Page 21 of Love at First Flight

“Well, yeah, maybe. I just have never tried to undertake something like this before.”

“Neither myself nor High Desert Tours has that kind of money, but we might be able to help in a small way, at least with visibility. You know, if you ever need that.”

“Really?” He’d love to have the prospect of seeing her again, even if there was no future between them, other than as acquaintances. Any excuse was better than none.

“Sure. For Harper.”

“Oh, yeah. For Harper.” Dex shouldn’t lose sight of this. Getting to see Selah was a bonus. Harper shouldn’t always get shafted in attention, and he could relate. In a world where majestic eagles and beautiful peacocks existed, some people were simply crows, like Dex.

“I get it, though. We here at High Desert Tours could use the exposure too. We’re getting closer to the end of summer and things always get a little tight around here once the weather turns cold.”

“You still fly in the winter?” he asked.

“Sure, if the weather’s good. I’ll fly anytime. Do you have any ideas on how to go about starting the rehab?”

“Uh, not yet.” He wished his brain was quicker this morning instead of sluggish due to a recovering hangover.

“Well, if you ever need a brainstorm pal...” She let the sentence linger, but it felt like an opening, something full of possibilities.

“Okay. That sounds great.” Even if the whole thing didn’t work out, at the very least, it was a consolation prize. “Maybe... I can text you later to discuss it?”

To his surprise, he left the farm with her number in his cell phone and his in hers. It buoyed his soul in a way pain relief pills couldn’t touch, and it was all thanks to Harper.

Chapter Nine

She wasn’t surewhat made her agree to give Dex her phone number or to imagine there was anything worth developing between them, even in a business sense. Especially since a wildlife center didn’t have any connection to High Desert Tours or her goal of becoming a real pilot.

But Selah also knew they had to do something for her family’s business. Naomi was right. While her sister’s ideas were sometimes out there, like kids’ birthday parties in a balloon—which sounded like trouble and a huge liability—their attempt at finding their footing the normal way was becoming discouraging, and their father’s debt wasn’t disappearing at a satisfying rate. Before Dex had shown up with her phone, Naomi had given her the news that their attempt to be featured in theBend Bulletinhad been pulled because the newspaper decided Soaring Over Oregon would make for a better story and went with them. No matter how hard Selah worked, there were constant roadblocks being dropped, and she was beyond frustrated.

Regardless of the reason for exchanging numbers, Selah liked talking to Dex. He was a nice diversion from her normal, everyday life, especially since at the beginning, their messages had little to do with business.

I get what your phone sticker means. It only took an embarrassing long time to finally get it. AV8R. Aviator! Clever.

Oh yeah. My dad gave me that when I got into flight school.

The same sticker had been on Robert’s phone as well, which now sat dead, propped up next to his urn, somewhere on her mother’s cluttered dresser.

Sounds like he’s proud of you.

He was.

Selah should have replied,yup, and kept things moving. Those two words could pack a lot of meaning in any number of ways and, obviously, Dex wasn’t going to know, nor did he need to.

Except his comment about her dad being proud of her pricked at some emotion. In the privacy of her vehicle, currently parked in the spot behind the townhome she shared with her sister, she wanted to feel the prick, to know she still could feel it. Selah could be as cool as marble when she needed to, but right now, she allowed herself to feel something different, to feel some of the loss.

It took several minutes for Dex to respond, the minutes long and agonizing as she watched the conversation bubbles appear, disappear, and then reappear and disappear again. Whoever invented this feature on phones did it as a cruel joke to torture people.

His response came before she could change the subject to something else and end the misery.

Sorry. Did I just step into something I shouldn’t have?

No. It’s fine.

She wasn’t sure if this was reassuring or not, but she was used to managing. She could be fine. Selah was always fine these days.

I don’t think anyone has ever given me a sticker before. I get other things. Do you know that crows are generous gifters? When they like you, they bring you gifts. Today, Harper left this for me.

Under the message was a picture of Dex’s palm. In the center was a small, grimy, heart-shaped button.

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