Page 19 of Signed With Love

Okay, is all she signs back, yet the slight lift of her lip lets me know just how okay she is with it. I love the little possessive jealous streak she’s getting over me.

She snuggles in closer, and I start the movie. The moment the introduction begins, the subtitles scroll across the bottom, and the volume is down. I read the movie with her and enjoy the silence of the house. Without the sound disruption of the movie, I can hear the breeze beat against the house and the gentle sound of her breathing next to me.

I love this, she tells me.

My only response is, Me too. I want to tell her I could do this every night and I’m certain it wouldn’t get old.

???

After my evening spent with Claire, I wasn’t inclined to let letters be our only form of communication during the times she’s back in Anchorage, so I put my number in her phone and asked for hers. This way, I can text anytime I want. I told her I still needed that picture of her classroom setup and that we needed to talk about the thriller she has me reading. We also have more secrets to share. Now we’ve texted daily for the two weeks she’s been home.

I’ve never been that great with numbers. I usually switch them around and fuck it up. Luckily, as a bush pilot, we tend to go more by natural instinct.

I stare at my phone as the three dots appear, letting me know she’s composing a secret to share in return. I’ve never been this caught up in a girl—well, not in a while, anyway. That should worry me, but I push those thoughts away, refusing to compare Claire in any way to my ex, Lizzy. Besides, I haven’t thought about her in years, and I’m not about to start now. Yeah, I’m not the best when it comes to relationships, which is obvious by my track record. That’s why I told myself to keep Claire in the friend zone. I never listen, even to myself.

“What the hell, Jamison? I’ve been waiting ten minutes for you, and you’re playing on your damn phone?” Thorne’s deep voice echoes off the hangar.

I slip my phone away, unable to read Claire’s return message. I’m thirty fucking years old and got caught texting on the clock.

I glance up just as Chadwick slaps his hand on Thorne’s shoulder. “Take it easy on him, boss. He’s got a new girlfriend.”

“She’s not my girlfriend—”

“What the fuck?” Thorne responds.

“Get this,” Chadwick continues. “He’s totally into this chick. Even learned sign language for her and sends her letters in the mail.”

Thorne just stands there with a brow raised. A loss for words, which doesn’t normally happen. He’d be the first to lay into any of us if he has a mind to do so.

“He watches her nonstop too.”

No arguments. That’s true; I can’t take my eyes off Claire. Which makes the “just friends” that much harder. I shrug, then rise from the bench to follow them. Better get my head focused. There are too many variables with my job to not go in with a clear head.

When Chadwick opens his mouth, Thorne just shakes his head and cuts him off. “You two are making a run to Kodiak.”

Thorne walks away, and I follow Chadwick out to the airstrip. Thorne has been in my life as long as Chadwick. He’s the closest thing to a father I have. Things were always rough between us. As a kid, I wasn’t as easy to handle. Since my mother’s passing, the relationship has stayed strictly business between us. Rather than letting my thoughts go the rest of the way down that path, I check my plane is loaded properly and run my preflight checks.

“So have you kissed her yet?” Chadwick’s voice crackles over my headset as we settle into the cockpit and strap in.

“No.” I flip a switch on the control and send word to the ground that we are ready for takeoff. Once ground gives us the okay, I take off and let the comfort of flying consume me.

“Why not? Has it been that long? Need some pointers on dating?”

“You’re an asshole, you know that? And like I need pointers on love from someone so oblivious.”

“Who the fuck said I was talking about love, brother? I just meant a nice piece of ass.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.” I reach ten thousand feet and head west. We make a weekly trip to Kodiak. The supplies we take to the larger city require a two-man crew and a bigger plane. I’d much rather have taken the thirty-minute trip with Rylee or Finn this time.

“Wait? What do you mean by me being oblivious to love?”

“You’re extra slow sometimes. I don’t know how you manage to be a pilot and not kill yourself.”

His gasp is loud in my ear. “I handle the throttle to my plane just like I do a woman in my bed—smooth and with fucking perfection.”

“You’re an idiot.” Yet he’s my best friend. Despite his obtrusive personality, he’s one of the most dedicated and honest people I’ve ever met. He’s been by my side forever.

“I really like her.” It’s spoken firm and sure from Chadwick’s voice, sincere. I turn to watch him for a moment and catch the slight tilt to his lip.

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