Breathless Descent (Texas Hotzone 3)

Lori held up her hands. “Oh, no. I’m happy right where I’m at.”

“We do Special Ops training,” Sabrina said. “A pilot would be a great addition.”

“I thought the Aces all knew how to fly?” Shay asked. “And they have pilots on staff.”

“Which makes a flight school a perfect addition,” Sabrina said. “I’m going to talk to Ryan.” She eyed Lori. “And be prepared to be propositioned.”

Lori snorted. “I was a woman in the Army,” she said. “A proposition is like a cup of coffee. A part of waking up.” She motioned to the building. “I have to go catch up with my next client.”

Shay and Sabrina fell into step behind her. “You want to grab some lunch?” Sabrina asked.

“I would, but Caleb and I have plans for lunch and a movie,” she said. “But maybe next weekend after our first lesson. You are coming back next weekend, right?”

“You bet,” Sabrina said. “Maybe we can arrange afternoon classes so Jennifer can come. We can make it a threesome.”

Shay’s stomach did a funny flutter. She loved Caleb. She liked Sabrina. She had no idea why she hesitated to embed herself in the “threesome” of Aces women, why she couldn’t feel like she belonged.

Shay eyed her cell phone. “I missed a call from Caleb.” She held up a finger and pushed the recall button, worried about Kent. “Hey, sweetheart. Taking Kent to the airport. I don’t want to leave him alone before his flight. I’ll be back to the trailer about three-thirty, and I’ll be starving. For you and that Mexican food.”

Shay smiled and ended the voice mail, when her phone rang again instantly, and she frowned at the unknown number. “Sorry,” she whispered to Sabrina and motioned them onward to the building.

Shay hit Answer as they walked and before she could say hello, she heard, “Doc, it’s George. I’m getting married.”

“Married?” she blurted, stopping in her footsteps. “Where are you?”

“I’m still in Mexico,” he said. “On a boat. We’re saying ‘I do’ in about twenty minutes. No guests. Just me, Anabella and a preacher. Anabella has a big family, but she understands I don’t, so we are doing this alone. I’ve asked her to come to a session when we get back.”

“Oh,” Shay said, feeling a little relieved that this Anabella woman was willing to support George. “Of course. Call me when you’re ready.” She drew a breath. “George. This is very fast. Are you sure you shouldn’t wait?”

“When you’re in love,” George said, “you know it. You want to scream it from the rooftops. Why in the world would I wait?” He hung up. Shay stopped walking. She stood there, a few steps from the flight school doorway. and replayed the words. When you’re in love, you know it. Why would you wait?

“Everything okay?” Sabrina asked.

Shay shook off the unsettled feeling in her stomach. She smiled at Sabrina. “Fine. One of my patients with happy news.”

“Oh,” Sabrina said. “It didn’t sound so happy.” She shrugged. “You have time for coffee in the snack bar?”

“Sure,” Shay said and followed Sabrina inside.

“Good,” Sabrina, her eyes lighting. “I want to hear about that sudden exit you and Caleb made last night. The steam coming off you two was downright scorching. Oh, and what happened with Kent when he caught you out at the Hotzone?” She snagged Shay’s arm. “Let’s talk.”

Shay cringed. She didn’t want to talk about last night any more than she wanted to think about George’s comment.

Nevertheless, she found herself sitting across from Sabrina and sipping an iced mocha a few minutes later. “I needed this,” Shay said. “Both the caffeine and the cold drink.”

Sabrina wiggled a dark brow. “Not much sleep last night?”

“Taking advantage of every minute until my parents get back from Italy,” Shay explained, and then wondered why the heck she had said it. What happened to not wanting to talk about this?

Sabrina studied her a moment. “And what happens when they come back?”

“Back to sneaking around to see Caleb,” Shay said.

“I take it Kent didn’t figure out what’s going on then?”

Shay shook her head. “No. We told him I was going to jump and then chickened out.”

Sabrina studied her another long moment. Shay shifted under the scrutiny.

“What?” Shay asked.

“Is that really a relief? Kent not finding out? I mean, wasn’t there a part of you that just wanted the romance to be out of the closet?”

“It’s complicated, Sabrina.”

“So you keep saying.”

“But it is.”

“No,” Sabrina said. “It’s not. Do you love Caleb?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then,” Sabrina said. “Complication dissolved. That’s all that matters.”

But she was wrong. So wrong. Most people didn’t fall in love with a man who called her family his family. What happened if… She swallowed hard, shoving aside the what-ifs and a deeper fear that gnawed at her and refused to take form. She didn’t want it to take form. She didn’t want to know what it was, because it didn’t matter. She did love Caleb. They would get through this, right after they dealt with Kent. When the time was right.