Page 29 of The Texas Cowboy's Rescue

“See you at eight. Sweet dreams.”

Kenzie found she was getting used to having someone tell her to have sweet dreams before she went to sleep. That wouldn’t be good to get too used to such things. They could be short-lived, especially when there were too many reasons for it not to work. That doubting devil was trying its best to come out and sit on her shoulder and whisper doubts, and she knew it was because, for the first time in a very long time, she was taking a chance. Trust was the angel on her other shoulder, and she had to get used to it again. And that made the other disappear in a poof of smoke.

Chapter Fourteen

“Hold still, please.I am almost done, but if you keep bouncing around, I won’t get this bow tied.”

“Okay, Mama. But we need to hurry. Mr. Deke will be here soon. Where are we going to go fly?”

“I have no idea. Mr. Deke is the pilot. Wherever we go, you’ll have fun.”

The doorbell sounded. “He’s here! Come on, hurry... he’s here.”

Brooke opened the door, her excitement evident. “You’re here. We’re ready to go flying.”

“I see you are. I like that airplane on your shirt with red and blue sparkles. Very nice.”

“I have new red shorts too. And I have sparkles on my blue shoelaces too.”

“I’d say you are definitely dressed to fly.” He stepped through the doorway and met Kenzie coming down the hall. She had a large beach bag and a shoulder bag. He took the beach bag from her. “And your mother is dressed to fly too. Much nicer than the usual work jumpsuit. Maybe we should look into updating our fashions. And we better go. Looks like Brooke will be keeping us on schedule today.”

Kenzie was glad she had chosen a belted jumpsuit... white sleeveless top, gold buttons, and wide-legged navy-blue pants. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and secured it with a bright-red scarf. And she had to admit that the man on her doorstep today did not resemble Deke in his usual flight suit. He wore a cream, long-sleeved dress shirt, with a dark-brown leather belt that matched the dark leather of his shined cowboy boots, and tan slacks pressed with creases. The cologne was an expensive one she recognized from the perfume counter at the mall. Impressive and unexpected described him.

“Can’t Ranger come today?” Brooke noted right away as she settled into the back seat of the Jeep that her fur pal wasn’t part of the excursion. Deke settled a cream Stetson on his head. With his aviator glasses in place, Kenzie felt her pulse rate speed up at the transformation.Not bad at all.

Kenzie noted that Deke made sure Brooke’s seat belt was secured and then flipped the lock on the door as he shut it. She liked that he took steps to keep her child safe. Another plus in the already multi-checked plus column. “Sorry, little one,” he replied to Brooke, sliding behind the wheel. “He has to earn his keep by being a guard dog today.”

They were soon off. Kenzie tried to not notice the interested looks that met them as they walked into the Coffee, Chat and Etc. a few minutes later. The morning crowd would be slow in coming in on the Saturday morning, so odds were they would be done and on their way before the number of gossips multiplied. Tallie’s eyes widened when she saw them, and then Kenzie doubted she had imagined the quick wink that she caught as Tallie greeted them and showed them to the back table where their group usually sat. Kenzie was grateful. They wouldn’t be on display as much as in the front part of the café.

“Don’t you look pretty today, Miss Brooke? Special plans?” She poured the coffee for the grown-ups and handed over the small glass of chocolate milk that was the child’s usual order at breakfast.

“We’re going flying! Mr. Deke is taking us.”

“I’m sorry,” Kenzie spoke up. “I don’t think you two have met. Tallie Mayhew is the owner of this great establishment and a dear friend. Tallie, this is Deacon Hayes, the leader of our helicopter unit.” Deke stood and shook the woman’s hand. Kenzie recognized the effect... Tallie had just become a card-carrying fan.

“Glad to meet you. The community is certainly glad you’re here. What can we get you all to eat this morning?”

They turned in their orders and the food arrived quickly. Kenzie knew that she would be grilled at the weekly lunch meeting by Tallie and the others. Brooke fairly danced ahead of them out of the restaurant and back into the Jeep. The office and hangars were on one side of the airfield on the Aces High. They were the only ranch in a two hundred-mile radius with an airfield, hangars, and a high-tech radar system. They were more than happy to have Deke’s choppers use their facilities that were already in place for their Gulfstream.

Kenzie expected to see one of the regular helicopters ready and on the tarmac. But there was a sleek silver-and-gray jet helo, which was probably something to do with the ranch. Deke gathered the bags from the back and then led them away from the hangar and straight to the other helicopter. A door slid back and a tall, gray-headed pilot came down the steps, wearing black slacks and a crisp white shirt with captain’s bars.

He took the bags and moved to store them in a side compartment.

Kenzie was confused. “I thought we were going in one of your choppers... not our rescue one, but a regular one.”

“Technically, you could call this one regular,” he said with a grin. “This is the one that helps me get from point A to point B while conducting business. It’s also one of my executive charters for businessmen with little time and far distances to go in a hurry. It’s a lot more comfortable too. Our usual work helo is needed today with the others to help out with some of the counties with wildfires.” He looked at Brooke, who was quieted into amazement. “How about it, little missy? You want to see the inside?”

Instead of a bank of life-saving machines and gurney space, there were high-backed cream-leather seats for six people, thick carpeting in a light gray, and wood paneling that shined to match the gleaming metallic trim. Kenzie was impressed and surprised, combined. Deke had dropped a jump seat from the wall just behind the pilot’s seat and helped Brooke get buckled into it. He situated a pair of headphones and plugged them into an overhead system, explaining that would be how she would hear them talk and she could talk too. Then he held out his hand to Kenzie and helped her into the copilot’s seat. She belted in, and he slid into his pilot’s seat and began the pre-flight.

“The other pilot isn’t going?”

“He brought her down here and he’ll take her back later. Ready to go?”

Brooke nodded and, as the craft began to move and then lift, landing gear folding up into its belly, her eyes grew as round as saucers and she laughed with gleeful happiness. The questions began. Deke’s patience was unbelievable. He answered them all... trying to make them less technical for the child’s understanding, but Kenzie had to wonder which one—the child or the adult—was having the most fun.

Their interchange gave Kenzie time to do her own reflecting. What did she really know about the man beside her? He was an ex-military helicopter pilot who had a mentor that developed into a business. He was a jilted fiancé with trust issues not unlike her own. And he was her boss... at least for another four weeks. Brooke easily felt he hung the moon. And she was very much afraid that could be the case for her too. There was a part of her that had come alive in the last few weeks... a part she had walled off and barred entrance to others. But more and more, she found herself wanting to open that door, dust off the cobwebs, and take a chance. Was he the reason for it all? Today was not the day to search for answers, just to breathe and relax for a little while. She would let the day lend itself to whatever. Her smile grew from the inside outward.

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