Chapter 12 #2
“Hey, bro. What’s up?” Spencer asked. “I heard all about your adventure today from Sheila. A lucky thing you were so close, and that the person who flew that stuff up for Randal had the right gear.”
“Yeah. That would be Jett,” Trask informed him stiffly.
“Jett? I love that handle for a pilot. Is he any good?”
“She,” Trask corrected with a suppressed groan.
“She?” Spence repeated. “That’s cool. Is she any good?”
“That’s what I’m calling to discuss. But for that, I need to have Tabitha and Buck on the phone so I can fill you all in at the same time.”
“Okay,” Spence replied agreeably, because the man was nothing but upbeat these days since he’d met his wife. “Tabbi’s right here and I’ve just put you on speaker.”
Yeah. Totally affable.
Even Buck, who for years had been a surly son-of-a-bitch, had turned his sour attitude around once the love of his life had opened up to him again. It was all so very…sweet.
Not that Trask wasn’t happy for them. He was. To be honest, which he always was, his annoyance simply stemmed from the fact that he couldn’t fathom the same thing happening for him.
His mind, of its own accord, snapped back to the kisses he’d shared with Jett, but he shut that down immediately. That woman was not who he was looking for.
Trask pressed a few buttons and soon had Buck on the line.
“Hey guys. What’s up?” his brother asked, obviously still chewing whatever he was having for dinner.
“Wait. I have both Trask and Spence?” Buck laughed.
“Something big must be going down,” he speculated.
“And speaking of which,” he chewed a little more, “nice job today, big bro. Wasn’t it cool that Diver Downeast’s first paying gig was rescuing a moose? ”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t have much to do with it,” Trask admitted tersely. “Hold on. I’m putting you three on speaker. I’m here with Mom, Dad, and Jett Deluca, who brought all the vintage equipment north today, then saved the day by having the right equipment to go well-diving.”
Trask hit the button to enable the participants to hear each other.
“Hey, Jett. Nice to meet you,” Buck offered up.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Jett returned affably.
“No way. You’re a woman?” Buck asked.
Jett chuckled. “Last time I looked.”
“Sweet. Thanks for putting our first job on the books, and for making us look good.”
“About that…” Jett began.
Trask held up a hand. There was no way he’d allow her to put her thumb on the scale of a possible job. Presenting the facts, and only the facts, would be up to him. “If it’s okay with you,” he challenged her, “I’d like to take it from here.”
He sent her a look that defied refusal, and to hand her props, she grinned, sat back, and nodded.
“Okay you three. I’ll give it to you in a nutshell.
Jett flew in this morning in her Cessna 180, a craft equipped with what she’ll want you to know are amphibious floats.
She gifted us with a lot of great stuff, and I’m already imagining some of it in our big windows.
But there’s also enough to start a small museum of sorts, which I’ll want to talk to you about, later. ”
“Sounds awesome,” Spence interjected.
Yeah. Thinking about all that raised Trask’s mood, and made him optimistic that his brothers wouldn’t necessarily want Jett signing up with them right away since there was so much minutia that still needed attention.
And if they put Jett off…perhaps she’d move on to more fertile ground, far, far away.
“So what’s on your mind right now?” Tabitha asked astutely.
“Ms. DeLuca.” Trask responded without thinking, and… That was an understatement. She was really, really on his mind, and he couldn’t seem to shake her.
Trask cleared his throat. “What I mean is, Jett has just separated from the Air Force after twenty years in, and—”
“Hey. Do you know our brother, Julian?” Spence asked her. “He’s career Air Force, too, in case Trask didn’t tell you.”
“Nope. He didn’t, but I can’t say as I’ve heard the name before tonight,” Jett returned with a shrug.
“Right. It’s a big pool. What, exactly, was your job with the Zoomies?” Buck probed, clearly intrigued.
“I was a pilot and a PJ,” Jett answered proudly,
“Hot damn,” Spence whistled. “That’s pretty badass.”
“It was a cool job, but now I find myself at loose ends.”
Trask needed to shut down her comments, and insinuate himself back into the conversation in order to get things back on track. “Jett is currently without employment,” he said quickly. “And she’s suggested that she might be available to help us out with her aircraft and her expertise, which—”
“No ‘might’ about it.” Jett cut him off this time, clearly knowing he was trying to shut her up.
“I’m looking for a job, and you guys seem like a perfect fit.
And just to let you know, I’ve already told Trask that I’m not looking for a salary right away.
I have a nice nest egg, as well as money coming in from my pension.
So, if I were to hang around and make myself part of your team, you’d only need to pay me for the actual jobs I’d be a part of. ”
She barely took a breath before continuing.
Trask begrudgingly sat back. He guessed it was her show, now. And—note to self—she wasn’t exactly the pushover she’d led him to believe.
“Your parents have already, very kindly, offered me a place to stay until I find some digs of my own,” she supplied. “And apparently there’s an air-strip out back I can use, so the logistics are solid.”
“I like it.” Tabitha was the first to speak up. “Between my submarine, after Tex finds me the last few parts, and your plane, we can cover a lot of territory.”
“Yes, but,” Trask would still try to be the voice of reason, “we haven’t even begun to work yet. Having one more body hanging around…”
“Not a big deal, Trask. We’re only a few days from finishing up our course,” Spence reminded him. “Then we’ll be ready to open our doors to the public. And don’t forget, we have several commercial contracts already lined up that we’ll be jumping into right away.”
Of course Trask knew that. He was the one who’d done the scheduling.
With Sheila getting their name out on all types of social media, and Tabitha having tapped her past, submarine job contacts, both women had gleaned a surprising number of responses. Now it was simply a matter of pulling the trigger to become really busy.
Buck put in his two cents. “I think an airplane, especially one equipped with pontoons, would be an awesome addition to Diver Downeast. And seeing that Jett is a PJ, and clearly has diving chops as she exhibited today, we’d be fools not to hire her.”
“I second that,” Tabitha agreed.
“Third-it,” Spence piped up, “if that’s an actual thing to say.”
Trask bit his tongue. He knew when a battle was lost.
He glanced over at Jett who was regarding him with eyes that looked…worried this time. Did she really think he’d go against popular opinion and send her packing?
He sighed.
And sucked it up for the good of the company.
What this did for any personal interaction between them was anyone’s guess, but now wasn’t the time to think about that.
“Jett,” Trask managed without choking. “Welcome to Diver Downeast.”