by S. E. Smith
“I’m off until the end of the month. I was thinking we could talk when I get there. I wanted to pass a few things by you.” Trisha replied softly.
“Of course, baby girl. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Thanks, daddy, I’ll give you a call before I leave on Monday. I love you.” Trisha said.
“I love you too, Trisha.” Paul Grove said. “Be safe.”
“Always!” Trisha responded lightly. She was feeling better all ready.
Trisha disconnected the call and focused on the rest of the drive to the airport. There were a lot of things she needed to think about. She needed to talk to Ariel. Trisha decided it was time for a change. She had given her resignation to Boswell International and was going to join her dad back at Grove Wildness Guides. After her accident, she realized she would never make it into the space program. She would never be able to touch the stars. She hoped that staying active in a career devoted to flying would have been enough to satisfy her but there was still something missing. She finally realized she missed her quiet nights with her dad and the freedom of exploring the woods and mountains. But what she missed the most was the sense of being a part of a family. It was time to go home.
Trisha was working inside the jet by the time Ariel got there. She could hear her and Carmen outside but decided to stay focused on what she was doing. Ariel would take care of the outside inspections. Trisha was the pilot on this flight and Ariel was the co-pilot. They often switched back and forth.
A little while later, Trisha heard Cara’s cheerful voice in the hanger. Uh oh, Trisha thought as she listened, Cara’s on a caffeine high! She couldn’t help but grin. Cara was so much fun. Trisha and Ariel adopted her several years ago as their surrogate little sister. Cara had been going through a difficult time with one of the engineers at Boswell who was being a real dip-wad to her. When he showed up late one night at Cara’s apartment and started to get a little physical with her, Trisha and Ariel, who were visiting Cara at the time, ended up escorting him out none to gently. They told him in explicit detail what they would do to him if they ever saw him near her again. The jerk transferred overseas shortly afterwards. Trisha chuckled as she remembered the look on his face as they walked him out.
Trisha stood up and stretched, trying to ease some of the tension in her shoulders. She decided she would see what Cara was up to before contacting the tower to see if they had permission for take-off. She checked the radar about an hour before and it looked like the worse of the storm was passing through so it should be an easy take-off once they were given clearance.
Cara looked like she was just finishing up as Trisha stepped down the steps of the jet. “Hey, Trish.”
Trisha turned as she reached the bottom step and walked towards her. Trisha gave Cara a big smile. “Hey, Cara. Welcome aboard! Is this your first flight on the new Phantom Series?”
“Yeah, I’m really looking forward to putting her through the ringer.” Cara said. “Carmen coming too?”
“Yeah.” Trisha said softly watching as Ariel headed toward her sister. “Ariel got permission for Carmen to tag along. We were heading to California to take an artist home the Boswell’s had commissioned to do a piece for and Carmen needed a lift.” Trisha said. She pulled Cara’s tool belt from her. It looked too heavy for Cara’s small frame but Trisha knew better. Cara was tough as nails when she had to be. Glancing back one last time at Ariel and Carmen, she turned to head up the stairs of the jet telling Cara softly under her breath, “She’s still not doing to good.”
Forty minutes later, Trisha received permission for take-off and they were soon airborne. The next six or seven hours would have been boring but Trisha decided she wanted to put the new jet through a few paces since they were doing such a long flight. She wasn’t quite ready to tell Ariel about her plans yet. She decided to tell her on the return flight. She figured she wouldn’t have to worry about Carmen trying to kill her sister when she blew a gasket after she heard Trisha was giving up flying for a living.
Chapter 2
They landed back in Shelby, California a little after eight that night. The skies were beautiful with the stars twinkling up above. Trisha picked the brightest one and silently told her mom about her plans to return home. Trisha could have sworn it actually winked at her. Taking it as a good sign, she let the stress melt away. Trisha groaned as she stood up slowly, stretching. One thing she wouldn’t miss about being a pilot were the cross-country and international flights where she sat for so long. She was still having problems if she was stationary for any length of time. She knew the stiffness would never go away. That was another deciding factor in her decision to resign her position at Boswell. She was just pulling her jacket off the back of her seat and was about to reach for the cabin door when Ariel put her hand on her arm stopping her.
“You know I’ll understand whatever it is you’re hiding from me, don’t you?” Ariel said softly looking into Trisha’s eyes. “I know something’s wrong. I’ll always be there for you.”
Tears burned the back of Trisha’s eyes. She should have known Ariel would notice she wasn’t herself lately. “I know.” Trisha took a deep breath before blurting out what she had been afraid to tell her best friend.
“I’ve resigned my position at Boswell International and I’m going home to work with my dad.” Trisha said in a rush. Her heart was pounding as she waited for Ariel’s response.
Ariel lifted an eyebrow at Trisha before she burst out laughing. “Is that all? I thought you were like, dying or something! So, when do we start?”
Trisha looked at Ariel in stunned silence. “What do you mean, when do we start? We who?”
“Me and you. I know your dad could use some help. He has called me at least once a week to get help with the paperwork ever since we left home! Remember, I was his bookkeeper before we left to join the Air Force. I’ve been doing all the major bookkeeping for the past ten plus years.” Ariel said with a grin.
“W-what?” Trisha stuttered. “He never said a word! I had no idea he was having problems.”
“Not problems, necessarily. He has always hated doing the books. He would rather be out in the woods chasing the greenhorns. I’ve been talking to him for months about coming home but didn’t want to leave you. I’m tired of all the traveling. Since things bombed between me and Eric, I thought it was time for a change. I asked your dad a couple of months ago if he would hire me if I came back home.” Ariel said with a relieved grin before she turned and walked out the door of the cabin.
Trisha just stood looking at her best friend’s back in stunned silence. They had grown up together in the small town of Casper Mountain, Wyoming. It had been Ariel, Carmen, and Trisha against the world. Since Trisha was an only child, having two other girls close to her age was wonderful. Ariel and Trisha were in the same grade while Carmen was a year behind them. Ariel started working for Trisha’s dad doing the bookkeeping between her junior and senior year of high school. Both girls took college classes online while in school and received their Associates degree by the time they graduated.
They were both just starting their sophomore year in college when Ariel and Carmen’s parents were killed in a car crash. Trisha was sure the only thing that got Carmen through the rest of her senior year was having Trisha’s dad there and Scott, Carmen’s high school sweetheart. Carmen and Scott got married just days after they graduated high school. Ariel and Trisha decided to go into the Air Force since both of them wanted to get into the Space Program. Ariel didn’t make the cut but Trisha had, at least, until the accident.
Trisha shook herself. She wasn’t going to go there. She had been there a thousand times and it always ended the same. She gave a cynical chuckle. Wasn’t that the definition of insanity? She thought to herself. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. Shaking her head, she walked through the cabin and followed Ariel down the steps. She chuckled softly as she remembered hearing Cara opening the door to the jet almost before they had come t
o a complete stop.
Abby was looking at Cara with a somewhat hesitant look when she and Ariel walked up to them. Trisha wondered if she thought they were supposed to be tipped or something. She looked that uncomfortable. Cara, on the other hand, looked like she was trying to think up some reason not to get back in the jet. Trisha had a feeling Cara would have strapped herself to the top of it if she could have managed it. Trisha didn’t tell Cara, but both she and Ariel knew about Cara’s claustrophobia. They already decided to stay for the night. There was no sense in wearing them both out and stressing Cara to the point she would drive them insane.
“It’s really late for you to head out tonight. Would you like to stay at my place for the night? It’s a little ways up the mountain but it is really beautiful. I have an extra bedroom if you don’t mind doubling up and an oversize couch that makes a great bed.” Abby said looking nervously back and forth between the three of them.
Trisha was just to open her mouth to agree when Cara burst out in obvious relief. It took every bit of self-discipline inside Trisha not to laugh. Ariel rolled her eyes while she tried to hide her smile.
“Sounds great to me!” Cara said excitedly. “I’d go bonkers if I had to get back in that tin can tonight. I’d love to meet your man. You said he had some brothers? Any chance of meeting them between tonight and tomorrow morning? I love meeting new guys. I’m trying to break my record of driving them off. I think the longest any have put up with me had been ten minutes.”
Trisha and Ariel laughed. “Ah Cara, I think that Danny guy lasted twelve. What do you think, Ariel?”
“Oh, at least twelve maybe even thirteen minutes.” Ariel added.
Trisha winced. She was the one who snagged Cara’s last blind date. It was not one of her shining moments. She decided to surprise Cara at dinner with a Physics Professor from the local university who lived across the hall from her. Cara had not been very happy with her choice. Grimacing, Trisha admitted she couldn’t really blame Cara for that. The guy treated all three of them like they were imbeciles. Cara quickly turned the table on him when she began her recitation of Stephen Hawking’s theory of Black Holes (in exquisite detail) and how relationships could be correlated to it. The poor guy ended up having an asthma attack in the middle of it. It wouldn’t have been so bad, except Trisha was well on her way to a really good hangover and was totally oblivious to his distress. She had given her notice at Boswell that afternoon and was celebrating a little early. Imagine her surprise when Ariel hadn’t been in much better condition. Cara, being the only sober one of the group besides the Physics professor, took one look at both of them and started laughing. Trisha knew, even as drunk as she was, that Cara was collecting blackmail points for future use. The last thing Trisha wanted to do was remind her of it.
“You two are nuts. You were so drunk,” Cara said laughing, “you can’t even remember his name. It was Douglas. Not, Dougie.” Cara’s perfect imitation of the outraged Physics Professor had Trisha and Ariel laughing so hard they had tears in their eyes.
“Oh yeah, good ole Dougie.” Trisha said wiping her eyes. “How could we forget?”
Trisha looked at Abby and smiled. She knew her next words were more for Cara then for them but she would never admit it. “Unlike some people we know, Ariel and I both need at least eight hours of sleep more than once a month to survive. We would love to take you up on both of your offers.”
Abby frowned, “Both of my offers?”
“Yeah, bed and brothers.” Trisha, Cara, and Ariel smirked.
Trisha went along with the joking about the brothers but inside she winced. She was a lot like Carmen. She wasn't ready for another relationship yet. Trisha snorted silently. Maybe she was more like her dad. Her dad never did find another woman to replace her mom. Her parents married very young, younger than her and Peter, but theirs was a soul match. Her parents were married a little over four years when her mom died suddenly. Trisha's dad turned all his love and attention on their infant daughter. Trisha knew her dad had a few affairs over the years but nothing that ever lasted very long. He never became serious about any of the women, no matter how much they tried to pressure him into making a commitment. She asked him once about it but he just gave her a sad smile and said he hadn’t found another woman who lit the same spark as her mom. He told her that if he ever did find another one like her mom, he would snatch her up so fast she wouldn’t know what hit her. He and Trisha laughed and made a list of all the things he was looking for in a woman. She agreed that they never found a woman who met all of the characteristics on his list. Trisha realized she had been looking for that special someone, too. She thought at the time it was Peter but she had obviously been mistaken. Trisha jerked back to what was going on around her when Carmen came up silently behind them.
“I appreciate the offer but I think I’ll skip. I had transportation delivered earlier. I think I’ll head out as I slept most of the trip.” Carmen said quietly as she came up as if out of nowhere.
Trisha listened as Cara excitedly told Abby it wouldn’t take long for her to get her stuff. Her focus, though, was on Ariel. She was worried about her. She knew better than anyone how much Ariel worried about her younger sister. Three years ago, neither one of them thought Carmen was even going to live. Ariel didn’t renew her commission in the Air Force so she could stay at the hospital during those first critical weeks. Between her recovery and what happened to Carmen, Ariel’s hands had been full three years ago, Trisha thought with regret. Damn, but she needed to keep her thoughts focused. If she wasn’t careful, she would turn into a grumpy old lady.
“Okay. It’ll take us about ten minutes or so to close everything up.” Trisha said glancing worriedly at Ariel.
Trisha turned and headed up the steps of the jet. It wouldn’t take that long to get ready. They just needed to lock the jet down and get their bags. Trisha reached up into the storage unit near the front of the cabin and pulled her and Ariel’s bags down. Gripping one in each hand, she turned to head back down the steps. She met Ariel at the bottom of the steps. Ariel secured the door to the jet before she turned back to Trisha and reached for her bag.
Handing Ariel her bag, Trisha murmured, “She’ll be alright. It just takes time.”
Ariel’s eyes were bright with unshed tears. She cleared her throat before she responded, “Yeah, but how much time? It’s been three years.”
“It’s been three years for me too and I’m still not ready.” Trisha replied softly. “She lost something very special to her, Ariel. Not all of us heal at the same rate. Just look at my dad. You just have to take it one day at a time and hope it will get better.” Trisha finished looking off into the darkness with a haunted expression.
“I’m sorry.” Ariel said pulling Trisha into a one-armed hug. “Sometimes I forget you can understand what Carmen is going through better than me. Thank you for being there for the both of us.”
“Hey, what are sisters for?” Trisha said with a grin. “Now, enough of all the sober, depressing stuff, I am sick of feeling bah humbug. Let’s concentrate on all the fun we are going to have messing with the greenhorns. I think the Navy is still sending their Seals to my dad for training. I can’t wait to see their faces when I tag them.”
Ariel giggled at the thought. “You are so bad! You know they are going to need therapy after you mess with their heads, don’t you?”
Trisha was just about to reply when she heard a popping sound. She and Ariel had been around enough gun fire to recognize it immediately. Both of them dropped their bags and took off at a fast run towards the parking lot where they had heard it. Trisha squeezed through the fencing first, followed closely by Ariel. Trisha breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw Cara and Carmen together. Her gaze searched frantically for Abby. She heard the sound of tires squealing and turned in time to see the tail lights of a pickup truck leaving the parking around at a high speed.
“Shit, what happened?” Trisha asked.
Carmen spoke up before Cara
could. Her expression was dark and deadly. Trisha could tell she was pissed. “Some asshole waylaid Abby. From the little I was able to gather he isn’t too happy she didn’t choose him instead of this Zoran guy. He stuck her with something and has her cuffed. I’m going to follow him. Keep your line open, I might need some backup.” Carmen took off running towards a motorcycle hidden in the dark between two hangers before anyone could say anything.
“We need wheels.” Ariel muttered darkly as she watched her sister take off after the pickup truck.
“On it.” Cara said shakily before she ran across the dimly lit parking lot to Abby’s truck. Trisha watched as Cara deftly unlocked the truck and had it running in a matter of seconds.
Cara face lit up with a big grin when she saw Trisha’s raised eyebrow. “I used to have a problem with taking vehicles for a spin.”
Trisha just shook her head as Ariel jumped into the truck, scooting over to the middle so she could get in. In a hand-to-hand confrontation, Trisha was still better than Ariel. Her dad taught her how to fight, sometimes not exactly fairly. He knew if she was out in the woods alone, sometimes for days or weeks, with some of their clients, she would need to be able to defend herself in any circumstance. Some of their clients did not like to lose to a woman. Paul Grove said it didn’t matter if you were a male or a female when it came down to fighting for your life. You either knew how to fight to live or you died. He made sure his little girl knew how to fight to live.