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But she was here now—two years and thousands of miles from the moment she’d made the decision to come. She’d carved out some time at last, though not much of it since her last assignment in Philadelphia had unexpectedly run longer than she’d planned and the next one in New Zealand was right around the corner. Snaking mountain roads, missed highway markers and fluttering nerves were not going to prevent her from keeping the promise she’d made to herself.
No more excuses. No turning back. No matter what.
Right now, however, Kari could see that she might have one last obstacle standing in her way. This man in the Indiana Jones bomber jacket, the strong chin and the tight-lipped smile that practically shouted “Welcome. Now please go away.”
From the moment she’d opened the door to Angel Air, she’d sensed a slight tension. The woman, a little younger than the man and a lot more friendly looking, had immediately approached the counter. The man hadn’t so much as moved a muscle.
“Can we help you?” the woman asked with a salaried-receptionist smile.
She had the kind of great looks that didn’t call for much makeup and a tumble of black hair that sifted prettily across her shoulders every time she turned her head. The name tag over her left pocket read “Adriana.”
“I’m Kari Churchill,” Kari said, extending her hand. “I was supposed to be here this morning for a flight. I know I’m dreadfully late.”
“By seven hours,” the man said.
She looked at him more closely as he approached the counter with a slow rippling of muscles. She couldn’t help noticing that he was almost offensively healthy looking. As darkly handsome as the woman was beautiful. Kari had a feeling these two were related, but she’d also bet their personalities and management styles were completely different. Adriana looked sympathetic and eager to please, while the hunk here seemed to be silently willing her to vanish.
She stopped focusing on the woman and concentrated on winning over the man. He was obviously the one in charge.
“I know,” she said. “And I’m so sorry. First my plane was late, then I got lost. I took my chances that you’d still be open and able to take me to Elk Creek Canyon before nightfall.”
“We close at five,” he said. Nobody in the room had to look at their watch to know it was nearly that now.
Rule followers! Why did she have to run into one today? Kari suspected flirting would be wasted on him, and she was too tired to try. But it couldn’t hurt to be…well, agreeable.
She pulled the ball cap off her head, letting her ponytail swing over her shoulder. She looked up at him and tried to appear both contrite and sweetly feminine. “I know it’s getting late. But all the way up the mountain I’ve been hoping—praying, really—that there would still be time.”
“We’re not a taxi service, Miss Churchill.”
“No, of course not. But—”
“Sorry. Elk Creek Canyon is thirty minutes flying time there and back. Unless it’s an emergency, we don’t go up after dark.”
“This is an emergency.”
Dark brows lifted as he crossed his arms over his chest. His mouth moved in a fascinating way and she got the feeling she’d amused him. “Ah. What kind of emergency would that be?”
She bit her lip, aware that she’d made a misstep. “Well, maybe not an emergency, really. Not life or death. But it’s rather important.”
“Then you should have gotten here on time.”
It surprised Kari how quickly she could lose ground. What a hard case this guy was! Probably divorced a few times and completely soured on women. She began to feel stubborn.
“You’ve made your point,” she said. “But sunset isn’t for—” this time she did look at her watch “—one hour and forty-three minutes. I know because I had to check in with the Park Service on the way up here to let them know where and when I was going into the national forest. If I don’t get there before dark, I’ll have to re-check-in with them tomorrow. They’re very strict about that.”
“Yes, I know.”
Her cheeks hurt from trying to hold back any outward sign of frustration. “So I’m here now.” She pointed out the wide windows. “And I do see a couple of helicopters just sitting out there doing nothing.”
“Which is where they’ll stay. I’m afraid you’ll have to reschedule. We can probably slot you in tomorrow. Nine o’clock. Sharp.”
She didn’t want to wait until tomorrow, but she’d never be able to explain to this guy why she wanted to go today. “I can’t do tomorrow.”
“Then I’m afraid you’re out of luck.”
“Is there another helicopter tour company in the area?”
“Nope.”
“Is there another way to get to Elk Creek Canyon?”
“You could hike in. You’d probably get there by Tuesday. If you didn’t get lost.”
She frowned at him, refusing to accept that her window of opportunity could be slamming so firmly shut. “Look, can’t we be reasonable about this? I’ve come so far—”
She broke off as he came around the counter and moved toward her. He seemed so full of hard control and dark warning that she wondered if he might be about to physically escort her out of the office. Instead he went past her and flipped the Open sign in the window to the reverse side.
He gave her another tight, meaningless smile. “We’re closed.”
Kari took a breath and went on recklessly, “I’m prepared to make it worth your time.”
Bad idea. Instantly she watched his dark eyes flicker over her—and not in a good way. A cold, jittery, hollow feeling filled her where confidence had once been. Her breath moved inward with slow care. “I mean, I’ll gladly pay more.”
His voice was calmly nonnegotiable. “Sorry. Next time you might want to give yourself more time to get here. Give up those thirty extra minutes of beauty sleep.”
Angry and embarrassed, Kari moved toward him. “I didn’t sleep in. I told you, my flight was delayed. And I took a wrong turn—” She broke off, realizing she’d already explained. This guy was just being difficult. She scowled at him, frustrated beyond courtesy. “Just for the record, you have lousy customer service skills.”
He tossed a smile toward his office mate, who hadn’t said a word in so long that Kari had practically forgotten she was here. “So I’ve been told. Doesn’t change anything. If you still want to go to Elk Creek Canyon, you’ll need to come back.” He opened the door. “Addy, close up as much as you can, will you? After I get done, I’ll come back to help you tie down.”
“Nick…” Adriana began.
Kari had come this far—she just couldn’t give up now. Refusing to let this stubborn man stand in the way, she caught the edge of the door. He was so close, she noticed that his eyes were the darkest brown she’d ever seen. Nearly black. “I don’t want to drive all the way back to Denver.”
“Then stay in Broken Yoke.”
“That wide spot down by the interstate that seems to be auditioning for ghost town status? You’ve got to be kidding.”
“There are two motels in town. Either one of them would be happy to take your money. Or we can even offer you a room up at the lodge.”
“Look, maybe we got off on the wrong foot—”
“I could take her, Nick.” The woman he’d called Addy spoke up.
Kari swung around quickly. Ah, bless you, she thought. “You could fly me out there?”
“Yes.”
“No,” Nick said sharply.
“Why not?” both women said at the same time.
The man ignored his co-worker and continued to address Kari, his features doing a good impression of a gargoyle. “Addy works for and answers to me. She sure as hell doesn’t fly one of my birds unless I tell her she can.”
“Hey!” Addy protested, and when Kari looked at her, she could see the woman was now almost as furious as she was. Through the open neckline of her shirt, red splotches marked her skin.
“I have to go. We’re closed,” Nick said one last time. “Have a nice evening.”
Without a look back, he left. There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence as both women watched him disappear. Kari’s father had tried to teach her to live by the motto IIPP—Intelligence, Industry, Persistence and Plan. The way to accomplish anything, he’d said. But what should she do when IIPP didn’t seem to have any affect on a hard-headed man?
Finally she turned back to Adriana. “What cave did he just finish hibernating in?”
The woman gave her a sheepish look. “He’s usually not that bad. I feel I should apologize.”
“Are you two related?”
“My older brother, Nick. As you can see, I’m the tolerated baby sister.”
“You have my sympathies.”
Adriana laughed. “Yeah, sometimes I want to choke him. But you have to take the bad with the good. You know how it is between siblings.”
“Can’t say that I do,” Kari said absently as she glanced around the sparsely furnished office. “I was an only child.”
An idea was starting to take shape in her mind. Maybe Kari couldn’t win with big brother, but Adriana seemed like a reasonable person. Kari just had to find the right words, the right buttons to push. Her father would have found a way to make this trip happen. So could she.
She moved to the wall where Angel Air’s business license was proudly hung. They’d only been in business a little over a year. Nick D’Angelo, Owner.
Ha! Nick D’Angelo, Jerk, was more like it.
She looked back over her shoulder at Adriana. “Does he always order you around like that?”
“When he thinks he can get away with it. He can’t help it. Nick’s ex-military. And when it concerns his choppers, he’s like a hen with baby chicks. I think they’re just hunks of metal and Plexiglas. Nick thinks they…breathe.”
Kari gave her a commiserating smile. “But you’re both licensed pilots, aren’t you?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Then I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. But believe me, I’m going to be addressing this issue with him tonight. No matter what kind of mood he’s in.”
“Men,” Kari complained. “They just won’t believe women can do just about everything they can.”
“Sometimes better.”
They continued to discuss men’s shortcomings and what to do about them, laughing over the fact that there seemed to be darned little. Another fifteen minutes went by. Kari discovered that she liked this woman. Adriana D’Angelo was smart, witty and enthusiastic. And, Kari suspected, a bit of a rebel. A trait that might definitely work to Kari’s advantage.
“Well,” she said at last with a disappointed sigh. “I suppose I’d better head down the mountain before it gets dark.”
“Why don’t you stay up at our place?” Adriana suggested. “My family owns Lightning River Lodge, just a mile up the mountain road.”
“And take the chance of running into your brother? No thanks.”
“I’m really sorry you two clashed like that. Reschedule and I promise I’ll take you up to Elk Creek Canyon myself.”
Kari gave her a doubtful look. “That would be lovely, but do you really think big brother will let you? He doesn’t seem to take you very seriously.”
That struck a nerve. Adriana colored again. “He will. Please come back.”
Kari sent her voice lower, sent her lashes drifting down, too. “I don’t know…I had really counted on this…” She let the words float off, hoping that her demeanor spoke volumes.
“I’m sorry. But tomorrow—”
“Will be too late,” Kari finished for her. Then she gave the woman a smile filled with friendly regret. “Don’t worry about it. It’s my fault, really. I should have tried to get on a flight yesterday.”
“Is it that crucial to you, getting there today?”
“I’m a freelance journalist and my down time between assignments is pretty small sometimes. But this isn’t an assignment. It’s personal. Your brother would probably laugh, but this is sort of a pilgrimage I just have to make.”
“Oh.” As Kari had hoped, the woman looked thoughtful, her imagination clearly trying to envision what kind of personal journey this trip could be.
After a suitable silence Kari added, “I don’t blame you for being hesitant about flying after dark.”
Adriana actually looked distressed now and Kari felt the first stirrings of guilt steal over her. Yes, she wanted to get to Elk Creek today. But was it really fair to trade on this woman’s empathetic nature? In spite of her father’s best efforts to teach her otherwise, hadn’t she always tended to rush into things? For her, hadn’t the weakest link in his IIPP motto always been the “plan” part?
“You know what?” Adriana suddenly said in a tone of firm decision. “I think I can get you to Elk Creek Canyon before sunset.”
Kari’s glance flew upward. “What about your brother?”
“Nick will just have to accept that he can’t dictate to me anymore. We’re supposed to be in this together. It’s time he started treating me like we are.”
“He’ll be furious.”
“Not half as furious as I’ll be at myself if I don’t stand up to him.” She came around the counter, looking so determined that Kari didn’t think she could have talked her out of this even if she’d wanted to. “I’ll rev up Raven One. You go get your stuff.”
TEN MINUTES LATER they were airborne. Stowing her sizable amount of camping gear and her duffel bag in the back, Kari settled into the copilot’s seat and slipped on a headset that would allow her to communicate with Adriana through the cabin radio—the “hot mike” as she called it. The tiny Angel Air office dropped quickly out of sight as the helicopter climbed and swung away.
Kari’s stomach lurched, but this woman seemed to know what she was doing. Her movements on the controls and rudder pedals were precise, sometimes barely perceptible. She no longer looked like an office receptionist, but a confident, capable pilot.
“I really can’t thank you enough, Adriana,” Kari said when they’d leveled off.
The woman smiled at her. “If we’re going to fly in the face of my brother’s wrath together, I think you should call me Addy.” She pointed out the front windscreen, where in the distance a rambling three-story building was barely discernable among the tall ponderosa pines. “There’s our resort—Lightning River Lodge. My brother’s up there right now playing the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike.”
Addy explained about the plumbing problem. “Since our father’s stroke, Nick’s been the one everyone goes to. And we tend to rely on him for…well, for just about everything.”
Guess he’s not into delegating, Kari thought. Control freak. Out loud she said, “You know, if he’d just let you take me to begin with, we could have saved some time and hassle. He needs to lighten up.”
Addy gave her a look that said that wasn’t likely. “He’s not usually that cranky, but the week started off badly, and it’s been a horrible day. I think you were the last straw. And truthfully, I suspect he just didn’t like the idea of me going up after dark.”
