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“No kidding?” The boy’s jaw dropped, and his eyes grew wide. “For real?”
Most people in town were more impressed with Toby’s connection to the Fortune family, rather than the lovely woman one of his cousins had married. “Yes, for real. I’ll give Sawyer a call this morning and ask for a tour.”
“For all of us?” Justin asked.
“And for me, too?” Kylie chimed in. “If it’s a girl pilot, I want to see her.”
Toby laughed. “Yes, we’ll all go. After I drop you guys off at school, I’ll try to work out a good time for us to go. But no promises on when that might be.”
And that was just what Toby did. Once the kids had gotten their backpacks, climbed out of the truck and headed for their respective classrooms, he called his cousin.
Sawyer’s father, James Marshall Fortune, had been a triplet. His two sisters had been given up for adoption when they were very young. Josephine May was raised in England by the Chesterfields, a family that was both rich and royal. Jeanne Marie, Toby’s mom, was raised in Horseback Hollow by loving parents who were common folk. But what they lacked in finances, they made up for in love.
Last year, Sawyer had met Laurel Redmond in Red Rock, where they fell in love. On New Year’s Eve, they married in Horseback Hollow, where they now made their home. Sawyer and Laurel opened Redmond-Fortune Air, which served folks in this area. Laurel used to work with her brother, Tanner Redmond, who owned the Redmond Flight School and Charter Service back in Red Rock. They originally opened a branch of that company here, but with Tanner’s blessing and Sawyer’s capital, Laurel bought out her brother’s stock and recently went out on her own.
When Sawyer answered the phone, Toby told him about Brian’s interest in airplanes, then asked if he could bring the kids by the airfield sometime for a tour.
“Absolutely,” Sawyer said. “Laurel flew a couple of businessmen from Vicker’s Corners to Abilene this morning for a meeting, but she should be back before three.”
“Is Angie Edwards working for you today?” Toby asked, as casually as he could.
“As a matter of fact, she comes in at one-thirty and will be here until four. Why?”
“No reason. I’d heard she was a part-time receptionist.” Toby glanced at the clock on the dashboard, realizing he had a lot of chores to get done today. But no telling when Angie would be working at the flight school again.
“The kids get out of school at three,” he told Sawyer. “So we’ll head over to the airfield then.”
And that was just what he did.
As had become his routine, Toby waited in front of the school when the bell rang. Only this time, he’d gone home so he could shower, shave and put on a new shirt and his favorite jeans.
“Did you talk to your cousin?” Brian asked, as he climbed into the truck.
“I sure did. And Sawyer said to come by today.”
Whoops and cheers erupted from the backseat. Even the usually quiet Brian was beaming, confirming that Toby had just hit a home run.
So what if fulfilling a young boy’s dreams to get to see the inside of a cockpit hadn’t been his only motive? Besides, the kids had been talking about Angie nonstop—especially Kylie—and they were going to be just as excited to see her as he was. If he happened to talk to a beautiful woman and casually slip in a dinner invitation while they were at the airfield, then so be it.
“But let’s set some ground rules,” he told the kids. “You’re going to have to mind your manners and not touch anything you’re not supposed to. No running off—that means you, Justin. And the minute we get back to the ranch, you’re going to have to sit down and do your homework. No complaints. Got it?”
A chorus of “got it”s and excited chatter filtered over the seat to him.
Fifteen minutes later, as the anticipation built in the cab of the truck, Toby turned down the county road that led to their destination.
Prior to the addition of Redmond-Fortune Air, the Horseback Hollow Airport hadn’t amounted to much more than a small control tower, a couple of modular buildings, one of which housed Lone Star Avionics, several hangars and a relatively small airstrip.
But the brand-new building Sawyer and Laurel had built, with its gray block exterior, smoky glass windows and chrome trim, added some class to an otherwise small-town, nondescript airport that served both Horseback Hollow and nearby Vicker’s Corners.
After parking next to Sawyer’s new black Cadillac Escalade, Toby led the kids up the walkway and through the double glass doors into the reception area.
Angie, who was busy typing some letters at the reception desk, brightened when they came in. “Hey, look who’s here!”
She greeted each child with a hug, but stopped short when she reached Toby. After all, what was required? Certainly not an embrace. And a handshake was much too formal.
They both settled for a smile, which worked out just fine.
“I heard you were coming.” She turned to a guy in green coveralls who was seated near a potted ficus tree and reading a newspaper. “Pete, is Sawyer still out back?”
“Yep. He’ll be in shortly.” Pete lowered his newspaper and nodded at Toby. “How’s it goin’?”
“Not bad.”
Pete Nelson, a tall, lanky mechanic, worked for Lone Star Avionics and sometimes did side jobs for Sawyer and Laurel. Ever since Sawyer and Laurel opened up for business, the other employees at the airfield usually came over to use their break room, as well as the new fridge, microwave and coffeemaker.
“Taking a break?” Toby asked the thirtysomething air-force vet, trying to keep the hint of jealousy from his voice. After all, if he worked at the airfield, he’d be taking breaks in the office when Angie was here, too.
Hell, Toby didn’t even work at the airfield, and he was looking for reasons to stop by the sexy brunette’s places of employment.
“Just having a quick cup of coffee,” Pete said. “Then it’s back to the hangar.”
“Hey, Justin,” Brian said, as he wandered toward a table with a plastic-enclosed display of miniature-sized scale models of airplanes. “Look at this.”
Kylie followed the boys, just as Sawyer entered the building.
“Hey, Toby.” He extended his arm, and they shook hands. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.”
“No problem. We’ve been checking out the reception area.” And the receptionist, who’d just bent over to reach into the lowest drawer of the filing cabinet.
Toby hadn’t noticed before, but Angie was wearing a short black skirt. Well, it hadn’t looked so short until she’d bent over and those long, tanned, shapely legs stretched out.
Wow.
Sawyer continued to talk, although Toby couldn’t quite wrap his mind around what he was saying. Still, he nodded as if he’d heard every word.
When Kylie, who must have gotten bored looking at the miniature planes with her brothers, wandered over to Angie, Toby was about to call the little girl over to him and tell her that Angie was busy. But without missing a beat, Angie set her up at the desk with a stamp pad and paper, then went back to stooping and bending and flashing those long, shapely legs.
“Aw, so that’s the way the wind is blowing,” Sawyer said, calling Toby out.
“The wind?”
Sawyer lowered his voice to a whisper. “It’s not the airplanes you’re interested in. It’s Little Miss Google. I’d wondered why you wanted to know if she was working today.”
Toby tore his gaze from Angie, ran his fingers through his closely cropped hair and focused on Sawyer. “What are you talking about? Who’s Little Miss Google?”
“Evangeline Edwards, our part-time receptionist and jack-of-all-trades.”
Toby never had been good at lying, so he zeroed in on the subject he’d rather discuss. “Why do you call her Little Miss Google?”
“Because she’s a walking version of the website. If you want any information about anything at all, there’s a pretty good chance she knows it.”
While Toby had never considered Angie to be dumb, she hadn’t struck him as being exceptionally knowledgeable, either.
Had he missed something?
“You don’t believe me? Watch this.” Sawyer called across the open reception room. “Hey, Angie, Captain Schroder called a few minutes ago. Laurel wasn’t around for me to ask, but he’s flying his client’s new Cessna Nav into Horseback Hollow. He wants to know how many feet per minute his descent should be.”
Angie didn’t look up from her work. “If his true airspeed is 75 knots, which is standard for most Cessna Navs on approach, our headwind component here is usually 15 knots. That would make his ground speed 60 knots, which you’d multiply by five for a rate of descent of 300 feet per minute.”
“Thanks. I’ll let him know.” Sawyer gave Toby a little jab with his elbow, then tilted his head and lifted a single eyebrow as if to ask, What’d I tell you?
Toby had no way of knowing if what Angie had recited was true or not, but he figured it must be. Pete the mechanic hadn’t argued the point. Of course, he still had his nose in the newspaper.
Moments later, Laurel Redmond Fortune came through the same back door Sawyer had entered. The lovely blonde greeted Toby with a hug, then gave her husband a kiss. “I’m going to grab a quick cup of coffee in the break room, then I’ll give you guys that tour we promised.”
“Take your time,” Toby said.
As Laurel left the room, Pete lowered the newspaper he’d been reading. “Did you guys know that Herb Walker got busted for drunk-and-disorderly conduct last night outside the Two Moon Saloon?”
Sawyer gave Toby another little elbow jab, then said, “I wonder what kind of bail his wife will have to post for him.”
“Normally, it would be twenty-five hundred dollars,” Angie said, “but seeing how today is Monday and Judge Hanson doesn’t approve of drinking on Sundays, drunk and disorderlies from the night before usually have to post four thousand.”
Angie’s position on her knees, as she placed the last of the papers in the very back of the lowest drawer, gave Toby an excellent view of the rear end Doris Edwards had criticized days earlier. But Toby was so busy picking up his jaw off the floor that he was having trouble concentrating on those lovely curves.
How did she know those random facts?
When Sawyer and Pete started to laugh, Angie finally looked up and clued in to what was happening. “Were you guys doing that Google thing again?”
“What’s a drunk and disorderly?” Kylie asked, reminding the adults that the kids were still hanging around.
“It’s what Aunt Barbara got arrested for,” Brian answered, displaying knowledge beyond his age.
The laughter suddenly ceased, and the adults sobered. Fortunately, Angie swooped in for the save. “Hey, Brian, Mr. Fortune said you could go sit in the cockpit of his brand-new Gulfstream. You can even touch every button and lever. And Mr. Nelson won’t mind a bit putting them all back into place after you guys mess with them to your heart’s content.”
As a whoop went up from the kids, Angie cheekily smiled at her boss and the mechanic.
About that time, Laurel came out of the break room with her coffee. “Let’s go, kids.”
“I call first on talking on the headset to the people in the control tower,” Justin said.
“I get to sit in the pilot’s chair first,” Brian countered, as he followed Laurel out the door.
“Wait for me,” Kylie yelled as she tried to keep up with her brothers, who were already headed toward the hangar with Laurel.
The mechanic and Sawyer both gave Angie a look that promised they’d get even with her. But as far as Toby could see, they’d messed with Angie first.
It was nice to see that she gave back as good as she got.
“Laurel’s going to need my help,” Sawyer said.
“Mine, too.” Pete set aside the newspaper, grabbed his disposable cup and followed Sawyer outside, leaving Toby and Angie alone.
Finally.
“How do you know so much?” he asked.
“I used to watch Jeopardy! a lot with my dad when he was sick, and trivial facts tend to stick in my brain. Plus, I did a lot of internet research when I was trying to decide upon a college major.” She glanced at the clock on the wall, noting that it was four.
She straightened her desk, then shut down her computer. As she reached for her purse, she added, “Learning various oddball things is also a perk to changing jobs frequently. So I ended up knowing a little something about everything. Obviously, the flight stuff, I learned here.”
As she pushed back her chair, he couldn’t help noticing those long, tanned legs emerging from the skirt that no longer seemed too short.
“What about the drunk and disorderly?” he asked. “Is that from a job or from firsthand experience?” Please don’t let her be a party girl, he found himself thinking.
“Do I look like the drunk-and-disorderly type?” She turned back to Toby. She must have noticed his gaze on her legs, because she crossed her arms and said, “Don’t answer that.”
“Sorry.”
She didn’t seem to be actually annoyed, though, because there was a spark of humor in her voice when she added, “Before that temp agency folded, they sent me to work at Señor Paco’s Bail Bonds for a few weeks.”
That was a relief. Not that he planned to actually date her.
Or did he?
“Aren’t you going out with the kids to see the new plane?” she asked.
He’d much rather learn about Angie’s control panel than some stupid airplane’s, especially since it was four o’clock and she was leaving.
Who knew when he’d see her again, which brought out an unexpected sense of urgency, prompting him to blurt out, “Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”
* * *
Dinner? At the Double H Ranch? With Toby and the kids?
The invitation had come out of the blue, and judging from the expression on Toby’s face, Angie suspected that the question had surprised him as much as it had her.
“I’m not sure what we’ll be having,” he added. “I’ll have to stop by the Superette and pick up something. But the kids need to eat tonight. And if you’re not busy...”
“Actually, I have to stop by there to pick up my paycheck anyway. Do you want me to do the shopping for you?”
“That would be great.” Toby reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet and peeled out a couple of bills. “Here’s forty bucks. Pick up whatever you think the kids will like.”
Great. The choice was hers, then?
Not only had she agreed to have dinner with him and the kids, she’d also agreed to plan the menu, which meant she’d be stuck trying to decide what to cook for a hungry man and three picky children.
What had she been thinking?
