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Forrest turned slowly and looked at her quizzically for several moments before asking, “Do you have the day off?”
For a second she’d thought he was going to say something much more worthwhile. Exactly what, she wasn’t sure, but his thoughtfulness had reminded her of years ago when he’d been contemplating an adventure for all of them. Letting go of her whimsical thoughts, Twyla shrugged. “It’s a Sunday. They’re always slow. People are recovering from Friday and Saturday nights.”
“Can you leave if you want?”
Curiosity, or perhaps hope, leaped inside her. Yet, trying not to show any reaction, she asked, “Why?”
“So I can give you a ride in my airplane.”
Twyla’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. Unable to control the excitement flaring inside she bounded to her feet so fast the chairs and table wobbled. She very well could have been ten years old again, responding to an escapade he’d suggested. Forrest had always come up with the best ideas. “You mean it?”
“Yes, I mean it. If you want to.”
His smile captured her heart as fast as his answer. “I want to,” she agreed immediately. “I surely do.”
He grabbed her hand. “Well, come on, then.”
Her excitement doubled, and she squeezed his hand on impulse. His grin was far more intoxicating than a double shot of whiskey. As they entered the dining room through the double doorway, Twyla’s excitement calmed enough for her mind to snag. “Why did you come out here today?”
“To talk to your father,” Forrest said. “Josie told me he and Palooka George went someplace and won’t be back until this afternoon. That’ll give us plenty of time for a flyby.”
“A flyby?”
He nodded. “That’s a short flight just for fun.”
“Where’d you see Josie?” Twyla asked. The thrill of riding in an airplane overtook her again. She could discover what he wanted to talk to her father about anytime, but the chance to have a ride in an airplane might never happen again. The thought was so thrilling she was practically trembling. “I have to tell her I’m leaving.”
“In the office,” Forrest said.
They exited the dining room side by side and turned the corner to the hallway leading to both Norma Rose’s and her father’s offices. “Do I need to change?” Twyla asked. “It would only take me a minute.”
“Not unless you want to,” Forrest answered. “I have an extra flight jacket at the hangar.”
A flight jacket! She’d dreamed of wearing one of those leather coats with the fur collars. She hoped he had an extra hat, too. The one she’d seen him wearing was cherries. Just cherries. Her feet barely touched the floor as she made her way down the hall. Life just kept getting better and better, despite Forrest’s reappearance. In fact, in this instance he was the reason for the improvement.
Josie was in Norma Rose’s office, talking on the phone, which she hung up abruptly when Forrest pushed open the door. She most likely had been talking with one of the women from her Ladies Aid Society. Twyla had no idea what went on at all those meetings, having only attended the few Josie dragged her and Norma Rose to a couple of times a year, but she did know they weren’t as innocent as they appeared. Yet she couldn’t imagine some of the old women who hosted the meetings doing a lot more than crocheting doilies and watering roses.
“I’m going to town with Forrest,” Twyla said. “We’ll be gone a couple of hours.”
Josie cast a curious glance between her and Forrest, but then nodded. “All right, but just so you know, I have a meeting on Tuesday, a long one. I’ll be gone most of the day.”
“All right,” Twyla replied. This, too, was working out wonderfully, the way she and Josie could swap time at work in order to see to personal things. She’d covered when Josie had attended a meeting last Tuesday, too, and on Thursday Josie had covered for her while she’d spent the day shopping for the outfit she’d worn last night and the polka-dot dress she had on today. Pulling the door closed, she asked Forrest, “You sure I don’t need to change?”
“Not unless you want to,” he said again.
She didn’t want to waste the time, and she also needed to get away before someone stopped her. With her father gone and Norma Rose on the island, it wasn’t likely, but one never knew. Then again, she was so used to sneaking out that not rushing was impossible.
Forrest stopped on the front porch to tell Bronco, “Twyla’s going with me, so there’s no need for you to go looking for her.”
