Page 130 of Wine & Whiskey
Carter pulls the gun from his back waistband and points it at her. Their friendship reduced to her serving as a pawn for the success of his escape plan. “You just got cleared for takeoff.”
The man’s wide eyes lock with hers, sharing her fear. He nods before turning and walking up the stairs. After they enter the cabin, the pilot in the cockpit steps in their direction. Before he can say anything, Carter points the gun at him. “Let’s go.”
The pilots glance at each other before making their way to the front of the plane. After a few minutes, the engines come to life while they go through their checklist and talk to each other through the microphones attached to their headpieces.
She curls in her seat and faces him, trying to meet his gaze, hoping to reach him before it’s too late. “You can stop all of this.”
“No, I can’t.” His voice is low and flat as he rubs his face. “There’s no turning back now.”
Their bodies strain forward as the plane picks up speed, rolling down the runway before lifting up. The sky slowly fades from blue to white as he stares out the window, seemingly oblivious to her panic around the chaos of the last sixty minutes. Of what could be so bad to drive him to do this.
Quiet when he dropped her off at her house, he was probably uncertain how to handle her silent tears after the confrontation with Jessica. Then, his abrupt return and pleas to convince Nick not to take the paternity test were made even more perplexing by his refusal to explain why.He’ll listen to you. You can make him do anything you want. Don’t let him take it. It’ll ruin everything.
A chill runs through her at the realization of the reason for his desperation. “You’re Emme’s father.”
He looks at the ceiling, the only sign of his guilt the flaring of his nostrils as he sighs.
“That’s why she looks like Nick—the same blue eyes as you. Jessica cheated on him with you.”
His head drops forward, and he drives his hands through his hair. “I thought he would never find out. Then, she showed up with a baby, and I knew I was fucked. That’s why she’s so against the test. She knows Nick isn’t the father.”
Her heart aches for the littlest victim of Jessica’s schemes. With an out-of-control mother and uncertainty about her father, Emme needs them regardless of what the test proves. “How can you be sure?”
“She and I screwed around for a few more months after they broke up. She was definitely not pregnant, at least not at first. When Kevin asked her to move in, she dumped me without a second thought. He could take care of her like she wanted. All I could do was sneak around behind Nick’s back.”
“So, she let Kevin think Emme was his daughter until they broke up. Then, she came to Nick.”
“God, what a fucking bitch!” He shakes his head and shoves his foot against the seat in front of them. “I loved her. I know it’s fucked up, but I did. She acts like a hard-ass, but deep down, all she wants is to be loved. No one ever has. Except me.”
Enough to risk Nick’s wrath, yet his love couldn’t protect him from a broken heart. “I’m sorry she hurt you. She didn’t realize what she had.”
He squares his shoulders, shrugging off her sympathy. “When the test proves Emme isn’t his, it will be my death sentence.”
“It doesn’t have to be. I know Nick will be hurt, but he’ll forgive you.”
Carter rolls his eyes. “You’re so naïve. He’ll think he can’t trust me. He won’t let me work in the business anymore, but he can’t kick me out either. What choice does that leave him?”
“Don’t assume anything. You don’t know until you talk to him.”
“I’m not willing to take the chance.”
She plays her last card, her only opportunity to convince him of what his escape really means. “What about Emme? Are you really going to do that to her? You just found out about your beautiful little girl, and you’re going to leave? She needs you. She needs her father.”
“Stop it. You can’t guilt me into going back. She doesn’t need me.”
“I know what it’s like to grow up without your father, wondering what he looks like, what he acts like.” She lightly touches the back of his hand, trying to forgive him as well as help him. “Or why he left. Please don’t do that to her. Don’t make Emme wonder what happened to her daddy.”
Before he can respond, the plane free-falls for a few seconds and alarms shriek from the cockpit. The pilots’ fingers fly across the dashboard, pushing buttons and flipping levers. One turns back to them, pulling his headphones off one ear. “We’ve lost an engine and have to land, whether you like it or not.”
New but strong, her mother’s instinct kicks in. With trembling hands, she buckles her seatbelt and braces herself against the seat. She prays for the second time in the last hour—first for Nick, and now for their baby.
Carter takes her hand. “Everything’s going to be okay. They’re good pilots and have gotten us through worse.”
All she can do is nod and squeeze his fingers back. Deep breaths in and out have little impact on her racing heart. After flying for years for her concert tours, experiencing plane trouble isn't new, but it still doesn't make it any easier. Especially when she worries for two.
“I’m sorry for all of this.” His voice full of regret, he puts his arm around her shoulders. “I know I scared you, but I swear I was never going to hurt you.”
After a few more shakes and shudders, the plane lands and rolls to a stop back at the abandoned air strip. Unable to stop trembling, she sits quietly as the pilots turn off the remaining engine and finish their landing protocol. They climb out of the cockpit and walk down the narrow aisle. The first one nods at her when he reaches her seat, but she waves for them to go first. Her legs too shaky to carry her out, overwhelmed with the thought of how close they came to almost losing everything they love.
