Page 22 of Finding Jacob
“The pilot is very experienced. I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he replied.
“What, you gonna let me land on you to cushion the blow when we fall out?”
“We’re not going to fall out!”
“I don’t know,” I said, taking a step back.
“Do you want me to call Jacob?”
I shook my head, then nodded. Then shook my head again. I wasn’t sure. I pictured him in my mind, I felt his kiss and my heart raced, my skin heated up. I heard his voice in my mind and I swallowed hard. I wanted...no, I needed to see him. I closed my eyes and offered up a silent prayer.
“Let’s do this,” I said.
A pilot was standing next to an open door, he smiled as we approached.
“Miss Roberts, Nathan,” he said by way of a greeting. I looked between them.
“It’s good to see you again, James,” Nathan replied.
I climbed the three metal steps to a luxurious interior. There were six leather seats, three facing the pilot, and three facing away. Two to one side, one to the other. Nathan encouraged me to sit, and he strapped me in. He also handed me a set of headphones and pulled the microphone to sit in front of my mouth.
I jumped when I heard his voice through the headphones.
“No need to shout now,” he said, settling himself down.
“How do you know the pilot?” I asked, watching James flick switches and turn dials.
“I know lots of people,” Nathan said, laughing.
I sighed and shook my head, turning it to look out the window. Most times I could ignore Nathan’s evasiveness, that evening, I couldn’t.
“I’ve known Jacob many years, Anna. We really do go back a long way. I’m not sure you need to know how, but James has flown for him for a while now. I meet with Jacob every couple of weeks. This is how we travel.”
I turned to face him.
“Why? Why do you meet with him? I’m not prying, honestly, but things are different now.” I placed a hand on my stomach as the blades started to whirl and the engine fired up.
“How about you get this evening over, get the wedding over, and once you know where you are in your life, we sit and chat? I’ll tell you everything you want to know about me.”
“Promise?” I sounded like a young girl.
He held out his hand. “Shake on it, Boss.”
It was my turn to chuckle.
“Good evening, are you settled?” the pilot asked. I nodded; Nathan answered with a yes. “Then sit back and relax. It’s a short flight this time, just under one hour.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Hampshire,” came the reply.
As we soared, I looked down and wondered why I was ever worried about being in a helicopter. There was a magnificent view below me. I squealed as we made a turn and laughed.
It was all too soon when the most amazing house came into view. Sleek, modern, glass, slate, and stone rose grandly from the most perfect lawn. We descended to a small, tarmacked area behind the house with a large H in the middle. To one side was what I believed to be a natural pool, beyond that, woods. I was sure I’d seen the house in magazines and my work brain kicked in. It would make a great location for a photo shoot.
“Wow,” I said as we waited until it was safe to leave the helicopter.
Wow,I thought, as I saw Jacob striding across the lawn. He wore dark trousers, was barefoot, and had a white shirt untucked and only half done up. The bottom of the shirt blew open in the draft created by the slowing blades.
