Above and Beyond (Twist of Fate 4)

And more importantly, he’d be safe from me.

It took me the better part of these five days to properly compartmentalize Lucky back into that no-go part of my brain where I kept other things I didn’t want to spend much time thinking about. Arriving at Tag’s Glacier base of operations helped. Once there, I’d thrown myself into preparing for the advanced alpine search and rescue training I’d been hired to manage by familiarizing myself with the differences between Tag’s airborne search and rescue protocol and what we’d used in the military.

The model of the helicopter Tag would be flying was one I was very familiar with, so it didn’t take long for me to feel comfortable working with him getting her ready for the course. We’d already completed several test flights in the first few days I’d been there. Not being able to fly the bird myself because of my damned head was frustrating enough, so I vowed to give one hundred and ten percent to the rest of it, including producing the best-trained high mountain airborne SAR specialists possible.

After one final check of the belly band and hoist after our most recent morning flight, I headed back outside to join Tag at a picnic table in the grassy area behind the large hangar. My knee was sore as hell from pushing it too hard on the trail runs I’d been attempting every evening. Despite the injury, I was determined to get back some semblance of normal, and running was part of it. I did my best to hide the pain with a slow and deliberate walk around the side of the building, but I must not have hidden it well enough.

“You okay?” Tag asked as he saw me.

I gritted my teeth and doubled down on ignoring the pain. “Yep. Fine. What’s on the menu today?”

Tag’s wife, Heather, had been kind enough to send Tag to work each day with a big cooler full of lunch and drinks for us, and I’d already fantasized about sending her a bouquet of flowers if only she’d keep the food coming all summer long.

“Chicken and stuff left over from last night.”

Once Tag passed me my share, I dug into the best damned roasted chicken I’d ever tasted. I groaned in appreciation.

“Please tell Heather I want to have her children,” I said. “This is fucking amazing, and I know you can’t cook for shit.”

Tag nodded and gestured toward the other items on my plate. “Wait till you get to the ramen noodle salad. That shit’s insane.”

We ate in silence for a while, thoroughly enjoying the home-cooked food in the late-May sunshine. The weather wasn’t very warm, but the sun was enough to lift my dark spirits.

“What about you?” Tag asked after we slowed down.

“What about me?”

“You dating anyone? Got a girl stashed somewhere?”

I didn’t answer right away since my mind automatically went to Lucky and the mini reverse striptease he’d done for me in my hotel room the morning after his drunken episode. His intent to make me jealous had worked one hundred and ten percent. Only problem was, he hadn’t understood what any of that meant, and a tiny part of me had almost hated him in that moment where I’d had to practically beg him not to push me any further.

I silently berated myself when I realized how quickly my thoughts had gone back to the young man I was so determined to forget. So much for compartmentalizing.

“Or a boy,” Tag added with a wink, bringing me back to the present. “Don’t much matter to me. Hope you know that. In fact, that reminds me…”

“No,” I said finally, cutting off what I knew would be one of Tag’s countless offers to set me up with some guy or girl who would be “perfect” for me. “Nobody nowhere, and I like it that way,” I added.

“Well, don’t let Heather hear you say that unless you’re ready to be set up with every damned bachelor and bachelorette in Kalispell.” He winked at me and reached for the Ziploc bag of brownies at the end of the table.

I thought of the small town closest to the park. “There can’t be more than, what? Three or four of them?” I teased. “No thanks. I’m happier on my own anyway.”

Tag narrowed his eyes at me as if he was going to call me on my bullshit. Before he could, I added, “And don’t give me that crap about Heather being the one to play matchmaker. I know you’re the one who insists on watching that dating show. Heather told me you wrote the host and gave him some tips on how to improve those bogus rose ceremonies.”

Tag paused in his chewing and eyed me in all seriousness. "Hey, those people are fighting to find their one true love.” It was all I could do not to laugh as he struggled to finish chewing before muttering, “Looks like me and the missus need to have a little talk about discretion.”