Page 125 of Owen

I gape at him with my mouth open. If I don’t close it soon, I’ll catch flies from the estuary at the end of the runway.

“So, you bought an airfield?”

“I boughtusan airfield. A business.” Like an excitable puppy, he points over to the high-low ropes area and the physical training block. Then the hangars, cabins, parking, toilet blocks, and houses. He has plans for it all. “We will run adventureweekends for schools. Run high-low rope instructor courses. Set up a flying school. A mentoring program for young people who come from less fortunate backgrounds to help them work toward apprenticeships in engineering and administration. Give them a better start in life with skills to help them along the way. We can do weekend or week-long retreats for schools, and I was thinking that we could reopen the nursery that the base closed down to offer flexible sessions for moms who work unsociable hours.”

His excitement is bubbling over like a hot cauldron, and I can’t contain myself anymore as I launch myself at him and smack a kiss over his mouth. “I’m getting my own flying school?” I smile against his mouth.

“Yes. Did I do the right thing?”

“Holy shit, yes.” I step back and look around. There is so much to organize and the small fire of excitement that was merely a flicker in my belly a moment ago turns into a full-on ball of energy, enough to start a forest blaze. “All?—”

“Five hundred hectares.” Owen finishes my sentence.

“Wow. All five hundred hectares of rightness.” I can’t stop grinning.

Speechless, I look around the area that goes on for miles. “How many family quarters are there?” I ask.

“Four hundred. I was thinking we should keep half and sell half. Plus, there are twenty blocks of single-living accommodation. I think we should sell the family quarters and blocks to a developer. That will give us more money to buy you a dozen or so of those little aerobatic planes.”

“A dozen?” I exclaim.

“Yeah. I’ve offered some of your teammates jobs.”

“You are kidding me?”

“Gregor is a firm yes.” He nods, confirming he’s being serious.

“They won’t release him.”

“By the time we’re ready to open in twelve months, he’ll be itching to retire. I’ll have all the qualifications I need to instruct classes and training. It’s perfect timing. Plus, we’ll have our little bean by then.”

“You’re crazy.” I’m also thinking he’s an actual genius. This is an epic plan beyond anything I could ever have imagined.

He tilts his head to the side and looks at me. “About you. I’m crazy about you.”

He drapes his arms over my shoulders. “This is your retirement plan. You don’t have to leave the Air Force, but when you do, this place will be waiting for you. You can offer extreme acrobatic experiences. Teach people how to fly. Whatever you want.”

Our new wing commander inferred that it’s more than likely I will receive a payout to compensate me for my crash, and I would have an excellent case to submit for retiring early.

Owen made the impossible possible.

Although I can’t get the cost of maintaining an airfield out of my head. “This place cost way more than your trust fund.”And how much was the interest?

“You’d be surprised at how little I paid for this place, and we can charge for plane landing fees and parking overnight. Pro golfers from all over the world travel to be here for the Championship Cup. They all bring their jets when they tour. Since this place closed, the nearest airfield is over an hour away. They will park up here in their private jets. Hunter, Lincoln’s uncle, who is a pro golfer, already wants his own hangar to hire all year round. The infrastructure of the place works for what you want to doand what I want to do. We have a few planes to buy and a few million should cover it. I’ll go on your recommendation, though.” He places a kiss on my forehead as I stare up in wonder at this magnificent man. “Camilla signed the deeds of the castle over to me. I sold it to the National Trust.” He leans closer to my ear and whispers, “For twenty million. I squeezed every penny I could get out of them, knowing that it will only increase in value.” He looks off to the side. “If I had thought about selling it to the National Trust for that amount when Richard was after my father’s debt, it would have saved me a whole heap of drama.” He scowls, as if mad at himself for not thinking straight while he was under pressure. “And I have an even bigger surprise.”

“Yeah?”

“Get back in the car, Hotshot.”

I can’t sit still as Owen drives back out of the base and into Castleview Cove.

Wobbling down the cobbled streets, my wide car barely makes it through the narrow stone port leading to the beach.

In an instant, I know where he’s taking me. “You didn’t?”

“I did.”

A glow of happiness fills me with warmth. “You bought it?” I sigh, swooning, as he parks up outside the quaint stone beach house with a white picket fence and matching shutters.

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