Sir took it from him. “Brie needs time.”
Without any further explanation, Sir escorted her father out of the house. When he returned, Sir held out his arms to her.
Brie gratefully walked into his embrace and started to cry. “Poor Reverend Mother…”
She could hear the pain in his voice when he answered, “Yes.”
Sir held her tight as Brie slowly came to grips with the fact that Lilly remained a real and present threat.
New Heights
The next morning, Sir woke Brie up well before sunrise. While she was still groggy from sleep, he tossed her a set of clothes and said, “Get dressed, babygirl.”
Donning them quickly, Brie headed out of the bedroom to find Sir bundling up Hope and Antony as he got ready to leave the house.
“Where are we going, Sir?”
“I think it is high time we redeem one of our wedding gifts,” he answered.
Without further explanation, Sir dropped the children off at Unc’s house. Judy met them at the door still dressed in her nightgown. “Are you hungry, Hope? I made a giant stack of pancakes for you and Jonathan.”
Hope instantly perked up. “Jon-Jon?”
“Yep, cutie. He’s in the kitchen with Unckie Jack.”
The moment Brie set her daughter down, Hope started toddling down the hallway to the kitchen.
Judy took Antony from Sir, grinning. “You two go off and have fun!”
“We plan to, Auntie,” Sir replied, giving her a peck on the cheek. “Thanks again for agreeing to watch the kids on such short notice.”
“You know we’re happy to, even at this early hour,” she assured him. Laughing, she added, “We told Jonathan that Hope was coming to visit last night, and he decided to wake up extra early this morning.”
Brie grinned. “I love that they get along so well.”
“The two are inseparable. It’s the cutest dang thing.”
Back in the car, Sir continued driving north to Santa Barbara. As soon as Brie saw the empty field with a hot air balloon, she squeaked in excitement. “I’ve always wanted to ride in one of those!”
“This gift is compliments of Captain. I had to check to see if the company would still honor the certificate since it is years old now. Thankfully, they were extremely gracious about it.”
Brie stared at the brightly colored balloon, loving how the rainbow hues contrasted beautifully with the early morning sky.
The pilot and his crew walked up to greet them. “It’s an honor to have you ride with us today, Mr. and Mrs. Davis.”
“The honor is all ours.” Brie grinned as she stared up at the giant balloon.
After giving them a short safety briefing, the pilot announced they were ready to take off. Sir helped support Brie as she slid one foot into the foothold on the side of the basket and threw her other leg over to jump in.
Once Sir joined her, Brie grabbed his hand, squeezing it excitedly while she watched the pilot activate the large burner.
Hot air swirled around them as the pilot began releasing the sandbags one by one. Brie could feel the basket start to move beneath her, and she imagined that the hot air balloon was as impatient as she was to take off.
Holding her breath, Brie braced herself. Finally, the balloon lifted off the ground. But it was gentle, not jolting like she was expecting.
Leaving the confines of the Earth almost had a dream-like quality to it as they slowly began to float upward. Brie looked down, marveling at everything as the ground became increasingly smaller.
It was surprisingly quiet—so quiet, in fact, she could hear the tiny cattle mooing as the balloon slowly drifted over a pasture.
Sir nudged Brie, pointing to the left. She couldn’t believe it when two large California condors soared past them. They flew so close to the balloon that she felt as if she could reach out and touch the one closest to her.
Turning to Sir, she whispered, “This is pure magic!”
He nodded, clearly as awestruck by seeing the pair of condors as she was.
After the condors flew off, the pilot turned on the burners and headed even higher. Once the balloon leveled off, he informed them that they were now three thousand feet in the air.
Brie looked down at the world below her, marveling at the beauty of the Santa Ynez Mountains as they were silently carried along by the breeze.
In a state of awe, she told Sir, “The world looks so different from up here. There are so many things you miss because you can’t take in everything when you are down in it.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “Isn’t it amazing how a fresh perspective can completely change your view of things?”
Brie smiled, leaning into him. “I’ve never felt such peace before.”
She turned her head to the pilot and smiled. “I wish I could stay up here forever.”
He smiled awkwardly. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”
Brie laughed. “Wouldn’t that be lovely?”
As they gently floated above the hills and valleys, Brie was struck again by how quiet it was. She closed her eyes for a moment to soak up the profound tranquility she felt.
When she opened them again, she noticed the pilot looking at her strangely, while a bead of sweat slowly rolled down his forehead.
The hairs rose on the back of her neck, and she gripped Sir as she watched the man reach into his front jacket pocket. Brie’s life suddenly flashed before her eyes as he pulled out something long and black.
Her voice caught when she tried to cry out a warning. “He’s…got a—”
Then she saw it.
The pilot’s awkward smile returned when he held it out to her. “I made this…for you, Mrs. Davis.”
Still mute with shock, Brie stared down at a pretty leather paddle of black and red with heart cut-outs decorating it.
“My wife and I were inspired to dip our toes into BDSM after watching your documentary, and we’ve never looked back. I now run a leather shop specializing in BDSM tools, and I wanted you to have this, Mrs. Davis.”
Brie held out her hands, commanding them not to shake as she took the tool from him. She was too embarrassed to look the man in the eye when she said breathlessly, “It’s beautiful.”
She glanced at Sir and squeaked, “Won’t this be fun?”
Covering for her nervousness, Sir took the instrument from Brie to study it. Slapping the paddle against his hand, he nodded appreciatively. “This is of exceptional quality. I look forward to utilizing it during our next session.”
The pilot’s face lit up. “I…I’m flattered that you would consider using it.”
When Sir put his arm around Brie to support her, she was certain he could feel her trembling.
“I would never let a fine quality tool go to waste, especially when it was hand-crafted by an artisan with such skill,” he complimented the pilot.
The man looked at Brie and asked anxiously, “Would you mind if I took a picture with you for my wife?”
Her fear fading, Brie smiled and turned to Sir. “Would that be fine with you, Sir?”
“Only if you are comfortable with the request,” he answered.
“I am.”
Sir took the man’s phone to take the pictures while Brie moved over to the pilot. Her smile was genuine when she looked into the camera.