Accidental Heroes

by Danielle Steel

  * * *

  —

  Tom Birney picked up Catherine promptly at seven o’clock at the Four Seasons just as he had told her he would. He had made a reservation at The Sea, with French and Japanese cuisine. She was wearing a pale blue dress the color of her eyes, with a trench coat over it. She managed to look both businesslike and sexy all at once. And she was wearing high-heeled shoes similar to the ones he had noticed on the plane.

  “Nice shoes,” he complimented her. “Manfredo Bizarro?” he asked, trying to remember the name she had told him.

  “I think you mean ‘Manolo Blahnik.’ And no, these aren’t, unfortunately. But I like ‘Manfredo Bizarro.’ ”

  “I’m not up on women’s fashion,” he confessed, and they settled down at their table and ordered wine, before they looked at the menu. “How did the interview go?” He was curious to know, and she seemed very pleased, so he suspected it had gone well.

  She glanced at him conspiratorially, and it struck him how beautiful she was. “I got the job,” she whispered and beamed at him. “I think they felt sorry for me because of what happened on the flight out, so I got the sympathy vote. But whatever the reason, I got it, and it’s just what I wanted. I’m moving out here in a month. They’re going to let me use a company apartment until I find one. It’s perfect,” she said happily, as she sipped her wine.

  “Congratulations, I’m pleased for you.” He had news of his own in that department, and shared it with her after they ordered dinner. “I have a new job too. Or actually, an old job. Or a new job with my old company.”

  “That sounds confusing,” she laughed at him.

  “I gave notice where I’m working a while back, after some personal disagreements with the CEO. Our egos got involved, so I think I may have been a little hasty in my decision. I had a bad case of ruffled feathers. In any case, I met with our CEO today. We both apologized and I’m going to stay. I’m really pleased about it. They’ve added some new features to my old job and enhanced it with a component I really like, which will mean more travel between our East and West Coast offices, and more autonomy and authority. So I’m staying where I am. I’d always loved the company until our disagreement, and I’m proud to work for them.”

  “Well, that sounds interesting. After our conversation on the plane, I thought I was going to move here just in time for you to go back to New York.” She was happy that he wasn’t, and that his job brought him to San Francisco often.

  “It could have been Atlanta, or Houston, I’ve been setting up interviews there too. I have a grown son who lives in Chicago, and I was considering moving there. He’s my only child and he works hard, so I don’t see him much. But I won’t be moving there now. I’ll be in San Francisco and New York. I’ll just have to visit him more often. And actually, I have meetings in New York for my company on Monday. When are you going back again?”

  She looked horrified at the thought. “After the flight out here, I think I’d rather walk. I’d take the train, but I have to get back.” She didn’t look happy about it.

  “I could fly with you on Sunday, so you wouldn’t have to fly alone. You can have three champagnes when we board, sleep for two hours, have three more, and we’ll be there, and I can carry you off the plane if you can’t walk.”

  “Very funny. The champagne really helps.”

  “Listen, after the flight on Wednesday, you’re entitled to do whatever you need to, to get there. But seriously, do you want me to fly with you?”

  She thought about it and nodded. “Actually, I do. Would you mind?”

  “Of course not. I’d enjoy it—that’s why I suggested it. We can play Scrabble or cards, or watch movies.”

  “Or send each other emails,” she said, smiling. And then she looked serious for a moment. “I’m happy you’ll still be coming out here often, and didn’t quit.”

  “I’m pleased too. Being in the same city definitely has some possibilities. Do you have friends out here?”

  She shook her head. “Not a soul. I was ready for something new. I was doing the same old things in New York. I was bored with my job. It seemed like the right time to make a change.”

  “I’ll introduce you to some people. I have a lot of friends here. Do you play tennis?”

  “Not in a long time. I’m a workaholic,” she admitted. “But maybe that needs to change a little too.”

  “I work a lot too, and the enhancement to my job will increase that, but at least it’s doing what I love.” Their dinners came then, and they talked about their work. He said he’d help her find an apartment, and she was looking forward to flying back with him, without a crisis happening. It seemed like a good beginning, and a first step toward her new life.

  He took her back to the hotel at ten-thirty, and told her he’d pick her up at noon the next day. He was going to drive her around the area and show her the sights.

  “I’ve already had a good look at the Golden Gate Bridge. We can skip that,” she said wryly.

  “I wasn’t planning to include it on the tour,” he said seriously. He wasn’t sure that he would be able to see it in the same way himself after what had happened. “We’ll do something else.” She had given him her flight number at dinner, so he could make his reservation for Sunday to fly with her. “See you tomorrow,” he said, as she waved and walked back into the hotel, while he watched her. Meeting her had been an interesting turn of events, and if anyone asked down the line how they met, they could always say that they had been on a plane that crashed. It was different at least. And he liked how courageous she was, starting a new life and a new job in a new city. She was a gutsy woman, and she made him feel gutsy too. He liked her, a lot, right down to the Manfredo Bizarro shoes, or whatever they were called.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Helen went to Connor’s memorial service. It was held at a small Episcopal church in Marin, near where he’d lived. His children had flown in for it and organized everything. The flowers in the church were beautiful. The soloist at the service sang “Amazing Grace,” and after the memorial, they were sending his body to be buried in the family plot in Illinois, where one of his daughters lived and his children had grown up. His late wife was buried there too, and it seemed like the right place for him to be, not in a lonely cemetery in California. They had held the service there so that his friends could attend, and there were about a hundred people in the church. He and his wife had lived in Marin County for a long time and had loved it there. They had moved to California, Helen learned, when their kids grew up.

  It was a somber event, given the way he’d died, and she was relieved that she and her children were going to Disneyland that weekend, which would take her mind off the fallen pilot who had died on her watch. She felt guilty about it, since he had been trying to help her when Jason shot him. The whole thing was still so hard to stomach and to accept. She was touched by how gracious Connor’s children had been to her about it. They knew it wasn’t her fault. But she felt bad about it anyway, and knew it would haunt her forever.

  * * *

  —

  The trip to Disneyland was a big success, and they stayed three days. They did everything all three kids wanted to do, including all the scary rides and roller coasters the boys loved. She and Lally waited outside for them, and went on all the rides in Fantasyland for her and bought her a Cinderella costume at the gift shop, complete with plastic “glass” slippers. The weather was gorgeous in L.A., and the lines weren’t too long. It would be busier once school let out, but she had taken them out of school for two days before it ended for the summer for a special treat, so the park wasn’t too crowded. They had invited Helen’s father to join them, but he’d opted for a quiet weekend at home instead.

  In June, she went back to work. It was hard getting back into the routine again after a month of leisure, doing nothing other than following her kids around, driving them to Lit
tle League games, taking them to movies on weekends, having their friends over for slumber parties, and riding bikes with them around Petaluma. They all complained when she went back to work.

  She was flying A321s again, and her first day back at work was the hardest, remembering what had happened the last time she’d flown. The crew members all knew about it, but the passengers didn’t realize that she was the pilot who had flown under the Golden Gate Bridge and landed on the water.

  By sheer luck, Joel was on her first flight to New York, back from his honeymoon in Tahiti, the color of coffee with a deep tan, and showing off his wedding band to the flight attendants he knew. He gave Helen a big hug when she came on board, and served her himself for the entire trip. She had a very pleasant copilot that day whom she’d flown with several times before. Everything was perfect. When she got to the hotel in New York, she wondered if she should call Ben for the dinner he had mentioned, or if it had just been social talk.

  She had nothing to do that night, and Joel was seeing friends for dinner, so she couldn’t have dinner with him, and it was a beautiful spring night. In the end, she called Ben when she got to the hotel. He was still in his office, and startled to hear from her. She told him she was on a quick turnaround and going back to San Francisco the next day.

  “You don’t give a guy much notice, do you?” he complained. “How about dinner at eight o’clock? I’ll pick you up at your hotel.” He had tickets to a Yankees game that night, but didn’t tell her. He walked into Amanda’s office and handed them to her. “Go. Learn something. Take a friend.” They’d been getting along much better for the past month, and had found a secret mutual respect for each other, though he never admitted it to her. But he told everyone else how smart she was, and it got back to her.

  Ben drove into the city straight from work, after making a reservation at his favorite steak restaurant near Helen’s hotel. They could walk to it, so he put his car in a garage.

  He was in the lobby at the appointed time, and she came downstairs quickly, wearing jeans and a red sweater. She looked young and more relaxed than in her uniform. He took off his tie and stuffed it in his pocket the minute he saw her. The place he took her to had a cozy, old-fashioned atmosphere, half English pub and half New York bar. It had a pool table. He liked to play sometimes, and he challenged her to a game before dinner, when she said she used to play a lot in the Air Force. She beat him squarely, and he was a good sport about it, and said they’d have to play again after dinner, when hopefully she’d be tired and relaxed enough to take the edge off her game. She didn’t drink at all since she was flying in the morning, and they talked a lot. He was an interesting person, and his years with Homeland Security, the Justice Department before that, and as a police detective when he was younger had been busy and exciting. He had come up through the ranks, and surprised her when they finished the meal and he told her he had a new job.

  “After all that, you’re leaving Homeland Security?”

  “Not exactly. Moment of madness. I’m moving. I had a bad case a couple of months ago and figured I needed a change to get it out of my head.”

  “I know about those,” she said quietly.

  “Alan Wexler, the San Francisco chief, is retiring. Since he credits me for helping to save the Golden Gate Bridge, he offered the job to me as a favor. I thought it was a crazy idea at first, but then I didn’t.” He had talked to Mildred Stern, and she liked the idea for him, but he didn’t tell Helen that. He thought she’d think he was weird or neurotic if she knew he’d seen a shrink, which Mildred told him was an antiquated theory. Crazy people are the only ones who don’t see a shrink, she’d told him, watch out for them. “They’ve got some good people out there, and it’s a smaller office. Maybe a little less pressure, which would be nice. And the truth is, I don’t have any personal ties here. I don’t have kids, I don’t have a girlfriend, I’ve been divorced for a long time. I have some friends and my job. I can always come back here if I want to, but I kind of like the idea of California for a change.”

  “That’s why Jack and I wanted to move there, and my father retired there. Nice quality of life. And in my case, good for the kids. In yours, maybe you’ll miss the big city.”

  He shook his head when she said it. “As long as they have a baseball stadium, I’ll be happy. And they have a good team out there.”

  She knew all about that. “My sons love to go too. They’re big Giants fans. So you took it?”

  He nodded, looking a little stunned himself. “I did. About two weeks ago. I almost called you for advice, but I figured you have enough on your hands.”

  “So when are you moving out?”

  “In six weeks. They have an apartment I can use for a while, in kind of a lousy neighborhood, but I don’t care. I think I want to live in the country, like Marin County or something. I took a look around when I was there.”

  She was smiling as he said it, and thought it was brave of him and sounded exciting. Moving to a new city wasn’t easy, but he didn’t have schools to worry about, or kids, or all that went with it. “That sounds great, Ben,” she said, looking genuinely enthusiastic, and with that, he challenged her to another game of pool, since they’d finished dinner. This time he beat her. He tried to coax her into another game. He was enjoying her company too much to leave, and the evening had flown for both of them.

  “I can’t. I have to get up at four-thirty to make my plane, and I’ll be a mess if I don’t get some sleep,” although she hadn’t slept well for the past month anyway, but it was getting better. “There’s a great bar in Petaluma where I live, with a pool table. I’ll take you there.”

  “I’d like that,” he said, looking down at her. She was exactly the kind of woman he was attracted to, quiet, honest, gutsy, fun to be with, smart, real. He hadn’t met anyone like her in a long time, and wasn’t sure he would again. “Dinner again next time you’re here?” he asked her hesitantly.

  “Sure,” she made it easy. She could sense what he was asking her. “You’ll have to come to one of our barbecue nights, and meet my kids.” She was letting him know she liked him in answer to his unspoken question.

  “Maybe I could take you all to a baseball game sometime.”

  She laughed at the suggestion. “We’re a pretty rowdy group, and I’m as bad as they are.”

  “I think I can take it.” They sounded like good kids to him, and she was a good woman. He had realized afterward that he had liked her when he heard her on the satcom when he was warning her about Jason Andrews. And he realized how much he cared about her when he saw her land the plane under the bridge, and do everything she could to keep it floating until everyone was out. And then she’d disappeared and he’d been terrified she was dead. When they finally pulled her out of the water in the harness, and she looked like a drowned rat, he had never seen a more beautiful sight in his life, and he wanted to know her better. “I really enjoyed dinner tonight,” he said, smiling at her.

  “You won’t for long,” she said confidently. “I’m not letting you beat me at pool again. I think I was tired.”

  “Yeah, whatever, sore loser. You had a headache, right?”

  “Exactly.” They were both good players, and he knew that was going to be fun too. He liked everything about her so far.

  “When are you coming back here again?” he asked, trying to sound casual about it.

  “Twice a week for the next month,” she answered, and he was pleased.

  “Good, pool and dinner.” He was smiling at the idea.

  “You’re going to be tired of me before you ever come to California,” she warned him. She’d had a nice time too.

  “I doubt that.”

  “You know what they say about Air Force pilots. They’re pretty dull.”

  He laughed out loud at what she said. “Captain Smith, if there is one thing no one is ever going to say about you, it’s
that you’re dull. You’re the most exciting woman I’ve ever met,” and she could see he meant it.

  “Flattery will not induce me to let you win at pool,” she said. “Although I’ll admit, it’s a nice touch.”

  “Go get some sleep, and call me the next time you’re coming back. And try to give me more than two hours’ notice. I gave up a Yankees game for you tonight,” but he looked like he had no regrets.

  She was instantly embarrassed. “I’m really sorry,” she said sincerely.

  “Don’t be. I had a better time with you. Good night.” He kissed her lightly on the cheek and she walked back into the hotel. Ben walked down the street to the garage whistling. It turned out that the move to California was not such a crazy idea after all.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The notice came to each of them on the first of October. Helen had had no inkling of it whatsoever, or who would have recommended her for it. She had been invited to an award ceremony in Washington, D.C., on the fifteenth of November, where she was to be given a Presidential Medal of Honor for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. It was the highest and most prestigious personal military decoration, normally given to members of the armed forces. They were giving it to her after her years of service.

  She didn’t know who to ask or tell about it, other than her father, and when Ben came to dinner with her and the kids that night, as he did often now, she tried beating around the bush about it, because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings or make him feel left out.

  “Why? Are you getting some kind of award?” he asked her, with a look of innocent surprise.

  “No, well…actually I heard about it, but nobody has said anything to me,” she said and he laughed at her.

  “Helen Smith, you are a terrible liar. It’s the Presidential Medal of Honor, and they’re giving me the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” which was the highest civilian award, for his contribution to the security and national interests of the United States, “so you don’t have to be polite about it. I’ll call around tomorrow and see who else is getting it. My guess is it’s everyone who was involved in the Golden Gate Bridge rescue caper.”