Page 69 of Loud Unspoken Memories

Staying isn’t an option. No matter how much I’d like to hide out here forever and live this surreal life with my mountain man, Charlie is my number one priority. Being Dallas’s girlfriend would be nice, but there are so many logistics we’d have to work out. And would I evenwanta no-strings, see-you-when-I-see-you relationship?

“Marti?”

I shake away the thoughts. “What? Oh, yeah, ask away.”

“How come you didn’t fly to New York?”

Letting out the breath I was holding, I’m not sure if I’m sad or relieved he didn’t make one of the aforementioned propositions. “Because I don’t fly.”

“Ever?”

“I flew once. I won’t again.”

“What happened?”

I take a long drink of wine to tamp down the anxiety that grips me as I think of it. “Six years ago, Charles and I went to the Bahamas for our honeymoon. I told you we got married right after high school, right?” He nods and I continue. “Okay, so I was super excited. I’d never flown before. It was a short flight ina small plane, not one of those massive 747s. This one had those propeller things.

“Halfway into the flight, I was mesmerized looking down into nothing but blue ocean. I’d been to dozens of beaches but had never seen the ocean from above. It was amazing. Almost like the first time I saw snow up here.”

He sits back in his chair, not eating, eyes glued on me as if he’s hanging on my every word.

“Then everything went south. The plane started shaking violently. People were screaming. Belongings fell out of the overhead bins. Those oxygen mask things came down. It was terrifying.”

Dallas puts a hand on my arm, running his thumb in circles. It soothes me and calms my pounding heart as I recall the horrific experience.

“Charles told me it lasted less than a minute, but to me it felt like an eternity. I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes. They say we went through a change in atmosphere—something to do with thermals—and it was just bad turbulence. Anyway, that was my first and last experience in an airplane.”

“So they turned around and went back to Florida?”

“No, we landed thirty minutes later on the island of Great Exuma and had the most amazing time.”

He tilts his head. “But you said that was your first and last flight. You must have gone on the return flight. How’d that one go?”

“I didn’t. I wasn’t lying when I said it was the only flight I’ve ever been on. While the vacation was great, the one and only thing Charles and I fought about the entire week was my refusal to get on another plane.”

“Did you charter a boat?”

I laugh. “Only a gazillionaire would ask that question. No, Mr. Moneybags, we did not charter a boat. But we did take aferry. It extended our vacation by five days because we basically ferried between Bahamian islands one at a time until we got to Bimini, the closest island to Florida. From there it was only a two-hour ride on yet another ferry. It was rough. A lot of people got seasick, but I didn’t care. At least I wasn’t thousands of feet in the air. Thank goodness Charles’s dad offered to pay for our extra hotel nights and ferry charges. I’m not sure what I’d have done if he hadn’t helped. I’d probably still be living in the Bahamas.”

“That must have been some turbulence.” He picks up his fork and shovels potatoes into his mouth. “And for the record, I’m not a gazillionaire.”

“Okay, billionaire.”

He shakes his head. “Not that either.”

“Millionaire?” I ask, head cocked.

He shrugs.

“Wow. So you actually have like a million dollars sitting in a bank account?”

“Money isn’t everything, Marti. And it’s only because my parents made something of the winery. I had nothing to do with it. I’ve never been one to live large.”

I snicker and wave my hand around. “Obviously.”

“Besides, it’s my parents who are the billionaires, not me.”

“I’ll bet you have one hell of a trust fund though.”

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