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CHAPTER 16
“I’m so excited. I love Key West. Why don’t we come more often? You went there last month with that girl… Brenda?”
“Linda,” Reese corrects.
“Right, Linda. I liked her. Why aren’t you still with her?” I ask her
“She wanted too much,” Reese barely replies.
“Too much what?”
“Nothing,” she grinds out.
“She wanted too much nothing?” I frown, leaning over to look at my kid’s face.
“Mom, can we talk about this later?” Reese asks with obvious irritation, shoving me away.
“Are you excited? I’m so excited. A little nervous, too.”
“You don’t say.” Reese leans back, and closing her eyes, takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask her.
“About the million ways we could possibly die in the air beast. Will the ground seem to be coming up at us? Will everyone scream? Will we crash into another plane and I’ll see it coming through the window? Will the plane burst in midair? Will I feel it?” By the end of it she’s near screaming at me.
“Jeez, Kid,” I say, completely taken aback.
“Look, Mom, I know you’re a nervous flyer. So am I. But where you feel the need to chatter to get that nervous energy out, I need silence so that I can work through every possible death scenario and come to terms with it. So please, let me die a thousand deaths in peace.”
“Oh, okay,” I tell her.
Reese grasps the arm rests tighter as the plane takes off and closes her eyes again. I sit back, too, now imagining everything Reese just told me. My hands sweat more as in my mind I see the plane cartwheeling tail over nose down the runway.
A large warm hand cups my left one, and I turn to see Dean smiling at me. The familiarity of it soothes my nerves and calms me. I let him hold it because no one can see. There are no reporters, no cameras. Just us at the back of the plane. And I need him to.
Liz dropped us off at the airport bright and early. She’ll be driving down with Sheridan tomorrow. Dean, Julie and to my surprise, Tony, were already there.
“I thought you were in charge of Maxx while Jules is gone,” I told him.
His eyes shot to her, making his presence so completely obvious. “Yeah, she got someone to fill in. I couldn’t miss out on our girl’s big win,” he said, nudging me with his elbow. Dean cleared his throat, making Tony stutter and apology. “I… I mean, if she wins, but best of luck to you both!”
I don’t know if Tony is coming to Key West because of me. Either way, it will be nice to see him there.
Even though the flight is a smooth one, Reese looks worse for the wear. The moment we check-in to our room, Reese is gone. “I need to unwind,” she tells me.
“Yeah, I would, too, if I’d just died over and over again,” I say to her back as she walks away.
“Cat, I have reservations at Candor,” Julie says, handing me a ticket with the reservation number. “It’s on the second floor facing the back.”
“Okay, I’ll tell my kid.”
“Sorry, this one is just for you. I want to enjoy some alone time with the two of you.” She hands Dean his ticket when he walks up to us. “See you at eight,” she says over her shoulder, leaving us.
The instant her blonde head disappears around the corner, I turn to Dean with a wicked grin, hoping he can read exactly what’s on my mind. “I bet you can’t tell what activity I’d like to engage in until seven thirty.”
Dean groans. His hand comes up, barely grazing my cheek, before stopping himself to look around for any would-be spies. “I wish we could. Julie’s roomed me with Tony.”
“What? No!” I nearly fall to the ground as I scream.
