Obsession - A Sexy New Adult Contemporary Romance Novella (8 page)

Half an hour later, Abby was behind the wheel of Jack’s—her neighbor’s—dually truck while he and Jake guided her truck out of the drift. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she had originally thought it would be. Nothing more than a couple of feet of snow now held it captive.

Once the truck was free, she hopped out and headed to see if it was drivable. Jack, one of her father’s friends who was pushing seventy-five but didn’t look a day over fifty, was unhooking her truck, and Jake was busy checking out the front end.

“Thanks, Jack. You’re a lifesaver,” she said and kissed his cheek as she passed him.

When she inspected her truck, it seemed as if everything was in order, and there was no real damage, save for a few light scratches. She hopped in and stuck her key in the ignition. The truck thankfully cranked right up. She caught Jake’s eye through the windshield and gave him a very relieved thumbs up. Rolling down the window, she shouted, “I think we are good to go! Jack, tell Martha you guys need to come over for dinner so I can repay you for your help.”

“It was no problem at all, Abby. You tell Jim I said hello,” Jack said as he placed his towing strap in the back of his truck, probably getting ready to go help other people stuck in snow drifts.

“It was nice to meet you, Jack,” Jake said to the older man before he got into the passenger’s side of Abby’s truck.

Jack waved goodbye and got in his truck. Abby knew he would not pull away until he was certain nothing was wrong with her truck, even though he knew she was a mechanic. He was such a kind, older man. Almost like a grandfather to Abby.

As she pulled onto the road, she waved as she passed Jack. She knew her truck was fine from the moment she had cranked it up.

“People around here are so nice,” Jake said when they got on their way.

“Yes they are. I love living here because of that very reason. Everyone is willing to help a friend or neighbor when they need it,” she told him as she eased onto the main road.

As they pulled into the airport parking lot a little while later, Abby was surprised to see so very few people there. It was nearly nine in the morning. The place should be swarming.

“The news said the storm was worse to the north, but it must have been pretty bad around here for so few people to be here,” Abby observed.

“We must’ve been lucky,” Jake remarked.

She pulled into a spot slowly, since the parking lot was still blanketed in white. She was about to open the door and hop out when she felt a hand on her arm.

“Wait. Before this crazy day starts, I want you to know that last night was amazing, and you mean the world to me,” Jake said and pulled her close to kiss her.

Abby entwined her fingers in his hair, relishing the passionate kiss before she got out of the truck and would be flooded with responsibilities.

She had a feeling this day was going to be like no other.

“Oh my God. You have got to be kidding me,” Scarlett said in frustration. She needed to get back to the airport and was nearly bouncing in her seat with agitated energy. Sitting in a line of traffic a mile from Will’s cabin was grating her nerves terribly.

“A tree,” Will mouthed when he caught her eye, walking back to the SUV from farther down the road. “I wish I was kidding. A tree was knocked down right across the road. The authorities say it will be at least an hour before they can finish clearing it,” Will said as he got back in the vehicle. He had walked ahead to see what was holding up the flow of traffic.

“Do you want to go back to the cabin and wait it out?” Will asked her.

“No, by the time we get back there and settled in, it would be time to leave again. Every second is counting, Will,” she told him, tapping her nails against the window.

“You’re right, but you stressing like this isn’t going to do either one of us any good,” Will pointed out.

Scarlett took a deep breath. She knew he was right. She needed to get it together.“Well, Abby knows how to do pretty much everything I do. She will be able to hold down the fort until we get there,” Scarlett told him. She felt so thankful for her sister right then.

“A jack of all trades huh?” Will asked.

“Well, for a mechanic, she does pretty great at detailed office scheduling, too,” Scarlett bragged. She did think Abby was pretty amazing.

“Abby is a mechanic? I just assumed she worked in the office with you,” Will said with a look of confusion.

“Oh no. She is an airplane mechanic. The best one we have,” Scarlett told him, hoping to assure him that he needed to keep Abby on, maybe even promote her.

“So that’s why Jake’s been so busy,” Will thought aloud.

“What are you talking about?” Scarlett asked, seeing that, from Will’s expression, he hadn’t meant for her to hear what he had just said.

“Jake said he was stranded at a mechanic’s house in the storm when I talked to him earlier this morning,” Will reluctantly explained.

“Ah. I see what you are saying. Jake’s been getting busy with my sister,” Scarlett teased. She hoped that was the truth. It was time Abby spent some time with a man doing something other than talking shop.

“No, I mean maybe. He didn’t mention any names,” Will replied.Scarlett could tell it made Will uncomfortable to talk about Jake and Abby. I guess he liked to stay out of his employee’s business.

“So how long has Jake been flying for you?” Scarlett asked, changing the subject for Will’s sake.She had hoped to make Will more comfortable, but her question seemed to have the opposite effect.He looked at her, clearly nervous.

“Scarlett, I need to tell you something. You have it all wrong.I fly for Jake. Jake doesn’t fly for me,” he explained with a tentative look.

Scarlett zoned out for a moment. The whole time the buyer had been in Pinesville, she had been entertaining his pilot. A pilot she happened to find that she liked very much. But now what would happen to the airport?

“Oh my. You’re right, I did get it wrong. I totally thought that you were the one buying the airport,” she muttered.

“Jake and I both kind of thought that, and in similar situations in the past, I usually play the decoy,” Will admitted, avoiding her eyes.

“So you took me, the heartless golddigger, out of the picture, right?” Scarlett was angry, and rightfully so. She had ended up the one being played again. This all felt way too familiar. Her broken engagement came to mind—anothertime when a man had pretended to be something he was not. She could feel her face getting splotchy, and tears were threatening to fall. She couldn’t quite tell if she was angry about being lied to, or if it was because Will had been only pretending to be interested in her.

“In the beginning, that’s what I thought, but after ten minutes of being around you, I just wanted to know you more, and I knew that wasn’t the case,” Will said honestly. “I didn’t outright lie to you. I just didn’t correct your assumption. I like you, Scarlett. I want to get to know you even better. I’m sorry if I led you to believe something other than the truth,” he said, ducking his head in guilt.

Scarlett sat quietly for a moment. Things had not turned out like she had planned. She had developed real feelings for someone for the first time since her engagement, but she had also been deceived, just like she had been by her former fiancée.

Knowing the silence was torturing Will, Scarlett reached over and placed her hand on top of Will’s. “The money doesn’t matter to me as much as you think. I was only trying to keep the airport in the family,” she admitted. “I like you too. I honestly do, but I think I’m going to need some time to figure out how I feel about this. It isn’t about the money. I was thinking you were someone you weren’t, and you did nothing to change that until now,” she continued, blinking away her tears.

“I understand. I was afraid you wouldn’t be interested in spending any more time with me if I told you the truth,” Will told her.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m not that shallow. Don’t get me wrong, money is nice, but, like I just said, the only reason I was attempting to get with the man buying the airport was to keep it in the family,” she continued. “The airport means the world to me and my sister, and this is the only place we’ve ever called home.”

“Well, I can promise you that Jake isn’t your typical, heartless businessman. He told me before we left that he was pretty sure he wanted to keep Jim in charge of all operations here. That would include staff choices,” Will explained.

Scarlett couldn’t believe her ears. Her crazy plan hadn’t even been needed in the first place. Sometimes, she really should just listen to Abby. She had tried to warn her.

“You have no idea how great that is to hear,” Scarlett said, a big smile spreading across her face.

“I know you feel like I lied to you, and I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me and give us a chance,” Will said, tentatively reaching for her hand, which was resting on the console.

Scarlett didn’t pull her hand away.“I want to give us a chance too,” she confessed, giving his hand a squeeze.

* * * *

“Where is Scarlett?” Abby asked with a slight edge of panic. They had only been at the airport half an hour, and it had quickly become utter chaos. Passengers were arriving and demanding to know when their plane was scheduled to leave; only two mechanics had made it in so far; and Scarlett, the go-to answer girl at the airport, was nowhere to be found.

“Earlier, Will told me they would make it here as soon as they could,” Jake said. “I’ve tried calling his cell, but he must not have any service.”

“I know, I can’t get Scarlett on the phone, either. Do you think you could do me a big favor?” Abby asked as she whizzed around the office.

“Sure. Anything,” Jake replied.

“Out of our six mechanics, only me and two others have shown up so far. I’m stuck in here until Scarlett gets here. Do you think you can go and help them get the planes and runway ready for operating?” Abby asked.

“I’m on it. We’ll get it covered,” Jake said with a nod and hurried to get to work.

Abby wouldn’t worry as much now while she and her dad talked to air traffic control and tried to get a new flight schedule sorted out. She believed Jake was capable of handling the tasks.

“I’m sure she’ll be here as soon as she can,” her father called over his shoulder.

“I know, I know,” Abby replied as she held the phone against her ear. It felt like she had been on hold forever.

A few minutes later, Jake flew back into the office.

“Where do you keep the extra spark plugs?” he asked Abby.

Abby put a finger up, telling him to wait a moment. She had finally gotten in contact with a human being.

“So Jake, what’s it like getting back under the belly of a plane? It beats all those board meetings I bet,” Jim asked Jake casually.

Abby looked up, nearly dropping the phone. What in the world was her dad talking about?

Jake glanced at Abby, giving her an apologetic look, and answered Jim, “I like getting my hands dirty.”

“Well, when we finish the sale, I’m sure you will get plenty of opportunities for that,” Jim replied, completely oblivious to the situation brewing between Abby and Jake.

“Yep, I’m sure I will,” Jake said, pacing back and forth as he waited for Abby to finish her phone conversation.

Abby hurried to finish her conversation with Sea-Tac, dying to know what exactly was going on. Jake didn’t look too eager to explain.

Hanging up the phone, she turned to Jake.“The spark plugs are in the top drawer of the tool box in each hanger’s supply closet. What does he mean, ‘when you and him finish the sale?’” Abby blurted out.

“Abby, maybe we should talk about this later,” Jake said, trying to drop the subject.

“I won’t have time to talk later. Tell me now,” she demanded.Jake sighed. Abby took that as a sign that she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear.

“I’m the buyer, Abby,” Jake admitted bluntly.

Abby didn’t move an inch. She was shell-shocked. The only thing running through her mind was that, hours earlier, she had been making love to a man she believed to be honest, trustworthy, and hardworking. Obviously, she had been very wrong.

“Okay. I think it’s best if you go help the mechanics so that there will be an airport left for you to buy,” Abby said dismissively. She didn’t want to process this situation right now. Shutting down was her only coping mechanism at this point. Too many other things took precedence over her need to breakdown. Like getting flight schedules back on track.

“Abby, I think we need to talk. Promise me we can talk later,” Jake implored, leaning over her desk, trying to catch her attention.

“Yeah sure.Whatever. We can talk later,” Abby said distractedly as she furiously typed, her attention solely focused on the computer screen. She wasn’t going to dare meet his eyes. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking that she cared.

Jake, looking defeated, finally took the hint and left the office. As soon as the door closed behind him, Abby put her head in her hands, allowing herself a moment of misery before slinging herself back into her tasks. She should have known it wouldn’t work out. It never worked out for her.