Zoey looked up at him with her big hazel eyes—and Bubba was surprised when a jolt of…something…went through him. He couldn’t have looked away from her if his life depended on it.
She opened her mouth to respond, but the airline employee interrupted before she could.
“It looks like your pilot is almost done with her pre-check. You should be able to board in about five minutes.”
Zoey swallowed hard and shifted just enough that Bubba’s hand fell from her arm. “Thanks.”
Realizing he needed to call Rocco as he’d promised, Bubba stood. “I need to make a phone call before we take off,” he told the airline employee.
“You’ve got five minutes,” she replied, seemingly disinterested.
After she’d walked away, Bubba turned to Zoey. “I’m sorry, but I promised my friend I’d call him before we took off. He’s a little paranoid and I’m humoring him.”
Zoey shrugged. “Whatever.”
Feeling oddly off-kilter at her casual dismissal, Bubba took out his phone and stepped toward the window for a bit of privacy as he dialed Rocco’s number.
He answered after only two rings. “Hey, Bubba. You getting ready to leave?”
“Yeah.”
“The flight to Anchorage was good?”
“Uneventful,” Bubba told him. “The pilot is about done doing her preflight checks and we should land in Juneau in about three hours.” He stared out the window at the woman walking around one of the float planes that were so common in this part of the state. There were at least ten other small planes lined up on the tarmac, as well. They were extremely popular in Alaska, as a lot of communities, Juneau included, had no access via road. A lot of people got their pilot’s license around the same time they got their permit to drive.
“We?” Rocco asked.
“Yeah. A woman named Zoey Knight is on the same flight as me. Apparently she was helping my dad out, and was visiting her mom in Anchorage when he passed. She’s in my dad’s will, and has been asked to come back for the reading too. So the lawyer got us on the same flight.”
“That’s funny.”
“What’s funny?” Bubba asked.
“Her last name is Knight and yours is Wright. Hell, if you got married, she’d only have to change two letters in her last name.”
“Fuck off,” Bubba told his friend with a snort. “We aren’t getting married. Jeez. Just because you’re about to tie the knot doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”
“Right. Anyway, things here are good. The commander doesn’t see any missions in the near future, although we both know how quickly that can change. Try to enjoy your time back home. I know you haven’t been back in years. You’ll see your brother, right?”
Bubba winced. He felt bad that he wasn’t really looking forward to that. Malcom was his twin. He should be ecstatic to see him and catch up. But if Zoey’s words were any indication, his brother hadn’t changed much. “Yeah. Mal will be there. As will Sean, my dad’s business partner. I haven’t seen or talked to him in years either. Oh, and probably everyone else I grew up with who I haven’t seen in thirteen years.”
Rocco chuckled. “Gotta love small towns.”
“Yeah, right.”
“When’s the memorial for your dad?” Rocco asked.
“I think in two days. He’ll be cremated according to his wishes tomorrow. So I think the next day is when the memorial is planned.” Bubba saw the airline employee coming toward them and knew he had about thirty more seconds to talk. “I gotta go, looks like it’s time to board.”
“Okay. Be careful up there. You don’t have your team at your six this time.”
Bubba rolled his eyes, and that made him think about Zoey. “You worry too much,” he told his friend and SEAL team leader.
“It’s my job. And just wait until you find your woman. You’ll feel the same way. I swear to God, I’m more nervous now about the smallest things than I was before I met Caite.”
“Pass,” Bubba told him. “I don’t want to turn into a Nervous Nelly like you, so I’ll just stay single.”
“Famous last words,” Rocco said with a laugh. “Call me the second you land. And if you need us, we’re here. I know this isn’t easy for you, and if things get too overwhelming, all you gotta do is call and one of us, or all of us, will be there in a heartbeat. Got it?”
“Thanks, Roc. I appreciate it. And I’ll call when we hit Juneau.”
“Anytime. Talk to you soon.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.”
Bubba hung up and turned his phone off in preparation for the flight. He heard the airline employee telling Zoey she could board the plane, and he stuffed his phone into his duffle bag then joined them.
He wanted to offer to carry Zoey’s bag for her, but he had a feeling he’d pushed his luck enough for one day.
As they walked across the tarmac, Bubba was glad it was sunny. The temperature was moderate for this time of year, in the lower sixties. The forecast called for rain later, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. The saying, “If you don’t like the weather, wait twenty minutes and it’ll change,” was very appropriate for this part of the country.
As they walked, Bubba’s eyes went to Zoey’s ass. He wasn’t proud of himself for ogling her, but she definitely had an ass that was meant for ogling. He managed to raise his eyes just in time when she turned around to ask if he had a preference for which side of the plane he wanted to sit on.
“Nope. You can pick. My plan is to take a nap, so it doesn’t matter.”
Zoey nodded and turned back around, and Bubba found his gaze dropping to her ass once more.
God, what was wrong with him? He was tired, that wasn’t a lie. He’d slept like shit the night before, wondering what was waiting for him in Juneau, but it wasn’t like him to be so rudely obvious about staring at a woman’s body.
Bubba turned his attention to the pilot as they approached the small plane. She looked young, in her early twenties, but that didn’t concern Bubba. He knew people frequently learned to fly at a very young age in Alaska.
“Hi,” the woman said as they approached. “My name is Eve Dane. I’ll be your pilot today. If you leave your bags at the bottom of the stairs, I’ll get them loaded and we’ll be on our way soon.”
Zoey thanked her and, after dropping off her bag, climbed into the plane. Bubba held out his hand and shook Eve’s. “I’m Bubba. That was Zoey. We appreciate you taking us to Juneau today. How long have you been flying?”
She smiled distractedly, shaking his hand even while looking at something in the plane. “I know I look young, but I’ve had my license for eight years. I started flying with my dad when I was fourteen and passed the test when I turned sixteen.”
Bubba nodded. That didn’t surprise him at all. “It’s good to meet you.”
“Same.”
He dropped her hand and put his bag down beside Zoey’s before climbing inside the small plane. There were two seats in the front and two in the back, the latter of which were bench style, separated only by an armrest. It would put him and Zoey very close together. It was a tight fit, especially for him, but Bubba strapped himself into the seat next to her with little difficulty.