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Dad sat beside Mom. “He’s paid to store his jet for a month. I guess that means he’s here for a while.”
The ladies whispered to each other and snickered like they learned the secret to a happy matrimony. For some odd reason, my own pulse rate picked up speed. Likely due to me being able to take a real good look at that magnificent, uh, aircraft.
Hold my jet engines… Yeah, Emery was hot. But I needed to apply the brakes on my hormones. He was also a hot mess.
I looked across the table. Mom and Dad stared at me.
“What?”
“You look weird.” Dad drew his brows down while mischief glistened in his hazel eyes.
“Gee, thanks.” I layered handmade candles into a carton. Cinnamon and cocoa bean aromas wafted up.
“I agree.” Mom nodded. “Must be your smile. We haven’t seen that in ages.”
“Can we get back to work? If I leave on time, I can work a double tonight at the bar.”
Dad kissed Mom’s cheek. “Looks like grumpiness rubs off on others.” He strolled down the hallway, laughing until we couldn’t hear him anymore.
Mom handed me the tape dispenser and whispered so the ladies wouldn’t hear. “I do wish we could pay you more. Then you wouldn’t need a second job.”
“Don’t worry.” Their little airport could never replace my commercial pilot’s salary. “Besides, the fun starts after my shift ends. Old man Stipple keeps trying to beat me at darts.”
“Ha. He’ll never win against you.”
I whispered behind my hand. “Don’t tell him that. I keep scoring free beers.”
Right as the winter light of the day ended, I entered the hangar and walked up to the jet. With the cargo door down and the LED overhead lights turned on, the aircraft looked even more surreal. I ran my hand along the smooth undercarriage. Up next to the cut of the door, I found a heart-shaped emblem with Hannah scripted inside.
Poor guy. Even an Armani suit didn’t stop a back stabbing.
I headed back to the side door and flipped off the overhead lights. The emblem with another woman’s name kept glowing in the dark. Like it was done with luminescent paint.
While that heart glowed, my heart saddened. I was envious of the love Emery must’ve had for Hannah—a love deep enough to ask her to share his future.
His subsequent loneliness, I didn’t envy. I had enough of my own.
I flicked the light back on. Then off. And on and off.
First chance, I’d take a solo flight in Dad’s vintage bi-wing airplane. It’d be cold in the open cockpit, but I needed the sky and horizon to center me. Loneliness up there was good compared to being lonely on the ground.
Chapter Three
Emery
The drive to the family ranch was just long enough for my nerves to ratchet. Not even the familiar rolling hills and wide-open spaces calmed me down like they usually did. But this was the first time in my life to arrive home after a humiliating public display that cost me the respect I had worked hard to achieve. Being the firstborn, I was the leader, the first to make my mark in the world. I took care of others. Not the other way around.
I parked outside the gate attached to a split-rail fence surrounding our ranch. In the spring, horses would fill these pastures. With the current bitter cold, Dad kept the herd inside or near the barn with blankets draping their backs.
As I punched in the code and waited for the entrance to open, I studied the ornate wrought iron sign arching above the driveway. Swazay Ranch. The place had been around since before I was born. The constancy of a family farm surviving after eighty years offered hope in my survival to get past this blip in my life.
Yesterday, I avoided Mom and Dad’s concerns when I Facetimed them about coming home for a brief stay. And begged them not to worry my siblings. But as I rounded a curve, I counted five cars parked in front of the sprawling house—tell-tale signs my brothers and sisters showed up to rally around me.
My gut clenched. Right away I’d have to answer their questions. Being a close-knit family, they’d require a firsthand account of the truth. Or rather, the truth that I was privy to. Hannah’s deceit had me picking through what was real or fake.
I was smart enough to know I’d never learn the full accurate story.
Thanks to the security alarm at the gate notifying someone had used the code, the big mahogany door opened before I shut off the car. Two German Shepherds raced outside. Then Mom and Dad led the Swazay clan out onto the wraparound porch. I sighed. Even though I dreaded the humiliation of my downfall, I welcomed their love and support.
