happen. Thank you so much!

  Once again, Medora MacDougall, your editing has managed to make my story into a real live book. You wave your magic wand and the proper words fall into place. You are the best!

  My two favorite Generals—DB and Rose—thanks for sharing your military knowledge.

  About five years ago, while waiting for my morning Yogi tea to brew I noticed the teatag. “Love is an experience of infinity.” Being a romance reader, the word love drew my attention. Most of us have a fascination with love and at some point in our lives we have believed we found it only to find it was fleeting. Putting love and infinity in the same sentence touched me in a way I haven’t been able to forget. That same teatag still sits in the windowsill over my kitchen sink. I look at it every day.

  A big final thanks to every reader who takes a chance on one of my books. Without you, I would only be entertaining myself and that would be very lonely.

  About the Author

  Becky Harmon was born and raised just south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Though she considers herself to be a Northerner, she moved south in search of warmth. She shares her life with her partner, two cats, and Manny the dog. If you haven’t seen Manny before, you can check out plenty of pictures on Becky’s Facebook page.

  Romance has always been Becky’s first love and when she’s not writing it, she’s reading it. Her previous published works, Tangled Mark, New Additions, Illegal Contact, and Listen to Your Heart, are available from Bella Books.

  You can reach Becky at beckyharmon2015@yahoo.com.

  Dedication

  For DB

  You brought love and infinity together.

  Chapter One

  Dex pushed the blaring music to the back of her mind as she focused on the instrument panel in front of her. Following the instructions from the Wacasaw County Airport ground control, she changed the heading of her C-26 Metroliner. The large United States Army airplane leveled out as she searched the horizon for the runway markers. From behind her, she heard the music switch from Def Leppard to Black Snake and she held back a grimace. Staff Sergeant Blakely had warned her that the soldiers had prepared a compilation of Private First Class Ryan’s favorite songs.

  The hot mid-July air in southern Kentucky shimmered as the airplane wheels touched the concrete runway. Her mind flashed back to so many identical but random nights in Afghanistan. There the sandy terrain stretched in front of her so far she could only find her location by the glowing panel in front of her. She could feel the resistance from the humidity in the air as it wrapped around the helicopter, forcing her to push the accelerator harder. To pray that the tiny lights in the distance would guide her back to safety for another night.

  “How much longer, Captain Alexander?” a voice behind her asked, pulling her back to the present.

  She glanced quickly at the young face cloaked in the darkness that stretched behind him. She carried nine soldiers on this flight along with her co-pilot and the cedar oak coffin holding PFC Ryan. Normally she only carried one or two soldiers with a body, but this was a special trip. PFC Ryan’s death had been the result of an unselfish act of heroism.

  His company had been at Camp Charlie in the southern province of Kandahar, Afghanistan, for over seven months and was due to rotate back to the States. At an afternoon pickup game of football, PFC Ryan and his teammates heard the gate sentry’s warning cry about explosives. Rather than run away like so many around him, he ran toward the threat and jumped into the driver’s seat of the car in question, throwing the car in reverse, and getting away from the camp. His quick action had saved the soldiers standing sentry duty and potentially many more inside the camp. Due to the special circumstances, the company commander had granted forty-eight-hour leave for the entire squad to escort PFC R
yan’s body back to his family.

  Dex landed the plane and taxied to the outskirts of the airport, where a group of people waited beside a black hearse. After the plane rolled to a stop, the soldiers behind her lifted the flag-draped coffin and descended the ramp. She slowly made her way to the tarmac following them. She had seen way too many soldiers returned to their families in this manner; she was thankful this would be her last.

  As a military pilot tasked with returning soldiers’ remains to their families, she had forced herself to keep a distance from the grieving families, emotionally and physically. Survivor’s guilt was a monkey on every soldier’s back and one that she was not immune to. Those like her who departed before the job was finished carried the bulk of the burden, leaving behind friends and fellow soldiers to continue the battle while they returned to the safety and security of family.

  Dex pushed aside her thoughts and joined PFC Ryan’s squad in saluting him one last time before stepping back into the shadows of her plane to watch their departure. The handful of family members and friends who had arrived to honor PFC Ryan as he was returned home was a somber group. Not the flag-waving, cheering crowd most soldiers were lucky enough to see when they returned. The woman in the middle of the crowd, probably his mother or maybe an aunt, watched closely as the soldiers secured the coffin inside the waiting hearse.

  Most soldiers’ remains were transported in an aluminum case rather than a traditional coffin. The case would be adorned with a special cardboard cover embossed with an American flag and created to fit on top of the airline industry’s standard air tray for coffins. Since PFC Ryan was being given special honors, he was prepared for burial and clothed in his full dress uniform at Dover Air Force Base, then placed directly into his specially made coffin for burial. He would be going directly to his place of rest with no stop off at a funeral home. Unfortunately she saw this a lot. Many families didn’t have a lot of money to spare and now there would be one less paycheck coming in. Paying a funeral home for several days of services was not in their budget.

  She watched as the soldiers piled into a nearby SUV to make their way to the gravesite. There they would pay their final respects to their fallen comrade and his family. She, on the other hand, would wait patiently for them to return and then fly them back to Delaware. From there they would catch a ride back to Afghanistan and rejoin their company.

  Before she left them, she would study each of their faces, placing them in her mind with those of all the brave young men and women who had gone before them. War was hard and they would never gain back the years of their lives they had lost fighting the battle. She wanted never to forget the courageous soldiers she had transported to places that would change their lives forever. Or the relief on their faces when she flew them to safety.

  She knew there was probably some relief showing on her face as well. Tomorrow, after eight years in the service, she would sign the paperwork to leave the United States Army and prepare to enter the world of civilian flying.

  Chapter Two

  “Hello, everyone. My name is Tamika.”

  US Air Marshal Lucy Donovan listened to the mumbled greetings from the other passengers around her. She knew from experience that Tamika would not be happy with their response or lack thereof. Keeping her head down she tried not to smile.

  “Now.” Tamika stepped to the side of the check-in desk at Gate 17 and pulled the microphone closer to her mouth. “I don’t know how things are done at the rest of the gates but here at my gate when someone offers you a greeting it’s only polite to respond. So, let’s try that again.” She paused dramatically. “Hello, everyone. My name is Tamika.”

  The response was larger this time. A few people even added Tamika’s name in their greeting.

  Lucy grinned as she met Tamika’s eyes. Apparently Tamika was pleased with the response because she continued her normal script welcoming them to Toronto Pearson International Airport. To Lucy and the other travelers at Gate 17, Tamika’s next words brought immense pleasure. Their departing flight to Atlanta, Georgia, was currently on time.

  Lucy made a final trip to the bathroom and remained standing when she returned to the gate. She didn’t usually fly Eastern Airlines, but Jan had asked her nicely to switch assignments. She liked staying on Jan’s good side and all the perks that went with it. Neither she nor Jan liked commitment, but an occasional hookup when they were in the same city worked well for both of them.

  Her original assignment would have taken her to San Francisco and then back to Atlanta. This way she was arriving home a day early and Jan was spending the weekend with a babe on the beach before flying back to their base in Atlanta. It was a win-win situation for both of them.

  Tamika’s voice interrupted her thoughts again. “Would passengers Lucy Donovan and Mason Tygart please see me at the podium? Thank you.”

  Lucy didn’t have to look for Mason. He was easy to spot due to his over six-foot frame. She liked working with him. Not that two air marshals on the same plane really ever worked together unless there was an emergency. Two years ago, she and Mason had worked a spring break flight filled with drunken college students. It was a memory she wasn’t sure she would ever forget. Mason’s cool head and laid-back demeanor had certainly made the flight easier than she expected.

  Her eyes met Mason’s as they approached Tamika. His sandy hair was covered with a blue ball cap and she knew she would find several more in multiple colors if she looked in his travel bag. He had told her once that no one looked at his face when he wore a ball cap. They knew the man in the red or blue or green hat but remove the hat and they couldn’t identify his face. He gave her a cursory nod and she returned it. No need to let anyone see they actually knew each other.

  Tamika leaned across the podium and whispered, “You guys want to board first?”

  “No, I’m in Zone One anyway,” Lucy said. It was hard to be upset with Tamika or other gate agents who were only trying to be kind, but she really hated having attention drawn to them. Their job was to fly under the radar unless needed, not to be identified and given special perks. She didn’t, but she knew some marshals took advantage of skirting the system.

  She was pleased when Mason declined the offer as well. He was in Zone Six so he would be one of the last to board, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  “Okay. I wanted to give you the option.” Tamika nodded at Mason, dismissing him. As he walked away, her intense brown eyes focused on Lucy. “I tried to call you last night.”

  Though it sounded like a statement, Lucy knew it was a question. One of the hazards of her job was returning to the locale of her latest one-night stand too soon. Tamika’s creamy dark skin and her overzealous personality had placed her in Lucy’s sights only two weeks ago. She tried to be honest with all of her encounters, but sometimes she screwed up and messed with a sweet one. Tamika was a sweet one and she had a tender heart that Lucy did not want to hurt.

  “I’m sorry. I was really tired and went to bed early.” That was partly true. Tamika didn’t need to know she wasn’t alone when she went to bed.

  Tamika nodded, but Lucy could see her feelings were still hurt. This was the last place she wanted to have this conversation, which was why she normally never did so, but this time she made an exception. She didn’t want to drag Tamika along or say something harsh to help her get the hint faster.

  “You’re really sweet, but I thought you understood that I don’t do relationships?” Lucy made her tone as gentle as she could.

  “I know. I didn’t realize that meant we couldn’t hook up again.”

  She tilted her head. Had she misunderstood Tamika’s call last night? No, she should stick to the game plan. Jan was the only person she trusted enough to meet on a repeat basis. It was a risk with other women. Though they said they were okay with a no-strings arrangement, they seldom really were. Tamika had been fun, but some things were best left alone.

  “Maybe we can get a drink next time I’m in town,” she said, praying she wo
uldn’t be back in Toronto for a while and feeling terrible about it.

  Tamika looked at her for a second and then nodded, picking up the microphone in front of her. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m happy to say your plane has arrived at the gate. If you could please clear a path for the departing passengers, we’ll get started with your boarding shortly.”

  Lucy felt the brusque dismissal but was relieved Tamika wasn’t whining or crying. Oh, crying. That was something she couldn’t take. She tried really hard to choose women who weren’t that emotional, but sometimes she was caught by surprise. She leaned against the huge round pillar that blocked the seating area of Gate 17 from the aisle filled with anxious, fast-moving travelers. She watched Tamika and the other gate attendant make their boarding preparations while greeting the departing passengers. Tamika was an attractive woman. Her black hair and dark eyes accented the definition in her cheekbones and around her mouth. She knew she would be lucky to settle down with someone like Tamika, but the thought of doing so made her nauseous.

  Using “settling” and “down” in the same sentence was like cursing and she would never say them out loud together. Even as a teenager, she had never taken any relationship seriously, and because of that she didn’t have any close friends growing up. After her father’s death, things in the emotional arena had only gotten worse. The hole he left in her life was only made bigger by a mother who was still there but unable to continue living. She realized very quickly that it was better to not get attached to anyone. Depending on herself gave her the confidence and security to face whatever life threw at her.

  She always felt like she was playing a role in the world and never really living her own life. The switch from dating men to women in college had definitely helped her feel more at home in her own skin, but it didn’t help her ability to cultivate a relationship. She would try to listen to a lover talk but their words didn’t reach her. Caring about herself was all she could manage. She didn’t feel a tug on her emotions toward anyone else. Relationships were a burden and she just didn’t have it in her.