became. When they reached the end of the ramp, she had to stand up. The attendant stood aside with the wheelchair while the family in front of them folded up the stroller and tagged it for baggage. These were all simple ordinary tasks. She could do this.
And then she glanced toward the plane, saw tiny flakes of snow blowing in through a small gap by the open door and grabbed Cameron’s arm, her voice mirroring the panic she felt as she said, “It’s snowing.”
Cameron nodded. “Just tiny little flakes. Look, there’s nothing on the ground. It’s okay, honey. Just take my hand.”
“You go first,” she begged.
He stepped into the plane and paused, waiting for her to step across. He could see the horror in her eyes as she looked down.
“Look at me, honey. Don’t look down. Look at me.”
Their gazes locked, and she stepped in.
“Is everything all right?” a flight attendant asked, eyeing Laura.
“It will be,” Cameron said.
He’d gotten tickets in first class, knowing she was going to need all the pampering and room she could handle just to make the trip, then led her a few steps to their seats.
The flight attendant took their coats as Cameron got Laura settled in the window seat and buckled her up.
“You’ve already taken your pills, so you’ll feel easier soon,” he said, then gave her a brief kiss of reassurance as he settled into the seat beside her.
His lips were warm and gentle. He was familiar. She was safe. It was going to be all right.
She glanced out the window at the ground crew loading luggage and remembered opening all the suitcases inside their plane and using the clothes she found to stay warm. If it happened again, she wouldn’t be able to get to the luggage this time, because it was in the belly of the plane. Maybe there would be enough clothing in the carry-on bags. And then she caught herself.
What was she doing? The plane wasn’t going to crash. She had already had her plane crash and lived through it. Surely God didn’t let things like that happen twice.
A flight attendant stopped by their seats.
“Can I get either of you something to drink?” she asked.
Startled, Laura almost jumped, then focused on the question.
“Coffee? Could I have coffee? I can’t seem to stay warm today.”
“Certainly,” the attendant said, then looked at Cameron. “How about you, sir? Anything to drink?”
“Coffee is fine,” he said, and then turned his attention to Laura again as the attendant walked away. “It will be a while till they finish boarding and we pull away from the gate, but the meds will kick in before then. Do you want to go to the bathroom before we take off?”
She nodded and unbuckled her seat belt.
Cameron stood up, then helped her back up the aisle.
“She needs the restroom,” he said.
As Laura went in and locked the door, the flight attendant glanced at the bathroom, and then at him.
“Is she okay? Is she not feeling well?”
He flashed his FBI badge and then dropped it back in his pocket.
“She’s not sick. She’s scared.”
The attendant acknowledged the badge as she smiled sympathetically.
“Ah, is this her first flight?”
“No, but this is her first flight since a crash.”
The pilot was standing in the doorway to the cockpit, listening. When he heard that, he frowned.
“What crash was that?” he asked.
“Two weeks ago. A private jet went down in the mountains outside of Denver,” Cameron said softly.
“Ah, damn, I heard about the crash and that there was a survivor.”
“She’s the one,” Cameron said.
The bathroom door opened. Laura came out, then paused, a little startled by the people grouped in the aisle.
The attendant’s smile was just a little wider, and the pilot nodded his head.
“Welcome aboard, ma’am.”
Laura blinked, then glanced at Cameron. He pointed up the boarding ramp.
“Here come the regular passengers. We’d better get back in our seats.”
Immediately after they were seated, the attendant had coffee on their trays and was back at the doorway, welcoming passengers aboard.
Laura took a quick sip and then glanced at Cameron.
“You told them, didn’t you?”
He shrugged.
She sighed. “It’s okay. If I freak out later, maybe they won’t throw me off the plane.”
“If you get scared, just grab my hand. If that doesn’t help, maybe we can make out a little to keep you otherwise occupied.”
She laughed, picturing that happening in full view of a planeload of strangers.
He grinned. The foolishness of the remark did the trick. Now having sex with him was on her mind instead of flying.
The passengers filed past, some looking longingly at the first-class seats, others just anxious to get in and get settled. And then fate played a cruel joke.
The boarding line stalled, and people standing in line were getting impatient while a flight attendant tried to iron out a conflict back in coach between two people claiming the same seat. Voices were raised, and everyone was craning their necks, trying to see what was going on.
Cameron was sending a text, and Laura was looking at a magazine when she heard someone say her name.
“Laura? Laura Doyle? Is that you?”
Cameron looked up and then quickly glanced at Laura. She looked rattled, and his first instinct was to intervene; then Laura laid down her magazine and gave the middle-aged brunette a quick glance.
“Oh, hello, Tessa. Small world.”
“Oh, my God! I never imagined I would see you here. I can’t believe you’ve got the guts to fly again after what happened to you, what with everyone dying and all.”
Every passenger within hearing distance turned around to look.
A muscle jerked near Laura’s right eye. “Technically, everyone didn’t die, Tessa, because I’m still here.”
Cameron’s
