Read Online Triple Exposure by Colleen Thompson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Colleen Thompson
Ads: Link
had already sprung to life. A mechanic tinkered with the innards of a small plane, and a uniformed pilot was giving one of the Learjets a preflight check. A curl of fragrant smoke rose from the café, a sign that Patsy had started serving breakfast.
Rachel climbed out and zipped her jacket, then paused and decided her meal could wait until she dealt with the contents of the envelope she was holding. As she made her way back toward the gold van, she raised a hand in greeting to her father and his two assistants, who were pulling a fifties-era German sailplane—a restoration project—from its hangar. Both Lili Vega, a tiny twenty-something whose shoulder-length, dark hair bore a fresh streak of magenta, and the more experienced Bobby Bauer waved back, but Rachel’s father stopped what he was doing, jumped on a golf cart used to tow the gliders, and made a beeline for her, irritation written on his ruddy face.
Uh-oh. Her father didn’t get mad very often, but when hedid, he was no subtler about it than any other of his emotions.
“What’s the matter with that phone of yours, Rusty?” he asked before the cart stopped. “I tried you three or four times this morning, and it kept going straight to voice mail. Or didn’t you want to be bothered talking to me?”
She pulled it from her purse and feigned surprise. “Sorry, Dad. I—uh—I guess I must’ve accidentally switched it off when I meant to hang up last night. I’m still figuring out which button does what on this new phone.”
She regretted the lie but decided there was no need to worry him by explaining the real reason for her actions. With the young day bright and blue around her, Rachel felt light years away from her tormentor. “What’d you need?”
His expression eased, assuring her he’d accepted her explanation at face value. “I wanted to let you know this afternoon looks perfect for us to take up a sailplane. Weather’s great, and Lili tells me the schedule is wide open.”
Since Rachel had been home, she’d noticed that her father relied more and more on his assistants—especially Lili—to take care of the scheduling and nearly all the office work. Apparently, he’d finally learned the art of delegating those tasks he least enjoyed.
“I thought you told me earlier it would be too busy for us to fly today.”
Little by little, he was dragging her back in the direction of the family business. Every evening, they had been reviewing flight rules at his kitchen table, where her dad rattled off regulation after regulation from memory. And yesterday, he’d insisted on flying her to El Paso for her physical. Though she wanted to be a help around the airfield—heaven only knew she owed him that much—she still felt ambivalent, even a little queasy, about returning to the skies.
He shook his head. “That group coming in from Reno canceled, and Lili says she’ll take care of any tourists who show up.”
“So Bobby’s available to fly the tow plane?” When shewas still a girl, he’d started hanging around the airfield, taking flying lessons. People had talked, since only a few years before, a fatal drunk driving wreck had cost him his own wife’s love and his career as a Border Patrol agent, to say nothing of the guilt he carried over the death of a young father in the accident. More than a few thought Walter Copeland insanely soft-hearted to give such a man a second chance. But over the years, Bobby had repaid Rachel’s father’s faith by becoming a top-notch aviator and a respected mechanic, not to mention a close friend.
Since he’d always had a soft spot for her, was in fact the only other person she allowed to call her Rusty, maybe she could talk him into having something else to do today….
As quickly as the thought popped into Rachel’s mind, she dismissed it as unworthy. But was it any more dishonest than what she planned to do this morning?
“This afternoon will be fine,” she promised her father. “I have a couple
Rachel climbed out and zipped her jacket, then paused and decided her meal could wait until she dealt with the contents of the envelope she was holding. As she made her way back toward the gold van, she raised a hand in greeting to her father and his two assistants, who were pulling a fifties-era German sailplane—a restoration project—from its hangar. Both Lili Vega, a tiny twenty-something whose shoulder-length, dark hair bore a fresh streak of magenta, and the more experienced Bobby Bauer waved back, but Rachel’s father stopped what he was doing, jumped on a golf cart used to tow the gliders, and made a beeline for her, irritation written on his ruddy face.
Uh-oh. Her father didn’t get mad very often, but when hedid, he was no subtler about it than any other of his emotions.
“What’s the matter with that phone of yours, Rusty?” he asked before the cart stopped. “I tried you three or four times this morning, and it kept going straight to voice mail. Or didn’t you want to be bothered talking to me?”
She pulled it from her purse and feigned surprise. “Sorry, Dad. I—uh—I guess I must’ve accidentally switched it off when I meant to hang up last night. I’m still figuring out which button does what on this new phone.”
She regretted the lie but decided there was no need to worry him by explaining the real reason for her actions. With the young day bright and blue around her, Rachel felt light years away from her tormentor. “What’d you need?”
His expression eased, assuring her he’d accepted her explanation at face value. “I wanted to let you know this afternoon looks perfect for us to take up a sailplane. Weather’s great, and Lili tells me the schedule is wide open.”
Since Rachel had been home, she’d noticed that her father relied more and more on his assistants—especially Lili—to take care of the scheduling and nearly all the office work. Apparently, he’d finally learned the art of delegating those tasks he least enjoyed.
“I thought you told me earlier it would be too busy for us to fly today.”
Little by little, he was dragging her back in the direction of the family business. Every evening, they had been reviewing flight rules at his kitchen table, where her dad rattled off regulation after regulation from memory. And yesterday, he’d insisted on flying her to El Paso for her physical. Though she wanted to be a help around the airfield—heaven only knew she owed him that much—she still felt ambivalent, even a little queasy, about returning to the skies.
He shook his head. “That group coming in from Reno canceled, and Lili says she’ll take care of any tourists who show up.”
“So Bobby’s available to fly the tow plane?” When shewas still a girl, he’d started hanging around the airfield, taking flying lessons. People had talked, since only a few years before, a fatal drunk driving wreck had cost him his own wife’s love and his career as a Border Patrol agent, to say nothing of the guilt he carried over the death of a young father in the accident. More than a few thought Walter Copeland insanely soft-hearted to give such a man a second chance. But over the years, Bobby had repaid Rachel’s father’s faith by becoming a top-notch aviator and a respected mechanic, not to mention a close friend.
Since he’d always had a soft spot for her, was in fact the only other person she allowed to call her Rusty, maybe she could talk him into having something else to do today….
As quickly as the thought popped into Rachel’s mind, she dismissed it as unworthy. But was it any more dishonest than what she planned to do this morning?
“This afternoon will be fine,” she promised her father. “I have a couple
Similar Books
