Greg was getting married to Nika. Emily slid into the driver’s seat of her car and rested her head on the steering wheel. So much new information. Her head felt heavy and thick from the overload.
More to the point, Greg had moved on. But Emily was still stuck where she had been a year ago. She hadn’t dated anyone or moved forward. Still stuck at home, spending most of her weekends with the Pink Ladies. A bunch of wonderful women, sure, even if the youngest was seventy-two.
Maybe she had to stop working so hard at hiding and throw herself back into the world full tilt.
Rachel was right. Getting her pilot’s license was at least something she could do in her free time. And if it didn’t work out, if for some reason the whole thing made her sick, she’d find something else to chase. Maybe she could make another list, kind of like a bucket list.
One way or another, Emily had to start living again.
* * *
AT LEAST STONE’S passenger was on the quiet side.
But then again, once you’d been released from death row in Texas and were about to get a second lease on life, you might not want to jinx it by being loud and inappropriate. Or possibly his passenger wasn’t saying a word because he was clearly terrified, shaking in the seat next to Stone.
“We’re almost there. Take it easy.” He spoke softly, hoping to sound soothing.
It was noisy in his Cessna and having been sprung from death row, loud and sudden noises were probably not comforting to his passenger. Supposedly, this was a match made in heaven. He’d been united with a family in California, but since they were separated by a few thousand miles, they needed a plane.
And that was where he came in.
“Yark!” said his passenger.
“Ah, so you’re talking to me now.”
“Yark! Yark! Yip!”
“Yippee is right, buddy. You’re about to meet your forever family. Nothing like being small, cute and furry to find you a good home.”
Unlike Winston, who was large, ugly and farted at will. Which was how Dad had wound up with him when the person who’d thought Winston might be their forever dog changed their mind. Just one of Winston’s farts could do that to a person.
Pilots and Paws was an organization Dad had contributed his time and talent toward, and now so did Stone. A few minutes later, he landed his Cessna, took off his headphones and unstrapped his hairy passenger. The furball licked his hand in gratitude, and Stone carried him out. The family was waiting at the airport and as he walked toward the hangar, all three of them spilled out.
“Fluffy!” one of the kids ran toward him.
“That’s original,” Stone said to the poor dog. He handed him over to the kid.
“Can we take a picture of you with the dog?” the mother asked. “It’s so wonderful of you to do this.”
“I’m one of four thousand pilots. No big deal.”
“Can I go in your plane?” the kid asked, handing the dog over to his mother.
Short attention span, that one. “Ah, no.”
“Of course not, Justin. We’re not here to see the plane. This is our forever dog,” the mother said.
“I like the plane better,” said Justin, who it turned out was a pretty smart kid. Still, he wasn’t going anywhere near the plane.
“Let me have Fluffy,” the younger boy said.
Fluffy was handed from the mother to the boy and promptly began shaking like he had when he’d first been placed on the plane. Stone thought it looked like an epileptic seizure, but he’d been assured by the shelter it was normal small-dog nervous energy.
“Let’s have our pilot hold the dog while I take one picture. Please?” The mother turned to Stone.
“Sure.” Stone smiled as the dog was handed back to him. Just as the mother took her picture, the dog tongued Stone.
“Thank you so much,” the mother said.
Stone tipped his head and walked toward his office. The things he did for Dad. Pilots and Paws being one of them. He’d been flying dogs back and forth for a couple of months, all in the line of sainthood. Just carrying on the Mcallister legacy. Right.
It didn’t help that he wasn’t sleeping well, and this time he couldn’t blame it all on Winston’s incessant snoring. Six months ago he’d done the right thing, the only thing he could do in the face of his choices. Dad needed him. Stone hadn’t hesitated. But that still meant that he wasn’t where he should be right now, with the rest of his crew. He wasn’t flying jets or having daily adrenaline rushes. For now, it felt like he was coasting. Existing. And barely, at that.
Every now and again his thoughts went back to Emily and that deer-in-the-headlights look in her eyes when he’d turned around. She’d asked him out and not waited around to see if he might take her up on that offer after drying himself off.
Because he would have. Maybe.
After he’d downed three Red Bulls, Stone helped Jedd with some engine work on Dad’s old Cessna until nearly noon. The early spring sunshine warmed his back, and a bead of sweat rolled down.
Cassie opened the outside door leading to their hangar and shouted, “Get over here.”
“What is it?” Stone squinted in the bright sun. He wiped his grimy hands on a rag and threw it back on the cart, walking toward Cassie.
Cassie grinned ear to ear. “We have a customer. She says she wants a lesson and has been waiting for an hour. Didn’t want to come back later. I’d say all that waiting makes her patient. She’ll be a good student. Your students need patience.”
He let that insult slide off his back since there was more than a kernel of truth to it. “I’ll talk to her.”
“She’s waiting in your office.” Cassie followed him inside the hangar. “And don’t give her the fifth degree. Be nice.”
Stone turned and stared at Cassie, hand on his chest. “Have I ever been anything but nice?”
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Let’s not go there.”
Stone opened the door to his office, and when the woman turned in her seat to face the door, his groin seemed to recognize her before his eyes did. Emily from the bar. From the coffee shop. The same Emily who took off on him twice.
“You.”
And she seemed just as surprised to see him. She stood and stepped away from the chair. “Are you—you’re the pilot?”
“I’m the pilot.” Stone marched toward her. Oh, man, he was going to enjoy this. She wouldn’t be running out on him again anytime soon. He considered locking the door to his office to make sure.
“But I thought—”
“You probably thought an old man still ran the place?” Stone stopped when he was a foot’s distance from her.
“No. I know Mr. Mcallister died. I heard his son was running the place. But you’re—you mean you’re Mr. Mcallister’s son?”
This did surprise most people. “Yeah, that would be me. But let’s talk about you. You want to get your pilot’s license? Are you tired of starting bar fights and spilling coffee on poor unsuspecting men?”
Emily chewed on her lower lip, and damned if that didn’t drive him crazy. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you how sorry I was about the coffee spill. And the fight. How’s your jaw?”
“Nothing a little ice couldn’t cure, but thanks for asking. So what about this date?”
Emily took a step back while she clasped and unclasped her hands. His spirits soared higher than they had in months as he witnessed her obvious discomfort, and he wasn’t done playing with her yet.
“I’m sorry. I’ve never asked a man out before.”
“No kidding. I would have never guessed. You were so smooth.”
“That’s not funny. I got kind of flustered when you turned around.”
“So I wasn’t supposed to turn around?”
“No, I didn’t say that. I didn’t ex
pect—I mean I didn’t know you—”
“You didn’t know it was me when you asked my back out on a date.”
She didn’t speak, but her mouth opened and closed a few times. Nothing.
“Try again. I have all day.”
“Okay, look. I was trying something new on for size. And it didn’t work out too well, as you know.”
“The coffee I could have done without. But what about the date?”
“Maybe we need to forget about that? You have to admit it’s been less than a stellar beginning.” She stared at the ground, and a blush the size of Texas crossed her cheeks.
“Running out on me didn’t help.”
“Maybe, but you didn’t look too happy with me. And by the way, I’m sorry I asked you out because I’m not ready for you—I mean, I’m not dating anyone. I mean—I made a mistake, asking you out.”
“And you make a lot of them, don’t you?”
She seemed to ignore the comment. “The reason I left so quickly that night had to do with my sister. Otherwise, I might have stayed to see if you were okay. But I thought I should get Molly out of there. She tends to cause trouble wherever she goes.”
“She does?” He felt a grin coming on. “From where I stand, you caused the trouble. I wouldn’t have walked outside if it wasn’t for you.”
“And I thank you for doing that, but I didn’t ask you to.” Emily raised her chin.
That put her lips in decidedly much closer territory to his. “No, you didn’t, but you didn’t exactly stop me.” Now he moved till he was only inches away from her, and their gazes locked.
“So—um, can we talk about me getting my pilot’s license?”
“You want your pilot’s license?” This stunned him. He thought for sure she wanted to take a onetime lesson for kicks. So many people did just that—either they were gifted a onetime lesson or they chose to cross it off some list of things they’d always wanted to do at least once.
“Is that a problem?”
“To get your pilot’s license, you’ll have to log more than twenty hours of flight time. That means with me. Next to you. In the plane.”
“You’re the only regional airport for miles.” Emily backed up another step and hit the wall. He had a small office.
He pushed one solitary flyaway hair off her forehead, even though what he wanted was a fistful of that hair in his hands. “I’m not sure I should let you anywhere near my plane.”
“Don’t you have insurance?”
Not a comforting thought. He had boatloads of insurance, thanks to his dad, but the plan was never to use it. The thought of his father pulled him front and center.
What the hell am I doing? She wants her license, and I happen to run a flight school. Be professional, idiot. No matter how great she smells.
Stone forced himself away from her and walked behind his desk. “What made you decide you want to get your pilot’s license?”
She gave an audible sigh and sat back down on the chair across from his desk. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“Go ahead and give it a shot.” He crossed his arms and leaned back.
“This begins with my great-grandmother and namesake, Emily Parker. I traced her back to the early nineteen hundreds.”
“This sounds like a long story. Can we fast-forward to the new millennium? I do have a business to run.”
“Short version coming right up. See, it turns out my namesake was a pilot. At a time when there weren’t many of them.”
“How nice for you, but what has that got to do with anything?”
Emily blinked. “I wasn’t aware I needed a great reason to get my license. My friend Rachel seemed to think it was a neat idea. The first Emily Parker was a maverick, and I want to follow in her great footsteps.”
“And that’s it?”
“What do you mean, that’s it?”
“What do you know about flying?”
“Not much. That’s why you’re here.”
“It could take a while to get your license. Depending on whether you take long breaks between lessons. And in order to qualify for your pilot’s license, you’ll have to take three solo flights between airports.”
“By myself?”
“That’s the idea. There’s also lots of coursework and passing the FAA written test.”
“I’m good with books and tests.” Her first hint of confidence.
“There’s a lot more work to do if you ever want to carry a passenger. The more hours you log flying, the faster you can get your license. Like anything else, you need lots of practice.”
“I can handle all of that. I’ll do my lessons three times a week so it’ll stay fresh in my mind. Anything else?”
The facts were he needed more students. Not only was he getting tired of hiring himself out for chartered flights to keep the school afloat, but a good roster of students would make the school a better investment for the buyer he’d lined up. Maybe she’d inspire other people in town to give it a try. She probably wasn’t serious, but at least seeing her would be a nice break in his week. Emily could make things stimulating for however long he had left here. Interesting, and also challenging.
It had been a hell of a long time since he’d been useful to anyone. But God help him. Why had he always had a thing for the wacky ones?
He almost couldn’t believe he was about to say his next words. “One more thing. I’d like to take you up on that date.”
“But—”
“It was your idea. One date.” He held up his finger.
“One? That’s it?”
“One.” He only needed one date to get her out of his system. There were no white picket fences in his foreseeable future.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “I can handle that.”
CHAPTER SIX
JUST HER BRAND of luck Stone was the pilot of the only flight school in the area. Hunky Stone Mcallister who, thanks to Molly, Emily had left without even saying thank you, or goodbye. Thanks to Rachel and gravity, she’d asked him out and then spilled coffee all over him. He’d obviously not taken either one of those well. At all.
But the new and improved Emily living life full tilt couldn’t let this distract her plans. The only thing that might distract her would be those eyes that made her feel naked. She’d need him to sit far away from her and stop looking like he was about to have a three-course meal. But surely that could be arranged. It would have to be.
Even if from the moment she’d seen the small planes on the tarmac and stuttered out the words, “I want my pilot’s license,” she hadn’t had a good solid breath of air. Those small planes were an accident waiting to happen, like a strong gust of wind would blow them off course. She’d eventually have to fly one of them by herself. Sure, that made sense, so why hadn’t she stopped to consider what it might feel like all the way up there, all alone?
She’d taken a week to think about Rachel’s idea. It appealed to Emily’s new call to adventure, without a doubt. Maybe she could even blog about the experience. An experience that wasn’t supposed to involve men. Not younger men. Not hot men.
The door to his office opened, and Jedd popped his head in the door. “Hey, boss, the—” Jedd stopped midsentence and stared at her with a slacked jaw. “Hey, Emily. What are you doing here?”
Emily stood. “I’m here to take lessons.”
“You’ve come to the right place. This right here is the best teacher you could ever find. He’s former air force. He’s the man.” Jedd pointed in Stone’s direction.
The silence in the room was deafening until the roar of a plane lifting off filled the room.
“I’m taking the plane out. Is she ready?” Stone stepped past her on his way to the door.
“She’s ready and willing,” Jedd sa
id with a wink toward Emily.
She followed, because Stone wasn’t getting away from her that easily, and almost bumped into him when he turned around, stopping her in her tracks. “Are you coming?”
“Now?” They hadn’t even set the parameters for their supposed date. Was this a coffeehouse date or a dinner date? Was it denim or silk? Should she shave? Wax? Did she need to? No! I’ll decide and I won’t need to shave. Decision made.
“Isn’t that what you’re here for? Lessons?” Now the confounded man looked annoyed. With her. “Ready?”
“Uh, yes. Why would you think I’m not ready? What a stupid question.” She didn’t think they’d start today, but even if the thought made her heart race, she couldn’t rethink the situation now. She was about to walk straight into history and maybe make some of her own. Hopefully it wouldn’t involve a crash.
Stone stopped her at the door, laying a hand on her shoulder. “I’m going to do something I rarely do. I want to give you a free lesson, because I think once we get up there you’ll change your mind. And there’s nothing to be ashamed of. So, let’s give it a try.”
“I’m not going to change my mind.” Boy, this guy was a piece of work. For someone so damn good-looking, too bad he suffered from a personality disorder.
“Leave your purse with Cassie.” Stone waved a hand in the direction of her desk.
“Have fun,” Jedd called out as they made their way through the hangar.
Once she stepped outside, Emily blinked in the bright sunlight and wished she’d brought the shades from her purse. Stone had pulled a pair of Top Gun–looking shades out of his shirt pocket. She followed his long, purposeful strides in the direction of a small plane a few hundred yards in the distance. When her legs didn’t want to cooperate, she silently willed them to move forward before they made a fool out of her.
This is it. I’m going to do it. Now that she was about to take her first flying lesson, Emily had a million questions she hadn’t had a chance to ask. But now she was afraid to ask, worried he might start arguing with her again.
He opened the door to the plane and stepped aside. “Sit.”
If he was going to churn out commands like she was some kind of dog, this wasn’t going to work. She gave him a stare that she hoped looked as mean as it felt. The charming man from last Friday night was gone, the one who knew how to dance and make a girl feel like she was the only one in the room. Probably he’d left for parts unknown when he realized he wasn’t getting in her panties. And he wasn’t. She never put out on a first date.
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