When Colton turned to leave, he almost ran into Ivy. “Whoa. Excuse me.”
“No, I’m sorry, I’m in your way.”
“Been watching long?”
“Oh, well . . .”
“Yes, she’s been there the whole time. I think she likes a man with soap on his hands.” Fatima winked at them both, and Colton laughed.
“Is it true?”
“What?” Ivy’s face was adorably pink.
“Do you like a man with soap on his hands?”
She laughed and turned away. “Generally, yes. I think that is a positive quality.”
“Noted.” He nodded his head.
She paused on the path, looking up into his face. All kinds of questions lingered there, and Colton didn’t want to delve into talking about any of them. Best keep showing her she might be wrong about him before he started trying to win her over into thinking he was right for her. Is that what he wanted? Did he want to . . . date Ivy? He had when he met her. But her obvious dislike of him, her very different approach to life, had almost convinced him that they were completely incompatible.
She walked with him back to the house. “Is it difficult?”
“What?”
“Laundry.”
He laughed, a deep, surprised, natural laugh. “Would you like to give it a try?”
“Honestly, yes. And I was so happy you carried that load for her. She looked like she might be swallowed up by the whole of it. How do they carry all that on their heads?”
“I don’t know, because it was heavy. And difficult to balance.”
“It’s incredible. I’ve always wondered how women carry those heavy loads. I love being here. I love this job. I’ve been able to go all over the world.”
“And fly fast planes.”
“Yes, and fly fast planes.”
They walked along in such a companionable silence it was hard for him to believe she’d sent such a letter about him. Perhaps he’d already changed her mind? “Fatima said dinner would be ready in less than an hour. And I get the impression she appreciates timely guests.”
Ivy laughed. “Noted.” Then she turned to him. “Thank you . . . for today. It was nice.”
“You’re welcome. I appreciate you and Omar coming early so we could do some team bonding.”
“It’s important. I wouldn’t have thought so yesterday, but I think it was a great idea.”
He bit his tongue, and instead of teasing her about giving him a chance, he just said, “You’re welcome.”
Again her face was full of questions. She teetered toward him for a moment, and his heart skipped a little bit with a new, fizzy kind of hope. Nope. This was not happening right now. Not while they were on assignment together,he told himself. But then when her eyes smiled back at him, he wondered if he might just test out the idea a little bit.
“Well, I’ll see you at dinner.” Her suddenly shy smile warmed him further.
“Looking forward to it.”
They headed into their own rooms, which were agonizingly close to each other. How could he keep his focus when he knew she was right next door? He walked out onto the small balcony off of his room, and she exited at the same time beside him, a small railing in between.
“Oh!” She put a hand to her chest.
“Wow, there you are.” He shook his head.
“What do you mean, there you are?” She tilted her head, a familiar wariness returning to her expression.
“Nothing . . . You startled me as well. I came out here to think, you know?”
“Well, should I go back in? Give you your space?”
“No, please. It’s nothing like that. I’ll just go back in. You stay and enjoy.” He turned and closed his door. Then he fell onto his bed. This was going to be a long six months.
Chapter 6
The next morning, Ivy awoke unsettled. Her first thoughts were of Colton. Then when she tried to brush those aside, the next thoughts were also of Colton. She groaned and rolled over in her bed. It was lovely and soft, and her view out the window was filled with a patchwork of green trees and blue sky. What would they do today in this enchanting new place?
Since she couldn’t get Colton out of her mind, she pulled her laptop over and opened up a web browser. Typing in his name in the search bar felt either sneaky or teenager-ish, but she didn’t care. She had to know more about this man. She told herself that principally she was a tiny bit worried that she had misjudged him. But really, she knew that the trickle of intrigue had broadened into an unstoppable river. It wasn’t quite the waterfall they had seen yesterday, but she was curious, and she needed to know more.
The first page of search results was all about Top Flight. His missions had been wildly successful, making some part of national news in the various countries. Not quite like her first mission with Ace, which had made international news and created a congressional investigation. She shook her head. Ace was almost as bad as Colton at disregarding typical protocol, but she had nothing but respect for him. He wasn’t reckless necessarily. He was smart about things. Was Flyboy the same? A small part of her wanted to believe he was, the other part clung stubbornly to her first assessment of him.
But the next page started to delve deeper into his life. She saw snippets of evidence of his deployments, Afghanistan and Iraq. She saw things she already knew. He was considered the fastest pilot, daring, and an expert with these billion-dollar jets they flew.
Then she saw him with a football helmet at his side, his young eyes sparkling into the camera, and an Air Force football jersey on. She laughed. Ah, so Omar wasn’t the only football player. Colton had been a star receiver. A few more clicks and she discovered that he, too, had been drafted by the NFL. But from what she could tell, he never played professional ball.
She dug a little deeper. He was from Texas. The next picture she clicked on took the full screen. Young Colton, maybe high school or early college, smiled at her from atop a horse, a lasso in hand spinning above his head.
So, he rode horses.
She suddenly needed some water. His hotness level just amped up by like a thousand. Something she did not need right now. She pushed off the covers as she pulled up the article associated with the picture. No one knew it, but Ivy had a thing for a guy on a horse. She laughed at herself. She could blame the old westerns she used to read, but really, it was a matter of the cowboy. In her head, they were a dying breed of heroic gentlemen. They lived by a code of good manners and respect for women.
In Ivy’s parochial school in Boston, she’d ridden an English hunter jumper for the school’s team. And she’d even won a ribbon in an event once, but it had never sated her desire to ride across the plains of the old west. Did such a place exist anymore? She put the laptop aside, her thoughts well and truly distracted by her boss. Her boss. She tried to remind herself that theirs was a business relationship, that she had complained about him just last week, that he did not see her in any way other than a fellow pilot, and that they had work to do.
It didn’t matter. Colton up on a horse, after he’d been so . . . new and appealing, was more than her resistance could take at the moment.
A knock at her door made her jump and squeal. She dropped her face into her hands. She had not just squealed.
“Ivy?” Colton’s voice through the door shot a bolt of electricity through her. She jumped up, ran a tongue over her teeth, pulled her hair back in some kind of bun, wrapped a robe around herself, and opened her door.
“You doing all right in there?” He craned his neck to see past her.
“Of course.” She widened the door to show him a perfectly normal room. Then she gasped at her laptop, still open to a full-screen image of Colton on a horse. But he seemed not to notice.
“Yep. Can’t see a single reason you should be yelping and hollering in here.”
“I’m not. Yelping and hollering. You knocking on my door just surprised me.”
“Something you don’t want anyone to know about?”
> “What? No.” She would have given anything at that moment to run to her laptop and close it. Luckily, the screen blackened. She let out a slow breath. “So, what can I do for you?”
“Omar and I want to take out the horses.” Did she imagine it, or did his gaze flicker to her computer screen?
Her cheeks warmed. “Do—Do you?” She looked away.
“Yes. But we want to go out early—now—so we have time to go into town this afternoon.” He waited, studying her face. When she couldn’t find her voice to answer like a normal person, he added, “You in?”
When she nodded, his smile grew. “Okay, then. See you downstairs in ten. Jeans are good. Closed-toed shoes.”
She nodded again and then closed the door. Leaning back against its cool surface, she tried to catch her breath. Colton. On a horse. Colton, seeing evidence that she’d been searching him online. Colton. She shook her head. If she wanted to keep any distance at all between them, she must not get up on a horse with Colton.
She closed her eyes. But how could she resist? She loved riding. That land out her window was just begging for someone to tear across it on the back of a beautiful animal. And besides, Omar would be with them. She straightened and hurried to her suitcase. She would go. She would talk to Omar. And she would manage this new, odd fascination with her boss.
But was he really her boss? Ivy was a team leader as well. She’d run several of her own assignments, with the board only remotely involved. They were more partners than boss and employee. Right?
She shook her head, slipping on her favorite soft jeans. She splashed water on her face, added a touch of mascara, brushed her teeth, and then headed out the door.
Omar and Colton were down on the front porch, and it looked like they were stuffing biscuits in their mouths. Omar waved.
Fatima came toward her. “These boys. They can’t even sit at the table to eat their meal.” She gestured to a huge selection of fruits and breads and some salami. “Please, eat.”
Ivy sat and smiled. “This is lovely. Thank you.” She poured herself some juice and filled her plate. “I hear you have horses here?”
“I do. They’re really my neighbor’s, but we have an agreement. Good animals. Do you ride?”
“I did when I was younger. I loved it.”
“Ah, yes. Once you are up on an animal as magnificent as a horse, you don’t often forget. It becomes a part of you.”
“Yes, it does.” She sipped her juice. “This is delicious.”
“I make it from the mangoes hanging in that tree out back. We have Aracaju and maracuja also. Coconut water is my base. Maybe you stay longer with us?”
She laughed. “If you keep spoiling us like this, I will be tempted. Everything is just right. Thank you, Fatima.”
“And your men.” Fatima fanned herself. “Are they as good as they are handsome?” Her grin was kindly, and her eyes twinkled.
Ivy nearly choked on her bit of a buttered roll. “They are good men.” She tried to recover her equilibrium. “When they aren’t goofing around.”
“Ah, yes, men do that. They can’t help it. I think they never really grow past the age of twelve.”
Ivy laughed. “That would explain some things.”
Colton moved past their window, balancing a rock on the top of his nose. His arms were out, and his head back. Omar laughed and cheered until the rock fell.
“You see?” Fatima wiped her hands on the front of her apron. “But if you can find a good one, they will keep you warm and happy all your days.” She moved away. “Enjoy your day.”
“Thank you.” Ivy considered her words as she savored the last few swallows of her juice. The way Fatima described marriage, who wouldn’t want to find someone to keep them warm and happy all their days?
When she exited the front door, both Omar and Colton had rocks balancing on their faces, trying to outdo each other. Omar stood on one foot. “Okay, now switch feet.”
“I hope I didn’t keep you.” Ivy stepped closer.
“No way. I’ve just got to beat Omar here, and then we can be off.” Colton switched feet. The rock wobbled but stayed in place. But then Omar sneezed, and the game was over.
“That just isn’t fair.”
“All’s fair, dude. You should know that.” Colton grinned.
As they made their way to the stables at the side of the property, which Ivy now knew sat on their neighbor’s land, Omar jogged up ahead. “I want a rematch.”
“Any day, man. You’re on.”
As soon as they were saddled up and Ivy sat on a beautiful speckled mare, she didn’t think life could get any better. They had used an English saddle for her, and the other two rode western. Their horses shone in the morning sun. They were healthy, full of energy, and Ivy wanted to prance on the inside with her horse. “We ready?”
“Oh? Does Ivy ride, do you think?” Colton asked.
Omar studied her. “Sure looks like it. Hey guys, don’t be letting me fall off this animal.”
“What? Omar. You fly fighters. You gonna be worried about a little bit of horse?” Colton clucked, and his horse led the way.
“I’m not worried about it. I just value my back . . . and my backside.” He laughed and winked at Ivy.
She snorted.
Colton turned and laughed. “Just trust your horse. These animals know the land.”
Omar’s horse fell in behind Colton’s. Which was good because Ivy was doing everything she could not to notice Colton. They walked out of the main area around the house, and through the first opened fence. From there, land stretched in all directions.
Without warning, Colton shouted. “Hiyah!” And his horse took off out across the pasture.
Omar followed, and Ivy, for a moment, shook her head. They didn’t know the land—or the horses—at all. He’d developed no relationship with the powerful, moving force beneath him. One thing she’d learned in her riding was the unpredictable nature of the animals they rode. But no amount of spouting the rules in her mind could diminish her appreciation of the sight of such a beautiful man atop a horse, riding across the pasture.
“What are you waiting for?” Fatima called from the house. “Go taste the freedom!” She laughed and shooed Ivy away with a dishcloth as though she were a young child.
Ivy laughed and nudged her horse. That was all it took for the beautiful mare to tear out after the others. Soon they were in a smooth canter, and she laughed in the wind. She caught up to the others, and the three rode side by side.
The land flew past them in a blur, and Ivy didn’t think she’d experienced anything as exhilarating, outside of flying a jet. Colton’s eyes were on her, which left a tingling awareness coursing through her. Adrenaline pumping madly, she lifted her hands out to her sides. “Yes!” she hollered, and smiled up into the sun.
Chapter 7
Colton didn’t think Ivy had it in her. When she’d stayed behind, he could almost feel her disapproval shooting daggers at his back.
With her hands out, and her face free and smiling, she’d painted such a pretty picture he didn’t think he could ever look away.
Who was this woman? Gone was any resemblance to the other Ivy he’d seen. The one who carried around a spreadsheet like it was her Bible. This woman before him looked like there was nothing in the world that would hold her back. The power of her freedom struck him, and he remembered once again why he flew planes in the first place. It was that look right there beaming out of Ivy while she rode horses, that joy. Did she look the same when she flew?
They rode out to the end of the pasture where Fatima had told him there was a patch of green grass and a small stream-fed pond. When they each hopped off their horse, Omar groaned and walked around with a full wide-thighed duck waddle. “I will never be the same. Dude, I’m gonna be sore while trying to train the pilots. Is that what you wanted?”
Colton laughed. “You’re gonna be just fine. Look at Ivy. It’s like she was born on a horse.”
She was rotating
her arms in a semi stretch that emphasized the length of her beautiful body, and Colton had to force himself to keep things light. Wow. What a woman. Seeing her on a horse like she was . . . that image was going to stay with him for a long time. Too long.
She turned to Omar. “It’s gonna hurt tomorrow. No doubt about it. Not all of us have been riding horses since we could walk.”
Colton studied her. Would she realize she’d just given away an intimate knowledge of his past? Seeing his face on her computer screen, an old high school picture of himself, had done things to him, more things than were already racing through him in response to Ivy. She’d googled him. His grin started small. “You maybe haven’t ridden for as long as I have, but you’re both naturals. You look like you belong on a horse.” His eyes watched Ivy, who disappointingly did little in response.
But Omar made a huge fuss. “Well, I’ll be sitting over here, holding up this tree, if you need me. If my eyes close, don’t even think about messing with me, Flyboy.”
Colton looked up into the sun. “Well, I’m going to take a dip.”
“What? Again?” Ivy looked like she might turn and run.
“You nervous?” He grinned and then pulled off his shirt, totally gratified with her obvious perusal of his upper half. But he deflected. “The water around here is perfectly safe. Though it might be chilly.” He made his way to the edge, but he didn’t dive in as he’d planned. He still had his jeans on, and suddenly, he thought stripping down to his compressions would not be the funny idea he’d originally thought. So he just dipped a hand in and showered his top half with water. As the rivulets ran down his torso, he enjoyed the refreshing feel on his skin.
“Now that’s just unfair,” Ivy said as she approached.
“What?”
“You, stripping down to your skin and splashing water all over yourself.”
“It’s perfectly fair. You’re welcome to do the same.”
Omar snorted.
But Ivy stepped closer and raised one eyebrow in challenge. “Just what are you saying, Lieutenant?”
Flyboy Page 4