“Ok. This is the one.” She blushed. All she could think about was how it would feel when Ben took it off of her.
“Knock knock. I’m home.” Skye called into the apartment. She heard laughter around the corner. She followed the sounds to see Ben and her mother chopping vegetables on the counter.
“Oh honey, you’re home.” Patty skirted around Ben and pulled Skye into a hug. “Ben here is helping me make chicken stir fry. You still like that, right?”
“Of course.” Skye nodded. She watched as Ben sliced into a red pepper. “Hey.”
He winked. “Patty was telling me all about your favorite foods. You must be the only kid in the history of kid-dom who didn’t like macaroni and cheese.”
“Oh no. What else did she tell you?” Skye noticed how happy her mother looked. Her eyes were clear.
“Nothing that embarrassing. She promised some baby photos later.”
Skye groaned. “I’m going to go change. I’ll be right back.” She left them in the kitchen, slicing and dicing. Skye returned in a pair of yoga pants and a long tank top. It always felt good getting out of heels and her suit.
“Can I help with anything?” She peered over the counter.
Ben waved a knife in the air. “We’ve got this under control. Why don’t you take this glass of wine I poured for you and sit in the living room until it’s ready?”
“Yes, sir.” She giggled.
Skye took the glass and retreated to the couch. This was nice. Coming home to dinner on the stove, a glass of wine, a somewhat sane mother, and a hot guy in the kitchen. This was something she’d like to get used to.
Twenty-One
Bolt was exhausted. He landed on his bed fully clothed. He didn’t want to tell Skye she was right. Her mother was more than a handful. He had lost her twice in the grocery store. Once he found her behind the glass talking to the butcher, and the second time was in the parking lot. While he loaded the groceries, she had started up a conversation with a homeless man. Luckily, he found her before he had to call Skye. There was also a situation with an ice cream truck driver in the park. She accused him of being part of a covert operation. Bolt had convinced her his ice cream wasn’t any good any way and steered her in a different direction.
For the most part he thought the day went ok. Considering he and Patty Stephens had only met the night before, he thought he handled it well. After an entire day with her he realized the struggles facing Skye. Patty was calm and easy to get along with, but in an instant she’d start spouting conspiracy theories or looking around her as if someone was watching her. It made him wonder what made a person start thinking things like that.
What was Skye going to do? If Patty’s illness meant she had to move back to North Carolina everything would change. San Diego without Skye in it suddenly didn’t seem like such a sunny place to live. He couldn’t worry about that now.
He’d be back at work tomorrow. Back to flying. He would call Skye to check on her before he took off. He fell asleep with his shoes still on his feet.
The skies were clear today. Sometimes the cloud layer was thick around San Diego and he had to climb to four thousand feet before there was any blue sky, but today was different. As soon as he and Eagle took off they could see the endless stretch of the Pacific. The city sprawled beneath them as Bolt broke hard right.
“It’s a good day to fly, man.” Bolt spoke through the headset in his helmet.
“Sure is. Everybody should be up here today.”
They soared through the sky in silence. Sometimes it was nice to enjoy the air and the quiet. However, the F/A-18 wasn’t the definition of quiet.
The engines roared as Bolt took them farther over the ocean.
He had only been flyi
ng four years, but days like this he couldn’t remember when he did anything else. When he and Riggs joined the Marine Corps becoming pilots wasn’t the plan. The military was a way to travel and to get farther from home. Flying fell into their laps, like rain from the sky.
Their first day in flight training they looked at each. “We are in way over our heads, Ben.” Riggs’s eyes were wide.
“What are you talking about? We can do this.” Bolt looked at the stack of manuals in front of him. They were supposed to not only memorize the contents, but also know the material front and back.
“I don’t know how you talked me into this. I just wanted some cush officer job, pushing paper. Now look what I’m doing.” Riggs flipped through the first few pages.
“Just think how proud Faith will be. She’ll be married to a pilot. What’s sexier than a pilot? She’s going to love that.”
“Don’t try to sweet talk me using her.” Riggs laughed. “But you’re right. She’s going to love it.”
Bolt didn’t have to wonder whether Faith loved it now. She was a pilot’s widow, and there was nothing wonderful about that.