CHAPTER 24
Brew’s flight landed well before sunrise. His wristwatch noted five-ten a.m.
The tarmac was quiet and void of activity and the early hour left the air cool and still as he stepped down from the small aircraft. For a moment, he stood there, scanning the stretch of concrete as if movement alone might bring him closer to her.
He breathed in deeply and smiled. It was the beginning of a new day, a rebirth for him and the woman he loved. He was going to bring her home, if it was the last thing he would do and convince her it would be the best choice she ever made.
It just wasn’t going to happen that quickly.
Urgency fogged his brain. He didn’t quite plan out the perfect time to fly out.
Reality settled in, making him chuckle. There were no cars.
No drivers. Nothing open at this hour. He slowly exhaled, running a hand through his hair before pulling his phone from his pocket.
You got this.
One call. A voicemail. He left instructions for a limo to retrieve him at seven, knowing it was the earliest time slot he could reserve.
The hours that followed stretched longer than any he had known in years.
Sleep wasn’t an option even though he set the alarm on his cell.
He dozed infrequently on top two padded benches he pushed together in the empty airport VIP lounge.
He stared at the ceiling as time moved slower than it should have, his mind refusing to be quiet.
He replayed everything in his head; from the moment they left in the emergency room until the day their careers separated them.
Then their attempt to work it out, the distance, the silence .
.. what a mess. They both had made the same mistakes.
It was up to him to fix it. He should have asked her to move to Montana with him.
Because their relationship was new, he was afraid the stress of her starting fresh without the art connections she had already developed would prove too much of a strain on their relationship.
So, he didn’t.
He was a fool for not asking. He wanted her in his life until the day he died.
He dialed her number and it went straight to voicemail.
“I’m coming to you,” was the message he left.
And he meant it.
When the sky finally began to lighten and the sun began to rise, he was on his feet, ready and waiting.