by J. H. Croix
“Maybe so.” I nudged him with my elbow. “Which is why I don’t want to be gone for three nights.”
He rolled his eyes. “All right, all right. See you when I get back. I’ll be up in the air twenty minutes after you. Fly safe,” he called as he backed away and turned to jog into the plane hangar.
Within a half hour, I was lowering the plane in the sky, taking in the mountains on the far side of the bay. The early autumn colors were pretty along the lower flanks of the mountains with yellow and gold leaves fluttering in the light breeze.
A few minutes later, I’d helped the passengers off the plane and started getting their bags out. When I heard the distinct sound of another two-seater plane engine, I glanced in the sky and recognized Nora’s plane immediately.
It wasn’t unusual for more than one of us from Walker Adventures to be passing through the same area. Until winter was here in full force, the tourist schedule kept us busy. Even after the snow flew, daily planes transported residents and carted supplies and mail to the various small communities scattered across Alaska. Walker Adventures was only one of a number of small flight businesses all over Alaska. To those who weren’t familiar with the way Alaska functioned, it might seem improbable to have this many flights. But with so much of the state off the road system, planes were how people stayed connected. In some areas farther north, some hubs served fifty or more small communities. They were literally called air taxis.
Samantha glanced up in the air. “Wow, it’s really busy here.”
“Always,” I replied as I handed her one of the bags.
Nora expertly landed, far clear of where we were waiting near one of the plane hangars.
“Do you all have a ride to town?” I asked, glancing at the women.
Right then, an SUV pulled in nearby. A woman got out, her dark hair streaked with gray and twisted into a braid, which swung as she jogged toward us. “Hey there!” she called.
I recognized Dana immediately. “Hey, Dana.” I lifted my hand in a wave. Glancing at my two passengers, I added, “I’m guessing this is your ride.”
Nora had parked her plane and climbed out. She was walking toward us. Even though this was absolutely not the place for my body to react to her, it was a given that it would. My cells sparked and fired, a familiar hum of anticipation sliding through me.
Lauren smiled up at me. “I don’t suppose you all have any room at your resort next week?” Her question was innocent, but her tone was coquettish and her smile flirtatious.
Nora stopped beside us, greeting Dana first. I kept my gaze neutral when I looked down at Lauren. “It’s doubtful. We’re usually booked well in advance. Nora would know that.” I glanced at her, nudging my chin in her direction.
Lauren followed my gaze. “I was just asking our pilot here if your resort had any bookings available. It sounds like an amazing place.”
Nora gave her a bland smile. “Unfortunately, no. We’re usually booked out for the year by May.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” Lauren replied. She gave me another dimpled smile, this time reaching over and squeezing me lightly on the elbow. “Maybe we’ll see you around town when we’re back from this part of our trip.”
Dana caught my eye and chuckled. “You got any mail for us?” she asked.
“I think so.” I strode back to my plane, opening the back compartment and scanning the mail bins. When my eyes landed on one labeled Dana, I reached for it. Like so many people in Alaska, Dana juggled multiple part-time jobs. She ran a bed & breakfast, along with managing the small post office here.
“Here you go.” I handed the mail bin over to her. “Always good to see you. Catch you later, okay?”
With a wave, Dana departed with my two passengers, leaving Nora and me alone. “You must be picking up,” I commented.
Nora nodded. Her shoulders were tight, and I watched as her eyes flicked over to the two women who were now climbing into Dana’s vehicle.
“Yep,” she replied when her eyes met mine again. She glanced at her watch. “Where are you headed next?”
“Don’t you know?” I countered.
Her lips pressed in a line. I could tell she was thinking before she replied, “Oh, that’s right. You’ve got to unload all that gravel first. Have fun with that.”
I chuckled. I couldn’t resist stepping closer and catching her hand in mine to reel her to me.
“Gabriel,” she whispered.
“What?” I palmed her cheek, letting my thumb trace along her bottom lip.
Her eyes stayed locked on mine, and a wash of pink crested on her cheeks. “Um, we’re in public.”
“So, what? We’re not a secret anymore, darling.”
I let my hand slide into her silky brown curls before dipping my head and brushing my lips over hers. A sizzle of electricity passed between us, and I couldn’t help the groan in my throat as I fit my mouth over hers, giving her a hungry kiss.
By the time we broke apart, my heartbeat was thundering through my body, and my breath was ragged. I couldn’t let go just yet. I loved the feel of her body imprinted against mine, her curves soft, a contrast to my sharp edges.
The sound of a throat clearing audibly reached us. I glanced to the side to see an elderly man approaching.
“I always do love to see a young couple in love,” Tom commented conversationally as he smiled at us.
Nora’s cheeks flushed even pinker, and she stepped back, reaching up to tidy her hair from where I’d rumpled it. “Hey, Tom,” she said.
“Always good to see you, Tom,” I commented. “I have ten bags of gravel to unload.”
Tom chuckled. “You’d better get started on that.” He looked back toward Nora. “Gabriel’s a good man. He hides it well, though.”
Nora twisted her lips. “I know.”
I wanted to kiss her again, but I didn’t think she would go for it. We chatted about the weather, but I had to stay on schedule. With a wave, I returned to my plane and started unloading the bags of gravel.
Chapter Nineteen
Nora
It was nothing, nothing at all, I told myself for the perhaps twentieth time.
My brain was annoying the hell out of me, as it was wont to do when my insecurities started raging at me.
With auburn hair paired with flashing green eyes and that body, that freaking body—strong and rugged with all muscled planes—it was nothing to see a woman flirting with Gabriel. When he’d pulled me close for a kiss, by the time he drew back, my panties were damp, and I could feel the slick arousal between my thighs. My tight nipples were like my body’s weathervane. However, they were tuned solely to the weather created by Gabriel in my vicinity.
Seeing that woman flirt with Gabriel reminded me of all the reasons he said he wasn’t fit for commitment. His exact words had been, “I’m not a good bet. You know that, Nora.”
I did know that. Until that fateful night when we finally gave in to the sparks flying between us, I’d known Gabriel to be a man who took the concept of casual quite literally. To my knowledge, he’d never spent more than one night with any woman. That detail had been what persuaded me it was safe to tell him I thought we had something. By that point in our relationship, or whatever it was, he’d spent far more than just one night with me. Our not-so-secret friends-with-benefits arrangement had been carrying on for over a year.
Then he’d gone and reminded me of all the reasons he couldn’t be counted on. And now, he wanted me to believe he loved me.
I shook those thoughts loose, kicking them away. I had a packed flight schedule this afternoon. Tom was busy helping Gabriel unload the gravel he’d delivered. While they did that, I took care of loading a few parcels for the mail run back to Diamond Creek.
“See you tonight.” Gabriel’s voice came low by my ear, and a shiver chased down my spine as I turned.
“Of course. I think you’ll be back before me,” I replied, trying and utterly failing to play it cool. My cheeks were hot, and I was flustered.
I felt a twinge of pettiness followed immediately by a more powerful pinch of guilt when I saw the uncertainty flicker in his eyes. I’d avoided him so thoroughly for months. Now that I wasn’t, I didn’t like admitting that a tiny part of me enjoyed the fact he wasn’t sure of me.
“I will.”
“Nora!” Tom called. “My appointment’s in forty-five minutes.”
Gabriel’s lips kicked into a smile when he peered over my shoulder. “She’s coming,” he called in return.
He startled me again by bending low and palming my cheek as he gave me a quick and fierce kiss. The sweet shock of his lips meeting mine sent sparks scattering through me. When he lifted his head, I heard Tom’s wry chuckle from behind us. “No wonder you’re taking so long.”
My cheeks burned hot as I turned away. Gabriel caught my hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Tonight then.” His words felt like a promise. I knew he could keep that promise. I just didn’t know about the rest.
Tom was quiet as I lifted the plane into the air. A light gust of wind caught under one wing, and I leveled the plane in response. I’d known Tom since I’d been flying. He was a regular passenger with us.
This route, from Diamond Creek across the bay where we puddle-jumped from one community to the next, gave me plenty of experience with landing in dicey conditions. Alaska was famed for its bush pilots and the risks we took.
I loved my job. The concentration necessary to fly combined with the otherworldly views gave me a sense of peace I craved.
Tom slipped on the headset I’d handed him. I switched the channel to a private one so we could chat. “How’ve you been?” I began.
“As well as could be expected, but I’m having some trouble with my diabetes. That’s why I’m going to the doctor today.”
“Sorry to hear that. How’s Darla?” I asked, referring to his wife, who was an absolute dear.
“She keeps me in line, that’s for sure,” he said, a low laugh rustling in his throat. “I’ve been wondering when you and your boy were going to prove me right.”
I felt the heat creep up my cheeks, but I kept my eyes forward. “What do you mean?”
“I suspected you two had something going on for this past year or so.”
“You did? It’s not like I see you all that often,” I teased.
“Nah, I’ve seen you two just enough to watch him. You didn’t give it away, girl. It’s always the man. We’re stupid sometimes.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. He’s running from something though.”
I wanted to ask Tom what he meant, but I suspected I already knew. I had only a sketch of Gabriel’s childhood history, but it was scarred by his mother’s abandonment. He didn’t even like to talk about her.
“He loves you, though,” Tom added, startling me so much I jumped in my seat and twisted to look at him.
His warm brown eyes regarded me, the laugh lines permanently etched into his weathered face. “I might not know much, but I know love when I see it. I knew that before I ever saw him kiss you.”
My face was on fire by this point, and I forced myself to look away, mumbling, “I don’t know how you can say that.”
“Don’t get in your own way. I’m an expert on that.”
“You are?”
“Hell, yeah. Just ask Darla sometime. I loved that girl back in high school, and I almost screwed it all up because I thought we were too young. Thank God she took me back five years later.”
I smiled over at him. “Guess you figured it out before it was too late then. How did you get in your own way? Age can’t be the only excuse.”
Tom shrugged. “Age was my excuse at the time, but my problem was my parents had a shitty marriage. Nothing complicated about it at all. I’m the product of them being too stupid to use birth control. Back then, people got married when that shit happened. My parents never really liked each other. It was just stupid. Not even awful. That old saying, death by a thousand cuts. I didn’t have any grasp on what a good relationship looked like, so it kind of scared the shit out of me to have somebody really matter to me. You know?” Wordlessly, I nodded, and he continued. “Things do work out when they do. You get it when you get it. I suppose I had to break up with Darla to figure out nobody else compared. I’m just damn lucky she didn’t fall for somebody else in the meantime. In your twenties, five years is a freaking lifetime.”
I grinned. “I’m only twenty-five.”
“You’re a lot more mature than I was at that age. Although, I did have enough sense to snap Darla up by then.”
I burst out laughing. “Always good to talk to you, Tom,” I managed when I stopped laughing. Diamond Creek came into view. The pretty little town was situated at the base of the hillside with the mountains rising up behind it.
“You need a ride to your doctor’s appointment?” I asked. My schedule was tight, but I would make it work if he needed a ride.
“No, ma’am. The doctor’s office is sending me their version of a car service. It’s not highfalutin like those city apps, whatever the hell they’re called.”
“It’s not a car service. It’s one of the receptionists driving down to the airport to pick you up because they have a soft spot for you,” I teased.
“Hey, it’s smart to be nice. That’s something assholes never seem to figure out. That’s not why I’m nice, but I never complain about the benefits,” he offered with a sly grin.
After I delivered Tom where the as-promised receptionist from the local medical clinic was waiting, I dropped off the mail and picked up the next group of tourists. This was a flightseeing trip, my favorite kind. I flew a big, meandering loop through the sky, showing off the incredible views along the way and hoping we’d see some wildlife.
I got the opposite of Gabriel’s pair of cute women. This was a pair of handsome, outdoorsy guys. They had city written all over them, primarily because they had expensive gear, and it was clean and barely worn.
One of the guys took a shine to me. He asked to sit up front and kept casting me what I interpreted to be flirtatious grins. I was terrible at flirting, just awful at it. I managed a few tight smiles in return until he picked up the headset and asked, “Will you meet us for drinks later?”
This kind of thing happened to the guys I worked with all the time, even the ones in committed relationships. This did not happen to me.
I knew my cheeks were bright red, and I didn’t dare glance in the guy’s direction. “I’m not so sure about that,” I finally managed. “But thank you.”
“You have no idea, do you?” he asked roughly two hours later after we had landed in Diamond Creek again, and they’d climbed out of the plane.
I stared up at him, treating it almost like an academic exercise. He had sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes. He gave off the vibe of one of those rich kids who had a ski pass in high school. Nothing like me. I had a ski pass here in Diamond Creek at the lodge. Not because I paid for it, but because we were friends with the owners. They gave all of our staff free ski passes because we offered to let them fly along on any trips for free as long as we were already going there and there was room.
I willed my body to feel a thing, something, maybe even a few butterflies. As I thought really hard, there was a tickle in my stomach, but when it growled, I realized it was because I was hungry.
He heard it and smiled. “I would buy you dinner, but you turned me down.”
“Thank you, but I already have dinner plans. What do you mean, though? That I have no idea?” I couldn’t help my curiosity.
“You’re gorgeous. That’s all. A woman who flies planes like a boss is a total badass and hot as far as I’m concerned.” He winked as he turned away.
Wow. My ego could use a guy like him.
I didn’t realize Gabriel was unloading my plane on the other side until I rounded it and found him there. “Oh, hey,” I said.
He glanced up at me, and
I could only describe the look he gave me as a glower. “Who the hell was that?” he muttered under his breath.
“That was Jonathon. Just a nice tourist.”
Gabriel made some kind of growly sound.
“Are you jealous?” I asked incredulously.
Gabriel slung my bag over his shoulder as he narrowed his eyes. “Yes, I am. In fact, feel free to mock me.”
Chapter Twenty
Gabriel
Somehow, I ended up sitting at an angle across the table from Nora at dinner that night. Her hair was still damp from the shower she must’ve taken after returning to the resort. She was seated between two men, and I couldn’t help but recall the guy who’d told her she was a badass and hot. She absolutely was.
An unfamiliar feeling of jealousy turned sour inside my gut. On any given week, at least two-thirds of our guests at the resort were men.
I couldn’t recall if I’d ever even paid attention to how they looked. Surely, handsome guys had noticed Nora before. I’d never noticed anyone noticing her, not until this afternoon, and now again, tonight.
While I didn’t bat for that team, I knew the guy sitting beside her tonight was handsome. His name was Nick something or other. I couldn’t even hear what they were joking about because the table was full.
Cat happened to be sitting beside me and asked, “What’s wrong?” She peered up at me with her slate-blue eyes, so similar to Flynn’s and just as perceptive.
“Nothing,” I replied, annoyed with the internal flare of defensiveness that rose inside.
Cat took a bite of her food, her gaze shifting away from me. Meanwhile, I couldn’t resist glancing toward Nora again, only to see her laughing at something handsome Nick said.
Fuck this. It was hard enough to come to terms with my feelings for Nora. I did not appreciate, not one bit, the experience of jealousy.