“Well...” Logan hadn’t missed the sarcasm. “All I can say is that I’m sorry that we met under these circumstances and it’s actually ironic because...”
“Look...” Josephine cut him off. Was this guy really going to try to pick her up when he’d just written her three tickets? “Am I free to go? I’m really late...”
“Yes. You’re free to go.” The officer put his sunglasses back on and stepped away from her car. “Drive safely, Ms. Brand.”
* * *
Josephine ran through the private airport, lugging two overstuffed carry-on bags on each shoulder, and dragging one oversize rolling suitcase behind her. She had never been to Montgomery Airport in San Diego before, but she had printed out a map of the facility the night before and highlighted the quickest route to her destination. She had been raised on a Montana ranch, but she had learned how to run in high heels years ago. Up on the ball of the foot and full steam ahead!
“I’m so sorry I’m late!” Josephine called out to her sister, Jordan. Jordan was standing in front of her fiancé’s private jet, occupied with her phone.
Jordan looked up, spotted her, and smiled brightly. Her sister jogged over to greet her with a warm hug.
“Relax, sis!” Jordan said. “You know that nothing’s set in stone for me.”
Jordan slipped one of the bags off her shoulder, and the bag dropped to the ground with a dull thud. “Uh...wow, Jo. What in the heck did you pack?”
“Textbooks.” She would be a third-year law student in the fall and the suggested summer reading list had been pages long. “I hope I brought enough.”
“Trust me, you brought enough,” Jordan said teasingly. “I just hope your bags don’t put us over our weight restriction. We might have to make a tough choice between you and your books.”
“Haha, very funny.” Jordan had always picked on her about her overachieving ways. They were more than twins, more than sisters; they were best friends. But they were complete opposites. Jordan was a professional artist, a painter, who had dropped out of graduate school to pursue her passion. Josephine, on the other hand, could never stop something before she finished it. She finished everything she started, and she finished it well.
Together, they walked the short distance to Ian’s jet.
“I can’t believe that this is the start of your wedding trip, Jordy.” Both sisters stopped walking and talking at the same time; they looked at each other, and easily read each other’s thoughts.
“Holy crap, Jo! I’m getting married!” Jordan shook her head in disbelief.
“You’re getting married.” Josephine smiled, her eyes starting to tear from a mixture of happiness for her sister and sadness for the changes that would inevitably follow. Nothing ever stayed the same.
“OMG, don’t start crying already!” Jordan hugged her again. “I swear, between Mom and you, there’s not gonna be one tissue left in the entire state of Montana.”
Josephine laughed and brushed the tears out of her eyelashes. “I’ll do my best to keep the waterworks to a minimum...at least until the ceremony. After that, no deal.”
“Well, of course you have to cry at the ceremony,” her twin said as Josephine rolled her large suitcase over to the cargo area for the pilot to load.
“Hey, you got my message that Brice won’t be joining us, right?” Josephine asked.
“Yeah, what’s up with that?” Jordan put her hands on her slender hips. “Is everything okay with the two of you?”
“Well, actually, that’s why I was...” Josephine started to say.
Jordan got distracted by a man walking through the airplane hangar.
“Captain Stern!” her sister yelled and waved her hand in the air. To her, she said, “Hold that thought, Jo. That’s our pilot and I need to tell him something before I forget.”
“Okay.” Maybe she shouldn’t tell her sister about the fight with Brice anyway. Her family, especially Jordan, had never really been fond of him.
Jordan started the walk over to the waiting pilot; she turned around and walked backward for a few steps.
“Why don’t you go get settled?” her sister suggested. “Ian’ll tell you where to find the booze. He only stocks the best.”
Josephine lugged the carry-on bag loaded with textbooks up the small flight of stairs that led up to the main cabin of the jet. She’d seen pictures of the jet, of course, but to see it in person was an entirely different experience. The cabin was decked out in sophisticated grays and blacks and accented with polished mahogany. There was a long leather couch on one side, while the other had two separate seating areas with oversize recliners and a small table in between. In the back, there was a narrow hallway that led back to a bedroom and en-suite bathroom.
Ian Sterling, Jordan’s fiancé, was sitting on the couch. Next to Ian’s left leg sat a muscular black Labrador retriever.
“It’s me, Ian,” Josephine said to her soon-to-be brother-in-law.
“I thought I heard your voice.” Ian stood up to greet her. He was a model-handsome man and world-famous for his photography. But a rare eye disease had recently destroyed his central vision, rendering him legally blind and sidetracking his career as a professional photographer.
Josephine hugged Ian; it made her feel really good that Jordan had found her perfect match in Ian Sterling. She had never seen two people as crazy for each other as they were.
“And who’s your friend?” Jordan had finally managed, after nearly a year of trying, to convince Ian to get a service dog.
“Shadow.” Ian rested his hand proudly on the dog’s head.
“Is it okay if I pet him?”
“At ease, Shadow,” Ian commanded gently.
Shadow’s body language changed on the command and he started to wag his tail.
“Shake, Shadow.” Ian gave the Lab a second command.
Shadow immediately extended his right paw to her. Josephine took the paw, smiled, and gave it a shake.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Shadow.”
Josephine had already set up her computer and unloaded her books in the short time it took for her sister to appear. Jordan plopped down next to her fiancé, tucked her long legs to the side of her body, and frowned at her.
“I hope it’s not going to be like this our entire trip, Jo,” Jordan complained.
“I’m not going to spend all of my time studying, but I can’t just pretend like I’m not in school for two months. The third year is a make-it-or-break-it year. That’s when they really try to thin out the herd.”
“You always say that about everything
