Page 20 of Love at First Flight

“So you lied and you didn’t go on a date last night?” Naomi asked, giving her sister a light smack on the arm.

“No, I didn’t lie. I went on that date last night. Just not with him. Right, Dex?”

“Uh, that’s right.” Dex remembered the asshole, too.

“Well, now I’m totally confused,” Hailey said.

“Anyway, it was horrible and I’m not doing any more bets with either of you ever again. Besides, there’s no point in me going on dates because who knows where I’ll be living whenever I get a different piloting job.” Dex wasn’t sure how he looked, but her sisters—and probably their mother—looked disappointed with Selah’s speech. “Plus,” she continued, “Dex just got out of a serious relationship, so you know, nothing is going to happen there. And I doubt he appreciates all of this when he only stopped by to give me my phone back. As usual, you’re all making things really awkward for a lot of nothing.”

“And I don’t want to date a pilot,” he heard himself say. Dex didn’t know why he said it. Maybe because he was tired of being the rejected one. It didn’t matter that neither one of them had approached the subject of dating. Regardless of the truth of her statements, it remained a blow to his ego that whatever was between him and Selah was a whole “lot of nothing,” even though yesterday, there were times it felt like something.

He only blurted the words because her dating him sounded like such a no-go, it might as well been a brick wall. He wanted to assure her... or him... that, yeah, he agreed and wasn’t interested either. Anyway, if she could eat a bagel while looking like a badass, it probably meant that, at some point, she’d outgrow him, and he’d be blindsided again.

“Right,” Selah responded, throwing him an odd look, but her mouth kicked up on one side as if she wanted to laugh. He liked to think she’d worn this same expression during that first phone call they had. “Totally understandable. No one ever wants to get with a pilot. And, I”—she pointed to herself—“am not looking to be anyone’s rebound.”

“She’s too short,” Dex added because he couldn’t help himself. Turned out, he liked amusing and befuddling her.

“Did he say my Selah is too short?” Elena asked from the other side of the door, the tone so indignant he half expected her to rescind the previous dinner invitation.

“It doesn’t matter, Mom, because I find him too tall.”

“And she’s too cool.” Okay, maybe he’d taken it too far with that one.

“Yes, okay, so there you have it,” Selah said, throwing up a hand before standing. “Dex and I will never be together. It’s impossible and there will never be anything between us. Let me walk you out.” With that declaration, the matter appeared to be settled, and everyone grumbled while going on their own way. Selah led him from the office, and they settled into a casual walk toward his car.

“Sorry. I’m sure you weren’t expecting all that just for returning my phone. Thank you, by the way.”

“Yeah, you’re welcome. Thanks for the lift. I wasn’t too much, was I?”

“No. It was fine. And I liked meeting Harper.”

“She wasn’t a jerk to you?”

Selah laughed. “No. She was fine.”

They arrived at his car, but he wasn’t eager to leave. He liked talking to her, but finding an excuse was getting harder.

“I hope dropping off my phone wasn’t too much out of your way.”

Even though this was his only purpose for the drive, that and to make sure she got home okay, he didn’t want to reveal this to her. “No, I... was heading to the park today, anyway,” Dex lied.

“You’re working today? You’re not even wearing your park uniform.”

Dammit.“No, I’m not working but... I was thinking about what we were talking about last night—”

“You remember what we talked about?” She appeared skeptical.

He leaned against the side of his car, crossing his arms. “Yes, I remember. I wasn’t that bad.”

“Okay, so what were we talking about?” Her lips pulled into a smile as she tilted her chin upward. Her cuteness would distract him to no end.

“Well, about Harper and a wildlife rehabilitation resource and—” Like a bolt of inspiring lightning, it struck him. Maybe if she thought his idea about the wildlife education and rehabilitation was a good one, it actually was. And since she ran her own business, Selah could probably give him some tips, and this didn’t have to be the end of their contact. “I think having something like that at Smith Rock would be a good idea. It could be educational for visitors because they can learn about local animals, including crows. Plus, we can help local wildlife that needs it.”

“Yeah, I like it. It doesn’t hurt to at least try, right?” she said.

“Of course, it won’t be easy.” It might even be impossible, but Dex was excited by the prospect, anyway. “I’m just a ranger without much pull, and my boss is probably going to tell me no because governmental earmark money for park improvement projects is already tight, and this would probably be really expensive.”

“Doesn’t the park sometimes get private donations for something like that?”

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