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She hoped he couldn’t.
“Are you thinking poor little rich boy?”
She laughed at the way he said it. “Yes, if you must know. I was.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. I know I’ve had it easy in life in many respects, but Dad made us work for everything. We all had to work the fields and learn before we were allowed anywhere near the offices. When I started in the office, he had me doing data entry for months before he’d let me do anything useful. I didn’t just walk in and get handed everything.”
She laughed. “I bet you never worked shifts doing manual labor either.”
“I did. That’s what I said. We all had to work in the fields. Chelsea loved it so much she never wanted to move into the offices. And no, we weren’t just out there watching and helping out. We worked the same hours for the same pay as all the other workers.” He smiled. “But I wasn’t trying to get into competition with you over who worked hardest as a kid. I wanted to know what your life was like growing up.”
“It was good. Laura was my neighbor and my best friend. We went to a great school; we had a lot of friends.” She shrugged. “It was good. I always thought I’d get out of there one day. I thought I’d get to see the world, but not because there was anything bad about the place, just because I wanted to see more, to explore.”
“And how did you get into flying?”
“That was my dad.”
“I thought you never knew him?”
“I didn’t, but I heard a lot about him. He used to fly crop dusters over all the farms around town. He was like a legend.” She smiled. “I always had this romantic notion about who he was, and I wanted to be like him. I bugged the guy who took over when he died to let me go up with him. It was awesome. Over time, he taught me to fly and then he let me fly by myself, and soon I was helping out. I was lucky when I started applying to colleges. They were offering scholarships for the aviation programs, trying to bring in more women. I got a full scholarship and got all my ratings while I was in school. From there, it was easy to get a job flying cargo.”
“Wow, so you’re a self-made woman?”
She laughed. “Yeah, but I haven’t made much.”
“Maybe not in terms of money, but you’ve made a great career for yourself.”
“I guess I have. I would have argued that one with you a couple of weeks ago; flying cargo for ten years doesn’t feel all that great.”
“But now you get to do it all. You get to be a flight instructor and fly a corporate jet, and charter flights, too.”
She looked up at him with a grin. “Yep. I’m so excited. But anyway, enough about me. Tell me more about you?”
~ ~ ~
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
He smiled. “Give me a clue. Where should I start?” He was used to fielding questions about himself. Whether it was interviews for magazines or from women who wanted to get to know him before they slept with him, the questions were usually the same—about his career and the future for Hamilton-Groves.
“What makes you happy?”
That caught him off guard. He thought about it.
“Don’t you know?”
“Lots of things.”
“Like what?”
“Like …” Damn, he really didn’t know.
She sat up and looked at him.
He laughed. “Don’t look so shocked. I guess I’ve never really thought about it. It’s enough that I am happy. I just haven’t thought to question why. I don’t know, spending time with my family makes me happy. I love my folks, and Chelsea and I are close. We always have been.” He smiled. “I’m very happy that Cole’s getting closer to us all again, and that he’s got Laura now. I like her. Knowing that I’m growing the company makes me happy. I’m happy that it’s more like a big family than a business. A lot of people depend on Hamilton-Groves for their livelihoods; it makes me happy that I’m helping them grow their futures.”
“But what about little everyday things, things that you do? What makes you smile, what makes you feel good?”
