Take Me Away (Southern Bride 6)

“For some reason, I don’t think you joined the Air Force with the dream of being a test pilot.”

“You don’t?” I asked with one raised brow.

He shook his head. “No. I don’t. A pilot, yes. Anyone can see your love of flying in the way you do it. You’ve been doing it for a lot of years.”

I nodded. “My father taught me.”

“I figured. I think there’s a deeper reasoning behind why you decided to be a test pilot, though.”

Jack froze next to me, and I forced myself to smile. “I think you use that brain of yours too much, Pete. I love my job and being able to make the planes safer for my fellow pilots is reason enough for me to do it.”

He returned my smile with one of his own. “Do I? Think too much? Maybe you’re right. But every time you go up there, you have a purpose beyond what we do. It’s as if you’re trying to make up for something or someone you wronged.”

I looked away.

“Pete…” Jack warned.

“I’m sorry, Nolan. If I overstepped…”

Focusing back on him, I shook my head. “Nah, you’re fine. No worries, dude.”

Pete stared at me as if he wasn’t sure what he should do or say.

I sighed and dropped my napkin on my plate. For some reason, I felt the need to tell him something about why I had changed course. “Being a test pilot wasn’t part of my original plan, no. I was involved in a plane accident that caused me to lose…”

My voice trailed off. I fought to regain control of my voice. I shook my head and forced myself to go on.

“After the accident, something in me changed. I wasn’t able to control the things that day, and that bothered me. I applied for TPS and got in. Now my job is to make sure that our pilots get a safe and reliable aircraft for their missions, and I take damn pride in it.”

“I know you do,” Pete stated. “I know.”

I could feel Jack’s gaze on me, but I ignored him.

“What are we doing next?” Pete asked. “I know there aren’t any live volcanoes around here, so I’m not worried about hiking up to one.”

This time I let a wide grin grow across my face. “We’re going zorbing.”

Pete moaned and closed his eyes as Jack laughed. The tense moment was gone as quickly as it came.

“I’m not spinning around in a damn ball,” Pete stated. “I saw the video of when you did that in New Zealand. No, thanks.”

“He needs to have his ass run over,” Jack said, laughing.

Pete’s eyes widened. “Run over? What do you mean, run over?”

Jack and I simply looked at him.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “It’s because I thought too much, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Jack and I said at the same time.I walked up to Pete’s office and knocked on the door. When he looked up, I couldn’t help but smile. “Dude, you still look a little green. You feeling good?”

He gave me a hard stare. “I’m still having nightmares about the fucking zorbing, and we got back a few days ago.”

With a laugh, I made my way into his office and sat down. Pete told me and Jack he was never going on vacation with us again. After zorbing, we went zip lining, then whitewater rafting, and the last day we sat on the beach so Pete could recuperate from the trip. Once we got back to Edwards Air Force Base, he dropped to the ground and kissed it.

“Are all your vacations that intense?”

“Nah, not really.”

He shook his head, then leaned back in his chair. “What’s up, dude? You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

I sat back in the chair, lifted my leg, and rested my ankle over my knee. “I’m heading to Texas for a few days. Long weekend. I don’t have any flight plans set until Thursday.”

Pete glanced at his calendar. “The F-22 pitch test.”

With a nod, I replied, “Yeah.”

“What are you going to do in Texas? Try and milk a bull?”

My brows drew in, and I tilted my head slightly as I leaned in a bit closer. “Milk a bull?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, I grew up in New York City. But that sounds like it would be a dangerous thing to do. A rush for you. So, of course, you’d try it.”

I was positive my mouth dropped open some. “Dude, you have a PhD. Why would you ask a dumbass question like that?”

Another half shrug. “I know you can’t actually milk a bull, Nolan. Seriously, what are you planning on doing in Texas?”

I shifted in my seat a bit. “Checking on my family’s cattle ranch, and attending my godson’s birthday party. They named him after me.”

“Wow. That’s nice of them to name their son after you. You must be close.”