Page 1 of Take Me Away, Cowboy

CHAPTER ONE

Homesick

Paige shifted inthe airplane seat, struggling to get comfortable. They hadn’t been this tiny the last time she flew.

She fought the urge to run off the plane and not stop until she hit saltwater. Second-guessing herself wasn’t her MO, so why was she doing it now?

The woman beside her fidgeted with her hands, wringing them until her knuckles grew white as bone. The color contrasted the deep crimson on the woman’s shoulders that marked her as a tourist almost as much as the bedazzled Turks and Caicos tank top she wore.

Normally, Paige was a comfortable flier, but the combination of leaving her home, her business, and her best friend made her uneasy. The nervous woman beside her amplified the feeling.

She wanted to be home. If only she had a clue where that was.

“How long were you visiting?” the woman asked, curious eyes taking in Paige’s tanned legs.

Paige looked out her window at the lush, rolling hills distorted by heat waves rising off the tarmac, realizing too late that she was sitting next to a chatty Kathy while she herself had no gift for small talk.

She didn’t want to be rude, but her heart was in flux, her life no better. What could she possibly offer anyone, especially someone she’d only know a couple hours?

She needed sleep.

A gallon of caffeine, maybe.

A reset button, definitely.

“I wasn’t. I lived here. Just over a year.”

“Oh, wow. Heading home, then?”

Paige nodded. That was an entirely truthful answer, though. Yes, she was going back to her hometown, but the island was as much a home to her as Montana had ever been.

That only added to her discomfort in leaving.

“I always wanted to live somewhere exotic, but my husband wouldn’t budge. Born in Montana, die in Montana, he always said. Now if he’d only get to that second part, I’d be happy.” The woman laughed at her own joke. “I’m glad to be rid of the two-timing bastard for that and so many reasons. You married?”

Not wanting to be rude, Paige shook her head, the swell in her chest deflating. That was the trade off, wasn’t it? Live all over the world, travel to her heart’s content, but say goodbye to romance, at least in the conventional sense. Kids and a husband didn’t fare well with her lifestyle; she’d seen that much with Paulo. She was just finally to the point she could think of him and not feel her stomach lurch.

“Yeah, well, you’re better for it. Men’re nothin’ but scum. Except for the aerobics instructor at my resort—Carlos I think his name was. Ooh, that man could move his hips. You musta met some fine ones living here.” The woman whistled a catcall like Carlos sat next to them.

“I sure did.” No one she wanted to see past breakfast, though.

The woman laughed, then abruptly settled into an uncomfortable silence as the plane engine revved. The familiar force from liftoff pressed Paige against her seat. This was it. The wheels lifted off the ground below them, and Paige was no longer a temporary resident of North Caicos. Her feelings about it were no longer a concern.

Her heart ached as she blew a secret kiss to the island towards the small, square pane of inches-thick glass separating her from the thinning air outside. She bid the island farewell. She had left a part of herself there but appreciated the fleeting view of the rainforest abruptly ending in white sand and crystal blue-green water. She knew them both as intimately as she did any lover, the forest and the beach.

Paige’s phone chimed loudly in the otherwise silent cabin. The woman beside her jerked, her neighbor’s elbow making contact with Paige’s ribs again.

“Sorry,” the woman muttered through gritted teeth, her eyes small slits under a furrowed brow.

“It’s fine,” Paige replied, though her right side argued that wasn’t exactly true. Still, she couldn’t begrudge the nerves the woman had. Paige had her own.

She fished her phone out of her pocket, shocked she still had service. Throwing a quick glance down the aisle so she didn’t get caught breaking the cardinal rule of flying two minutes into the trip, she unlocked the screen to find her favorite face smiling back at her with the beach nearest Paige’s old office in the background.

I miss you already. Fake a heart attack so they have to bring you back. Kisses and conch.–A

Paige chuckled to herself, but her pulse quickened. Her best friend and colleague, Aurelie, made saying goodbye to the island almost impossible for her to do. She jotted Aury a quick reply, then put her phone on airplane mode.

Counting down the minutes. Enjoy the island while you can. Have a dark and diet for me. K and C.–Paigey

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