Heart Stealers

by Patricia McLinn

  That’s right, so my angel can fly and then come back to earth safe and sound.

  “Kendra?”

  She started. She hadn’t noticed Daniel get in the plane.

  “You okay? You’re pale.”

  Like she’d seen a ghost? Or heard one?

  “I’m fine. Other than wondering why I’ve been kidnapped.” The words should have cut, but she couldn’t pull it off.

  Her father... Was it a memory or a hallucination?

  “It’s not time to talk about that yet. I won’t keep you up long, but you are going to try this.”

  He closed his door and concentrated on the instruments before him. Absolutely matter-of-fact, he explained each move. His words – or maybe his voice – so absorbed her that she barely noticed until the plane lifted off the ground.

  Panic jolted her back against the seat, hands clenched.

  So my angel can fly and then come back to earth safe and sound.

  Her eyes popped open. The voice had been so close...

  A trail of cloud drifted in front of them. Closer, closer – the propeller would shred it. But it didn’t. The cloud flowed around them, uninhibited by form or space.

  “When I took Marti up,” Daniel started, “she said flying in a plane like this lets the hills look curvy. That’s why I don’t like jets. They flatten everything out. Make it look like a two-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, instead of some place people live and breathe and work.”

  “Daniel, I –”

  “When you go up in a jet, you’re detached from the earth. You’re above the clouds. Where the skies are always blue. I like this kind of flying because I’m on top of the world, but still part of it. With birds as next door neighbors.”

  Is this what the birds see, Daddy?

  It’s exactly what birds see.

  She shut her eyes, not in panic, but to hear the voice better.

  It’s so blue! Like the ocean. Like we’re on top of the waves.

  A chuckle rumbled in her memory.

  Exactly like being on top of the waves. That’s one of the reasons I love it up here, Angel.

  Better than you love Mommy and me?

  Not better, sweetheart. Different. I miss you and Mommy when I’m away from you. But flying’s my job. And it’s my duty to go when they tell me to.

  You could get another job.

  I suppose I could. But it wouldn’t be a job I loved. You see, just like I miss you and Mommy when I’m away, I miss flying when I’m away from it. I hate leaving you and Mommy, but I love doing my job. I hope someday you’ll understand, Angel. That’s why I brought you up today, so you could see what flying’s like and so you’d think of me doing something I love while I’m away.

  But you’ll come back, won’t you, Daddy?

  Yes, I’ll come back.

  Only he hadn’t.

  And all these years she’d forgotten about the first time she’d gone flying. The only time her father had taken her flying.

  Or had she forgotten?

  Did it explain her aversion to small planes and tolerance of jets, even though her father had gone down in a jet? It made sense if her five-year-old self had connected that single small-plane trip with her father with his failure to return. At least she knew now that he had loved them, her and her mother. And he’d loved flying.

  Just like Daniel, he’d taken every precaution to make what he loved safe. But he hadn’t come back.

  She opened her eyes to his profile, the straight, strong nose, the solid chin, the defined cheekbones. A swell of love as strong as any of Aretha’s blasts swept through her, leaving her shaken.

  “So, what do you think?”

  “Daniel, I –”

  “About flying – just flying. We won’t stay up much longer. But it’s not time to talk about the rest of it yet.”

  The rest of it was the big part. The rest of it was them.

  “But there’s one thing. Kendra, I admired your courage during the hurricane. But the courage you have every day in raising Matthew – raising him alone for so long.” Their eyes met, and she saw his regret. “That’s a special courage.”

  “Daniel –”

  “Not yet. After I land, then we’ll talk.” He sounded grim. “You can say all you want about how impractical it is to think we can be a family. But before you start, I want to say a couple things.”

  “Okay.”

  Her calm agreement earned a sharp glance, but he was all business as he communicated with Rufus over the radio, then maneuvered the plane into a pattern around the runway that led into a descent to earth accomplished with barely a bump. Off the runway, he stopped and turned off the engine.

  The silence roared around her head as he helped her from the plane.

  “After all your questions, Kendra, it’s my turn. And I want you to answer with the truth – not what you think is the truth, but what you feel is the truth.”

  With each beat, Kendra’s heart lunged against her chest painfully. Her breath came short and sharp. “Okay.”

  “If you knew this was the last day of your life, if you knew you were walking into another hurricane tomorrow and this time you knew – you knew you weren’t going to walk out – who would you want to be spending today with?”

  The answer came – immediate, clear and simple.

  Daniel and Matthew.

  With one day left to live, with one minute left to live.

  Daniel and Matthew.

  Her lips parted, but the words didn’t come – not yet.

  And with one year left to live?

  Daniel and Matthew.

  Her heart lunged again but it didn’t hurt.

  And with two years or seven years or decades to live?

  Daniel and Matthew.

  The two people she loved most if this were the last day of her life, or the most ordinary day of her life.

  Daniel and Matthew.

  Every day.

  “Taking this long, you’re thinking instead of –”

  “With you and Matthew,” she said. It felt like a shout in her throat, but it came out a whisper. “Oh, Daniel, with the two people I love more than life.”

  The dark depths of his eyes lit, but the rest of face remained stern. “With Matthew and –”

  “Daniel! Hey, Daniel!” Rufus’ shout carried across to them.

  Around Daniel’s shoulder, Kendra saw Rufus standing outside the open door, with a telephone receiver in one hand and waving the other one imperiously.

  “Damn it,” Daniel muttered, then set his jaw and kept talking. “With Matthew and me. Including everything I am and – ?”

  “Daniel! Daniel!”

  “Maybe you should see what he wants.”

  Daniel ignored her suggestion as well as Rufus’ shouts. “– even with the flying, and –”

  “Daniel!”

  “Dammit to hell, Rufus, in a minute!”

  “Don’t have a minute! It’s an emergency!”

  “It sounds urgent, Daniel.”

  “We’re going to finish this,” he vowed grimly.

  “Yes. We’ll finish it.”

  He frowned at her words, but she’d already started toward the building, and in another second Daniel followed her.

  Rufus had retreated into the office and was talking into the phone when they walked in. Spotting Daniel, he gestured him closer.

  “He just walked in, Sheriff. I’ll put you on speaker phone.”

  “Daniel?”

  “I’m here,” he said, none too cheerfully.

  “I know you’re not on the payroll yet, but we’ve got a situation.”

  Daniel’s posture didn’t change, but Kendra sensed his shift from irritated to intense as he sat on the edge of the desk.

  “Couple of hikers missing. Lady called and said her husband and son hadn’t returned from a hike in the Big Horns as scheduled last night. She said they’re experienced, didn’t have equipment to stay out overnight and they’re regular as clockwork about checking in.”


  “Any sign of their vehicle?”

  “We’re trying to spring somebody to check their PLS – place last seen – but our manpower’s tied up with the fires, including our search and rescue volunteers. It’ll take at least a couple hours to shift around enough resources for a ground search. Rufus says he’s got a plane fueled, ready to go. If you can spot ’em, we can send the ground team right to them. That could be important time when daylight starts fading.” The sheriff paused. “If you’re willing.”

  Without taking his eyes off Kendra, Daniel said, “Give me a minute, Sheriff Johnson. Rufus, take us off speaker phone.”

  Rufus complied, but made no secret of watching and listening as Daniel walked over to where she’d stopped inside the door.

  “You heard. It’s not my job yet, and I promised you the day. If you say not to go, I won’t.”

  She knew what his going – now and always – might do to her. But she could see what not going would do to him. If she were ever going to test her fear against his courage, it might as well be now.

  “Go.”

  A flame seemed to go on inside him. Not only for what he was going to do, but for her. He kissed her, hard and fast.

  “It’s routine, Kendra. When I land, we’ll talk more. I want the rest of my answer.”

  “I’ll be at the paper.” Working would be better than going home and trying not to think, and far better than staying here and waiting.

  * * *

  “Got ’em,” Daniel said in a satisfied mumble, as he sighted two figures in a clearing after some two hours of searching.

  Now he understood why they’d failed to return on time. One of the figures was stretched flat on the ground, with a leg wrapped in what appeared to be a makeshift splint.

  Into the radio, he said, “Far Hills, this is Cessna One Four Six One. I have visual on the two hikers. Repeat, visual on two hikers. One appears to be injured, Far Hills.”

  He gave the location coordinates. The standing hiker had spotted the plane and waved to him. Daniel gently tipped first one wing then the other, to let the hikers know they’d been sighted.

  Not bad for his first mission with Kendra’s blessing. Well, blessing might be too strong. At least she hadn’t given him an ultimatum. That was something to pin his hopes to. Along with the fact that she’d come to the conclusion he’d been banking on with that “last day” question. You and Matthew. If he could be sure –

  “Cessna One Four Six One, good going,” came Rufus’ voice, distorted by the radio, yet as capable of interrupting thoughts as his shouts had been of interrupting Daniel’s crucial conversation with Kendra. “We’ll get the ground crew headed that way.”

  But as he circled, Daniel saw trouble.

  Big trouble.

  The hikers were in a large area bare of trees but with low, dry brush scattered across it. That underbrush would turn to tinder when the fire hit. He wouldn’t want to be down there trying to dodge burning bushes. Especially not with an injured leg. The whole area sloped gently upward until it fell off as a sheer rock wall on three sides. The fourth side – the route they’d come in – was forested. And between them and where any ground crew would have to come writhed a snake of fire.

  “Far Hills, this is Cessna One Four Six One. Ground crew cannot reach their position. Unless you know another route.” He described the setup.

  Rufus confirmed there was no other route. “We’ll have to wait for the Forest Service to get a chopper in there.”

  “How long, Far Hills?”

  “A few hours, most likely.”

  Daniel took a closer look at the advancing fire, then checked his fuel gauge.

  “Far Hills, I’m going in. After I land and pick them up, I won’t have fuel to get to Sheridan or Casper. Arrange for another plane or helicopter to meet me at Far Hills to get the injured to a hospital.”

  “Negative,” Rufus said. “Daniel, I know that patch. You might be able to land, but you can’t take off. It’s not big enough.”

  “I’ll make it big enough. Listen, Rufus, one thing – let Kendra know I’ll be late.”

  “Daniel, you’ve got to wait –”

  “Negative. No time. I’m going in.”

  * * *

  “Kendra, something’s breaking.” Larry Orrin, editor of the Banner, looked even more harried than usual.

  She automatically stored the story she’d been working on and grabbed her notebook. “The fires? Are you sending a photographer?”

  Larry took her arm. “I’m not sending you – not to report.”

  “Why? I’ve got plenty of time to finish the food drive story.”

  “I know. It’s – Rufus Trent called and asked me to tell you. It’s Daniel Delligatti’s plane. He landed to pick up some hikers trapped up top by the fire and they’ve lost radio contact.”

  Kendra knew she held her breath, but for an instant it felt as if she’d held her heartbeat, too. Then she turned quickly and grabbed her purse. “I’m going.”

  * * *

  Rufus was talking into the radio, informing the pilot of the medical plane from Billings about ground conditions when Kendra and Larry joined the crowd packed into the office.

  “Have they heard from Delligatti?” Larry asked.

  A gray-haired man Kendra thought she recognized as a part-time mechanic for Rufus slowly shook his head. “Not a word.”

  “Quiet,” barked Rufus, fiddling with the radio.

  Then came the sound his ears had already picked up. A crackling on the airwaves that seemed to be broken into short segments.

  “Is that him?”

  “That’s him – it’s got to be.”

  “Quiet!” Rufus roared. “Far Hills, requesting repeat on transmission. Repeat.”

  “Far Hills, this is Cessna One Four Six One. Do you read?”

  Kendra dragged in air, along with the sound of Daniel’s voice.

  “Yes, Daniel, we read you. And we’re damned glad to hear you.”

  “Feeling’s mutual, Far Hills. Fire line must have interfered with the radio signal.”

  “What’s your status?”

  Kendra stared at Rufus’ lined face as she concentrated on Daniel’s voice – trying to read unspoken messages beyond their words.

  “I have both hikers. One’s injured. Compound fracture of the left leg. I can’t tell about internal. I had to take off west and circle south because of the fire, so fuel’s tight. Do you have medical transport at Far Hills?”

  “Plane from Billing’s in its landing pattern here right now.”

  “Good.” Daniel’s calm voice gave his location, some twenty minutes southwest of the airport.

  “Roger. How’d the landing go up there, Daniel?”

  “Not bad. The takeoff had rough spots, though.”

  Rufus frowned. “Is that going to affect your landing here?”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to have a fire truck. Gear might be messed up.”

  “Roger.”

  Rufus released the button that had allowed his words to go up to the airplane, and glanced at Kendra.

  “Why is Daniel worried, Rufus?”

  “Sounds like trouble with the retractable landing gear. Where he had to land up there, it’s awful rough.”

  “We couldn’t get a fire truck here in time – even if there were any to spare. Everything but the bare essentials is fighting forest fires.” Larry looked at Rufus. “You know that.”

  “So does Daniel. He’s giving us a head’s up.”

  Rufus barked orders to bystanders about finding fire extinguishers and where to position themselves. Kendra watched half a dozen men take off running toward the hangar and a nearby shed.

  The landing gear had to drop down. It had to. Her prayers should reach up and wrap around the tires and yank them down. “Can’t Daniel do something, Rufus?”

  “There’s a backup, but if the hydraulics are gone...”

  “What then?”

  “He lands on the belly of the plane. And tries
like hell to keep the wings level.”

  “Why?” She had to know.

  “That’ll keep the plane balanced – less likely to spin or pinwheel. And,” Rufus studied her from under his brows, adding gruffly, “because if the tip of one wing or the other drags against the runway it’ll spark, and even with him low on fuel it could start a fire – the kind of fire we’d have a damned hard time putting out.”

  “Can’t you foam the runway?” Larry asked.

  “Sure, if this were O’Hare or Kennedy. Not Far Hills. We can do a little. But it’s mostly up to Daniel.”

  Kendra nodded her thanks for telling her the harsh truth, then dredged up a smile. “If anyone can do it, Daniel can.”

  A grin lit his sun-lined face. “Damn right. He’s a hell of a pilot.”

  Rufus stepped outside to watch the medical plane from Billings land, and Kendra followed as if he were her lifeline to Daniel. The plane eased in, then rolled somewhat cumbersomely off the runway. The pilot and a medic hopped out and jogged over to Rufus, shaking hands.

  “I heard your transmissions. I spotted him up top. He should be in sight any minute.”

  “Kendra!” Marti hurried from the parking area toward the knot of people.

  “Marti, how did you –”

  “Fran heard, she called me. What’s happening?”

  Larry and Rufus filled her in with a few brief phrases.

  “But he was going to take you up today,” Marti protested.

  “He did. We’d landed when this call came in.”

  “And he went anyway? Just left you here?”

  “She told him to,” Rufus said. “Not that the boy didn’t want to go.”

  Marti turned to Kendra, perhaps waiting for her to refute that.

  “Daniel said he wouldn’t go if I asked him not to. I... I couldn’t make the words come out, Marti. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I’d told him not to go.”

  “Oh, honey.” For a moment Kendra thought her aunt was going to take her into her arms. Then, as if the older woman saw how fragile her control was, she instead wrapped both hands around her upper arm. “This is going to work out. This is all going to work out.”

  “There he is!” shouted someone.

  All among the growing crowd, hands went up to shield eyes as they peered at a dot coming from the southwest. To Kendra’s eyes, the dot had barely resolved into an airplane when the medical plane pilot and Rufus Trent dropped their hands and exchanged a look.