at Logan.
“But let’s be clear,” Josephine said. “He’s not a hero for putting on a uniform every day and risking his life. You’re saying he’s a hero for giving me a ticket so I can’t harass you about your terrible driving anymore. Right?”
“What’s your point?” Jordan asked with a shrug.
Josephine looked at Logan. “Do you see what I have to put up with?”
“You’re in a no-win situation, buddy,” Ian warned his longtime friend.
“I see that, too,” Logan laughed good-naturedly, then lifted the duffel bag off the seat. “Hey, before we take off, I’d like to change out of this monkey suit into some street clothes.”
“Straight back to the bedroom.” Ian pointed in the direction of the back of the jet. “You can change in there.”
“If you’ll excuse me, then. I came here straight from work and I’d really like to feel like I’ve started my vacation.” Logan’s arm brushed Josephine’s when he walked past her to get to the back of the jet.
It wasn’t long before Logan returned carrying the duffel bag in one hand and a garment bag in his other.
“Is there some place I can hang up my uniform?” he asked.
“Closet’s right there.” Jordan pointed. “You can put your bag in there, too, if you want. While you were in the back, the pilot said that we’re about ready to taxi out to the runway, so grab a seat and make yourself comfortable.”
Logan did just that. After he hung up his uniform and stowed his bag, he took the seat across from Josephine’s recliner. Logan Wolf had been noticeably handsome in his uniform, and he was just as attractive in his crisp jeans, tucked-in short-sleeved green polo and San Diego Padres baseball cap. She was in a long-term relationship, yes, but she still had eyes and could see if a man was good-looking or not. Logan was a good-looking man. But then again, so was her Brice.
Thinking of Brice, Josephine checked her phone to see if he had called her. When she left for the airport, things were still messy between them. Normally, he would have called her by now; he would have tried to smooth things over before her flight. But this time, he hadn’t. What did that mean?
Not wanting to spend the beginning of her sister’s wedding trip dwelling on her problems with Brice, Josephine turned off her phone and prompted Jordan to tell her all about the latest wedding plans. Ever since she was a young girl, she had loved all things wedding, and hearing about all of the latest details of her twin’s upcoming nuptials would be the exact distraction she needed.
While Jordan excitedly shared the latest details of her wedding with her, the pilot taxied the jet out to the runway and they took off for Helena, Montana, soon after. Jordan, who had always been a nervous flier, had stopped talking and held on tightly to Ian’s arm while the jet quickly ascended to the level of the clouds. Once the jet leveled off, Jordan opened her eyes again.
“You’re much better than you used to be, that’s for sure,” Josephine complimented her sister.
Jordan hugged her fiancé’s arm more tightly and smiled at him. “Being with Ian has really helped me.”
“Not as much as being with you has helped me.” Ian brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it.
Josephine was so happy for her sister. But she felt a twinge of jealousy whenever she saw Jordan with Ian. He loved her so much; it was plain to see in the way he spoke to her, the way he spoke about her and in the way he touched her. She knew that Brice loved her, but he wasn’t, by nature, a demonstrative person. And even though she had accepted that part of Brice’s personality, she couldn’t stop herself from craving what her sister had found.
Ian tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle a yawn. “I’m sorry, guys...I promise it’s not the company.”
“You do look tired, Ian.” Josephine had noticed that earlier.
“He didn’t sleep well last night,” Jordan explained, holding his hand. “Why don’t you go lie down, baby?”
“I’m not just going to leave all of you out here while I sleep.” Ian shook his head.
But both Logan and Josephine assured him that it would be okay with them, and Ian appeared to be so tired that it didn’t take much convincing. He kissed Jordan and stood up.
“Bedroom, Shadow.” He gave the black Lab the command, which Shadow immediately followed.
When Ian disappeared into the bedroom, out of earshot, Jordan confided in them.
“Ian’s been having a really hard time sleeping. The specialist says that it’s not uncommon for people with Stargardt to have a sleep disorder. He’s been on melatonin, but it’s not really helping all the much. Honestly, we were both up all night last night.”
“Then you need to go back and get some rest, too,” Josephine told her.
“What about you guys?” Jordan rubbed her eyes tiredly.
“I’ve got plenty of reading to do,” Josephine assured her.
Logan nodded his agreement and held up his earbuds. “And I’m going to kick back and listen to music. Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. Go get some rest.”
Like Ian, Jordan didn’t take much convincing. When they were alone together, Logan said jokingly, “And then there were two...”
Josephine smiled faintly; she hoped that he really was going to listen to music and didn’t expect her to entertain him now that they were the only two left in the main cabin. She had so much summer reading to do that until she got started with it and finished it, it felt like a giant albatross around her neck.
“I really do have a lot of reading to do.” She tried to remind him politely that she needed to concentrate.
“And I really am going to listen to music,” he countered easily; he put his earbuds in his ears, fiddled with his phone, leaned back his head, and closed his eyes.
Josephine couldn’t hear any sound coming from his earbuds over the noise of the jet. There wasn’t one excuse left not to open the first textbook and get to work. She took in a deep breath, let it out and relaxed her shoulders at the same time, and then took the book off the stand and set it down on the table directly in front of her. The spine of the thick book was stiff as she cracked it open for the first time. Josephine took the cap off a fresh, yellow highlighter pen, grabbed a black ballpoint pen, and held them together in her right hand. When she studied, she had her own system of highlighting, underlining information, and tabbing pages. Armed with her study utensils, she began the daunting task of wading through the first few pages of her textbook.
After trudging valiantly through the first, tedious chapter, Josephine leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and tried to rub the soreness out of her neck. She wished she could just throw all of her textbooks out the window so she could enjoy her first trip home in years, but there was just too much to do. There was still way too much information that she didn’t know or understand. And unfortunately, at the moment, her brain was repelling all new information. Josephine breathed in deeply through her nose and then let it out on a long, tired sigh. She gathered up her cache of studying devices and neatly
