Page 19 of Sheltering You

“My charter for this week was canceled,” he said. “I’ll take you.”

Her eyes lit up. “You will drive me?”

“Drive?” Her joy sparked his own. “Why would we drive when I have a perfectly good jet all fueled up and ready? I’ll pick you up first thing in the morning.”

“If we leave tomorrow, we will get there in time? They are only here for a few days.”

“Trust me. But you need to tell your sister where you’re going. Maybe we can make it back in one day, but if not, we don’t want her to worry.”

She peered past Derrick toward the crowd still enjoying dinner in the dining room and kitchen. Then she stepped close. “They are leaving for New York at four o’clock in the morning.”

Right. He’d forgotten Michael, Leila, Bryan, and Sophie were going to the city for a couple of days. Bryan had an event at some museum there, and the rest were tagging along for fun.

Derrick and Jasmine had been invited, but Derrick had had the charter scheduled.

“Why aren’t you going with them?”

“I do not wish to spend the weekend with the couples and all their lovey…kissing, you know? I had already told Leila I would stay home.”

“So you’re thinking we leave after they do and get back before them,” Derrick said, “so they don’t know what we’re up to?” He didn’t like the idea of sneaking around.

“It is only that I think they will worry.”

He let his raised eyebrows show his skepticism, and she sighed.

“It is that…I believe they would stop me. Michael and Leila are worried about my safety, and for this I am grateful. But neither of them can understand how important Basma is to me. She was my only friend for many years. I am free now. How can I not help her to also be free? It is what Leila did in Munich, is it not? To tell others about Jesus, to help them find freedom? I know that it is a risk, but some risks are worth taking. Some people are worth risking for. My sister and Michael, they might understand my desire, but they will not agree that it’s worth the risk. I fear that, even if I am able to convince them, it will be too late to help my friend.”

Derrick wasn’t sure Jasmine had ever strung so many words together at one time.

Obviously, she felt passionate about this. And she’d asked Derrick for his help.

How could he refuse her? He’d have to figure out how to get Basma and her little brother away from the people watching her and deliver them to their cousin without risking Jasmine’s security.

How would he do it? No idea.

He’d just take it step by step.

They soared above the clouds in Derrick’s Cessna Citation, the sunrise pink and orange in the east, the sky dark and starry in the west. Trouble far below, God so close, and the woman he loved at his side…

For Derrick, this moment was perfect.

Or would have been, if she were truly his, beside him because she chose him, not because she needed his help.

Someday, though, this would be their life. Someday, when the charters were short and didn’t require a copilot, she could sit beside him in the cockpit. Instead of sitting in hotel rooms by himself, waiting for clients, he could show Jasmine sights all over the country. Take her to dinner. Take her to shows.

They could go to the beach. Go skiing. Go dancing. Go…wherever they wanted.

This could be their life. Someday. Soon.

As always, this morning she wore a shapeless dress, this one denim with a wide neckline that gave him a glimpse of her defined collarbones. Flowers were embroidered at the bottom of the flared sleeves and the flowing skirt.

She dressed so differently from other women—modest, for sure. But also, it seemed as if she were trying to hide herself, her figure. Which made sense, considering the culture she’d come from. And her captivity. And the fact that she was, in fact, hiding from her family.

Even in the not-so-attractive clothes, she was lovely. Especially when she added makeup like she had today, which accentuated her nearly black eyes. The way the eyeliner tipped up at the corners brought to mind the only other Jasmine he knew of—the princess in that Disney movie.

His Jasmine was far more beautiful than the animated one, especially when she had that wonder in her eyes as she asked question after question about every button and lever, every light and display.

Each answer he gave led her to ask a follow-up question—not that he minded. He loved flying, and he loved her. This was the dream.