Page 13 of The Wedding Toast
“Will do.Thanks again.”
As soon as he climbed back into his Range Rover, Jacob tried calling Alara again.There was still no reply, and he left another message – hoping that this time, she might get back to him.
~ ~ ~
Becca parked her Range Rover outside the hangar and patted the door when she got out.“You wait there, Grover,” she told him.“I’ll be back soon.”
She wandered out to look at the runway.It still blew her away that Jacob had not only his own plane but also his own runway right here on the estate.She checked the tracker app on her phone and then looked up at the sky.She still didn’t really have the hang of how it worked.The little blue line on her phone looked as though the plane should be here already, but when she looked up, she didn’t know which direction to check.
She went back to stand beside Grover, enjoying the feel of the sunshine on her back.She remembered the first time she’d flown out of here by herself.Jacob had gone to San Diego for Elliott’s dad’s funeral, and she’d been nervous about flying alone.Slade had come with her to make sure she was okay getting on the plane.He hadn’t been able to go with her, though.She scowled when she remembered that horrible Jamie person.He’d been awful.But she didn’t have to worry about him anymore.
The sound of the jet approaching drew her attention back toward the sky.She smiled when she spotted it.She was glad that Elliott was back at work now.She’d liked him from the moment she met him, and of course, she loved Trick.It was sad that Elliott’s dad had died, but he seemed to be doing better lately.She knew that both he and Trick got along well with her parents — so much so that her dad had invited them to fly out a little earlier than they needed to today so he could take them for lunch before they flew back.He was Kansas proud, and he knew that Trick and Elliott both loved the local barbecue place in town from their previous visits.
She shaded her eyes with her hand as she watched the jet touch down, and a little shiver ran down her spine.In her mind, her folks’ arrival marked the official beginning of wedding week.She couldn’t wait to see them.She planned to make the most of every moment between now and the wedding and having her folks here as part of it all only added to her enjoyment.
She watched the jet come to a stop, and Elliott waved to her as he lowered the stairs.Then her mom appeared, closely followed by her dad.By the time they reached the bottom of the steps, Becca was there waiting to greet them.
Her mom wrapped her in a hug before stepping back to hold her shoulders and look her over.“You look great, Becs.How are you feeling?”
“Excited,” she said honestly.“And happier now that you guys are here.Did you have a good flight?”
“We did,” her mom said, as her dad moved in to hug Becca.
“It was great,” he added as he kissed Becca’s cheek.Then he looked back over his shoulder to smile at Elliott and Trick, who were both coming down the steps.“I think these guys had a good lunch too.”
“It was fantastic, thanks, Chuck,” said Elliott.“And even if you can’t fit it in this week, you mustn’t forget that the four of us have a date to go out for lunch here.”
Trick nodded beside him.“That’s right.You might be too busy this week –” he gave them a wry smile “– and we might too.But don’t think we’ll forget.”
Becca’s mom laughed.“We should maybe pick a date when we’ll be here again, because there’s no way any of us will have time to be popping out for lunch this week.”She winked at Becca.“We’ll all be too busy making sure that this wedding is perfect.”
“That’s the plan,” said Trick with a smile.
“Thanks so much for going to get them, you guys.I really appreciate it,” said Becca.“And for all the flying around that you’re going to be doing.”
The pilots both smiled.“It’s not a problem,” said Elliott.“It’s our way of contributing to all the wedding arrangements.”
“Is there anything else we can do for you?”Trick asked.
Becca shook her head.“No, you’re already doing so much.”She glanced at them.“Oh, you mean you need to get going again?”
Trick smiled.“Not just yet.”
Becca’s dad went to shake his hand and then Elliott’s.“But I’m sure you’ve got better things to be doing than standing around here talking to us.Come on, Becs, let’s get up to the house and leave these guys in peace.”
Becca smiled as she watched her mom hug them both.“I don’t know how much we’ll see of you during the week.”Her smile morphed into a frown.“You are going to be there on Saturday, aren’t you?”she asked, looking totally indignant at the thought that they might not be.
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Trick.
Elliott nodded his agreement.“We’ll be there.”
“Right.Well, if we don’t see you before, we’ll see you then,” Becca’s dad told them.“Come on, Becs, love.Let’s give these guys a minute to themselves before they have to turn around and fly somewhere else.”
~ ~ ~
As they watched Becca’s Range Rover head back up toward the house, Trick turned to Elliott with a smile.“They’re good people.”
“The best,” said Elliott.“I love flying those guys.”
