The flawless raspberry was punctuated by an impressive spit bubble.
Dragan couldn’t hold back a chuckle. At last, a female who spoke her mind!
“I see you’re getting acquainted.” Tessa climbed back into the plane and closed the door.
“You’re right, they do have different personalities.”
“See, I told you. Maddie’s quiet and restless like her father. I guess Missy is more like me.”
“Snuggly—that was how you described her. Are you snuggly, too?” It would be fun finding out, he thought.
“No comment.” She fastened her seat belt and slipped on her headset, as if to shut him out. “Let’s get going.”
Dragan taxied away from the dock and swung the nose into the rising wind. The plane skimmed across the water and roared skyward. The air was getting rougher now, turbulence buffeting the wing and the fuselage. It was nothing that couldn’t be handled, but he’d be relieved when they touched down in Anchorage.
Yet he knew that the time was limited for him to learn all he wanted to know about Miss Tessa Randall. So far he wasn’t making much progress.
She’d finished her sandwich and sat silent as the plane rose above the turbulence and leveled off in calmer air. Was she nervous about the flight or had he crossed the line when he’d asked if she was snuggly? Maybe she’d had a talk with herself in the terminal and concluded that she was being too friendly with a man who was planning to rip her apart in court.
The only sound from the twins was Missy’s contented babbling. The twins, thank heaven, seemed to like the drone of the engine and the motion of the plane. He could only hope the tranquility would last.
They’d passed over the old Norwegian fishing village of Petersburg and were headed in the general direction of Sitka when Dragan happened to glance at the fuel gauge.
His heart dropped.
The indicator was almost on empty.
Dragan stared at the fuel gauge in disbelief. He’d watched the attendant fill the tank in Ketchikan. Given the distance they’d flown, it should be at least three-quarters full. But he had to trust what the indicator told him. The tank was almost empty.
The plane had to be leaking fuel. Nothing else made sense. Maybe the fuel line had broken or become disconnected, or some unseen object had punctured the tank. The problem might be as simple as the fuel cap coming loose. Whatever it was, he had to get the plane down before the fuel ran out and the engine quit.
Willing himself to keep calm, he glanced at Tessa. She was looking out the window and hadn’t noticed the falling gauge. Good. The last thing he wanted was to have her panic. He would try to keep her unaware until he had a plan.
The country below was a vast jigsaw puzzle of islands, inlets and fjords. Landing on water shouldn’t be a problem. But if he came down in the wilderness, he’d be marooned with a woman, two babies and no supplies. The plane had a radio, but with a storm coming in, any rescue might be days away. He needed to get his vulnerable passengers somewhere safe.
Clouds were rolling in ahead of the storm, already obscuring his view. He had to make a decision fast.
Petersburg was too far behind, Sitka too far ahead. But the company lodge where he flew wealthy clients might be within reach. He checked the plane’s GPS. The lodge was just thirty miles to the northeast. It was their best chance, maybe their only chance.
Banking the plane, he veered sharply to the right. The sudden move caught Tessa’s attention. “What’s happening?” she demanded. “Why are you turning us around?”
Dragan willed himself to speak calmly. “We’re losing fuel—almost out. We need to set down while we can.”
“Down there?” She stared out the window at the wild mosaic of forest and water.
“Not if I can help it. The company has a fishing lodge a few miles from here. If we can make it that far, we’ll have a safe place to stay until help comes.”
For a long moment she was still. Suddenly she turned on him, her hand gripping his sleeve.
“I don’t believe you! This is just a trick to keep me away from the trial! Get back on course now or so help me, I’ll have you arrested for kidnapping!”
“Look at that gauge, Tessa,” he snapped. “This is no trick. This is real. Now let go of me and pray that we can make the lodge before I have to land this plane!”
* * *
Releasing her grip, Tessa stared at the fuel gauge. The needle was hovering just above the empty line. If this was a trick, it was a convincing one.
The plane had descended into clouds and rough air. A howling wind rattled the fuselage. The craft bucked and lurched, fighting its way downward. The twins began to cry. Tessa yanked frantically at her seat belt, hands fumbling with the buckle.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dragan’s voice thundered.
“My babies—”
“They’ll be safest right where they are. So will you. Now stay put!”
Tessa braced against the jarring turbulence, eyes scanning the cloud-blurred landscape for some sign of shelter. She could see nothing below but water and trees, with a few open patches of what she guessed to be bog. A flock of white gulls swooped past the plane, just missing the windshield.
Dragan’s hands were steady on the controls. Only a muscle, twitching along his jaw, betrayed his unease. With the clouds moving in, it was getting harder to see the ground. He had to be depending as much on the GPS as on his vision. His grim expression told her he had yet to find what he was looking for. Knowing he needed all of his concentration for the task, she kept herself as silent and still as possible so she wouldn’t distract him.
Even with the headset on, Tessa could hear her twins crying above the drone of the plane. It was all she could do to keep from ripping off her seat belt and rushing back to clutch them in her arms. But Dragan was right. They were safest as they were, and so was she.
“There it is. Two o’clock.” Dragan’s voice, crackling through the headset, startled her. Through the trees in the direction he’d indicated, she glimpsed something flat and brown at the foot of an inlet. Then it was gone, hidden by the clouds. “Hang on,” he said. “We’re going in.”
He’d spoken none too soon. As the plane banked right and angled into its final descent, the engine sputtered and stopped.
The sudden stillness was terrifying. Tessa forgot to breathe. Could they make it as far as the inlet or would they fall short and crash into the trees? What would happen to her babies?
Time seemed to stop as the plane glided down through clouds and battering wind. The floats raked the treetops. There was a split second of air before the plane skimmed the water and came to rest like a settling bird, twenty yards from the beach.
Rain
