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A conscience I didn’t realize I even owned had started to kick in by the time we reached the exit. There was no way I could do this with Alexa. As much as I hated myself for not being able to move on, I just wasn’t ready. The taxi line had only one person waiting. We got in line, and a cab quickly pulled up. When the driver got out and opened the trunk, I waited until he took Alexa’s luggage.
“Alexa. I’m sorry. I appreciate the invitation, but I can’t do this.”
“Do what?” She seemed sincerely perplexed.
“Go with you. To your hotel. I’m not ready.”
“Not ready? You mean…”
“No, not like that. It’s not a physical problem. I’m just…my mind is somewhere else, and that’s not fair to do to you.”
She stepped closer and grabbed the lapels to my uniform. “I don’t mind.”
I forced a sad smile. “I’m sorry. But I do.”
She sighed loudly. “Is there anything I can offer to convince you?”
Can you make a ghost turn into reality?
“No. I’m sorry.” I opened the back door of the car and waited for her to get in.
She slipped inside and looked genuinely sad, rather than angry. “If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you. Take care of yourself, Alexa.”
I shut the door and rapped my knuckles on the top of the yellow car to let the driver know he could pull away. Then I stood there for a full ten minutes staring at nothing but the sidewalk. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I could go check into a hotel, but that thought depressed me even more than the incident with Alexa did. So I did the only thing that seemed to make me feel better lately—and headed back into the airport.
The Sky Lounge food wasn’t half bad, and it would kill some time before going to my depressing hotel by myself. I headed through the security I’d just exited and back down the National Elite concourse. As I passed gate thirty-two, I caught a glimpse of what I thought was the blonde Kendall ghost walking down the gangway to board her flight. She really looked like her from behind. The swing of her hips was even similar. I stopped to watch her walk the entire way down, not moving until she’d disappeared out of sight. Again, my heart was beating out of control just seeing a woman who looked similar to Kendall.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
I shook my head, blinked a few times, and forced myself to continue walking. I’d made it two or three more gates when I suddenly turned back around. “I’m losing my fucking mind,” I grumbled to myself. It was ridiculous, I knew. But my heart was still racing, and I’d never be able to sleep tonight if I didn’t at least ask.
I waited in line behind a woman who wanted to change her seat. When it was my turn, I made sure my captain’s hat was on my head. “Hi, I’m Carter Clynes with International. I could have sworn I just saw an old friend that I used to work with go down the gateway.
“You mean Captain Reisher?”
“No. A flight attendant. We used to work together.”
“Let’s see. We have Melissa Hansen, Nat Ditmar and…” The woman turned to her co-worker. “What’s the new flight attendant’s name again? The blonde?”
My heart started to pound with anticipation.
“The one that just finished training last week?”
“Yeah, that’s her. She just boarded today’s flight.”
“Oh. Her name…is Kendall.”
I froze. It couldn’t be. “Did you say Kendall?”
“I did. Is that who you thought it was?”
It has to be one giant coincidence.
“Kendall…is her last name Sparks?”
“Yeah, that’s it. She works the shuttle from New York to Boston now.”
