meant it literally for Teague. Take it as in fly it. Himself.
The fuel truck finished and departed, and Teague walked back into the hangar to pick up his bag.
“Ready?” he asked her.
“I guess,” she said, sliding him a sideways look. “You really fly this thing?”
“Nah. She practically flies herself. I just steer now and then.”
She smiled at that, watching as he reached up and grabbed a handle on the side of the plane’s fuselage and pulled. A clamshell door opened, each half lifting and lowering smoothly. The lower half held two wide, comfortably deep steps that looked easy to negotiate.
“She seats six,” Teague said as she lifted her foot to the first step. “Pick your spot.” He gave her a considering look. “You can sit up front if you want, or if that will bother you, or you want more room to relax, you’ve got four to choose from back here. There’s a stowaway desk over there, if you want it.”
She hesitated, then jumped. “I’d like to start out up front.”
He grinned that crooked grin, and she wondered how flying could flip her heart any more than that.
“You can move back later. In the meantime, you can always close your eyes if it freaks you out.”
“No stunts, okay?”
The grin vanished. “In this? Charlie would have my head. And rightfully so.”
There was no mistaking his seriousness. When it came down to business he was as steady as Quinn. That made the last of her reservations fade.
As it turned out, the flight was smooth and uneventful, exciting only because she’d never done it and had never felt so close to the process. He did angle the plane once so, on this severe clear day, she could look down the range of mountains and see the string of volcanoes that were the crown jewels; Baker to the north, to the south majestic Rainier and the remains of St. Helens, reminding everyone of the power of the giants that they lived with. From Canada to California the string of fire stretched.
Then the jagged peaks were behind them and they were on the dry side, and she was so busy looking she forgot to be nervous. That she spent as much time watching Teague smoothly handle the controls, and the rather fearsome-looking electronics in front of them, was something she told herself was purely for her own edification.
Sooner than seemed possible they landed at a small airfield northeast of the city, along the Spokane River. As she was coming to realize, Foxworth’s planning genius wasn’t limited to the infamous Charlie. There was a rental car waiting for them.
“Navigate or drive?” Teague asked.
She liked that he asked, but the decision seemed obvious.
“I’d better navigate. I know where they live, but I’m not used to coming in this way. When I’ve come out to visit with Amber, we came in commercial, at the big airport.”
Laney quickly oriented herself with the map on her phone and set them on their way. She guessed he could easily have done the same, probably even with turn by turn voiced directions, judging by the high-end phones all of Foxworth seemed to have. She wondered if he’d done it just to give her something to do, something else to think about. If he had, it worked.
At least, it did until they made the last turn onto the cul-de-sac where Amber’s parents lived.
There was a police car parked in their driveway.
Chapter 13
T here was no mistaking the delight in the woman’s face when she opened the door and saw Laney, Teague thought. Or her stark disappointment when she saw him.
She’d been hoping it would be Amber with Laney, he realized. He took no pleasure in being right; they were already worried.
Under normal conditions, Teague guessed it would be easy to see where Amber got her looks. He knew from Laney Amber’s mother was only a couple of years younger than her father’s sixty-two, but if she said she was less than fifty he wouldn’t really doubt it. Laney had said they’d moved for the weather, and the woman’s tan seemed to show they
The fuel truck finished and departed, and Teague walked back into the hangar to pick up his bag.
“Ready?” he asked her.
“I guess,” she said, sliding him a sideways look. “You really fly this thing?”
“Nah. She practically flies herself. I just steer now and then.”
She smiled at that, watching as he reached up and grabbed a handle on the side of the plane’s fuselage and pulled. A clamshell door opened, each half lifting and lowering smoothly. The lower half held two wide, comfortably deep steps that looked easy to negotiate.
“She seats six,” Teague said as she lifted her foot to the first step. “Pick your spot.” He gave her a considering look. “You can sit up front if you want, or if that will bother you, or you want more room to relax, you’ve got four to choose from back here. There’s a stowaway desk over there, if you want it.”
She hesitated, then jumped. “I’d like to start out up front.”
He grinned that crooked grin, and she wondered how flying could flip her heart any more than that.
“You can move back later. In the meantime, you can always close your eyes if it freaks you out.”
“No stunts, okay?”
The grin vanished. “In this? Charlie would have my head. And rightfully so.”
There was no mistaking his seriousness. When it came down to business he was as steady as Quinn. That made the last of her reservations fade.
As it turned out, the flight was smooth and uneventful, exciting only because she’d never done it and had never felt so close to the process. He did angle the plane once so, on this severe clear day, she could look down the range of mountains and see the string of volcanoes that were the crown jewels; Baker to the north, to the south majestic Rainier and the remains of St. Helens, reminding everyone of the power of the giants that they lived with. From Canada to California the string of fire stretched.
Then the jagged peaks were behind them and they were on the dry side, and she was so busy looking she forgot to be nervous. That she spent as much time watching Teague smoothly handle the controls, and the rather fearsome-looking electronics in front of them, was something she told herself was purely for her own edification.
Sooner than seemed possible they landed at a small airfield northeast of the city, along the Spokane River. As she was coming to realize, Foxworth’s planning genius wasn’t limited to the infamous Charlie. There was a rental car waiting for them.
“Navigate or drive?” Teague asked.
She liked that he asked, but the decision seemed obvious.
“I’d better navigate. I know where they live, but I’m not used to coming in this way. When I’ve come out to visit with Amber, we came in commercial, at the big airport.”
Laney quickly oriented herself with the map on her phone and set them on their way. She guessed he could easily have done the same, probably even with turn by turn voiced directions, judging by the high-end phones all of Foxworth seemed to have. She wondered if he’d done it just to give her something to do, something else to think about. If he had, it worked.
At least, it did until they made the last turn onto the cul-de-sac where Amber’s parents lived.
There was a police car parked in their driveway.
Chapter 13
T here was no mistaking the delight in the woman’s face when she opened the door and saw Laney, Teague thought. Or her stark disappointment when she saw him.
She’d been hoping it would be Amber with Laney, he realized. He took no pleasure in being right; they were already worried.
Under normal conditions, Teague guessed it would be easy to see where Amber got her looks. He knew from Laney Amber’s mother was only a couple of years younger than her father’s sixty-two, but if she said she was less than fifty he wouldn’t really doubt it. Laney had said they’d moved for the weather, and the woman’s tan seemed to show they
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