Taking Flight (A Devereux Novel) (12 page)

“Wow!” Becky said. “That is
crazy!”

The plane finished its roll
upside-down and rushed back toward the ground. Sara’s heart jumped into her
throat but she couldn’t turn away, drawn with one of the most human of reactions:
morbid curiosity.

Derek, no!

Just as the plane was about
to crash into the ground, it
leveled
out in a turn
maneuver
, buzzing the grass before it climbed again. The
precision and confidence it took to pull off such a move was mind-boggling, and
Sara couldn’t help but be so impressed that she almost forgot to be terrified.
It was like she wasn’t watching a normal plane, but rather an insane special
effect stunt reel that couldn’t be real.

Gary whistled. “He’s gotten
better since the last time I watched him.
More daring, at
least.
I wonder if that’s because he knows that he has a special
audience.”

A spot of warmth grew in
Sara’s chest at being called a special audience by Derek’s little brother. She
liked Gary—he was similar to his brother, but a little more accessible,
less likely to play games and much less intimidating.

Sara’s hand found Becky’s,
and she squeezed it every time Derek’s plane pulled a sharp turn or twist. When
he started his run through the tall gates set up along the ground, she was
fascinated.

“How can they even do things
like that?” she asked. “It doesn’t seem like it should be possible to fly like
he does.”

“Practice,” Gary replied.
“And specific planes designed to make those kinds of moves. You wouldn’t be
able to pull that off in an old bushwhacker Cessna, I’ll tell you that much.”

All too soon, Derek’s blue
and black plane landed back on the tarmac, and Sara realized that she hadn’t
looked away once. She had forgotten to feel sick, despite watching the plane
soar through the air the entire time. Maybe there was hope for her yet.

Gary took the girls down to Derek’s hangar and let
them run ahead to meet his brother as he hopped out of his plane. It had been a
good run, very impressive. He took so many chances when there was such danger
hanging around him.

I can’t believe he was attacked the other night.

It was surreal that after so
many warnings from Evan the threat had manifested itself. Gary had seen nothing
out of the normal on a day-to-day basis, so it had been easy to discount his
oldest brother’s worries as somewhat delusional.

Despite Derek’s assurance
that Sara wasn’t a part of the problem, Gary had wanted to see for himself. His
brother hadn’t experienced love in a long time, and it was clear Derek didn’t
recognize the signs of growing attachment within
himself
.
He was six years Derek’s junior, but he had more experience with real
relationships than his brother did.

He caught up with the
others.

“I saw it all!” Sarah said.
“I didn’t look away once, and I didn’t feel sick the entire time!”

The surprise and pride in
her voice was clear. She was the epitome of happy, elated woman.

“I wish I could say I knew
that would happen, but that’s giving myself too much credit,” Derek said. “Kind
of surprised it wasn’t a disaster, but you have to start somewhere to get over
your fear of heights. I mean, you weren’t always this way, so you should be
able to conquer it if we try hard enough.”

A glowing smile lit her
face. It transformed her from merely pretty to stunning, and Gary could see
what had hooked his brother.

“I can’t wait. Do you know
how annoying it is to be afraid to go higher than the ground floor in any
building?”

They all thought about that
one for a moment. It was no life at all. Gary shuddered.
I hope I never find myself afflicted with any phobia that crippling.

“Do you all want to go out
to dinner?” Derek asked. “There’s a fantastic burger place just a short
distance from here.”

The women were up for it,
and Derek knew Gary would never turn down a visit to the burger shack. He’d
been a fan since the first time Derek took him along a couple years before.

“Hey, Gary,” Derek said.
“Why don’t you ride with Becky in their car, and I’ll take Sara with me?”

Becky gave a little squeal.
“I’ll drive Gary! He’ll be more than safe with me, don’t worry!”

She had fawned over him ever
since he’d met her, and it made him uncomfortable. He gave his brother a
pleading look, but Derek either didn’t recognize it or ignored it.

He sighed. “Okay, let’s do
this. We’ll see you guys there.” Thankfully, it wasn’t a long drive.

They made the short walk to
the parking lot in silence, and after they got in, he braced himself for an
awkward ride.

“Gary?” Becky asked.

“Yes?” He was surprised at
the tentative tone of her voice.

“I don’t know if Derek told
you much about me, since I’m sure his focus was on Sara, but I have certain
goals and ambitions.”

Oh, no. Here we go.
Gary had to bear the brunt of more than a few of these conversations
ever since he had come into his wealth. Certain women thought it was his duty
to propose to them within an hour of meeting them so they would be taken care
of forever without having to lift a finger.

“I have dreams of becoming a
big fashion designer. I know my work is good, but I need help—a business
partner—to get to the next level. Derek was gracious enough to invite me
along with him and Sara to a club to meet and network with a few people in the
industry the other night, and that was great, especially since my dress was a
major hit. But it made me realize if I went in with any of them then I would be
under their control. I wouldn’t have the final say in anything I did.”

“Oh… I didn’t think… okay.”
He wasn’t sure what to say, or where she was going with this.

“I guess what I’m asking is
whether you’d be open to going into business with me. I could have asked Derek,
but whatever’s going on between him and Sara would complicate things,
especially if it were to end for any reason. I need a partner willing to put up
money—not a lot—and let me run things the way I see fit. I’ve
studied the hell out of this business for years, I know what will work, and
I’ve got the hustle and the dedication. I need capital to help me get there.”

“Wow. I don’t know that much
about the fashion world, to be honest.”

“That’s okay,”
Becky
said, her eyes intense as she looked over. “I know
enough for the both of us. Please tell me you’ll at least consider it and let
me put together a proposal for you to look over.”

He didn’t have a good reason
to say no. It couldn’t hurt anything, and this was a new side to the woman he
hadn’t even suspected might exist under the earlier flirty
demeanor
.
He’d wanted to find worthwhile investments—he had so much money that it
seemed
like
the right thing to do, but he hadn’t known
what to move into first. “You have a deal.”

“Awesome! I’m so excited!
I’ll blow you out of the water, I guarantee it!” She reverted to her bubbly
self. “Just promise me you won’t tell Derek or Sara. I’m a little shy about it
and I’d rather surprise her with my success than burden her with my failures if
it doesn’t work out. You can even pretend like I was creeping you out for the
entire car ride.”

They were just pulling into
the tiny lot of the burger place. It was nearing the end of the day, and
most of the spots were claimed by pilots and spectators from the
airport
. It was a busy place, but they hadn’t expanded yet. The owner
had promised more space for over a year, but there was no sign of any work
about to be done on the rundown exterior.

The two pairs met outside
the restaurant and headed in together. Sara’s cheeks looked a little redder
than usual, and Derek’s smile was ear to ear.
They look like a couple of rambunctious kids who snuck time together
out from under their parents’ watchful eyes.

The interior of the burger
joint was as shabby and faded as the outside. Good thing the food tasted
nothing like the appearance had led Gary to believe. Only a high level of trust
in Derek’s judgment had gotten him to take the first bite, but before that he’d
been a little worried the endless Californian sun had turned his brother’s
brain into powder.

There was nothing high class
or expensive about the meal. Within ten minutes they received massive burgers,
huge helpings of sizzling French fries and large sodas.

“Here’s to a great flight, a
wonderful day, and to conquering fears,” Derek said, raising his cup in salute.
“And heart-killing, extremely fattening goodness.”

They toasted with him and
then set to the food in silence, the mark of a great meal.

“So tell me,” Sara began,
catching Gary’s eye, “what do you do when you aren’t here visiting Derek? I’m
afraid that although I’m a journalist, I don’t keep up on celebrity news or
gossip—not my area of expertise.”

Gary laughed, surprised and
charmed. She wasn’t afraid to tell things like they were, which was a good
trait to have in a journalist and probably came with the territory.

“I live in Boston—I
went to school at MIT and fell in love with the city. To be honest, Father died
shortly before I graduated school, so when I finished I stayed to figure out my
next steps.” He shrugged. “Still have to figure out what those are. It’s
amazing how time can just pass away without achieving anything productive if
you have no real goals set.”

“Sounds like you need a
woman to set you straight and tell you what to do,” Becky said. “I might have a
few in mind, if you’re taking applications.”

The redhead gave him a shove
with her elbow before helping herself to as big a bite of her burger as she
could manage.

You know, I might admire that woman.
She surprised him at every turn—going
into business with her wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.

“Not looking,” he said. “I
just ended something serious, so it’s time for a little break. In the meantime,
I’ve been spending a lot of time involved with a few charitable
endeavors
—there are so many interesting museums and
not-for-profits in Boston that you could spend years just doing that all day
every day, and each of them is such a worthy cause.”

Derek smiled at him.
“Thinking of going monk, little bro?”

“Are they allowed to eat
like this?” Gary asked. “Because if not, then there’s not a chance in the
world. How does something that costs five bucks taste better than anything I’ve
eaten at a fancy restaurant?”

“It’s because it’s also
killing you at the same time,” Sara said. “You get a discount for that.” She
wasn’t shy about digging into her own burger, proof that no matter what one’s
views
were,
sometimes a bit of a bad thing was okay.

She and Derek sat close
together, closer than necessary. Gary decided to see if he could make them
uncomfortable. Derek had done it often enough to him with his past girlfriends.

“So, are you two planning on
moving in together soon?”

A glob of burger flew out of
Sara’s mouth and landed in the middle of her fries.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!”
She covered it up with her hands as her cheeks flamed brilliant scarlet. “Don’t
look, it’s disgusting. I can’t believe I did that.”

Becky laughed so hard her
face almost dipped into her plate—she was having difficulty keeping it
lifted. “Oh, God, Sara. That was the funniest thing I’ve seen since we got to
this city. But answer the man’s question! I want to know if I should head back
to Chicago and look for a one-bedroom apartment all on my lonesome.”

Sara froze with her hands
extended over her plate, and she and Derek looked at each other. Words formed
and died on each of their lips more than a handful of times. Gary sat back and
watched with immense satisfaction, hands folded in front of him as he waited
with an expectant expression.

“Uh, that’s a loaded
question, Gary. Sara and I have only started to spend time with each other.
We’re not on the verge of moving in any time soon,” Derek said diplomatically.

Sara nodded emphatically.
“Yes, it’s way too early. It’s not even applicable. Now’s not the time to think
about that sort of thing.”

“If you say so,” Gary said.
“Are you saying you aren’t serious, then?”

Again he sat back and
watched as they floundered like fish out of water.

This is far too fun. I can see why he does it to me all the time.

His phone beeped, and he
checked it.

“Ah, you know what, my
friends are here to pick me up. I’m seeing a show with them, so I won’t be back
until much later. Enjoy the rest of your burger!” Gary got to his feet. “Oh,
and Becky, you can get my number from Derek, for that thing you asked me about.
We can set up a meeting for later.”

“Great!” she said. “It was
fantastic meeting you!”

“You too.” He looked at his
brother and Sara. They were still speechless. “Don’t think about it too hard,
guys. I was just teasing you. I’ll see you later.”