She smelled like Mom. It was a wild hunch, but she’d acted on crazier hunches before. She swallowed. “Let’s do it.”
“As late as it is, we may want to stay over and return tomorrow. I’ll pack a bag and then go to the airport, refuel, and do the preflight inspection while it’s still daylight. We’ll leave as soon as you get there.”
By the time Livy arrived at the airport, she’d decided she’d lost her mind. She didn’t know Alex. At the very least she could have googled him, seen if he had any outstanding warrants or plane crashes. Get a grip. Alex was a certified flight instructor. So he said. Why would he lie? The argument raged in her head. She took out her phone and clicked on Google and typed his name in. Several hits came up. Alex had a web presence.
The first link took her to a newspaper article in Dallas. Alex Jennings, grandson of State Senator Josiah Jennings, obtains instrument rating. She skimmed the article on her screen. So Alex was from a wealthy family. She never would have guessed from the way he acted. And he was a certified flight instructor, among other things. Her face burned. It was better to know than to wonder. Now if she just didn’t throw up on the flight to Bristol. She grabbed her overnight bag and entered the terminal building.
“Hey, Miss Livy. About time you showed up around here again.”
She turned. Sam Golding. Before her father had taken off for Alaska, Sam had been a fixture at their house.
“Hi, Sam.” He hadn’t changed. Still skinny, maybe not as tall as she’d thought he was, but then she’d grown. Even so, he still towered over her. “How’s your wife?”
“She passed away a couple of years ago. Heart attack.”
“I’m sorry.” She really needed to stay in the loop better. She depended on Kate to keep her informed on what was going on in Logan Point, but sometimes Kate forgot to mention things.
Alex slipped in through the side door and nodded at the airport manager. “I’d like to rent that hangar I mentioned yesterday for a few days.”
“Sure thing. There’s a nice roomy one on the end. And we have a plane tug you can use to roll it in.”
“That’s great. I’ll write you a check when we get back.” Then he turned to Livy, and she warmed at his teasing smile.
“Are you ready?”
“As I ever will be.”
“That Bonanza is a sweet plane,” Sam said.
A sweet plane. Very reassuring. She followed Alex through the glass door to the taxi area, where the plane waited.
“Did you tell Kate where we were going?”
“No, just that we had a lead on Samantha Jo’s case. I didn’t want to get her hopes up only to have her disappointed.” She had to walk faster to keep up with the long-legged pilot. “Do you think Robyn holds the key to Samantha Jo’s disappearance?”
“I hope she does, because if not, I don’t have a clue where to start looking other than Nashville.” He climbed up on the wing and opened the door to the plane, and then he gave her a hand up before climbing into the cockpit.
Livy climbed in after him, and once she was settled, she glanced at all the gauges. “I hope you know what all of these thingies are supposed to do.”
“Me too.” He kept a straight face as he handed her the earphones. “This thingy will make talking on the flight easier and protect our ears.”
She slipped the earphones on, aware of how close Alex was, and when he leaned over to adjust the headset, she caught a light woodsy fragrance. With precise movements, he flipped switches and pushed and pulled plungers before turning the key on the engine. She swallowed hard when the prop turned once and quit.
“It never starts on the first try.” He turned the key again, and the engine fired up. “See?”
As Alex spoke into his microphone to Sam, requesting permission to taxi and take off, she swiveled around, looking for any incoming planes.
The plane rolled toward the runway, and once there, Alex revved the engine. The plane raced down the tarmac, and they were soon airborne. As the plane rose higher, he circled the airport and flew east. Below her, the lights of Logan Point glowed in the dusky evening.
“You okay?” Alex’s voice sounded far away.
“I’m fine. It’s beautiful.”
“Oh yeah. This is my favorite time of day. Poets call it the gloaming—when it’s not quite day or night.”
For a while neither spoke. Tension eased from Livy’s body as the light dimmed into night, and stars that seemed close enough to touch emerged. A sigh escaped her lips. She didn’t know what she’d been so frightened of. And it wasn’t like this was her maiden flight. Her dad had taken her up in a friend’s plane when she was a child and again later as a teen after he bought his own plane. Now she regretted not going up with him more often.
Time passed as the plane droned across the sky. They occasionally made small talk as Alex constantly checked the dials and the window. He glanced at her. “Glad you came?”
Livy nodded. “I’m glad you talked me into it.”
He gave her a thumbs-up, and she laughed. “So, how did you get to be a pilot?”
“It’s a long story.”
“We still have at least an hour. Go for it.” When he didn’t say anything, she glanced toward him. Stiff shoulders. Fingers tapping the throttle. Alex definitely was uncomfortable with the question. “Look, I didn’t mean to pry.”
He shook his head. “You’re not. On my fourteenth birthday, my mom flew from California to Dallas in her own plane. She took me up for a ride—that was my birthday present along with ten lessons at a little airstrip outside of Dallas.”
“What did you mean about her flying from California? She didn’t live with you?”
“No. My parents divorced when I was nine. Dad got custody of me because . . . he was a Jennings. Mom quit fighting him about it when I was eleven—that’s how long the court case dragged on.”
That explained the reluctance. “I’m sorry.” She knew what it was like to lose a mother. In some ways, losing one to divorce could be harder than death. “At least your dad wanted you.”
He didn’t answer for a minute. “It wasn’t so much about wanting me as making sure Mom didn’t get me.”
Alex had hated being a pawn between the two of them, actually three, counting his grandfather. Theirs was not a “civil” divorce, either in division of property or the custody of their nine-year-old son. Joe Jennings brought all of his connections and his skill as a prosecuting attorney into the battle, and Alex really couldn’t blame his mother for giving up and taking what his dad offered in the end—a substantial cash settlement in exchange for giving him custody of Alex. He spent two weeks in the summer with her in California and one week either before or after Christmas. How he’d hated the grilling his father always gave him when he returned from California.
He scanned the airspace, looking for blinking lights. No other planes showed up on his radar, but still, he checked. Livy shifted in her seat, peering out the window. Back at the airport, Sam had told him a little about Livy’s dad, Jeremy Reynolds. That he’d gone off to Alaska to fly tourists into the bush after his wife died, leaving his two daughters with his sister, Kate. Alex had a better understanding of Livy’s aversion to flying , but he hated that she’d let her dad sour something so wonderful. If he hadn’t had flying, Alex didn’t believe he would have survived.
“So . . .” Livy’s voice came through the earphones. “How long before you soloed?”
“Soloed? You know the lingo.”
“Yeah. Picking up some of it couldn’t be helped since my dad is a pilot. He used to fly for one of the big commercial companies before he took off for Alaska. But I’m sure you already know that—you spent a good thirty minutes with Sam before I got there.”
He laughed. “He does like to talk. But to answer your question, I soloed on my sixteenth birthday.” He glanced toward her. “Why didn’t you ever learn to fly?”
“Lots of reasons. My mom was terrified of flying, and she passed that on to me. After she
died, I guess it was to get even with my dad. One of those cut your nose off to spite your face kind of deals. I was just so mad at him.”
“I know that feeling.”
“Yeah, I guess you do. My dad’s never been responsible. Oh, I guess he was before Mom got sick. But it’s like her illness triggered something in him. After she died, he just ran away from everything.”
“What was wrong with her?”
“Bone cancer. We all knew it was only a matter of time, but Dad . . . he wouldn’t accept it. Kept saying she would beat it. He encouraged her to do things she shouldn’t. He thought if she would eat certain things and exercise, she would get better. The day she fell and broke her hip, he was staying with her. My sister and I were at school.
“We had already come to live with Kate and Charlie in their big house—actually my grandparents’ house. Dad encouraged my mom to get out of bed. He was trying to get her to exercise, and I know he meant well, but she fell, broke her hip, and didn’t survive surgery. After that, he just went off the deep end. Bought a plane with some of her insurance money and flew off to Alaska.”
No wonder she didn’t want to fly.
She touched his arm. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to spill my life history.”
“Sometimes it helps to talk to someone.”
She sighed. “I guess. When did you get your first plane?”
Livy had a habit of abruptly changing the subject. “That’s another story.”
“Good. Maybe it will take my mind off of landing.”
“I was twenty-three and in my last year of college. My grandfather wanted me to go on to law school. You know, carry on the family business. I didn’t want to, but my grandfather knew exactly the right carrot to dangle in front of me. He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. An airplane. Not just any airplane, but this one. A Beech Bonanza F33A. All I had to do was go to law school. I took the offer.”
“That was an expensive bribe. And you’ve never taken the bar.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal. I think he figured if I put in the time and effort to get the degree, I would take the exam.”
“Your family is all about control, aren’t they?”
Livy had never met his family, yet she had them pegged. “You could say that, at least on my dad’s side. My mom . . . she just encourages me to break the ties.”
“Why don’t you?”
Yeah, Alex, why don’t you? “It isn’t that easy.” He shot a glance at her. She leaned toward him, obviously interested in his answer. He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had been that interested in him after they discovered he was the black sheep of the Jennings family.
“Why isn’t it?”
“For one thing, I really do love my dad and grandfather, and I want to make them proud of me. I want to prove I can be successful without being a lawyer. Finding Samantha Jo would do that. I don’t mean that’s why I took the case, but it is a side benefit. If I find her, they’ll get off my back about the bar. But, if I don’t find her by the end of the month, I have to register for the exam and take it in July. I figure after that there will be a lot of arm-twisting to join the family law firm.”
“Wow, Alex. That’s a lot of pressure.”
“It’s the deal I made.” One he was beginning to regret.
“They surely wouldn’t disown you if you didn’t take it.”
He glanced at her and raised his eyebrows. “They definitely would.”
“What if you fail?”
“That’s not an option.”
“Air traffic control, this is Cessna N Victor 1245—” The voice on the radio broke up.
Alex glanced toward his left and observed the blinking lights of another plane in the distance. “We’re not too far out.” He switched on his microphone. “Tri Cities Tower, Bonanza N3541C, 20 miles West, at 5000 feet, landing Tri-Cities airport with weather information Bravo.”
The tower responded almost immediately. “Bonanza N3541Charlie, enter left base for runway 23, report left base.”
Alex spoke into the mic once more. “Bonanza 41Charlie, left base for runway 23.”
“41Charlie cleared to land runway 23.”
The runway lights came into sight, and Alex guided the Bonanza between them. “Here we go,” he said and heard Livy suck in a breath. “It’s going to be fine.”
The landing went without a hitch. After they climbed out of the cockpit, he guided her toward the terminal, resting his hand on the small of her back. He leaned his head toward her. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?” he said softly.
She glanced up at him. “No. I never realized how beautiful night flying could be. I might even get someone I know to give me flying lessons . . . if he’s around Logan Point long enough.”
“Yes!” Alex pumped his fist. “I knew if I could get you up in the air, you’d want to fly. Everyone always does.”
She put her hand on her hip and cocked her head. “That wasn’t my first pony ride.”
Livy’s face had the same glow he’d seen time and again when the flying bug bit. And in that moment under the lights of the terminal building, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. The intensity of her blue eyes, the dimples in her cheek as a grin teased her face, the way her blonde hair curled toward her face. It all came together like a thunderbolt and wrapped around his heart. “What made the difference?” He hadn’t meant for the words to come out so husky.
A slow blush crept into her face. She lifted her hands, her fingers pointing upward. “When we first took off and night was closing in and the vastness of the sky . . . I don’t know how to explain it. There was just a peace I haven’t felt in a long time.”
“You don’t have to explain it. I know what you mean.” For a second, he held her gaze. He could get lost in those eyes. Then the door to the terminal opened and people streamed out. The moment was gone. “We have the return flight to look forward to,” he said.
She nodded mutely, and he knew she’d felt what he had.
Just what he needed. One more complication.
9
Livy waited while Alex rented a car. She had the address her friend at the DMV had emailed her already programmed into her phone. Her thoughts trailed back to the flight from Logan Point. It had been so different from what she’d expected. She could see how flying could get addictive, how it could be an escape . . . one her dad took. But did it have to be at his family’s expense?
She brushed the thought off and scanned the area for Alex. The memory of his teasing smile sent warmth through her chest. What had happened out under the lights? She pressed her lips together. That was a question she didn’t have to ask. She knew exactly what happened. And it wasn’t happening again. She had enough trouble in her life without adding an attraction to a Texas flight instructor. Just because she understood why he might love flying, she couldn’t dismiss how much he was like her dad. Running from responsibility.
He never should have accepted the airplane if he wasn’t going to fulfill the requirement. Oh, he’d said taking the bar wasn’t part of the deal, but it had been understood, she’d bet money on that. No, he had a duty to his family. Just like her dad had a duty to her and her sister, Jennifer. She collected her thoughts as Alex strolled toward her.
“Ready?” He jingled the keys to the car he’d rented. “Look for a blue Jetta. They didn’t have anything bigger, but it actually has a GPS.”
“Good.” A tingle shot through her arm when he laid his hand on it and guided her toward the door. Once in the car, she fastened her seat belt and typed in the address. A British voice instructed them to turn right out of the parking lot. “Cool. I like that.” She turned to Alex. “On, Jeeves.”
“I think Jeeves was a valet, you know, a man’s man, not a chauffeur.”
“He drove him once, I know. It was after a cricket game.”
He turned to stare at her. “You watch Jeeves and Wooster?”
“It’s not against the law, is it?”
He laughe
d, and she loved the sound of it.
“No, but it’s hard to believe we both like the same thing.”
He had a point there. Jeeves spoke again, directing them to turn left at the next light. He caught her eye, and they both burst out laughing. “Okay,” he said. “We can’t double over laughing every time the man speaks.”
“I’ll do better,” she said. “Promise.” And pressed her lips together, but it was no use. Laughter erupted. “I think that high altitude messed with my brain.”
“And the excuse before was?”
She laughed. She didn’t know when she’d bantered so easily with someone of the opposite sex. But now it was time to get down to business. “I’ll be serious. No more laughing.”
Alex kept a straight face and drove where the GPS directed. Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to a ranch-style brick house. She checked her watch. Eight forty-five. None of the windows were lit up. “Do you think she’s gone to bed already?”
“I saw a light at the back of the house as we approached. Let’s go see.”
They climbed the steps to the front door and rang the doorbell. Livy jumped and pressed her hand to her chest when an intercom asked their business. “We, ah, we’re looking for Susan Carpenter.”
“Your name, please, and your reason.”
She felt silly talking to a tan box. “I’m Detective Livy Reynolds and the gentleman is Alex Jennings. We’re here to ask you a few questions.”
“Could you hold your badge up where the camera can see it? It’s above the door.”
Livy held her shield up and silence followed, then the lock clicked and the front door scraped open. Susan Carpenter stood almost as tall as Alex’s six-two frame, and in spite of her sturdy size, her poise reminded Livy of a runway model. A smile graced her face.
“Detective Reynolds, come in. Your friend too.” The well-modulated voice added to the impression of calmness and self-assurance.
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