The Simple Wild (Wild 1)

“It’s just a silly story, about a raven that falls in love with a goose.”

“And what happens?”

He chews his lip, as if deciding if he should continue.

“Fine. I’ll just Google it.” I slip my phone from my pocket.

He reaches over to seize my hand within his and sighs in resignation. “They stay together for the summer, and when she leaves just before the first snowfall, he decides to follow her south. But there’s no way he can survive the flight across the ocean. Finally, he has no choice but to say goodbye and go home.”

“Why doesn’t she go back with him?”

“Because she’s a goose. She can’t survive the winter,” he admits reluctantly.

My chest tightens. “That story doesn’t sound so silly after all.”

In fact, it sounds a hell of a lot like us. Maybe not the falling-in-love part, but certainly the rest of it. Though, whatever I feel for Jonah, I’d be fooling myself if I didn’t recognize it as much more than a frivolous crush on an attractive guy.

“No, I guess it doesn’t.” The look on Jonah’s face tells me he sees the truth of it, too.

Jonah and my father are waiting next to Veronica when I pull into Wild’s parking lot in Jonah’s truck.

“Did you sort out all the accounting stuff?” I ask, my spirits oddly high today, thanks to the clear blue skies and warm sun. In the three weeks that I’ve been here, this is by far the nicest day we’ve had.

“Yup,” Jonah mutters, his arms folded across his chest and a severe look painted across his face.

“What’s going on?” I ask warily.

“Nothin’,” my dad murmurs, smiling, and I try to ignore the heavy feeling weighing down my chest as I take in his thin frame and his tired eyes. He went to bed last night right after barely eating dinner and was still asleep when I came home from Jonah’s.

“So . . . where are we going today?”

“You and I are gonna go for a little spin around the block, kiddo,” he says.

“Just us?” I glance at Jonah, to see his jaw clench. That’s what’s pissed him off so much.

“It’s fine.” My dad smiles with assurance. “Just this once.”

I hold my breath.

After a moment, Jonah finally nods.

“You good?” My dad’s voice fills my headset as he grips the yoke, his contented smile focused on the wide-open sky.

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

“It just feels strange,” I finally admit. “This is my first time flying without Jonah in one of these planes.”

He chuckles. “He’s like George’s hula girl, Jillian. He makes you feel safe.”

“Jonah, the hula boy,” I joke. “Ironic, isn’t it?” I think back to the flight in that Super Cub. He didn’t start out that way.

“You two sure have come a long way. I’m glad to see it.” The headset carries his heavy sigh. “I’m giving him this plane, along with Archie and Jughead. Those weren’t included in my deal with Aro.”

“That’s good. He’ll take care of them.”

“And his house. I’m leaving him that. It’s not worth a lot, but at least he’ll have a roof over his head.”