CHAPTER 12
Jannie
“One, two, how do you hear me?” Nick adjusted his headset.
Jannie brought the mic closer to her mouth. “Loud and clear.”
The cloudless sky was a bright blue, the wind was steady and light, and she was looking through the windshield of a little Piper Archer. With Nick sitting so close, all she had to do was shift slightly, and she would brush against him.
She was really doing this. That, plus his presence so close to her, made what fluttered in her stomach impossible to ignore. These weren’t butterflies; they were freaking luna moths.
“OK, then.” Nick strapped himself in and nodded. “Your airplane.”
“My airplane.” Jannie clicked her own seat belt.
The engine had recently been running, so it was a hot start.
Understatement. She slanted a glance at Nick, who sat there, looking … well, hot. And serious. No amusement, no smirk. If anything, she detected excitement in his gaze and demeanor. That settled her stomach a little.
She paused to think, remembering what she knew.
“Throttle, one quarter inch open. Battery master switch on. Anti-collision lights on.” She checked each item as she read it, resisting the urge to look to Nick for confirmation.
“Electric fuel pump, on. Mixture, full rich. Propeller area”—she looked outside, carefully surveying the surroundings—“clear. Starter, engage.” She turned the key, and the engine roared to life, propeller spinning.
Just hearing the motor and feeling it run made the moths in her stomach settle, replaced by pure excitement.
She glanced at the oil gauge. “Oil pressure, check.”
OK, here goes.
Rolling her shoulders once, she gripped the throttles and eased them forward. The little Archer began moving, and Jannie felt a thrill unlike anything she’d ever felt.
Except five years ago, when she had last flown a plane.
She quickly tapped the brakes to ensure they were working, then guided the Archer into the penalty box.
Yes, she could do this. And she was doing it.
Reading the items aloud calmed her and helped her focus. “Oil temperature, check, fuel pressure, check; flaps, set …”
With the run-up complete, she cued the mic. “Tower, November 290 Fox Delta, ready in sequence.”
“November 290 Fox Delta, wind is five knots. You are cleared for takeoff with a westerly departure.”
“Cleared for takeoff, November 290 Fox Delta.” Jannie checked the approach end. No traffic.
She moved the airplane into position and finally allowed herself a glance at Nick, who sat there, far more relaxed than she expected.
She smiled at him. “You ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t smile back, but a spark flickered in his eye.
“Anything you don’t like below sixty knots, call ABORT, ABORT, ABORT,” and I will stop the takeoff. After that, we take it into the air. I will fly, and you will communicate.”
Nick nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“We’ll determine if we can do the impossible turn depending on altitude.” With that, she advanced the throttle to the stop and began anticipating the Archer’s left-turning tendency with right rudder. The plane responded better than she expected to the push.
“Sixty knots. Cross-check. Rotate.” She pulled on the yoke, watched the nose tip up, and they were in the air.
“Positive rate, eighty knots, flaps up,” Jannie announced.
She smoothly rotated the yoke, guiding the airplane westward. A thrill shot through her core. God, she had missed this, and now she realized just how much.
“November 290 Fox Delta, no aircraft observed between you and the practice area,” came the voice from the tower. “Radar service terminated, squawk VFR, have a good flight.”
Nick cued the mic. “November 290, Fox Delta, squawking VFR.”
In no time, they climbed through three thousand feet. Nick ran his hands along his thighs.
Wiping sweat? Jannie wondered. But no, he still looked relaxed, as if the cockpit were his place to chill.
“That was a smooth departure even for someone who was current.” Admiration was evident in his eyes and voice. “Well done! Want to continue?”
She grinned at him. “I do.”
·
Jannie removed her headset and hooked it on the yoke, unable to suppress a grin. “Well.”
After takeoff, something clicked, and all remaining nervousness disappeared. The lesson had actually been fun. She couldn’t remember the last time she had done something fun.
Nick, too, slid off his headset, his teeth flashing white as he smiled back, and Jannie’s chest swelled with pride at the admiration in his eyes.
“You misled me, Miss Larssen.”
She tipped her head. “Miss Larssen?”
“Mastered this bird like a true Larssen. You said you were rusty.”
“I was.”
He shook his head.
“At least I thought I was.”
“How long has it been since you’ve flown?”
“About five years.”
“Five years?” He studied her a moment longer, then shook his head. “You’re proof that talent for this is genetic.” He stepped out, striding around to open her door and offer his hand.
Everything seemed to freeze-frame.
Damn, but the man was handsome. The breeze ruffled his dark hair, and in the bright Las Vegas sun, copper highlights glinted in the strands; his irises, paradoxically, appeared even darker.
The air must have been electrically charged, because she felt a spark as soon as her fingertips brushed his. Jannie jumped, and Nick chuckled.
“Sorry about that.” His fingers wrapped around hers.
She slid out of her seat and stood before him.
He didn’t step back right away, choosing instead to stand there, trapping her against the fuselage.
Her gaze dipped to his mouth. Adrenaline surged through her, whether from the thrill of her first flight in ages or from his closeness, she didn’t know, but Jannie fought the urge to launch herself at him and wrap her legs around his waist.
She looked up at him.
His seductive smile made her insides flip.
“Lady pilots turn me on.”
“How many lady pilots do you know?”
“One.”
“Who is she?”
“You.”
Oh. Well. She shouldn’t like that so much, but damn if she didn’t.
They started down the tarmac toward the parking lot where he had left his Tahoe.
“Based on what I observed today, I estimate you’ll complete the program early. Hardly surprising, given your track record of being an overachiever.” Nick reached into his pocket and took out his truck key. “Have you told your brothers you’re doing this?”
Her stomach tightened. “No.”
“No?” He aimed the fob at the Tahoe, and it chirped.
She watched the headlights flash. “They still don’t know I’m here.”
“You never told them?”
She shook her head. “And I would appreciate it if they didn’t find out.”
He opened the door for her. “They’ll eventually find out, Jannie.”
“They’re in Tokyo. So even if they knew, it isn’t like we can get together or anything.
” She climbed up and slid into the seat, smiling at the immaculate state of the cabin.
She liked that he kept things so clean and tidy; she could relate to that.
A moment later, he, too, was in the truck, and she marveled at how his presence seemed to excite and calm her at the same time.
The longer she was around him, the more she liked him.
This could cause complications.
Nick turned and slid an arm across the back of her seat as he reversed out of the parking spot. She licked her lips. For some reason, she always found that maneuver sexy.
The gates parted, and Nick drove through. “So, what’s the plan?”
“The plan is, I train with you and get my instrument rating.”
“And then?”
“Then I go home and play doctor.”
She couldn’t hide her bitterness.
He noticed. “You said you didn’t need the money. Can’t you take an extended leave of absence so you can complete your ATP rating?”
She shook her head.
“The other doctors in your practice can’t cover for you?”
“Technically? Yes. They already are, but I can’t ask them to do it for that long.”
“Wouldn’t they get paid?”
“They would. But it would increase their workload beyond what’s acceptable. I can’t do that to them; I’m already pushing it as it is.”
He muttered something she didn’t catch.
“I have to take my colleagues and patients into consideration,” she explained. “They need a minimum of six months’ notice if I intend to be gone a long time. Or leave.”
“You’re saying you’ll have to return for a while, regardless.”
“For six months. Yes.”
Nick said nothing, but the telltale muscle tightened at his jaw.
He fell silent for a while. Her gaze stayed on his hands, lingering on his long fingers. Was it true what they said about the length of a man’s fingers? That errant thought made her cheeks warm.
He drove one-handed, his elbow resting casually on the windowsill, and each turn of the steering wheel gave her the best forearm porn she’d ever seen.
She watched the mouthwatering play of muscles. As far as she was concerned, hands and forearms were just as sexy on a man as well-defined chests and abs. That, along with his masculine scent that had become tantalizingly familiar, made her shift in the seat.
And when he got broody like this, she found him even hotter. An image of her hand on his forearm, fingertips gliding from elbow to wrist, flashed in her mind. How would he react to her touching his—
“I had planned to take you to the Mile High Club, but …”
Jannie blinked. “Excuse me?”
“The Mile High Club.” He smirked. “To eat?”
“Oh. Yeah. The club. I can’t be seen there. Too many people who would text my brothers.”
“The Lark is out too, then.”
“Definitely not the Lark. Sorry, I know you like the food there.”
“Not a problem. Everyone delivers. We could go back to the house, order in, and do some ground school if you want.”
She grinned at him. “I want.”
He flipped the turn signal. Her heart flipped too. Jannie’s pulse accelerated. Her gaze dipped to his thigh.
There was something else she wanted.
And it had nothing to do with food or flying.