Once a Marine (11 page)

BD pulled up her knees and scooted into the corner. That was as far away as she could get from this intruder who, except for fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes, could have been Rafi’s brother.

Just then Rafi, wearing briefs, stepped out of the head, wiping shave cream off his face. He looked from her to the guy and grinned. “I see you’ve already met.” He reached back, pulled a pair of pants off a hook, and stepped into them.

BD glared. “Rafi! Do something!” Shock and fear were quickly replaced by seething anger. She drew herself up. “Rafi!” She kicked the mattress with fury.

Grinning the entire time, Rafi picked up a T-shirt from the top of the small set of drawers and pulled it over his head.

“Where are my manners? BD James, this is my co-pilot, Joe Brosky. Joe, BD.”

Joe raised his hands and backed out the door. “Uh, sorry, ma’am. I…nice meeting you.” He reached for the handle and pulled the door closed.

“You shouldn’t lie around naked in front of strangers, sunshine. You never know who you’ll run into.” He dodged the pillow she threw at his head. “Now, now, be nice.”

“You jerk! You…you…” She stood on the bed and launched herself at him, fists flying.

He caught her bare bottom and bounced her up and down like a child. “Whoa, whoa, sweet cheeks, you’re scaring me again.” His head went back, and he smiled big, belying his words.

She pounded his shoulders. “I’ll do more than scare you, you Neanderthal. I’ll…I’ll…” Surprising herself she planted a hot kiss on his laughing mouth.

His arms encircled her waist. “You’ll what?”

“Come back to bed and I’ll show you.”

“No can do, scrappy. You heard Joe. We got a takeoff slot. You catch a few more winks. I want you all rested up for later.” He gave her a hard squeeze and set her back on the bed.

BD crossed her arms and shook her head. “I can’t sleep on an airplane. Anyway, I’m wide awake now.” She looked around the small bedroom. “Where are my clothes?”

“In the closet. I hung them up.” He pointed to a small folding door next to the bathroom. “Gotta go. If you can’t sleep, get dressed and come up to the cockpit. You can sit in the navigator seat.”

“What about the rest of the crew?”

“Joe, me, and a mechanic. That’s all the crew for this job.” He sat on the bed to pull on his socks and slid his feet into a pair of boat shoes.

“I’m so embarrassed. What do you suppose Joe thinks?”

Rafi stood with his hand on the door knob. “Probably thinks you’re my girlfriend.” He gave her a two-finger salute.

She mimicked Rafi’s cavalier answer. “Probably thinks you’re my girlfriend.” BD fell back on the bed. “Sleep, ha!” Nevertheless she reclined, pulled up the sheet, found the pillow, and dragged it under her head.

Preflight check complete, Rafi, all business now, rolled the cargo jet onto the auxiliary runway and taxied to the main runway for takeoff.

When the jet accelerated, picking up speed toward rotation, Joe looked over and grinned. “Semper fi, buddy.”

Rafi’s answered with a bigger, satisfied grin. The tower gave instructions for their trajectory and altitude. Several busy minutes passed before the men nodded to each other and settled comfortably into their seats. Next stop, O’Hare.

“Whadaya think?” Rafi asked Joe.

“I think you got laid.”

“Yeah, besides that.”

“I just got introduced to the owner of the neon pink bikini?” He gave Rafi a light punch in the shoulder. “Am I right?”

“Yep.” Rafi made some instrument adjustments. “I don’t know what happened to that bikini. Last I recall I had it in my gear bag when we took off for Zamboanga.”

Joe nodded, straightened his headset. “It probably got burned up with the rest of your crap when we hauled you out of that camp. We didn’t take anything we couldn’t carry, besides you. I wasn’t kidding when I said you had a fat ass.”

Rafi laughed. “Yeah, well, soon as this bum leg is healed I can start running again. That should make me easier to carry next time.”

“I don’t know about you, pal,” Joe said, “but we’re getting too old for that shit. Jill’s fed up with me being gone so much, not knowing if she’ll ever see me again, especially now that she’s pregnant. We plan to settle down into some nice boring family life.”

Rafi grinned. “Pregnant! Hey, that’s great. I’d be tempted to quit if the pay wasn’t so good. I need another five hundred K in the bank to get this cargo and charter business on solid financial footing.”

Joe nodded and pressed his lips together. “Think hard on it, pal. You almost bought it last time out. Why not sell a couple of the smaller aircraft and reduce payroll?”

“I’ve thought about it. I’m not sure which way I want to go now that BD’s back in the picture.”

“What’s the BD for?”

“She won’t tell me. But I’ll get it out of her one of these days. I’ll spring the question on her when she’s in a mellow mood. That’s if I can ever get her in a mellow mood. She’s a pistol, all hundred ten pounds of her.”

Joe laughed. “Good luck with that.”

They settled into the flight routine.

Rafi remembered the expression on BD’s face when he showed up at her brother’s place. Until that moment, he had no clue whether she’d be glad to see him. One thing was for sure, the thought of seeing her again got him through weeks in the hospital, two surgeries, and excruciating therapy.

He wanted to spend a lot more time with her. Not just in the sack. That was great, and he’d settle for that if he had to. He wanted a lot more. The single life was highly overrated. He wanted to play with and tickle his own babies for a change. Closing in on his thirty-seventh birthday was a wakeup call.

Carrying the small tray, BD wove her way down the cavernous alleyway in the middle of the cargo jet, trying not to spill coffee from the two mugs she was delivering to the cockpit. Refreshed after two more hours sleep, she showered in the closet-size bathroom and dressed in the same suit she had on when they boarded shortly after midnight. Clean underwear and freshly shampooed hair was wonderfully rejuvenating.

The flight mechanic had found her when she came out of the bedroom, gestured for her to follow him, and sat her down with coffee and Danish. He didn’t seem at all surprised to see her.

She probably wasn’t the first woman to show up in that bedroom.

The mechanic’s name was Bert, and he must have been at least seventy-five if he was a day. A constant smile wreathed his ruddy face as he related his history with Rafi and Cruz Aero. “Cruz is a good boss. The other company I worked for put me out to pasture about three years ago, but the Captain knew I’d earned my chops and was glad to get me. I’ll be here till they carry me out feet first.”

The grizzled old man charmed BD. He pulled out his wallet and showed her pictures of his many grandchildren. When she finished her coffee he asked her if she’d like to deliver some to the pilots.

The flight was much noisier than a passenger jet, so Joe and Rafi didn’t hear her when she ducked through the door. Both men wore headsets and concentrated on the hundreds of dials and gauges in front of and above them.

Fascinated—she’d never been inside a cockpit before—BD stood and stared for several seconds. When the men still didn’t notice her, she shouted, “How about some coffee?”

Both men greeted her with big smiles. Rafi reached for one of the mugs and puckered his lips, and she leaned in to kiss him. On a crazy impulse she handed Joe his coffee and kissed him too.

Joe sat stunned while Rafi roared with laughter.

BD felt her blush rising, but she didn’t regret what she’d done. “Just part of our enhanced service on Cruz Aero, gentlemen. Enjoy your coffee. If you require anything else, just pucker up and whistle.”

Rafi pulled off his headset and stood. “Take over, Joe.” He reached for BD, threw an arm lock around her neck, and kissed her soundly. “You’re hired, Bravo Delta.”

“You mean your other girls don’t provide flight attendant duties along with their regular services?” She teased him, hoping she was wrong, wrong, wrong.

“What other girls?” He pointed to the navigator seat. “Sit there for a couple minutes. I gotta use the head.” He gave her a pat on the bottom. “Be right back.”

Joe looked over his shoulder. He raised his cup. “Thanks for the coffee…and the other thing.”

“You’re welcome, Joe. It is nice to meet you.”

“Sorry about earlier.” The man actually blushed.

Another guy who looked like he could go bear hunting without a weapon, and he could still blush. How sweet.

“How were you to know?” She remembered the look on Joe's face when he saw her in the bed, so maybe it
was
a rare occurrence for Rafi to bring a woman on board. “I could see you were shocked when you opened the door.”

“Shocked is putting it mildly. That’s a first.” He winked and sipped the coffee.

Once the men had the aircraft parked at the gate, and the ground crew had unloaded cargo marked for Chicago, Rafi, Joe and Bert led BD through the bowels of the cargo terminal to a commissary for lunch. Rafi said, “We’ll be on the ground here for almost four hours.”

BD cut the big deli sandwich in half. “I could have got to New York faster on the bus.” She glanced at Joe and Bert still waiting in line for their orders.

Rafi mimicked a kiss. “Yeah, but without the extra onboard amenities.”

“You’ve got a point. Perhaps you could increase business if you made it part of your advertising campaign.”

“Don’t think so. I’m real choosy.” Rafi enjoyed the simple act of sharing a meal with her.

She pursed her lips at his comment, fire flashing in her eyes. God, she took his breath away. He knew from the first minute he laid eyes on her that he wanted her in his bed, but now, maybe he wanted a lot more than that.

Pushing his empty chili bowl aside, he reached for the big chef’s salad and slab of garlic toast.

Eyebrows raised, BD pointed to the two oversize wedges of cheesecake on his tray. “Are you going to eat all of that?”

“Sure, unless you want one of them.” He pointed to the sandwich and soft drink she’d removed from her tray and set on the table. “Is that all you’re having?” Women always removed their plates from the tray. Just one more step he didn’t see any need to bother with.

BD huffed. “This is plenty for me. If I ate like you I’d have a figure like yours.”

Rafi winked. “All the more of you to squeeze, sugar lips.”

“Hush! Here comes Joe and Bert.”

Pleasing color bloomed on her cheeks. Rafi smiled. She was thinking about last night.

Technical and business talk between the three men dominated the conversation for the rest of their lunch. Joe and Bert would ferry the empty jet back to LA, while Rafi flew a private charter to Toronto and back, using the small executive jet he kept in a leased hangar at La Guardia.

Joe turned to her. “Sorry for the pilot lingo. Cruz and I won’t see each other for another week.”

“Don’t bother about me. I’m hearing stuff I never heard before. It’s fascinating and interesting to learn about a different business than the one I’m in. I had no idea. Really, go right ahead.” She flapped her hand to dismiss his concern. “I would like to know where the restroom is, though.”

All three men turned like synchronized swimmers and pointed to the far side of the room.

Midevening when they arrived at La Guardia, Rafi left the aircraft and cargo in Joe’s care with a few last words about the week ahead. He carried BD’s luggage along with his one bag to the taxi queue and gave the driver the name of her hotel.

“Aren’t you coming with me?”

Deeply gratified by her look of disappointment, Rafi shrugged. “I don’t think so. I’m totally wiped and my leg is killing me. I’m no good for anything, sugar.”

She pursed her lips and cocked her head. “How about we just get a good night’s sleep? You know, together?” Her smile was open and sincere. “I’m tired too.”

He stood holding his bag with his cane tucked under one arm. “You sure?”

She slid over and crooked her finger. “Toss your bag in here, Marine. Mama’s going to take care of you.”

Damn! His leg hurt like hell, but those words sent a buzz of excitement right down to his boys. Maybe he wasn’t so tired after all. He tossed his bag onto the front passenger seat and got in the cab.

Chapter Ten

BD studied Rafi’s sleeping form. He slept like the dead. After he showered last night he pulled on a pair of black briefs, fell on the bed, and threw his arms over his head. “Sorry, sunshine.” And he went out almost before he finished uttering the words. The livid scar on his upper thigh glared like a neon sign on the Las Vegas strip.

Before she closed her eyes last night, BD ran her fingers over the ugly scar, careful not to wake him. The wound radiated heat under her touch, signs of the recent surgery evident. On an impulse she brushed her lips over it, soft as a butterfly. She remembered her daddy saying, “I’ll kiss it and make it all better, Beautiful Daughter.”

Yes, her embarrassing real name. Funny, she never hated Beautiful Daughter till she went to school. Her kindergarten teacher was perplexed. Other kids giggled and teased her. Finally her mother and the teacher agreed that she would go by her initials.

Her school life got easier starting that day. She insisted her family call her BD at home, too.

Now, not another living soul, except her brother, knew her birth name. Jack never spoke her name or revealed it to anyone, even when his wife, Kelly, wheedled and pleaded with him.

But years ago, she’d stood, bending, hands on hips, nose to nose with four-year-old Jack and swore she would kill him if he ever told. His huge blue eyes leaked tears and his lips trembled.

A wave of contrition shook her. She grabbed her little brother in a fierce hug. “Big sister loves you, Jack. I’ll never ever hurt you if you just remember not to tell anybody my real name. OK?”

He never told. She knew he never would. With their parents both dead, this secret they kept between them, a secret part of their strong bond of trust and love.