by Tara Wylde
“Ugh.” The word slips out of my mouth before I can stop it. “That’s not what I wanted to do today.”
“I know what you wanted to do,” I hear my mom hiss as she carries the hamburger to the stove. I glare at her while she sets a skillet on the stove top and starts making a hamburger patty.
“I can think of a few things I’d rather be doing as well.” The sensual warmth in Ronan’s voice assures me that he’s been thinking along the same lines that I’ve been. “But I did get them to agree to pay a small bonus since this is so last minute and during our down time.”
My mom tosses the hamburger patty onto the skillet. The meat hisses when it connects with the pan.
“When are we supposed to take off?” My stomach does a funny little jump as I watch my mom dig a spatula out of a drawer.
“In about forty minutes.”
“Forty minutes,” I half yell. “Are you insane? That’s not enough time for me to get there and do a pre-flight check.” Even by Northwest’s standards, this is cutting things ridiculously close.
Another thought occurs to me. I spin and look out the window at the front yard. Mom’s van is parked in its usual spot, but my Buick is nowhere to be seen. “My car is still in the parking lot next to the airport. I have no way of getting there.” With my luck, Northwest will use this as an excuse to dock my pay.
“I know,” Ronan say calmly. “I’m already at the airport. I’ll take care of the pre-flight check so that we can take off as soon as you get here. I talked to one of the baggage boys who was clocking out and paid him to take my truck and drive out and pick you up. He should be getting there in about ten minutes.”
Which gives me just enough time to get dressed and brush my teeth, but not enough time to shower. Oh well. If Ronan likes me as much as he claims to, he probably won’t mind that I’m a little smelly.
“Okay, that should work. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
I disconnect the call and turn around just as my mom slides the spatula under her burger patty and flips the raw side down. A cloud of raw meat-scented steam billows up from the pan, enveloping me.
This time, my stomach doesn’t jump. It pitches a full-on temper tantrum.
I slap a hand over my mouth as thick bile pushes its way up my throat and rush for the bathroom.
Cassie
Standing by the bathroom sink, I hear the doorbell ring.
“Cassie,” my mom bellows a few seconds later. “There’s some guy here that says he’s supposed to take you to the airport. If this is the one you’ve been sleeping with, he’s way too young.”
I hear her words, but they don’t really sink in.
All I can do is stand here, my hands braced on the side of the sink, tummy churning, and pray that it was just a fluke that my stomach revolted the second I smelled the meat. I can’t possibly have been morning sickness because that only happens during a pregnancy and I’m not pregnant. Right?
“Cassie?” my mom calls a second time. The sharpness of her tone jolts me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah,” I yell back. “I’m almost ready to go. I’ll be there in a minute.”
I grab my toothbrush and squirt a line of Colgate on the bristles. As I brush my teeth I study my reflection. I look the same as the last time I stood in this same place and brushed my teeth. And aside from the dark cloud of dread hanging over my head, I feel the same.
I’ve never wanted a baby and have always been so careful, insisting my partner uses a condom. If they refused to put one on, I wouldn’t let them touch me.
But with Ronan, I’ve apparently managed to lose my mind. That first night we were together, I was so caught up in what he was doing to my body, I hadn’t even noticed we hadn’t bothered with protection. The realization hadn’t struck me until my head was hanging over the toilet and I was emptying my stomach of the little that remained of last night’s barbeque.
I spit a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink and rinse my toothbrush. Straightening, I eye my flat stomach in the mirror.
No matter how hard I stare at it, I can’t decide if it looks like there’s a baby growing inside of it.
“Cassie,” my mom yells again.
“Coming.”
I don’t have time to deal with this right now. First, I need to focus on my job. Besides, I might be worrying myself over nothing.
Willing my jumpy nerves to relax, I grab my purse and hurry out of the bathroom and toward the front door.
Cassie
Aaron, the guy Ronan sent to pick me up, is a gangly nineteen-year-old who has wild bright red hair that sticks out in all directions and a bad case of acne.
He’s a cheerful young man who is so excited about being able to drive a truck that was made in this century, that he doesn’t notice that I don’t say anything to him during the drive.
“Do you think Ronan is going to stick around longer than some of the other guys who have been coming through Northwest lately?” he asks as he turns onto the road that leads to the airport’s employee entrance.
The question surprises me. It’s the first thing he’s said that’s not related to the truck. “I don’t know. Why do you ask?”
“He seems like a decent guy. Not like the other guys who seem to think that the sun rises and sets just for them and that guys like me aren’t worth jack just because we’re doing menial work.”
I smile. It’s nice to know that Ronan is nice to everyone and not just people he’s sleeping with.
“He’s a good pilot,” I tell Aaron, “so I hope he’ll stick around.” Without any conscious thought on my part, my hand moves to my stomach, covering the spot where Ronan’s and my baby is, assuming there is a baby. If there is will Ronan stick around? Or will he split so fast he leaves a vapor trail in his wake? “Only time will tell.”
The familiar sign of a drug store a mile from the airport catches my eye. I sit up straight.
“Can we stop here?”
Aaron’s eyes dart to the sign and then to the dashboard clock. “I don’t know,” he says, a touch of uncertainty coloring his words. “You’re supposed to take off in a few minutes.”
“I’m the captain. The plane isn’t going anywhere without me,” I remind him. “And I have a bit of a headache and would like to pick up a bottle of aspirin. It’ll only take a second.”
Aaron shrugs good naturedly and swings the truck into the pharmacy’s parking lot. He stops the truck in front of the building rather than taking the time to slide the vehicle into a parking spot.
“Thanks.” I flash him a distracted smile as I jump out of the vehicle and into the hot Texas sunlight.
I’ve never been in this drug store before so it takes a few precious moments before I finally locate the section I need. A few more seconds slide by as I try to figure out which of the hundred or so tests in the store suits my needs.
I clutch the box and hold it in front of me as I head to the checkout. Luckily there’s no one in line. I pass the box to the bored looking cashier. She reads the package as she scans it.
“Oh!” she squeals. “A baby. Aren’t you lucky!”
“Yeah,” I mutter darkly as I pass her my debit card. “Lucky all right.”
“Have you and your husband been trying for long?” She pulls out a small plastic bag and slips the box inside while she waits for the store’s computer system to process my card.
“No, it’s a surprise to us.” And if I’m lucky, the test will prove that it’s nothing but a false alarm.
“Oh, that’s the best kind of surprise. Sign this please.” She passes the receipt to me. “Are you hoping for a boy or girl?”
I’ve never understood why people ask questions like that. Once the kid is conceived, there’s nothing that can be done to change the gender so what’s the point of wanting it to be one gender or the other?
“I’m not going to think about that until I see what the test says,” I tell her. I also don’t add that it’d be best if the test shows that there isn’t any baby at a
ll.
She laughs. “That’s probably a good idea.” She hands the bag to me. “Good luck. And don’t forget to stop in here for things like diapers, bottles, formula, and some of the baby’s first toys. If you join our loyalty program, you’ll enjoy a significant discount.”
“Thanks.” I shove the bag into my purse. Thanks to her chatting, I’m now late. I hate being late.
I practically run out of the store and throw myself into the truck.
“Did you get what you need?” Aaron asks as he throws the truck into drive and steps on the gas. The truck responds so fast that I’m slammed backward against the seat.
“I hope so.”
Ronan
I tap my foot impatiently against the tarmac and eye the front gate.
“She’s late,” Bruno Garrick, the man who’d called and said he needed Cassie and me to fly to Helena and back again, says. He glances at his watch for about the fourth time in the past ten minutes. “Typical female.”
I glare at him. Bruno was waiting for me when I first arrived at the airport, and hasn’t left my side since. During that time, he’s made a handful of disparaging remarks about women in general. If this is the kind of attitude that Cassie has been dealing with from everyone at Northwest, I can see why she’s so pissed off at the world’s male population.
“I’m sure she’s doing her best to get here,” I tell him. “It’s not like you gave either of us much time. You’re lucky one or both of us hadn’t left town.”
Bruno shrugs. “It’s the way the business goes. One of the other airline’s planes broke down and we agreed to handle the passengers they had booked. It’s a win-win situation. We earn some extra money and the Helena airport isn’t stuck with a bunch of angry tourists.”
Bruno glances at his watch again and mutters something under his breath.
Movement at the front gate catches my eye and my heart rate kicks up a notch as a big sappy smile spreads across my face. I wonder if this is how I’ll always react whenever Cassie is in my vicinity. I hope so.
“She’s here,” I tell Bruno.
“It’s about damn time.” Bruno glances at my face. He crosses his arms over his ample chest and smiles smugly. “Looks like the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?” I ask.
“The ones about you and Cassie Mayers getting frisky in Lynette’s office. She was fit to be tied. I accused her of hallucinating. Figured Cassie was too much of an ice queen to get funky with anyone.” Bruno sidles closer and nudges me with his elbow. “How’d you do it?”
I shoot him a dark look. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
Bruno gives a full-bodied laugh. “Oh, that’s a good one. I’ll have to remember it.”
Aaron slides the truck to a stop a few feet from us and Cassie leaps out of the cab. Her beat-up old flight bag hangs from her shoulder and the fingers of her right hand grasp her small leather purse.
She says something to Aaron before slamming the truck’s door closed and turning toward us.
Our eyes meet, and it feels like the weight of the world lifts from my heart. Just like that, the world becomes a better place. If I’d known falling in love would feel this good, I would have found Cassie and done it years ago.
Beside me, Bruno lets out a low, appreciative whistle. “Ice queen or not, that is a hell of a nice piece of ass. Can’t blame you for taking a run at her.”
My jaw clenches. As soon as I figure out what’s going on at Northwest, I’m going to plant my fist right in the middle of his face. Maybe that’ll teach him to treat women with respect.
Cassie smiles and hurries toward me. I take in the paleness of her skin and the tiny dents at the corners of her eyes.
“Hey,” she greets me, sounding just a little breathless.
“Hey yourself.” I reach out and twine my fingers through hers. I draw her forward until our bodies touch. With my free hand I tip her chin up and lightly kiss her smile. “I’ve been waiting all day to that.”
Cassie’s eyelids droop to half mast, she looks like a content cat. “Me too.”
“Aww, how sweet,” Bruno grouses. “Now how ‘bout the two of you get your asses in the plane and fly it the hell out of here? We do have a schedule to keep.”
Cassie
Painfully aware of Ronan’s eyes boring into my back and the secret I have hidden deep within my purse, I tuck my handbag into my flight bag, and tuck that bag in the small storage compartment behind the plane’s cockpit.
“Any problems during the pre-flight check?” I grab my headphones and settle them over my hair.
“Nope. Everything looked good. As soon as you’re settled, we’re ready to take off.” Ronan reaches out and strokes a finger a lightly across my cheek. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” A little worried that he’ll see something in my eyes that will alert him to my suspicions, I turn away from him and take my seat.
“Really?” Ronan settles into the first officer’s chair. “You look a little pale. And strained.”
“I have a bit of a headache and I hate being rushed,” I tell him. “Nothing more.”
“I am sorry about the late warning about this flight. Bruno sprang it on me just before I called you. Probably, I would have turned him down, but…” Ronan glances around the cockpit. “I’ll tell you about it once we’re airborne.”
His behavior more than his words piques my curiosity as I use the radio to communicate with air control. A second later, I get cleared for takeoff and Ronan and I guide the airplane away from the terminal and toward the runway.
The plane handles the takeoff perfectly. Once we level out at cruising altitude, I put it on auto-pilot and turn my attention to Ronan.
“We’re in the air, now spill.”
Ronan scans the flight panel and makes sure that the radio isn’t on. As one last precaution, he reaches behind us and makes sure that the door that divides the bridge from the rest of the plane is securely closed.
I snort. “The way you’re acting, you’d think you were about to share top military secrets.”
Ronan shoots me an amused glance. “Not quite that important, but I did a little research and think that this flight, or at least the return flight, holds the secret to what’s going on with Northwest.”
That’s unexpected.
“Really?”
“The fact that this flight was so last minute made me suspicious. So I did a little digging. About two hours before we’ll reach Helena, another Northwest plane is landing there. It’s on the return leg from a trip that included a stay in Sydney, Australia.”
“Okay,” I say. “And why’s that important?”
“Four days ago, thieves hit one of the smaller zoos just outside of Sydney.”
I raise a brow. “How do you even know that?”
Ronan chuckles. “Google alerts is worth its weight in gold.”
“I see. Did the thieves take more monkeys?”
Ronan shakes his head. “This time it was a pair of Spix’s macaws.”
I blink. “Parrots. Someone went to the trouble of breaking into a zoo just so they could steal some parrots. Why not just go to a pet store and buy one? It’d be cheaper and easier.”
“I don’t see the appeal myself, but these aren’t the type of parrots that you can buy for a few bucks. With the exception of the ones in zoos, they’re believed to be extinct. This particular pair not only bred successfully, but has also raised a few chicks. I haven’t been able to find out how much they’re worth on the black market, but I’m guessing there are people who’d pay a lot for them.”
“And you think Northwest is shipping them to Montana?”
“No,” Ronan corrects. “I think that Northwest is shipping them to Texas. And I think we’re carrying them on the final leg of the trip.” He casts another glance over his shoulder at the door and leans closer. “And I’ll tell you something else. One of the passengers, Paul Caplan, is a Northwest mechanic.”
“So? He’s probably being tr
ansferred to Montana, the poor guy.” I think Montana is beautiful, but it’s not a place I’d want to live. It gets way too cold during the winter.
“I don’t think that’s what’s happening here,” Ronan says. “I recognized him when he got on the plane. He was on the plane when we left Berlin, and I’ve seen him on at least two other flights that we’ve piloted. I think he’s the guy that is responsible for getting the stolen critters onto the planes.”
“Then why wasn’t he on the plane that came in from Australia?” I ask.
“I’m guessing there’s more than one animal wrangler,” Ronan hypothesizes. “Or maybe this was a spur of the moment robbery.”
“So, do you have a plan for proving exactly how we’re going to confirm that Northwest is a major player in the exotic animal trade?”
Grinning, Ronan reaches over and takes my hand. “We’re going to spy on Mr. Paul Caplan. If I’m right, he’ll lead us straight to the macaws. Once we find those, we’ll have all the proof we need.”
Cassie
“Normally, I try to spend my time off actually off the plane.” I hand Ronan a paper cup that’s full of instant coffee I just made in the plane’s microwave.
“Thank you.” Ronan’s gaze is fastened on the activities off the team of mechanics and support staff who hover around the plane, looking for even the slightest sign of … something.
I settle into the same seat I use while flying and take a sip of my coffee.
“Which one is this Paul Caplan guy that you suspect?” I ask.
Ronan nods to the northeast edge of the activity. “The big dude with the beer gut, goatee, and the salt and pepper hair.”
I scan the crowd. “The one tapping the wrench against his thigh?”
Ronan nods. “That’s the one.”
I take another sip of coffee. “If he really is involved in animal smuggling, or something else illegal, don’t you think he’ll be suspicious that we’re sitting here, in the plane?”