Just a warm welcome whenever you arrived.
Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a motorbike speeding along the country road. He was going far too fast. But, then, he was obviously experienced, hugging the corners and dipping down towards the road.
She saw his helmet rise as if looking for the turn-off then, sure enough, he signalled and moved into the airfield. She shook her head. She’d no idea who he was, but there was no way Dan would let anyone jump without the full briefing. Evel Knievel would have to wait for the next jump.
* * *
Carter felt his heart pounding in his chest. Almost two weeks on and his world had collapsed around him. His wayward ex-wife couldn’t be found.
He’d spent exorbitant amounts of money hiring an attorney and a private detective. The attorney was dealing with all the legal aspects from the clinic as Carter was too angry to speak to them right now. The private detective? So far, he’d been to Los Angeles and Las Vegas and found nothing.
Not even his ex-wife’s bank would help. They wouldn’t even tell him how she was accessing his money.
His attorney was an old friend from college and had made a new suggestion. It was probably for the best that Tabitha couldn’t be found—she would be horrified by what had happened, and she probably wasn’t a poster girl for motherhood.
But Carter and Tabitha had spent a long time selecting their egg donor from the hundreds of women on file with the clinic. He’d seen her picture, knew what age she was, knew she had an Ivy League education and knew she lived locally. How hard could it be to find her?
And so he’d put his private detective to work again. To track down his egg donor. And he’d found her. Lily Grayson, twenty-seven. Trained at University of Pennsylvania and working as a nurse in one of the other San Francisco hospitals. And today she was here, doing a jump for one of the charities.
He swung his leg over the bike and stretched his back, pulling off his helmet and looking around him. How hard could she be to find? He’d been here before. He’d done a few jumps from here—another of his thrill factors. Maybe he’d find someone who knew her?
He could see a number of figures around one of the hangars and moved swiftly in that direction. A woman was leaning against the hangar door, her bright purple flight suit around her waist, her pink helmet in her hand.
He glanced quickly at his photo. No, she was definitely a blonde. The woman he was looking for was a brunette. Pity.
She sat her helmet at her feet and folded her arms across her chest, covering his view of her well-shaped body. ‘Well, lucky me,’ came the sassy voice as she raised her eyes skyward. ‘Someone up there has definitely been listening to my requests. A big, solid, dark-haired leather-clad biker, all to myself.’
He could see the smile dancing around her lips. And he could smell her perfume, but it wasn’t spicy like her, it was light and floral, a scent he recognised from his garden—honeysuckle.
‘And who might you be looking for?’ she continued. There was a twinkle in her brown eyes and for a second he almost wished they were green. Like the photo in his pocket.
It was the first time in a long time he’d felt inclined to flirt.
He sighed, then gave her a smile anyway. ‘I’m looking for a beautiful woman, but unfortunately she’s a brunette, not a blonde.’ He gave a nod at her blonde hair.
‘Damn! I thought blondes were meant to have more fun?’
Curiosity piqued him. ‘What’s your name?’
‘Now, why would I tell my name to a man who prefers brunettes?’ She was as sharp as a whip. ‘What’s your name, stranger?’
He liked her. For the first time in a long time he actually liked a woman. ‘John Carter. But my friends just call me Carter.’
‘Then I guess I should just call you John.’ Her answer came as quick as a flash. She stuck her hand out towards him and looked over her shoulder. ‘Here, at this airfield, they call me Dynamo.’
Their hands met, the electricity between them so loud it practically crackled. She was slim without being skinny, but with enough curves to make you look twice.
Carter gave a wider smile, ‘I wonder why….’ His voice trailed off then he fixed his eyes on her again. ‘Dynamo seems appropriate.’
She looked over to the car park. ‘How long have you had your bike?’
He shrugged. ‘A couple of years. I’d wanted one for quite a while and when the opportunity arose, I grabbed it with both hands.’ He looked back at his bike. ‘Probably time to trade it in for a newer version.’
Her brow puckered. ‘I like the colour scheme. It’s even nicer than my baby.’ She pointed to the other end of the car park where her silver and red Ducati was parked.
He gave a little start of surprise. ‘Looks like we’re a matching pair.’ His eyes met hers.
She looked up and down his tall frame. ‘Most of the bikers I meet in San Francisco are the long-haired, hairy type. Either that or they’re gay. Where did you spring from?’
He snorted with laughter. Her sassy attitude and spark was beginning to draw him in. Make him lose focus and forget the reason he was there. To find the donor. To win back his child.
He straightened his shoulders. ‘Nice to meet you, Dynamo, but I’d better be going.’ He strode off into the hangar.
‘Hey, John,’ she shouted after him, pausing whilst he turned back round. ‘I think you should reconsider your decision. You’re cutting out almost half of the female population, restricting yourself to brunettes.’ A twinkle appeared in her eyes, ‘Plus you didn’t ask if I was a natural blonde.’ And with that she stuck her helmet back on her head and headed out onto the airstrip.
He gave her a smile, holding back his laughter at the pointed use of his first name. Who on earth was she? He walked further into the hangar to the group of nervous-looking jumpers, all standing in their regulation flight suits next to their carefully packed parachutes. ‘Hey, Dan, I was wondering if you could help me find someone?’ Dan was leaning downwards, looking at someone’s ankle, and Carter gave him a slap on the shoulder.
Dan didn’t miss a beat. ‘Perfect. Carter, take a look at this for me. This man’s been bothered with his ankle this week and developed a limp—I don’t think it’s wise for him to jump at the moment.’
Carter fell to his knees and stripped the ankle of the thick woollen sock protecting it. The dark purple bruises made him sit back. He gave a wry smile, ‘I don’t even need to touch that.’ He shook his head. ‘There’s no way you can jump with an ankle like that. Your ankles take all the impact when you land. You could do some serious damage.’
The man looked panicked. ‘But I’m about to raise three thousand dollars for the charity. If I don’t do it, the charity won’t get the money.’
Dan looked from one to the other. ‘Does it have to be you that does the jump or does it just have to be someone?’
The man blinked. ‘Eh….someone, I think.’ He held his hands up. ‘But
