Page 77 of Sunset Tides
“Yes, I was looking for a friend of mine. His name is Rob. I think he’s flying to Seattle?”
The man made a face. “Well, he might’ve been on the flight that just went out of here a half hour ago.”
Her heart sank. “A half hour, huh? So he’s gone?”
“Afraid so. Did you need to catch up with him?”
“No – I mean, yes, but I can try to find him another time.”
The man rushed around to get back to his computer. “We have another flight going out this afternoon.”
Her manic mind was annoyed by this bump in the road, but she wouldn’t be stopped. She could get on a ferry and be in Seattle in, oh, five or six hours. “That’s all right. Thanks for your help.”
He held up a finger and tapped the keyboard with his other hand. “There’s a seaplane going out of Deer Harbor in twenty minutes. I’m happy to give you a discount.”
A seaplane?
Absolutely not. “No, thank you, I could never – ”
“I insist. It looks like there’s one seat left. I’ll give it to you for fifty bucks. How’s that?”
“That’s really okay – ”
“Okay, okay!” He grinned, clicking around the screen. “You talked me down. Twenty-five dollars, but only because you’re a hero around here.”
Lucy wanted to tell him he couldn’t pay her to get on that plane, but somehow the glow of celebrity had stunned her.
“Can I see your license?” he asked.
She numbly pulled her wallet out of her purse and handed the entire thing over. He accepted it, propping it open to look at her driver’s license.
“How would you like to pay?” he asked.
“Credit, I think.” She reached forward and pulled out one of her many credit cards.
He smiled, ran it through a machine, and got back to typing. Lucy watched, afraid to say another word in case he offered her something else.
After returning her wallet, he fetched the small printed ticket. “Here you go. I’ll give them a call to let them know you’re on the way. They’ll wait for you.”
Lucy clutched the ticket in her sweaty palm and forced a smile. “Thank you so much!”
There was no way she was going on a plane, let alone one that landed on water, but she wasn’t going to break the poor man’s heart. She went out to her car with the full intention of running away and never facing this sweet man again.
She started her car and pulled out of her spot, relieved to be getting away from the looming planes. When she got to the end of the road, she debated turning left to get back to work, or right to go to Deer Harbor. She figured she should at least swing by the seaplane and let the pilot know she wasn’t getting on.
Yeah, that would be fine. She didn’t want to ruin her reputation as a local celebrity so quickly.
At the harbor, there was only one seaplane bobbing in the water. They were probably annoyed about waiting for her, so she hastily parked and ran down.
“I’m sorry, I just – ”
“There she is!” yelled a man. “Come on board, Lucy. I saved the front seat for you.”
“Oh no, that’s okay, I was just coming to let you know I won’t be – ”
“Don’t be shy,” the man said, offering her a hand as he pulled open the passenger door.
There were two other women on the plane, and they too waved her on.
