Chrissy blushed at his smirk.
“Speaking of lances, did you buy enough batteries?”
“Mama bought a really big pack of D batteries.”
Rex let out a loud guffaw.
In a conspiratorial voice, Mariah said, “I think she bought toys.”
Between laughs Rex said, “I’m sure she did.”
Mariah joined in Rex’s laughter.
“Ha. Ha. You two think you are so funny.”
The remainder of the hour-long trip to the airport was filled with quiet chatter and jokes. The closer they got the quieter Mariah seemed to be. As they pulled up to the drop off, Chrissy’s own nerves seemed to be in her throat. Doubt swirled around her as she sat, stopped in the drop off lane.
“You getting out?” Rex asked.
“Yep.”
He cocked an eyebrow then said, “You know you have to actually open the door.”
“Yep.”
Rex reached over, unbuckled her seatbelt and unlocked her door. He quickly jumped out of his side of the car and ran around to hers. Opening the door, he squatted down next to her.
“Let go of the steering wheel.”
“Ok.” Chrissy’s hands remained on the wheel.
Rex pried her hands off the wheel holding them in his. “This will be great. You will be great. Mariah will be great.”
Chrissy’s eyes finally focused on his and she nodded. Rex nodded back then stood pulling her out the door. With a giant sigh, she flung her arms around him.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“As your squire, it is my duty to make sure you get out of the car.”
She smacked his flat stomach.
“Ass.”
“Yep.” Rex kissed her temple then moved to the trunk to retrieve their bags.
“Come on, Mariah. We need to go get checked in then sit for three hours before our flight.”
Mariah climbed out of the car carrying the stuffed sloth Talia had given her on her last trip home. Rex wheeled their bags over to the curb. He kneeled in front of Mariah.
“I’m going to see you soon. Will you take care of your mama?” Rex asked.
Mariah clutched the sloth to her while nodding her head.
“Good.” Rex opened his arms. Mariah snuggled against him. He gave her a squeeze then stood.
“You better get out of here before I lose my cool.” He wiped a tear from his eye.
“Alright you big baby.” Chrissy’s voice wavered in the end.
Chrissy took Mariah’s hand. They both rolled their suitcases toward the automatic doors. As they approached them, Chrissy watched Rex in the reflection of the windows. His eyes didn’t leave them until they walked through the doors toward their new adventure.
Chapter 6
The Suzy Surprise
“Mama, I’m hungry,” Mariah whined.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. As soon as the plane gets moving, they will give us a snack. Why don’t you read one of the books in your backpack?” Chrissy pulled Mariah’s pack out from under the seat in front of them.
The plane had been grounded for two hours. No one had told them what was going on but with a six-year-old getting antsy Chrissy was at a loss. In choosing their seats, she was sure to pick some in the front of the plane. However, she was seated next to a man whose hands had already wondered away from his area. His leer made her cringe. On the other side of the aisle sat a woman who clearly disliked children. Any time Mariah said anything she would huff and glare at them. If the plane didn’t get moving soon, Chrissy would lose her mind.
A buzzing sound was coming from Mariah’s backpack. Chrissy reached for the bag, but Mariah pulled it away from her. Trying not to make a scene, Chrissy grabbed for the bag. In Mariah’s haste to keep the bag away the contents spilled out. A long purple cylinder with googly eyes and pipe cleaner hair caught her eye. It was bouncing around on the ground. As Chrissy looked closer, she hurriedly unbuckled her seatbelt and pounced on the object. Unfortunately, when Chrissy stood with the object, the woman across the aisle started screaming.
“TERRORIST!!!!” she screamed.
Chrissy looked around trying to figure out who she was screaming about. When she looked back at the woman, she pointed a shaking finger at her. She threw her hands in the air to indicate she wasn’t a terrorist.
“TERRORIST!!! SHE HAS A BOMB IN HER HAND!!!” she screamed again.
“Nnnnoooo. This..uh..this isn’t a b—” Before Chrissy finished her sentence she found herself flying through the air landing on her back. The breath left her in a whoosh.
“Stay down, ma’am. Hand me what is in your hand,” the stranger crushing her demanded.
“Ok,” she wheezed then handed the object to him.
He took it from her hand. Silence descended around them. His weight continued to press her into the floor of the plane.
“Uh…is this…um.”
“A vibrator with googly eyes? Yes.” Chrissy’s muffled words were barely audible.
“What’s with the pipe cleaners?”
Before Chrissy could say anything else, Mariah yelled. “Give me Suzy back.”
“Wha?” he said.
“My dolly. Give her back.”
Chrissy craned her head to see Mariah pointing to the vibrator.
“Uh,” he said.
“Can you get off me, please?” Chrissy asked.
“Oh. Yeah. I’m sorry.” His weight left her.
Chrissy rolled over, making eye contact with all the people around them looking at her then the offending object in his hand. His empty hand was held out to help her up. Placing her hand in his he pulled her to her feet.
Looking at him she saw he wore a shirt with the words “airline security” across the pocket. The shirt was tight across his muscular chest. Chrissy’s eyes traveled across the concealed ropes of muscles. A bit of a tattoo peaked out from one of his sleeves. Dragging her eyes further up, a chiseled jaw that was covered with a five o’clock shadow. Gleaming white teeth shown past plump lips lifted into a smile. A nose that had clearly been broken before added to the stranger’s ruggedness. But the emerald pools that glittered made her knees weak. His ruggedly handsome face was framed by a shaggy haircut that begged for a woman to run her hands through his locks. Mr. Sinfully Sexy had one hell of an effect on a woman but he was no Max Hamilton. And why the hell was she thinking of him while standing in front of Captain Sexypants.
“I want my dolly.”
“Sweetie, I can’t give this to you right now. I need to talk to your mommy for a minute. Can you go sit in your seat?”
Chrissy watched as her daughter slowly crossed her arms and cocked out a hip. Uh-oh. It was her “my way or the highway” stance. Mariah’s eyes squinted as she took in the man in front of her and found him lacking.
“No,” she spat.
“Mariah, please—"
“Little Miss, you need to listen to me. I am an airplane policeman. Have you learned about policemen in school?”
Her arms dropped, and she nodded her head.
“What did they tell you about policemen?” He stared down at her.
“To listen to them.”
“Alright. Then what should you be doing right now?”
“Sitting down.”
“Ok. Now, scoot.” He pointed toward her seat.
Mariah walked back to her seat but before she sat down, she said, “I still want Suzy back.”
That was her daughter alright. Had to get the last word in no matter what.
Captain Sexypants turned toward her with that sinful smile. “I need to speak with you in the back of the plane.”
His voice felt like a caress. All Chrissy could do was follow him like a puppy.
Once they were in the back of the plane away from the prying eyes and ears of the other passengers, he turned toward her. His smile had turned into a smirk.
“Why did you bring this onto the plane, Ms.?”
“Benson. Chrissy Benson.”
&n
bsp; “Well, Ms. Benson, how did you manage to get this onto the plane?” He shook the vibrator/doll in front of her.
Chrissy bit her lip stopping the laugh that wanted to bubble up from her. “Mariah had it in her bookbag. I didn’t even know she had it. It had gone through security so I’m guessing it really did look like a doll under the x-ray.”
He looked at her then at the vibrator. In a lowered voice he said, “When you first handed this to me, I was wondering why the googly eyes. I was trying to figure out if that did something a little extra.”
A snort escaped Chrissy. “I assure you I wouldn’t know how the googly eyes would benefit. The rest of mine don’t have them.” When Chrissy realized what she’d said she slapped her hands over her mouth.
“You have more than this one?”
Chrissy just nodded refusing to look at him.
“Huh. I wouldn’t think a beautiful woman like you would need help in these matters. Men are probably flocking to you.”
Chrissy let out a laugh with that. “Yeah, right. Most see single mom and avoid me like the plague.”
“Their loss.” He smirked again. Something unsaid sparked in his deep green eyes.
A few beats of silence fell between them. Then Chrissy asked, “May I return to my seat now.”
“Oh. Uh, yes. I just need to take the batteries out of this. Then your daughter may have Suzy back.” He fumbled with the vibrator turning in on and off with no luck of taking the batteries out.
“Let me.” She took it from him and deftly removed the batteries. “Here you go.” She handed the batteries to him.
His fingers brushed against hers causing electricity to shoot up her arm. He must have felt it too because he squeezed her hand before letting her go.
“You can go back to your seat.” As Chrissy turned, he stopped her. “My name is Rory.”
Chrissy nodded then walked up the aisle to her seat between the creeper and Mariah. She handed the “doll” back to Mariah then buckled her seatbelt.
“I refuse to fly on this plane with a terrorist. I insist she and that little hellion of hers be ejected right away.” The woman who had started all of the uproar spoke loudly to one of the flight attendants.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. The air marshal has cleared her to fly,” the flight attendant said.
“Well, this is ridiculous. You are putting us all in danger.” She stood waving her hands toward them.
“Ma’am!” Rory’s deep rumble quieted her instantly. “Please have a seat. You are currently the one causing a disturbance.”
“Well, I never in all my times flying have been treated in such a way.”
Chrissy could tell she was amping up to start her rant all over again.
“You have a choice, ma’am. Either you sit and prepare for the plane to finally take off or you will be escorted off of the plane before we depart.” Rory waited for her answer with his arms crossed showing just how big his biceps were.
The woman plopped into her seat and glared at Mariah and Chrissy again.
Rory leaned toward the woman. “If I hear you are harassing this young woman and her daughter, I will make sure your ass is on the no fly list. You won’t have to worry about flying any longer.”
When Rory turned to move back to the rear of the plane, he looked at Chrissy and winked. A thrill zinged through her. The smile he’d brought to her face was a permanent fixture for the entirety of the flight.
Chapter 7
Driving Mr. Sexypants
After the plane landed, Chrissy and Mariah wound their way through the labyrinth of an airport to the baggage claim. Most of the passengers gave them a wide berth except for the handsy creeper who found reasons to touch her. When the creeper touched her on her arm for the fifth time, Chrissy spun toward him with venomous words ready to fire at him.
“Stop fucking touch—” Her words died when she realized it wasn’t creeper anymore. It was Rory with the sexy smile.
“I believe you dropped this.” He handed her a folded piece of paper then walked away carrying his bag on his shoulder.
A horn sounded then a blue flashing light indicated their luggage was ready to disembark. Chrissy pulled Mariah away from the moving carousel while keeping her eye out for their luggage. Mariah’s bag was easy enough to pick out with the brightly colored cartoon characters all over it. Chrissy’s was just one of many dark colored bags. The only difference was the single piece of yarn tied to the handle.
Chrissy eyed Mariah’s bag, and a hand landed on her arm. “Let me get that.”
“Jeremiah!” she squealed.
He pulled Mariah’s bag off of the carousel then hugged her tight. Bending to one knee he looked at the sleepy Mariah. “How are you doing, scooter?”
“I’m tired. Will I see Tristan?” A yawn escaped Mariah as she gave Jeremiah a weak hug.
“Talia and Zeke are having a pool party tomorrow to welcome you and your mommy to L.A. Tristan will be there.”
“Ok.” She yawned again leaning her head on his shoulder.
In a matter of minutes Mariah was dozing on Jeremiah’s shoulder. Chrissy smiled. She couldn’t get Mariah to sleep the entire flight but one minute with Jeremiah and she was out.
“So, who was the hunk that you were talking to?”
“Who?”
Jeremiah shoved her shoulder. “You know who. He gave you a note.”
Chrissy blushed. “He’s an air marshal. He was just giving me something I dropped.”
“Sweetie, that man was into you. Did you even drop anything?”
Chrissy thought a moment. She couldn’t remember even having a piece of paper for her to drop. Taking the paper out of her pocket, she opened it.
Chrissy,
I’d like to see you again.
Call me
Rory
“Holy Shit! Mr. McHotty wants a piece of our little Chrissy. You go, girl.”
“Shut up, Jeremiah!” Chrissy blushed.
“I can’t wait to tell Tally.” He smirked.
“Don’t you dare,” Chrissy admonished.
“Oh, it’s going to happen.”
Chrissy sighed. Exhaustion was beating down on her. She watched the few bags left on the carousel. Looking around she realized they were the only ones left from the flight. Her bag definitely wasn’t one of the remaining bags on the carousel. Son Of A Bitch!
“You did bring a bag, correct?”
“Yes.”
“None of these are yours?”
“Nope.”
Jeremiah sighed. “Let’s go over to the baggage counter and file a claim.”
Jeremiah led her over to the counter where a surly woman loudly chewed gum and stared at Chrissy as if she were an alien. Chrissy told Jeremiah to have a seat with the still sleeping Mariah while she straightened out her baggage issue.
“Fill out this form,” the woman said popping her gum.
“Thank you.” Chrissy hurriedly filled out the form.
“Ok. I’ll have someone file it in the morning.” Pop. Pop. Pop.
Taking a deep breath, Chrissy said, “Isn’t there anything that can be done tonight? Everything I need is in there.”
Snap. Pop. Snap. Pop. “No. My hands are tied. Are you sure you checked luggage?” Snap. Pop.
“Yes, of course. Who wouldn’t know they checked a bag?”
The woman shrugged. “We will call you if we ever find it Ms.—” She looked down at the paper. “Bender.” Snap. Pop.
Chrissy walked away from the annoying woman before she did something irrational like commit murder.
“Let’s go, Jeremiah,” Chrissy snapped, easing her frustration.
“Where is your bag?” Jeremiah stood with the still sleeping Mariah.
“They don’t know where it is, but they have my information. That woman was as helpful as a hole in the head.”
Jeremiah laughed. “It will be fine. We will go shopping tomorrow for some things to tide you over until they find your bag.”
“Ok.” Chrissy looked around and saw Rory leaning against a pillar.
Jeremiah shoved her shoulder with his. “Go see if he needs a ride.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Looking over to him standing there alone she felt a bit sorry for him. With a shrug, she walked over to the handsome man. “Can I ride you?”
Rory’s eyes widened. “I’m not going to say no to that, but I’d really rather take you out first.”
“What?” Chrissy asked.
He chuckled. “I’d gladly let you ride me. Though you have to promise not to take advantage of my vulnerable state.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” She crossed her arms.
Rory licked his lips and stepped closer to her. “You asked to ride me. I’m too much of a gentleman and not a complete idiot to turn down a pretty woman.”
Chrissy sputtered. “I did not say that. I offered you a ride.”
The side of his mouth quirked up. “Yes, you did.”
“Ugh!” Chrissy threw her hands into the air. “Do you need a ride to your destination?”
He let out a laugh without answering.
“A ride in a car. Nothing else.” She huffed while feeling her face blush. Of course, she’d proposition the guy.
He looked around and nodded. “My brother was supposed to pick me up but one of his bartenders bailed on him tonight and he couldn’t get away. If you could take me to his bar, I could get a ride from there.”
“Sure.” Chrissy led him over to where Jeremiah stood.
Chrissy made introductions while they walked to Jeremiah’s very expensive SUV. Loading Mariah into the booster seat, Chrissy sat in the back with her. A bit awkwardly, Rory took the front passenger.
“So, where are we going, Rory?” Jeremiah asked pulling out of the short-term parking.
“Ceili.”
“Oh…that is a new hot spot.”
Rory nodded. “My brothers and I own it.”
“How do you own a bar and fly all the time? Isn’t that a bit difficult?”
“Yes, but that was my last flight. I almost didn’t take it. I’m glad I did.” He winked at her.
Scandal (Dirty Laundry Book 2) Page 4