Sharon hadn’t been that afraid of flying. And yet her constant nagging to move back to the mainland and to switch to flying passenger jets had proved to be the final straw in an already disintegrating marriage. Wayne had understood exactly where he was coming from, said he’d fought the same battles with his own wife.
Blake loved the island where he’d grown up. Loved the challenge of landing on that tiny airstrip in Dutch Harbor.
Sharon hated both.
After the divorce, he’d decided no one would take those things away from him. Not again.
He glanced over at Molly. She was furiously staring out the front window, her arms folded across her chest, her full bottom lip thinned.
You can find yourself a new pilot.
The fact that she’d answered his outrageous declaration with silence told him everything he needed to know.
He’d blown whatever chance he might have had with her.
If he’d even had one. The woman probably had men doing penance laps until their knees bled, hoping for a chance to go out with her.
He’d noticed Molly bustling around the ER over the past year as he’d checked on some critical-care patients he’d flown in from the islands. Her cheery attitude and gorgeous smile had attracted his attention immediately. When someone had told him she was the daughter of the late, great Wayne McKinna, what had started as a tiny spark of attraction had caught and held. She’d been away at medical school when her father had shown him the ropes, so they’d never been officially introduced. By the time he’d realized who she was, she was already spoken for. Besides, he was from the islands, and Molly appeared to be very much a city girl at heart.
As he’d found out the hard way, oil and water might flirt with each other for a while, but they eventually separated.
He should have reminded himself of that fact and kept his distance.
Then she’d broken off her relationship and signed up for the new health-care position the government had opened up in the Aleutians. The temptation had been too much. He’d juggled his schedule so he’d be the one flying her to the islands. Hoping he was wrong and that they might not be so different after all. Surely Wayne’s daughter had vestigial wings hidden somewhere under that lab coat—the love of flying must be bred into her.
Wrong.
His jaw tightened. When would he learn? He should swear off marriage forever.
But he eventually wanted a wife. A family. Just not with someone who wanted to crush who he was and remake him into someone completely different.
That need went both ways, however. If he expected a woman to love him as he was, she had a right to expect the same.
Could he love a woman who was afraid of flying, who might end up hating the islands as much as his ex-wife?
Not a chance—he’d already tested that theory once. But that didn’t mean he had to be an ass about it.
“Hey, listen. About what I said—”
“Don’t worry. As soon as we land, I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Let me hook you up with someone I know who can fly you back. He’s totally safe. Doesn’t take any unnecessary chances.”
“I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
She might be all grown up, but the quiet joy that had caught his attention at the hospital was gone.
Reaching over, he touched her hand, marveling at the softness of her skin. “Molly, we haven’t got off to the best start here.”
“You think?”
“I just didn’t expect Wayne’s daughter to be…”
Was there any good way to finish that phrase? He didn’t think so.
“You didn’t expect her to be what? A wimp?”
“I wasn’t going to say that.” Well, not those exact words, but the meaning was still there. “Knowing how your father died, it can’t be easy for you to get back on a plane.”
“Good thing you won’t have to deal with that problem any more, then, isn’t it?”
He waited for her to finish chopping him to bits, but Molly was evidently done, and rightly so.
Before he could figure out a way to smooth over the situation, the plane bucked, then settled back into place. He glanced out the cockpit window, realizing their heated words had diverted his attention for the past several minutes. Not good, because they were heading right into a long line of clouds stretching from side to side.
A front.
And an ugly one, from the look of it.
Molly threw him a panicked look, and Blake tensed.
There’d been nothing in the weather reports to indicate rough conditions today. But he knew things could blow up out of nowhere in this part of the world. This wasn’t exactly the way he’d hoped the day would go.
But then again, when did his plans ever fall smoothly into place?
“Make sure your harness is tight.”
“Why? What’s happening?”
“See those clouds?”
“Yes.”
“The little bumps in the road we’ve experienced are nothing compared to what’s coming up.” He glanced at her, adrenaline already beginning to spike through his system. “It looks like our smooth highway is about to turn into one oversize construction zone.”
CHAPTER TWO
A SIREN sounded somewhere inside the plane, but Molly was too busy trying not to throw up to open her eyes and look around her.
They’d been bouncing around for what seemed like forever. How much more could the tiny aircraft take without coming apart at the seams?
Her fingers gripped her shoulder strap, the nausea from the turbulence almost overwhelming her. She breathed through her mouth, but didn’t try to talk, too afraid she’d distract Blake and cause him to make some kind of fatal error.
Like her sniping and complaining might have already done.
Why hadn’t she just sat back and pretended she was heading for the warm sands of the Caribbean with a handsome man? Because she was done pretending. Done going along with what others wanted her to be and do.
Maybe he’d report her.
To whom? The Brotherhood of Wronged Pilots?
Pilots probably had to deal with frightened passengers on a regular basis. Molly had just never dreamed she’d end up as a prime example of one.
He
