Page 44 of Too Much In Common
“Yes.”
“Then do it. Sort out the rest of the emotions later.”
So simple.
“Brit, what did I ever do to get a sister like you?” Tian blinked back a tear.
“Nothing, that is all on Dad.”
They all laughed.
A phone pinged, and they all automatically checked theirs. Tian discovered hers was still in airplane mode. She turned it on.
Simone gasped. “Listen to this, it is from the legal team. The civil suit against the airlines has been dropped, and they banned the guy from Legacy Air for five years. I was hoping for life, but I’ll take it. This means I can return to a flight crew... Maybe... Oh, it is a crazy idea. What if I got on the crew for the Paris flight?”
Tian’s phone vibrated in her hand as alert after alert downloaded.
“That’s brilliant.” Brit tapped her chin. “Can you put in a good word for me for your job? I’d rather organize pilot schedules than what I am doing now. I’m so tired of hearing passengers’ lies and sob stories.”’
“I didn’t know you were looking for a change.”
“I’ve been thinking about it. I check the employee website every week to see if something I’d like has been posted.”
The phone finished vibrating and Tian looked to see what she missed. The first message that caught her eye was from Chris offering to drive her home.
She responded: Yes. I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes.
* * *
The answer to the last of several texts had been worth waiting for. Chris pulled out of the general aviation lot at Chicago Executive Airport. Candace and her friends had left for New York an hour ago. Since Abbie, Mandy Crawford, and Kimberly Hastings, Alex’s wife, were traveling together, the protection teams were consolidated and combined with those from Dermott Security, leaving Chris and several other Hastings employees with a light load for the rest of the week.
Today he didn’t have another duty until early in the afternoon when the elementary school let out for the day.
He reached O’Hare before he realized he did not know where to pick Tian up. He told his phone to call her.
She picked up on the second ring
“Hi, where do I pick you up?”
“Oh, I’m not at my terminal. Terminal one, lower level. I’ll be the one with the white pilot hat on.”
The hat and pilot’s jacket did indeed make her easy to spot. He pulled to the curb and hopped out to help her with her bag. “Aren’t you freezing?”
“Yes, but I didn’t want to take my coat with me. Warm car to warm airport didn’t require an extra warm coat. Thanks for the lift, and sorry we never got back to talking.”
He closed the passenger door behind her and hurried around to his side before an airport employee could yell at him for not staying in his vehicle. “Not your fault. Every time one of us was free, the other wasn’t.”
“Your advice helped me look at the situation in a different way. I called Dad again and agreed to meet to talk with him. You’re sure you didn’t miss your calling in life to be a therapist?”
The compliment warmed him. “School was always difficult for me. The thought of college terrified me. The academy was enough.”
“You have talent, though.”
Chris reached for her hand and gave it a caress before returning both hands to the wheel. Driving in Chicago traffic during falling snow wasn’t the best place to hold hands. “Tell me about what you got to see.”
Tian launched into a travel log which was perfect for the drive to their apartment building. Chris concentrated on the road without being required to answer often. As they exited the freeway, the snow stopped falling. “When is your next flight?”
“Today is Monday, right?” She yawned.
