Page 143 of My All American Girl

EPILOGUE

DEAN

Six Months Later

“Are you ready?” I asked Sarah.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise,” I said. “That means I don’t tell you so you will be surprised.”

“Very funny,” she said. “You’re acting very cagey.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Of course, I do,” she answered.

“Then get your fine ass in the truck. We’re going for a ride.”

I drove us out to the base. I’d managed to secure clearance to go up in a T6 with Sarah—thanks to Mo pulling a few strings. Even now, as we suited up on the tarmac, she was still expressing doubts.

“Are you sure we’re allowed to do this?” she asked, her voice muffled by the helmet she was strapping on. “I really can’t afford to get in trouble.”

I grinned, adjusting my own helmet. “I’ve got the clearance right here. You’ve been flying this beauty almost daily for weeks now. I’ve heard all about it, but nothing beats experiencing it firsthand.”

She gave me a playful roll of her eyes but didn’t argue further. Instead, she watched as I climbed into the rear seat of her T6. The aircraft had become an extension of her. I gestured for her to take her seat in front. It was clear in every movement she made, from the way she settled into the cockpit to the confident flick of her fingers over the controls, she was born to do this.

The engine roared to life, and soon we were taxiing to the runway. The anticipation in my chest grew with every passing second. We were finally going to fly together again. I had missed this.

“It’s been a while since we flew together,” Sarah said over the comms as we reached altitude. The sky was a perfect blue, the kind of day that reminded me why I loved flying so much.

“Since London,” I recalled. Memories of our time there flashed through my mind. It seemed like a lifetime ago, yet also just yesterday.

Sarah’s laughter crackled through the headset. “Feels like forever.”

We soared through the sky, performing gentle maneuvers and reveling in the sheer joy of flight. It was everything I had missed and more. Sarah was in her element. I couldn’t stop smiling at the sound of her excited commentary and the feel of the T6 responding to her every command.

“We’re up with the clouds,” she breathed, her voice holding a note of awe. “It’s beautiful. I like flying when I don’t have to perform. I can just soar.”

“It is an amazing feeling,” I agreed, my gaze not on the view but on her. Even after all our time together and countless flights, she never lost her sense of wonder. It was one of the many things I loved about her.

“Isn’t it amazing to think that we get to do this for a living?” Sarah said, breaking into my thoughts. “To fly above the world, to see everything from a perspective only few get to experience.”

“You get to do this,” I reminded her. “I used to do this.”

She turned her head slightly, grinning over her shoulder at me. The sun glinted off her helmet, making her look ethereal. “Do you miss it?”

“Yes, but not enough to get me to jump back in,” I said. “I’ll buy a plane one day. For now, I’m good watching.”

With a chuckle, Sarah turned back to the controls, guiding us effortlessly through the sky.

“You okay for landing?” she asked.

I gave her a thumbs-up, suddenly realizing how much I missed being in control of a plane. But right now, in this moment, there was no other place I’d rather be. “Go for it, ace.”

And just like that, we descended back toward the earth, the control tower becoming larger as we approached. Sarah’s movements were flawless. The plane responded to her as if it was a part of her. As we touched the tarmac, a sigh of satisfaction escaped me. I felt a nervous flutter in my stomach. I had something planned, something big. The kind of big that made your palms sweat and your heart race.

She began to unstrap herself but paused when she noticed I wasn’t moving.