Chapter 3
Chapter Three
He knew “small plane” meant small , but stepping into the seaplane felt like climbing into a very expensive lunchbox with wings.
The cabin was narrow enough that his shoulders nearly brushed both sides when he stepped up onto the float and ducked inside.
Instead of the wide, carpeted aisles he was used to on a large, commercial aircraft, there was just a single strip of metal flooring that led two steps forward into the cockpit—no flight attendants, no soothing prerecorded announcements, no sense of anonymity—just him.
And her.
The seats were a shock, too—plush, yes, but close together, more like high-end car seats bolted to the floor than anything meant for cruising altitude.
Everything smelled faintly of lake water and engine oil, a mix he wasn’t sure was comforting or terrifying.
The windows curved around them in big, bubble-like sections, offering a panoramic view he absolutely did not want to think about yet.
Nora was already in the pilot’s seat, casual and confident, flipping switches like she was turning on a stereo instead of…
whatever kept a machine like this in the air.
When she glanced over her shoulder at him, smiling that easy, “you’re fine, I promise” smile, he straightened immediately, trying to pretend his heart wasn’t thudding loud enough to rival the propeller.
He slid into the co-pilot seat, acutely aware there was no door separating the cockpit from the cabin, no row behind him, no comforting weight of two hundred other passengers who could all pretend this wasn’t insane.
Up front, everything was close: her knee inches from his, her elbow brushing him when she reached for a knob, her voice the only thing grounding him as the plane vibrated awake.
He gripped the armrest—not too tight, he hoped—and stared at the instrument panel like it was written in ancient runes. This was nothing like commercial flying. There was no autopilot hum or ceiling-height overhead bins, just open windows, metal bones, and trust.
And her.
Mostly her.
“Ready?” she asked, eyes sparkling with way too much enthusiasm for a person about to drive a boat into the sky.
He swallowed hard and nodded, trying to look braver than he felt.
Because in a seaplane this small, there was absolutely nowhere to hide his fear—except behind a good bit of acting.
And he sucked at acting.
Once, he had to play an owl in a school play. His only line was, “Hoo-hoo,” and he forgot it right before he fell off the stage and threw up. Fortunately, he was pretty much out of everyone’s sight, but that wasn’t an option here.
No separation. He could see every switch, every dial, every little blinking green light on the instrument panel, along with Nora casually flipping through them like it was nothing.
What are those switches for? What do they do?
He was comfortable with computers and how they worked, and the instrument panel was primarily computerized, but he wasn’t familiar with the system.
Why didn’t I research that instead of taking fashion advice from the internet?
It was loud even before the engines started, the kind of ambient water-and-wind noise you never hear inside a commercial jet. And when Nora finally fired up the engines, the vibration moved straight through the soles of his shoes and into his spine.
“Here. Put these on,” she said, handing him a pair of headphones with a mic.
“What’s this…?”
“So we can talk to each other and be heard,” she explained. “This is a small plane, and it tends to get loud, especially up here. Now we’ll be able to talk. If you have questions, I’ll be able to hear you and vice versa.”
“Okay.” He slipped them on and straightened them right before he tightened his seatbelt.
“You ready?”
Was he?
Nora was watching him expectantly, and whether he was ready or not, they were doing this. So he gave her a thumbs-up and braced himself for whatever came next.
The pontoons slapped at the water beneath them, sending a shudder up the entire cabin, and for a second, Milo was pretty sure this thing was held together by bolts borrowed from a hardware store and pure optimism.
If I survive this, I’m going to strangle Slater!
But then the plane started skimming across the lake, bouncing once, twice, and lifting, that wall of windows suddenly made sense. The view was ridiculous. It was bright, wide open, like the entire world was on display and they were close enough to touch it.
The entire thing felt small, loud, slightly terrifying…but incredible.
And for a few minutes, he forgot about everything except the magnificent sight in front of him.
“How much do you know about the property?” he asked.
“Hmm…good question. Slater took me on a ton of flights just like this so I could get familiar with everything. But those first few, I wasn’t really listening because I’m more of a visual person. I wanted to take it all in and then figured I could ask questions later.”
“He must have loved that,” he murmured.
“Slater and I have worked and known each other for years, so I think he was mentally prepared for me to be a lousy student at first. Plus, he really enjoys the sound of his own voice. Now, when I take people up on these flights, I have an entire speech I typically give.”
“Really?”
She smiled at him. “Yup. Want to hear it?”
“Go for it.”
“The Lakeview Harbor Resort encompasses fifteen hundred acres and was originally meant to be a spot for the Bradshaw family. What started as a few cabins for family and friends morphed into a rustic, family-oriented resort. After that, people from all over the country came here for different variations of camping around a lake and it’s been enjoyed by guests just like you,” she said with a wink, “for over forty years.”
That was pretty basic knowledge, he thought.
“When the Bradshaws couldn’t keep up with all the day-to-day operations, they closed the doors two years ago.
But luckily, the great-grandson of the original owners rallied a group of his closest friends—who had all met right here at this very resort as kids—and decided to bring everything back to its former glory. And make it better.”
He nodded.
“What you see now are almost all the original structures: from the one-hundred-room lodge to the fifty cabins that come in a wide variety of styles and floor plans to accommodate families of every size. There’s also a campground for campers and RVs, as well as an entire section dedicated to those who wanted to really be one with nature and enjoy tent camping. ”
“I never got the appeal of that one,” he murmured.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she said with a grin. “It’s not my favorite either. I can do it, but if given the option, I’d rather have a lumpy cot in an old cabin than sleep on the ground in a tent.”
That was a little surprising. He pictured her as being all about the…what did she just call it? One with nature?
“Want more resort facts?” she asked.
“Sure.”
She talked for several minutes about the type of fish you could find in the lake. Pausing, she looked at him. “Do you like to fish?”
“Fishing, yes. Cleaning and gutting, no.”
She nodded. “Good to know. Should I go on?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
“This region is also a favorite for bird-watchers.” She rambled off a list of birds that were native to the region and the most common ones to spot on a hike.
When she glanced at him, Milo held up his hand and chuckled. “No, I’m not into bird-watching.”
“You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Do you actually enjoy it or is it just part of the job?”
“It’s not particularly exciting until you spot some birds that are a little rarer. Then it’s like spotting Justin Bieber in the mall.”
“Seriously? Justin Bieber?”
She shrugged. “What can I say? He was my teenage crush,” is all she said before spouting more facts about the property. It’s nothing he didn’t know—well, except for the bird species—but it was good to know that as a representative of the resort, Nora knew what she was talking about.
Plus, she had a pleasant voice.
Sweet.
Melodic.
And she smelled really good.
Uh-oh…
Okay, don’t panic…
It’s not like he wasn’t already aware of his attraction to Nora. She was a beautiful woman, and he’d already acknowledged that to himself. Even when he was majorly annoyed at her behavior, there was no denying that she was attractive.
But she was like…the cool chick.
Ugh…how old am I?
Growing up, he was always the nerdy kid, and other than his summers here at the resort, he typically hung out with other nerdy kids.
The girls he dated were on the debate team or the chess club.
He never even attempted to ask out the popular girls—the cheerleaders, the homecoming queens—because he knew they’d laugh right in his face.
A little like Nora had earlier when he showed up for dinner.
So while he figured it was okay to internally acknowledge that she was attractive and all that, he couldn’t allow himself to read too much into it. And he certainly shouldn’t think about how good she smells or the fact that she had a small patch of freckles on her cheeks or…
I’m in trouble.
The thought hit just as she banked the plane to the left, startling him.
“You okay?” she asked with just the tiniest hint of amusement, and that’s when he knew where his focus needed to be.
The property.
He was up here to look at the property.
And nothing else.
They were twenty minutes into the tour when she heard it—the shift in his breathing.
Not loud, but sharp. It was quick and controlled in that I’m-not-freaking-out-you’re-freaking-out way.
He’d clearly been startled when she banked the plane slightly, but he had to realize they weren’t just going to be flying straight ahead, right? They’d crash into a mountain or have to go over one, but eventually they’d have to turn around to get back to the resort.
She glanced sideways without being too obvious.