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“Thanks, Slade. That’s how I feel. This weekend is about Elliott – and his dad.” She looked out the window to where the plane had now parked – was that what you called it when it was a plane? – she didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. What mattered was that the door had opened, and the steps were being let down by whoever was inside. She hoped that the pilots were nice. She hoped that one of them might even be a woman – Piper was a pilot – and Becca knew that she’d feel more at ease with a female pilot than she would be hurtling through the sky with two strange men.
Slade looked at her small bag. “Have you got everything you need?”
She laughed. “I have. I’m only going to be there for two nights. We’ll be back on Sunday afternoon.” Her smile faded. “Do you think I need to learn to pack more stuff? Jacob couldn’t believe that this was all I was taking, either.”
“No. Don’t change a thing, Becca. Keep being you. Jacob might not be used to the way you do things, but he loves you.”
“Okay.”
She swallowed as she watched the pilot come down the steps. She wished that it was Trick, not some guy she didn’t know. He looked okay; he was maybe a few years older than her and of course, he was all smartly dressed in his pilots’ uniform. She’d be fine. She wished Jacob was still here to see her off, even though he wasn’t coming with her. But she’d been the one who insisted that he should fly down to San Diego with the first group that Trick was taking down there. She knew that he wanted to be there for Elliott and his mom and to do as much as he could to help. There was no point in him hanging around here, just to hold her hand.
He hadn’t been happy about not coming to see her parents with her, but she assured him that they would understand. She’d thought that they could go and see them some other time, but he’d insisted on renting – no, chartering, that was what they called it – this plane for her to get there as they’d planned. He was going to come on Sunday so that he’d still get to meet her folks for a little while. And she’d get to fly home with him.
“Come on,” said Slade when the pilot reached the doors.
“Are you leaving?”
He laughed. “No. I’m coming with you to have a word with this guy.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to make sure that he and his co-pilot know that they’re transporting a very important passenger today and that they’d better be on their best behavior.” He laughed. “And in case you’re wondering, I planned to do that anyway – even before Jacob asked me to.”
“Aww. Thanks, Slade.”
He squeezed her shoulder before he picked up her bag. “You don’t need to thank me. It’s like you said – we’re family. And family looks out for each other.”
Becca grinned at him. “I love that. Next time we go to see my folks, I want to take you with us. I think you’ll love them, and I know they’ll love you.” She wanted to ask him to come with her now, but she knew that he’d only stuck around to make sure that she got off okay. He’d be heading down to San Diego for the funeral with the next group when Trick came back to collect them.
She frowned as a thought struck her. “Who’s helping Trick fly the plane?” She felt bad that since Jacob had gotten rid of Jamie, they’d had a string of temporary stand-ins helping to cover the company flights.
“Reaves. He flies for the DuPonts, but he and Ollie – the DuPonts’ other pilot – are both friendly with Trick and Elliott, they both wanted to do whatever they could to help.”
“Aww.”
Slade grinned at her. “Okay, time to stop stalling. You’re going to be fine. You can do this. Just stick your nose in the air and act like you’re Mrs. Jacobs, then they’ll think you’re just another rich chick and bow and scrape to you.”
“Slade! I can’t do that! That’s not …”
Slade just laughed. “I know. I’m teasing you. I was hoping that making you laugh might help you relax.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Thanks.”
“You’ve got my number. I’ll be in the air myself at some point later, but if you need anything and you can’t get ahold of Jacob, you call me, okay?”
“Thanks. I won’t …”
He gave her a stern look that made her laugh. It didn’t feel anything like when Jacob did that. “Okay, okay. Yes, Uncle Slade. I’ll call you if I need you. And thank you.”
“Like I said, you don’t need to thank me. I’ve got your back.” When he turned to greet the pilot, his smile was gone, and for the first time, Becca saw him as she imagined other people did. He was an imposing figure – not someone you’d want to mess with. He looked more like a bodyguard than anything else.
The pilot greeted them with a smile and held his hand out to shake with Slade. “Good afternoon. I’m Brent.”
Slade nodded at him. “Glad you’re on time.” He handed over Becca’s bag. “Miss Taylor is traveling light today. What’s your scheduled flight time?”
Brent smiled at Becca. “Nice to meet you, Miss Taylor. My co-pilot and I should have you to Dodge City in right around two and half hours.”
“Where is your co-pilot?” asked Slade. Becca glanced at him; he didn’t sound like his usual jokey self. If she didn’t know him, she’d find his tone … intimidating.
