Back To Us (Dare With Me #4) - J.H. Croix Page 0,3

wasn’t.” His tone was way too relaxed.

“Let’s switch up our schedule,” I said.

Elias chuckled, and I didn’t even want to get into what he thought about my request. “Only if it means I get home earlier. When’s your last flight?”

I quickly recited my schedule, adding, “Your only motivation is to see Cammi sooner, not help a friend out.”

I could imagine my friend’s amused shrug. “Maybe so, but I’d help you out anyway. It’s just a bonus that I will get home earlier. On that note, I gotta roll, or I’ll be late for your next flight that’s now mine.”

Hanging up, I immediately dialed my next call.

“Nora’s at the supply stopover,” Flynn, my friend and my boss explained a moment later. “One of the tires blew out on the landing gear when she landed, and she clipped a wing on a boulder. Look at her plane while you’re there too, would ya?”

“Got it,” I replied, trying to keep my tone level.

“Also, if you don’t mind, could you give her a ride back home once you land on this side of the bay?”

“Sure.” I gritted my teeth and took a slow breath. “Something wrong with her car?”

“Nah. She rode in with Grant this morning. He forgot, and he’s already back out here.”

“Of course. Catch you later.”

Flynn hung up, and I let out a sigh. I wanted time alone with Nora more than just about anything. Yet if the past few months were any indication, I could count on her being radio silent. I was snatching this chance for some privacy with her, though, hoping maybe we could finally talk.

Worry spun like a whirling dervish in my thoughts, tightening in my chest. I’d fucked up with Nora worse than I could’ve imagined. I didn’t know if I could ever repair the jagged tear between us. But I could definitely fix whatever was wrong with her plane. I didn’t want to think about just how crazy I might’ve gone if she’d experienced anything other than a bumpy landing.

A few minutes later, I arrived at the airport in Diamond Creek, the one for small planes only. Two-seater planes dotted the Alaskan skies. Flying was a big business here, both for practical reasons and for tourists. I worked for Walker Adventures, owned by Flynn and his siblings. I still hoped my old friend didn’t know just how bad I had it for his sister.

Flynn was one of my best friends, and we’d been in the Air Force together. I had my reasons for telling Nora I could never commit. I just didn’t count on my heart already being a lost cause.

An hour or so later, my eyes landed on the blown-open landing tire on her plane. My gut clenched, and I tried to breathe through the ache in my chest. I forced my eyes up, only to collide with hers.

Nora had her hand curled just inside the open door by the pilot seat. I stepped closer, moving on instinct.

“Are you okay?” My words came out abruptly, the edges sharp like the blades Nora had been dragging across my heart for the past few months.

She squared her shoulders, and I discovered I was closer to her than I meant to be. That was pretty much the story of my heart and Nora.

Her brown curls were mussed, and her matching rich brown eyes were snapping. “I’m fine,” she bit out. “What the hell are you doing here?”

The sound of her voice felt like a bolt sliding into place inside me, but I forced myself to stay focused. “Flynn called me and said you had a problem with the landing. He wanted me to stop and check. Also, Grant forgot he needed to give you a ride home.”

I knew I should’ve stepped back, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. The need to feel close to her, to soak in her presence ran so fierce that I couldn’t override it with my brain.

Nora blinked, her mouth falling open before she snapped it shut. “I don’t know why Flynn called you. I’m obviously fine. I can deal with it.”

I rested my hand on the open door, curling my fingers around it. The cool metal barely broke through the fiery heat scorching me. The voltage snapped between us in a nearly electric connection. Once upon a time, as recently as a few months ago, I’d convinced myself it was just desire and nothing more.

I was deeply aware of the folly of that thinking now. She’d taken it away—her touch, her