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Chapter 20
Cole
I could have hiked back out into the desert to continue searching for Blue. Instead, I borrowed a helicopter. Did I do it to impress Olivia? Maybe.
Probably.
Heck…yes, I did,one hundred percent. I’m not great with strategy, but some part of me said:‘Take her flying.’
And now I’m here, navigating up into the sky, with her buckled into the seat beside me and Blue behind us nestled into a pile of blankets.
Is it working? Is she impressed?
I think so.
She keeps smiling at me and out at the view.
I’m not a player. I strike out with women. I fumble and stammer and have been single for way too long. And when it comes to this thing with Olivia—whatever it is—Ireallydon’t want to strike out.
Trent wouldn’t talk with me about a tactic, so it’s up to me to figure out my moves.
Olivia’s worth it.
Flying a helicopter takes work. It’s way more active than piloting a bigger craft, like a jet or plane. So, for the first few minutes of flight, I stay quiet, concentrating on getting us to the right elevation safely.
When I reach a nice height for cruising, I speak into my headset. “You doin’ okay? Feel good?” Some people get sick in small rigs like this. I’ve never flown with Olivia before, so it’s good to check.
She flashes me a thumbs-up. This Search and Rescue chopper has a nice communication system, and her voice comes through to my headset loud and clear.
“Doing great. It’s gorgeous up here. Look at this view!”
“It gets better, too. I’m going to take us over the San Miguel River, toward Farmdale and Silver Creek. You know how the river snakes through the canyon walls? The twists and turns are cool to see from up here.”
“Don’t we have to get this thing back to Moab?”
“We will. First, I’m takin’ you on a tour.”
Her eyes light up as she looks out at the expanse of land below.
“This is incredible. I can see the road we took to get out to Sunrise Ranch. Look, there’s the turn by that funky little gas station! It’s like I’m looking at a model railroad set or something.”
“You’ve flown plenty before,” I say with a chuckle. “This ain’t new.”
Iwantit to be new, though. I want to give Olivia fun, exciting experiences. Experiences that make her light up, like she is right now.
“I’ve been in plenty ofplanes, but never a helicopter. Can you believe in all these years that you and Trent have been running tours, I never went up even once?"
“You don’t ski.”
And she probably didn’t want to be stuck so close to me for hours at a time.
That’s different now, though.
Olivia and I like each other.
That’s clear to me.
But how much…? That’s a different story.
