Page 11 of The Soldier and the Cowboy

Now his did the same. “Why do you ask?”

She shrugged. “It’s your airplane and your ranch. Thought you might like the birds-eye view.”

“I’m good, thanks,” he said.

“Hmm,” she replied with what he could only imagine to be a taunting kind of smile since she wouldn’t say so directly. Someone must have talked and told her his Achilles heel—flying. Probably Jinx who for some reason found any hint of humanity in him hilarious.

He tossed her the keys to the plane. “Have at it, little bit.”

Her lips tightened again, signaling her dislike for the nickname.

“Anything to add?” he prompted.

She blinked three times and shook her head. “No, sir.”

“You are quite a marvel, Bailey. A woman who knows how to keep her mouth closed,” he said.

“And you are exactly as expected sir—a man who doesn’t know when to shut up.” She clutched the keys in her palm, turned on her heel, and disappeared, forcing herself to take measured steps as she walked away from him. She didn’t hate the man, but he certainly could irritate her, when he wanted to. She had never done well with being teased, especially not for being small, something she didn’t like to be. It was intensely aggravating to feel powerful on the inside but be cute and cuddly on the outside. Calhoun Ridge wasn’t all out resisting her, but neither had he fully accepted her presence. Instead he seemed to be indulgently humoring her, and that was almost worse. She could stomach rejection a whole lot better than condescension.

But neither would she allow herself to fall prey to the temptation to prove herself.Steady,she cautioned. She wouldnot win him over by flying off the handle in an overeager attempt to show him how good she was. All she could do was keep on keeping on and let her work speak for itself. In the meantime, she got to fly.

“This place is amazing,” she admitted as she tucked herself in the cockpit and began doing her pre-flight check. It had horses and flat, open prairie, and an airplane. Those were pretty much all of her favorite things in life. Her blood pressure felt better than it had in months. Her head hadn’t pounded since she arrived and the tight feeling in her chest and arms had all but disappeared.

She started the plane, and a few of the ranch hands came out to watch. Bailey resisted the urge to wave at them, but it was hard because she was so happy to be flying again. It had been ages. In DC she had little access to a plane and they were overly picky about her health. Technically she wasn’t supposed to fly until she got her blood pressure fully under control. But that wasn’t a problem here, and her heart soared with the freedom of it all. This was one of the last bastions of true freedom in the entire country, acres upon acres of private land to do whatever she wanted. No flight plan, no flight tower, no fussy federal regulations. Just simple, old-school flying in a tiny beat up plane.

She took off and circled, climbing higher and higher until she was sure she had cleared the tree line. She needed to be low enough to look out but high enough to keep her altitude. When she felt she’d achieved perfection, she made a few concentric circles around the outskirts of the ranch, noting buildings and other landmarks. When she was satisfied with her aerial tour, she headed for the two trouble spots—the north where the rustlers stole cows and the south where smugglers brought drugs.

Finally, when she ran out of reasons to stay up, she circled back around and set it down. Cal was there when she stepped out, and she wasn’t certain if it was coincidence or on purpose. “See anything interesting?” he asked.

“I suppose it depends on the definition,” she said. “I’d like to get into town, speak with the local law enforcement.”

“When?”

“As soon as possible,” she said.

“I have some things I need to do tomorrow. You can ride with me.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“Are you always so polite, Bailey?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’re a puzzle, little bit.”

“Yes, sir,” she agreed.

“Heard that before, have you?” he guessed.

“Yes, sir,” she agreed.

“Has anyone ever solved the riddle?” he asked.

“Not to my knowledge, sir,” she said.

He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, and closed it again. “Hungry?” he tried instead.

“Enough to eat the paste off wallpaper,” she said.

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