Page 57 of Forever Fallen

It only took them moments to get enough lift to send the plane careening into the air, gliding upwards smoothly.

Sophie couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her as she looked around in wide-eyed disbelief. This was incredible! The ground was in the distance, and she couldn’t even see over the dash of the plane, having to crane her neck or look out the side windows… only to see Ryan smiling at her.

“This is amazing…” she breathed openly, beaming at him. “This is just so unreal – and you can do this whenever you want? I can hardly believe it.”

“It’s addictive,” he admitted, looking so at ease as he glided the plane along, leaning slightly to the right and turning the yoke.

Nervously, she laughed, realizing he was leaning the plane to get a reaction out of her. She could see the roads and highways below, all the tiny cars moving along, as they flew past.

“You’re not scared?” he asked.

“No…” she admitted without hesitation, looking out the window and all around her, like her head was almost on a swivel. “You’ve got this, and I trust you…”

… And she did,she realized.

She trusted Ryan from the very moment they’d met and began talking. She could never have married anyone that set off warning bells or made her feel in danger.

Instead, this man had crashed into her world at the perfect time, understood her in a way she never expected, and was there for her when she needed him most.

He never said a thing at her words, instead, sitting there silently pretending to concentrate – but a part of her knew better.

Flying came to him as easily as breathing… and she’d already noticed that. He was an instructor, a professional, and a pilot in the Air Force. So why was he pretending to look deep in focus and avoiding looking at her?

Ah yes, she knew this game of his.

He was trying not to look at her or acknowledge what she said – and recognized it now. This was him, afraid to hope, and knew he would put his ‘mask’ up again before she knew it… or say something snarky to make her angry.

Instead, she reached for him – turning the tables on him – and felt her fingertips brush the back of his neck, causing him to jump slightly as he looked at her, hiding behind his sunglasses now.

“Thank you for showing me your world and letting me be a part of it.”

“Perks of being a Merrick,” he said casually, but there was something in his voice that caught her attention. A sense of pride? A feeling of something else?

“I kinda like being a Merrick,” she admitted openly, not moving her hand from the nape of his neck, and looking around at the beautiful views. To her surprise, he pulled her hand from the back of his neck and kissed her palm tenderly.

“I kinda like you being one, too…”

* * *

An hour later,she was questioning him openly on the dials and how to fly the plane, listening as he explained everything patiently. She wasn’t interested in flying on her own or soloing as he mentioned, but rather it was a way to keep him talking and keep things light between them.

He always ran from ‘extremely hot’ to ‘icy cold’ – and it was those rare, precious glimpses of simmering warmth that she treasured.

“We’re coming close,” Ryan informed her. “Are you ready to land?”

“Can we do this again?”

“Anytime…” he replied, smiling.

CHAPTER17

SOPHIE

Hours later,she felt almost a twinge of guilt or regret as Ryan stacked the two boxes near the front door, as if he wasn’t sure where to put them and didn’t want to intrude on her home.

He would be gone in two weeks, and it was strange thinking of him making a home here… because of his impending departure. Was that what was going through his mind too?

Walking to the kitchen, she took out the Pyrex dish from the fridge and put it in the oven to heat something for dinner and hesitated. There was a light blinking on the phone, indicating that there was a message.

---