CHAPTER 10
Nick
Nick cued the mic. “November triple-five X-ray Mike, checking in.”
“November triple-five X-ray Mike, climbing to four one zero.”
Nick replaced the mic, adjusted his headset, and brought the plane to altitude, acutely aware of Jannie’s presence beside him. He’d offered her the right seat, not expecting her to take it. But she surprised him by climbing into the first officer spot as if she’d done it all her life.
She behaved nothing like a passenger granted access to a pilot’s view. She was used to this; it was evident in her relaxed demeanor. When they leveled off at forty-one thousand feet, he turned to smile at her. “You look good in that seat.”
An understatement. Even though she’d lost weight and had shadows under her beautiful blue eyes, she still radiated that vibrant beauty that had captured him so long ago.
Her lips curved into a little smile. “You think?”
“I don’t think; I know. It’s obvious to me it’s not your first time sitting there.”
A little smile. “Maybe I’ve sat in this seat once or twice.”
“How old were you when you started flying?”
“You want the official number or the real one?”
Nick chuckled. “That young, huh?”
Jannie nodded. “Dad started us all as soon as we could reach the pedals and controls. He said flying was a life skill.”
“I wholeheartedly agree.”
His eyes drank her in. Nick couldn’t believe it: Jannie Larssen, in the right seat of his CJ4. Well, this version of Jannie Larssen. She wasn’t herself; he could see the underlying sadness, and it made something turn over in his chest.
He looked out at the fluffy clouds edged golden by the sun.
It was a perfect VFR day: smooth air, clear visibility, allowing him to see for miles.
This was his favorite part of flying, and he couldn’t think of anyone with whom he’d rather share this perfect day up here.
The sun shone on her hair at just the right angle to make it look like spun gold, and the intense light made her irises look huge.
She squinted and tugged on the visor. He reached to his left for one of the two cupholders, extracting a sunglass case from it.
He flicked it open. “Here.”
She took the Ray-Bans out and slipped them on. “Much better. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He hated to see those expressive eyes disappear behind dark lenses, but they were needed. He slid his own sunglasses off his head and onto his nose.
“So, how far did you go?”
A slight frown. “How do you mean?”
“With the flying.”
“Oh.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Just PPL. When I was seventeen.”
“There’s nothing just about a private pilot license, Jannie.”
“My brothers would disagree.”
Something in her tone caused an unpleasant stir in Nick’s gut. “Would they?”
“Yeah.” Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “They fly jets, you see.”
The mere notion of her feeling less than made his jaw tighten. “And you’re a doctor.” He was silent for a beat. “What made you choose medicine?”
“My brothers hated going for checkups. I never wanted to leave the doctor’s office. When they got hurt, I’d fix them up. It became my thing. In fact, I almost set the house on fire playing doctor.”
“Well.” He grinned. “This story, I need to hear.”
“I hid in the closet with my grandfather’s lighter and a doll. It was a big doll, almost as big as I was. I thought it would be a good idea to use the lighter to look in her ears.”
Nick chuckled. “Oh, no.”
“I closed the door. It was dark and worked great until I set her hair on fire.”
“Damn.”
“Yeah. I threw her down, ran to my mom, and told her what I’d done.
Thank God she got there fast, grabbed her by the leg, and ran to the bathroom to throw her in the tub.
I’ll never forget the hissing noise and steam when Mom turned on the water.
That curly plastic hair ended up looking like a tar helmet. ”
Nick chuckled. Jannie, cute little fire starter. Why didn’t that surprise him? “Must have smelled, too.”
“Oh, it stunk up the entire floor. It was a miracle that nothing else caught fire. And just my luck, my brothers came home from school to that. They called me Pyro for months.”
Nick laughed. “Never a dull moment at your house, I’ll bet.”
“Never. There were times when it was utter chaos with those guys.”
“It must have been hard at times to be the only girl.”
“Not really. I gave as good as I got. Sometimes more, and I got away with it. It did get bad as we grew older, and girls began to chase them. They were relentless. It got annoying. Especially when my brothers became licensed pilots. I heard ‘come fly with me’ so many times, I lost count.” She rolled her eyes.
“They all thought they were so original.”
Nick chuckled. “I would’ve loved to have a sibling.”
“And I would have given anything to be an only child.”
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
You eventually end up alone.
She cast him a long look. He met her gaze, and she must have seen something in his expression because she nodded slowly, compassion evident in her eyes.
He needed to change the subject, pronto. Nick cleared his throat. “So, what did your dad and brothers say when you told them you wanted to be a doctor?”
“Adam was disappointed.”
“He went to UND, right?”
“Right.”
“What major?”
“Commercial aviation and a BS in aeronautics.”
“And the others? Were they OK with your decision?”
“Sort of.”
“Sort of?”
“Well, let’s just say my dad did his best to pretend he was happy with my choice.”
“And your mom?”
“Oh, she was all for it. Now that I think back, she pushed me so hard in that direction that I gave up any thought of going into aviation.”
“She knew you’d be a great doctor.”
“More like she thought I’d be a lousy pilot.”
“What?” Nick shook his head. He didn’t like this at all. “What made her think that?”
Jannie shrugged. “She said, and I quote, ‘It’s a man’s profession.’”
He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Nick clenched his teeth. What was this, the 1950s? “So, in her opinion, two of your brothers were OK to go into aviation but not you?”
“Not two, just one. Ian was set on doing his own thing and went to law school.”
“But Ian is a pilot.”
“Now he is.”
Nick frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Apparently, lawyering wasn’t to his liking. He had an epiphany recently and decided to fly for Adam.”
“How does a lawyer switch like that?”
“I think that secretly, he realized he’d chosen the wrong profession but didn’t want to admit it. He had an ATP license that he kept current.”
“Ah.” That made sense. He felt a newfound respect for Ian for pulling off something like that. Smart of him to keep his Airline Transport Pilot license current.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Me?”
“How did you get to be a pilot?”
“I flew my ass off.”
“Did you go to college too?”
“Yup. Embry-Riddle.”
“That’s in Daytona!”
“Right.”
“And I was at UF!”
One hundred miles away, only a two-hour drive. If only he had known.
“What did you major in?” she asked.
“Astronomy and astrophysics.”
“Of course you did. But isn’t Embry-Riddle an aeronautical university?”
He nodded. “I didn’t go there for that.”
“Let me guess.” She smiled. “You went there to play with the fancy space telescopes.”
He laughed. “I did have a blast with the Hubble and the James Webb. The curriculum was fascinating. But most of my friends were there to become pilots and didn’t let up until they convinced me to take an introductory lesson.
” He smiled, recalling that first flight in an old Cessna 172. “I caught the bug.”
“I’m familiar with that bug. Highly contagious.”
He thought she looked a little wistful. “Did it infect you?”
Her only reply was a one-shouldered shrug. Then she turned to look at Rolf, who snoozed on a dog bed in the middle of the aisle, harnessed and tethered by a leash.
Nick didn’t miss the affection in the smile she gave her sleeping dog, and he congratulated himself on getting the keys to a fellow pilot’s house in Summerlin.
His friend was in Dubai on a project and would be there for the foreseeable future, which worked out perfectly.
Rolf would have a yard where he could romp.
“He looks so comfy back there.” Jannie’s nostrils flared, her nose scrunching as she brought her fist to her mouth to stifle a yawn.
She needed rest. He studied her profile, driven by a desire to help her return to her normal self with every fiber of his being.
“We still have four hours to Vegas. There’s a JetBed in the back. Bedding, too. No one has ever used them. Would you like to go catch a nap?”
Her shoulders sagged. “Actually, that sounds good.”
“It’s in the very back. All you have to do is place it between the seats and undo the straps. There’s a red plug you unscrew and a pump you insert to inflate it.”
She pulled off her headset and unbuckled her harness, inevitably brushing her arm against his as she extricated herself from the cockpit, leaving behind that scent that had always been his obsession.
“November 555 X-ray Mike, contact Houston center on one two six point four two five,” the ATC controller said.
Nick cued the mic. “November 555 X-ray Mike, switching to Houston.”
He selected the new frequency. “Houston center, November 555 X-ray Mike, checking in.”
“November triple-five X-ray Mike, welcome.”
Nick replaced the mic, then turned to watch Jannie set up the JetBed.
Rolf had awakened and was sitting, observing the process intently, his heavy tail swishing back and forth.
In no time, she had the bed ready, and she slipped off her shoes, discreetly reaching under her shirt to unclasp her bra before sitting on the mattress.
He wanted to go back there and stroke her hair, to hold her again while she slept with her head on his chest. He watched her scratch the dog under his chin, then nod to send him to his place.
For a few moments, she gazed out the window, the corners of her beautiful mouth turned down.
He wished he knew what she was thinking.
And then, she closed the shade, lay down, and pulled the covers over her head, curling into a ball.