She was running from him, he’d realized once he’d left her this morning, once he had enough space to consider what was happening. She wasn’t ready for the commitment that coming out publicly required. Which meant one of two things—he hadn’t convinced her he was here to stay and was fully committed to her, or he hadn’t made her see how much he loved her.
Perhaps if he could figure out what it was that was scaring her… Because if it wasn’t her family, it was him. He ground his teeth. She thought he was going to hurt her, which meant he’d hurt her in the past when he’d shut her out of his life, no matter how good his intentions. He had to prove to her he wouldn’t hurt her again. He had a week before her parents returned for him to undo ten years of damage, or he had a bad feeling Shay was going to use her parents like she was using sex—as a shield, a barrier that he couldn’t get past. He couldn’t let her do that. She meant too much to him.
***
SHAY STOOD ON THE SIDELINES of the airfield as her instructor, Lori Day, an ex-Army pilot turned flight instructor, killed the engine of the Cessna Skyhawk.
“I’m doing it!” Sabrina yelled, jumping out of the plane and running toward Shay after riding up front with Lori to get a feel for what it would be like behind the controls. “What a high. I can’t wait to get started.”
Shay grinned. “I had a feeling you’d like it.”
“How close are you to flying solo?”
“Five hours,” Shay said. “I can’t wait. Caleb wants to be my first passenger. And since he can fly, I figure if I screw up, he can save us.”
“You can always take along a chute,” Sabrina laughed.
Lori approached. She was tall and athletic, with striking dark brown eyes and silky raven hair that fell below her shoulders when it wasn’t tied back, as it was now.
“I take it you guessed she’s a little excited,” Lori said, indicating Sabrina with a nod and smiling at Shay.
“I had a tiny hint of a clue,” Shay agreed.
“You know what I think?” Sabrina said. “Lori should come to work at the Hotzone, and we could offer flight lessons.”
Lori held up her hands. “Oh, no. I’m happy right where I’m at.”
“We do Special Ops training,” Sabrina said. “A pilot would be a great addition.”
“I thought the Aces all knew how to fly?” Shay asked. “And they have pilots on staff.”
“Which makes a flight school a perfect addition,” Sabrina said. “I’m going to talk to Ryan.” She eyed Lori. “And be prepared to be propositioned.”
Lori snorted. “I was a woman in the Army,” she said. “A proposition is like a cup of coffee. A part of waking up.” She motioned to the building. “I have to go catch up with my next client.”
Shay and Sabrina fell into step behind her. “You want to grab some lunch?” Sabrina asked.
“I would, but Caleb and I have plans for lunch and a movie,” she said. “But maybe next weekend after our first lesson. You are coming back next weekend, right?”
“You bet,” Sabrina said. “Maybe we can arrange afternoon classes so Jennifer can come. We can make it a threesome.”
Shay’s stomach did a funny flutter. She loved Caleb. She liked Sabrina. She had no idea why she hesitated to embed herself in the “threesome” of Aces women, why she couldn’t feel like she belonged.
Shay eyed her cell phone. “I missed a call from Caleb.” She held up a finger and pushed the recall button, worried about Kent. “Hey, sweetheart. Taking Kent to the airport. I don’t want to leave him alone before his flight. I’ll be back to the trailer about three-thirty, and I’ll be starving. For you and that Mexican food.”
Shay smiled and ended the voice mail, when her phone rang again instantly, and she frowned at the unknown number. “Sorry,” she whispered to Sabrina and motioned them onward to the building.
Shay hit Answer as they walked and before she could say hello, she heard, “Doc, it’s George. I’m getting married.”
“Married?” she blurted, stopping in her footsteps. “Where are you?”
“I’m still in Mexico,” he said. “On a boat. We’re saying ‘I do’ in about twenty minutes. No guests. Just me, Anabella and a preacher. Anabella has a big family, but she understands I don’t, so we are doing this alone. I’ve asked her to come to a session when we get back.”
“Oh,” Shay said, feeling a little relieved that this Anabella woman was willing to support George. “Of course. Call me when you’re ready.” She drew a breath. “George. This is very fast. Are you sure you shouldn’t wait?”
“When you’re in love,” George said, “you know it. You want to scream it from the rooftops. Why in the world would I wait?” He hung up. Shay stopped walking. She stood there, a few steps from the flight school doorway. and replayed the words. When you’re in love, you know it. Why would you wait?
“Everything okay?” Sabrina asked.
Shay shook off the unsettled feeling in her stomach. She smiled at Sabrina. “Fine. One of my patients with happy news.”
“Oh,” Sabrina said. “It didn’t sound so happy.” She shrugged. “You have time for coffee in the snack bar?”
“Sure,” Shay said and followed Sabrina inside.
“Good,” Sabrina, her eyes lighting. “I want to hear about that sudden exit you and Caleb made last night. The steam coming off you two was downright scorching. Oh, and what happened with Kent when he caught you out at the Hotzone?” She snagged Shay’s arm. “Let’s talk.”
Shay cringed. She didn’t want to talk about last night any more than she wanted to think about George’s comment.
Nevertheless, she found herself sitting across from Sabrina and sipping an iced mocha a few minutes later. “I needed this,” Shay said. “Both the caffeine and the cold drink.”
Sabrina wiggled a dark brow. “Not much sleep last night?”
“Taking advantage of every minute until my parents get back from Italy,” Shay explained, and then wondered why the heck she had said it. What happened to not wanting to talk about this?
Sabrina studied her a moment. “And what happens when they come back?”
“Back to sneaking around to see Caleb,” Shay said.
“I take it Kent didn’t figure out what’s going on then?”
Shay shook her head. “No. We told him I was going to jump and then chickened out.”
Sabrina studied her another long moment. Shay shifted under the scrutiny.
“What?” Shay asked.
“Is that really a relief? Kent not finding out? I mean, wasn’t there a part of you that just wanted the romance to be out of the closet?”
“It’s complicated, Sabrina.”
“So you keep saying.”
“But it is.”