Page 17 of Dark Rover's Luck

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DIN

As Din waited at the arrival gate in LAX, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, the memory of the emergency water landing kept replaying in his mind. Given all the obstacles that had popped up on his way to Fenella, trying to keep him from this moment—the traffic accident, the canceled flight, the storm, and finally the landing gear malfunction—it felt almost surreal to have finally made it.

Well, almost.

He was at the airport, but he still needed to get to the village, and someone was supposed to pick him up, but he didn't know who. Naturally, he hoped it would be Fenella, even though she'd said nothing about it when he'd called her earlier to let her know he'd landed safely.

He still hoped that she wanted to surprise him and had been on her way over when answering his call.

Scanning the faces of the people waiting for the arriving passengers, his eyes landed on a familiar figure, and his heart sank.

Max stood there, hands in his pockets, as cocky and as self-assured as ever, but with a welcoming smile. They had seen each other not too long ago on the clan's wedding cruise, but they had mostly ignored each other then, as they had for the past few decades. After the fiasco with Fenella, Max had tried to rekindle their friendship, but getting the cold shoulder from Din time and again discouraged him from making any further attempts.

Not that Din could blame him. He hadn't expected Max to keep trying. In fact, he'd been relieved when Max had finally stopped.

"Din," his old friend called, raising a hand in greeting.

He approached cautiously, unsure of what to expect. "This is a surprise."

Max extended his hand. "It's been too long, my friend."

Din didn't hesitate before grasping Max's hand, and he didn't fight him when the guy pulled him into a brotherly embrace and clapped him firmly on the back.

He felt something loosen in his chest, a knot of resentment he'd been carrying for so long he'd almost forgotten it was there. "It's good to be back," he said, meaning more than visiting the village again. "I held on to this grudge for too long."

Apologizing had never been easy for him, and he couldn't say the word sorry even now. Hopefully, what he'd said would be enough for Max.

"Water under the bridge now," Max said with a dismissive wave. "Or should I say, plane on the river?" He grinned at his own lame joke.

"Too soon to make jokes about that."

Max had always been terrible at coming up with funny things to say, and his jokes were often inappropriate, not because they were vulgar or nasty but because they were just bad. Still, Din couldn't help smiling.

Max helped him with his luggage, which, fortunately, had been retrieved from the downed plane with no water damage.

While leading him toward the parking area, he said, "I asked for a few hours off just so I could pick you up. Thought it might be good for us to clear the air before you see Fenella."

"Does she know that you're here?"

"She has no clue. I told her that someone was going to pick you up, but I didn't say who that someone was." He led Din to a sleek sports car that gleamed under the parking garage lights.

"An Audi R8. I'm impressed."

Max patted the car's hood affectionately. "Melinda is my baby. A V10 engine, top speed of 205 miles per hour, and zero to sixty in 3.2 seconds."

"Nice ride." Din slid into the passenger seat. "I assume you had her modified to meet the village security requirements?"

"Of course." Max started the engine, which purred to life with a sound that was almost indecent.

As they pulled out of the airport and onto the highway, Din started to relax. The atmosphere between them was surprisingly comfortable, the decades of silence somehow smoothing over the jagged edges of their broken friendship.

"That landing looked pretty intense on the news." Max glanced over at him. "Was it as bad as they made it out to be?"

Din considered this. "At the time, it didn't seem so terrible. The pilot was calm and professional. It wasn't until afterward, when I saw the footage and heard the commentary, that I realized how dangerous it was and how lucky we were." He ran a hand through his hair. "Water landings don't often end well."

Max nodded solemnly. "Thank the merciful Fates. They were looking out for you."

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