Chapter Three
Three
What are you doing? Tobin thought to herself as they eased into their flight over Lake Aether. Was she flirting? Was that flirting?
She sighed audibly.
“I can see you sigh,” Eddie drawled.
Tobin refused to look at her. Her mood was souring quickly. What was she thinking?
Realizing Tobin wasn’t going to answer, Eddie continued. “I haven’t seen this side of you in a long while. You know I can mind my own business, but for what it’s worth, you should pursue it. Have some fun, Blur.”
Tobin knew Eddie was deliberately using the callsign she’d earned in flight school—not just for her natural skill with tactical maneuvers, but for the double entendre it had become.
Back then, it had been a running joke about how fleetingly she ‘dated’ women, often falling in and out of love quickly as the chemicals of her brain intermixed stress from the rigors of training with ephemeral lust.
Tobin laughed. “You? Mind your own business? Since when?”
“I can and I do,” Eddie scoffed. “I’ve stood aside, giving you space for the last three years while you healed, and then while you withdrew.
So yeah, seeing that spark of the old you today—the one that smiled all day at the kids, and flirted shamelessly with a very sexy doctor—I’m going to speak my mind.
Because I miss that version of you. And, I think you do, too.
It’s time she came back. I know you want a family, and you’re suddenly so set on having kids alone— which I admire!
But… what if there’s a woman out there willing to create a family with you?
Don’t you owe it to yourself to at least ask the question? ”
“I liked you better when you minded your own business.”
Eddie quieted, calmly waiting for more as they continued along their flight.
Extrinsically, she was perceived as the quiet type, often mistaken for broody.
But Tobin knew her, and knew better. Eddie wasn’t a recluse—she simply valued discretion.
Her boredom in the midst of seclusion was what had literally propelled her to take flight lessons in the first place.
Eddie had enrolled in college at sixteen, advancing through her studies in coding and forensics in three years.
She developed an AI program used to help locate missing persons, which she sold to nearly every private search-and-rescue squad in the country, as well as to numerous sheriff ’s and fire departments.
She’d made a mint off the sale of the technology, bought the land in Aetheridge, and built her hangar, compound, and house—where she could run her company outside the public eye.
Eddie had convinced Tobin to follow her into SAR training, eventually offering her a job after founding Parrish Aerial.
Now, their friendship was akin to sisterhood, and Parrish Aerial was an established aid to local emergency crews, the preferred hospital transport team, and often a respected transportation option for VIPs valuing privacy and efficiency.
It was this blend of quiet opacity and startling clarity that earned her the callsign Cipher—a woman who could read what others couldn’t see. Cipher saw everything—and roasted everyone.
“She’s pretty. I’ll give you that.” Tobin conceded into the silence. Her stomach knotted, and it unnerved her. She wanted to pull away, to staunch this feeling before it grew.
“Blur, stop kidding yourself. She’s fucking gorgeous, and you’re attracted to her.
And you liked that she was flirting with you.
You arranged a private tour for her.” Tobin could feel the smugness radiating from her friend, even without looking at the grin she knew was plastered across her face.
“Some part of you wants to impress her. Explore that. Please.”
Tobin couldn’t bring herself to respond. She was attracted to Dr. Savage. The woman was gorgeous. Confidence poured from her—a quality Tobin had always found sexier than hell. She was short and toned, at least from what Tobin could tell through her clothes.
She struggled not to fixate on the dimpled chin that only served to highlight her perfectly plumped lips. The doctor fit her type, firmly. And—damn—she really was good with her hands.
Tobin’s forearm tingled with the memory of Dr. Savage’s hands on her.
When she slid their fingers together, her stomach had nearly dropped to the floor with how perfectly they fit.
If she wasn’t careful, she could let her mind drift into fantasies of where else Dr. Savage’s hands might fit perfectly.
Her pelvic floor clenched against her will. Fuck.
She was so entranced in thoughts of the doctor when Eddie’s voice startled her, announcing their approach over Lake Aether.
She hoped Dr. Savage and Delta were pleased with her efforts.
The view of the lake from this height truly was breathtaking.
But even more, she hoped it showed sufficient gratitude for her treatment.
Her arm felt the best it had since the accident.
When they returned to the hospital, Tobin was overwhelmed with feelings and emotions she didn’t know how to assess. This woman had gotten under her skin, and it was crawling. The problem was, she didn’t know if the crawling was anticipation or a warning.
She couldn’t risk seeing her again. She needed to process what she was feeling.
She remained in the box office while Eddie assisted them back into the hospital.
Despite her efforts to push the doctor from her thoughts, she felt that precarious, hair-raising sensation on the back of her neck.
She felt eyes watching her but didn’t dare look up.
Tobin was quiet on their return to the hangar.
She was lost in the turmoil of her feelings, folding in on themselves with the constant Should I’s?
and Shouldn’t I’s? that plagued her overthinking brain.
They cleaned the chopper, and Tobin was about to hop into the Raven to visit LoLo when Eddie walked around the side and casually leaned her shoulder against the craft, a resigned look covering her typically glacial elegance.
“I just cleaned that!” Tobin exclaimed, delaying the inevitable delivery of what she knew was going to be news she didn’t want to hear.
“Woosah! I’ll wipe it again,” Eddie said coolly. Her face became expressionless as she proceeded, “You remember the children’s hospital gala in two weeks?”
“Yes…” Tobin replied, suspicion emanating from every pore. She continued to clean, refusing to look Eddie in the eyes.
“The hospital board of directors has decided to honor Parrish Aerial for our dedicated services transporting patients, and would like us to attend and receive the award in person.”
“You mean they are honoring you for your donation to grow their medevac crew, build two new helipads and increase our availability to transfer patients to and from the hospital?” Tobin retorted, fixing her gaze on the remains of a dried bug.
After several drawn out seconds, she dropped her arms in a huff, turned her gaze directly on Eddie and sighed as she said with resignation, “What are you roping me into?”
“It’s black tie, and you’re my date.” Eddie’s charming and extremely cocky grin hit nearly one thousand watts.
“And… your lady doctor is going to be there. She might even be the guest of honor! She’s up for the Physician of the Year Award.
Perfect opportunity for you to make your move, sweep her off her feet when she’s riding a high from the award.
” Eddie’s eyes shone, mischievous and hopeful at once.
Tobin sat motionless. “She’s not mine. She worked on my arm, once, as a favor to the hospital. We flirted; it was fun. But it’s not going anywhere. I have too much going on. I can’t lose sight of my goals—of kids.” Then, quieter, “I can’t lose anyone again.”
“Blur, you can’t let Talia’s spineless decision forever prevent you from finding love. You deserve someone that can love you for what and who you are outside of piloting.”
Tobin bristled at the mention of her ex, she didn’t need further commentary from Eddie right now.
She knew Eddie knew she would comply—she was nothing if not dedicated to her friend, and truly supported her humanitarian efforts.
Still, she rolled her eyes at her. “Did you choose ‘spineless’ intentionally?”
Eddie pushed herself off the helicopter and started to walk away.
She gracefully turned around and walked backward, the ponytail of her long, champagne-colored hair whipping behind her.
“Of course, I did. I’ve been waiting to make that joke for hours!
But, in reality, it’s true. Talia was spineless.
You don’t leave someone you love because you’re scared of losing them.
You communicate. You make it work. Or it wasn’t truly love at all.
Dr. Savage might not be any different. But she might be the difference you need. Call her.”
Tobin climbed into the Raven and shut the door without acknowledging Eddie.
She needed to clear her head, and the best way to accomplish that was to shut out the noise around her with the whirring of helicopter blades.
And a good, strong hug from LoLo, who was expecting her after the phone call she made to her before she was ambushed with that treatment from Dr. Savage.
Shit. Clearing her mind was going to be harder than she thought.
Her arm really felt amazing, though. Hours later, it still tingled with the memory of her touch.
Dammit! This was going to be an extraordinarily long ride if she couldn’t change the topic in her own damn mind.
What would her therapist, Nadia, tell her to do?
Take a couple deep breaths and exhale the interloping notions of nonsense.
Visualize the reality around her, and avoid catastrophizing the situation.