Crusty scooped a handful of mints from a nearby bowl. "Hey, I did that just last Tuesday before breakfast."
The familiar, good-natured camaraderie wrapped itself around Tanner like a favorite well-worn sweatshirt. Across the room he could see Kathleen was receiving much the same treatment.
Lt. Col. Dawson followed the direction of Tanner's gaze. "All joking aside, you two did a damn fine job in a hellish situation. When it came down to the wire, you and O'Connell pulled together. She's got that promotion recommendation sewn up. You've certainly earned your upgrade. Just promise me that next time you're given pilot-in-command duties, you'll land with your aircraft."
"Sir, that seems to be sound advice." Hearing earlier that he had been returned to flight status and his upgrade slot was secured had been a relief, no doubt, but took a surprising back seat in his mind. Celebrations wouldn't be on his agenda until he settled things with Kathleen.
Lt. Col. Dawson's craggy face broke into an easygoing smile. "Like most flyers, I avoid flight surgeons like the plague, but O'Connell's a 'good troop'."
A rush of pride knotted in Tanner's chest as he heard the commander voice one of the highest praises—for Kathleen.
He'd told her they all respected her. If only she could hear it, see it, too.
An idea took shape in his mind. He'd wondered what be could do for Kathleen, what he could give the woman who seemed to need nothing. Even if she didn't want him, a thought he damn well didn't want to consider, he could give her this. "Sir, it's been great talking, but I need to find the club manager."
Tanner shoved away from the bar and wound his way through the reception hall toward the kitchen. Doubts dogged him with each step. What if he couldn't get through to her? What if his pattern of failed relationships continued now, when it mattered more than ever that he succeed?
But, if he didn't try, he would definitely lose out on the best thing ever to happen to him.
His feet slowed as realization tackled him. He'd told himself he'd tried with relationships, but he'd been lying to himself. He'd been so afraid of losing again he hadn't let himself get close to any woman he could actually love.
Faced with the possibility of losing Kathleen on the airplane, even now in a different sense, Tanner realized the best way to honor his sister's life was to get on with living his own. Time to let go of the past.
Tanner tapped the Officer's Club manager on the shoulder. "I need to buy a keg."
Kathleen scanned the crowd for Tanner again. If she had to wait much longer to get him alone, she would lose her nerve. Not to mention the four canapés she'd managed to choke down.
Then she saw his head bobbing above the crowd. Close-cropped blond hair glistened in the chandelier's glow. Tanner broke free from the crush of wedding guests as he moved toward the stage with a pony keg on his shoulder. Well, that would certainly make him the most popular best man around.
Tanner stopped in front of the band and slung the keg down onto the dais with a resounding thump. Vaulting up on the stage, be commandeered the microphone from the band leader.
"Excuse me, my friends, but I have one last speech to make. Given that I'm a man of few words…" Chuckles rumbled from the cluster gathered around the rostrum. "I'll keep it brief."
All eyes trained on him, not that it surprised her. Look for the crowd and Tanner would be in the middle, holding court. He made his minions laugh. People gravitated to Tanner because they felt good about themselves around him. She crossed her arms and leaned back to enjoy the show.
"Continuing in our squadron tradition of Anything, Anywhere, Anytime," Tanner said into the microphone, "since the bride and groom have left the building, we now have squadron business to transact. It has come to my attention, as the senior copilot, that a very important member of our unit has had the unmitigated gall to walk around without a call sign."
Kathleen eyed the keg. Shock glued her feet to the floor.
"No!" the crowd roared. "Say it isn't so!"
Tanner held up a hand. "I realize this is a foul, but it's true. And again, pointing out that I'm the senior copilot in the unit, I have taken it upon myself to remedy this situation before I drop back to the bottom of the food chain as the junior aircraft commander. Would the crew dogs please pass Dr. Kathleen O'Connell to the front?"
Good Lord, she was about to cry like a baby in front of her fellow officers.
Hands reached and hefted her up in a makeshift throne, lifted her high, passing her off to the next set of waiting hands. Kathleen stared down at the sea of faces underneath the bumbling but considerate hands. Cheering her on, familiar crew dogs in their crisp uniforms jostled her forward. All in fun. All including her, not at all on the outskirts. The transfer continued until Lt. Col. Dawson and Crusty lowered her to the stage.
Tanner turned to face her, his eyes intense in spite of his lighthearted tone. "Kathleen, we're very sorry we haven't given you a nickname up to this point. But usually there's a watershed event that drives the bestowal of the title. The past few days certainly qualify." He raised a broad palm and lowered it to the top of her head. "By the power invested in me by the United States Air Force, as the senior copilot of this unit, I dub thee … Athena. Warrior Goddess."
Cheers and applause swelled from the crowd as they surged forward. Surrounding her.
Tanner stepped back, leaving Kathleen in the spotlight. Men and women, families she'd come to know, cared for, served with, encircled her, radiating their respect.
Their acceptance.
She should have known Tanner wouldn't be a traditional flowers-and-candy kind of guy. In keeping with the nutcracker necklace and an Athena spike, Tanner had given her something far more valuable, so very special, because his gift had been chosen just for her. And she'd earned it in a way she'd never earned a spot in her family or with Andrew.
For the first time, she fit.