Kirstie babbled on with a million flying questions, filling the awkward silence, thank heavens.
Paige gripped the armrests. God, she was such a coward.
The guy may have hinted at marriage, but he hadn't come right out and said it. And still she'd panicked, not just at the thought of leaving North Dakota, but at the prospect of stepping from behind the safe walls she'd built around her heart.
Could she dare try his date-and-see attitude while her daughter grew more attached to this charming man in their lives? And if their relationship actually took root? She would have to follow him around the world, chance loving again. Plenty of people did it, but her daughter's world had already been rocked more than most adults. Yet Bo had handled Kirstie's fears with more finesse and understanding than her own family had managed.
Unselfish love put the other person's needs first.
All of an hour in love and already she'd flunked the initial test. She'd vowed she loved him and then balked right out of the starting gate. He'd given so much of himself for her, for Kirstie, too.
Who had given back to him? Sister Nic, friends, all of whom he shielded from hearing the difficult parts of his life. He'd admitted to telling Paige more than anyone else, even if he hadn't discussed love.
Her heart bared, her own defensive needs shuffled aside, finally she heard the parts Bo had left unsaid, things perhaps even he didn't know. His mother's suicide and father's abandonment must have left him feeling unworthy of love. Yet instead of wallowing in self-pity—or hiding out as she'd done—he worked his butt off to help others.
Suddenly Bo's charming exterior took on a different shading. He became everyone's friend—without letting anyone get close enough to hurt him, ensuring he wouldn't be left behind again.
This man with such a big-world charm actually had very simple needs. He needed the security of the "real" kind of love. Now it was time for her to find the courage to face wherever that love took them.
The Cessna descended toward the blinking runway lights on the earthen runway. The rear wheels kissed the strip with an end to yet another of Bo's flawless flights that inspired such confidence in his skill.
He slowed, the flared nose of the plane easing down. The plane's landing light stretched forward to reveal...a dead horse.
"What the hell is that—" Bo straightened in his seat and shouted, "Brace yourselves!"
Chapter 16
Damn, damn, damn it, they were going to crash.
Bo pulled back on the yoke. Not enough speed to take off. Too much to turn away, which would almost certainly start a tumble. But at least he could get the vulnerable nose gear up again—hopefully. The nose wheel would easily shear off, but the back gear should hold. A jarring way to stop, but a helluva lot safer.
"Come on, come on, come on. Up, damn it," he chanted to the straining Cessna.
Crap. Not going to work. He hammered the brakes. Kirstie's screams bounced through the craft, echoed in his ears.
Denial roared through his veins. But he wouldn't allow emotions to assume control, especially not with Paige's and Kirstie's lives at stake. Training-honed instincts overrode all else, especially too-distracting memories of the shoot down in Rubistan.
Snap. Jolt. The front gear popped off.
Protect Paige and Kirstie. The mantra pulsed through him in time with the teeth-jarring thud of the Cessna against the barrier. The nose slammed over and into the dirt. The seat belt cut into him as his weight pressed forward. The plane shuddered to a halt.
Dust cleared to expose three figures looming beside a large vehicle with headlights streaking ahead. The moon eased from behind a cloud with enough illumination to reveal...
A Suburban. Anderson's. The man stood still and tall, flanked by two men. None of them moving to help or giving any signs of distress over the emergency. Moonbeams glinted off three weapons pointed directly at the plane.
Damn. They'd been lured here. That dead horse on the runway was no accident, although it would surely appear accidental to investigators later, since animals wandered into the road frequently in this area.
He only had a minute at most to speak to Paige and Kirstie away from the others. He needed to make the most of every second and bring Paige up to speed since she was still focused on Kirstie, both pale but seemingly unharmed.
"Paige, you need to look outside. Now."
Her gasp swelled through the Cessna. "Ohmigod."
"Wait and let them come to us." Which would buy him time to think and strategize. "Is everyone okay? Paige? Kirstie?"
He couldn't afford to take his eyes off the men outside again. He reached by touch to snag his cell phone out of his duffel bag full of flight gear, the stench of the smoking engine an acrid reminder they could well be screwed inside the plane, as well.
"I'm fine," Paige answered, her voice shaky but strong considering the hellish situation.