seasoned pilot, and he’d never been prouder of any student than he was of her.
After losing her twin brother in the 9/11 attacks on New York City, Erin hadn’t stepped foot on a plane for more than a decade, until Slim had flown her home to Pennsylvania after her father took ill.
“Talk me through it, will you?”
“Nope.”
She took her eyes off the “road” long enough to glance at him in surprise. “Nope?”
“You don’t need my help. You know what you’re doing.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course, I need your help.”
“No, you don’t.” He crossed his arms to make his point. “Bring us home, sweetheart.”
“If it looks like we’re going to crash, do something, will you?”
Slim laughed at her sarcastic tone. He loved her sarcasm, her humor, her sweet face and every other thing about her. She was it for him, and he’d never been happier than since she’d come into his life. Teaching her to fly had been one of the greatest thrills he’d ever experienced, and knowing what she’d overcome to get to this point made the victory that much sweeter.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her go through the steps he’d helped her to memorize. She paid attention to detail, which was one of many things that made her an excellent pilot. He was about to remind her to call in to the tower when she activated the radio and took care of that.
Slim smiled, his chest bursting with pride as she lined up the final approach and brought them in for a smooth, perfect landing. “Hot damn! Look at you go!”
Her delighted laughter filled him with unreasonable joy. “I did it!”
“You did it. You’re ready to solo.”
“Hell, no, I am not.” She taxied them expertly to the spot on the tarmac where he always parked the plane and cut the engines. “That’s not happening.”
“Erin, honey, look at me.”
She turned to him, albeit reluctantly.
Slim took her chin and looked her in the eyes. “You are ready.”
“I don’t want to solo. I don’t want to be licensed. What I’ve already done is more than enough for me. It’s way more than I ever thought I’d ever do. Remember when I didn’t think I’d ever get on a plane again?”
“I remember,” he said, caressing her cheek. “And I’m so, so proud of how far you’ve come since then. I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder of anyone in my entire life. You just flew us from Philly to Gansett, Erin. I never touched the controls.”
“I know, Slim,” she said smugly. “I did do that.”
“So why not finish it up? Do the solo, get your license. Imagine how you’ll feel when you’re holding that piece of paper.”
“I don’t need that. This—what I just did, what I’ve been doing for months—it’s enough for me. I’ll never have the need to fly anyone anywhere like you do, and I don’t want to solo.”
“Because you’re afraid to?”
“Well, yeah, a little bit. Mostly, it’s because it wouldn’t be any fun if you weren’t along for the ride. We both know I could do it if I had to, and that’s more than I ever expected to achieve when we started the lessons. You not only taught me how to fly, you took the fear out of it for me. That’s so, so huge, and I’ll always love you for that.”
Slim leaned over to kiss her. He could never resist her, especially when she was telling him she loved him.
She placed her hand on his face. “You’re the only passenger I’ll ever have, so what’s the point of a license?”
“I think it would mean something to you to have it, even if you never use it.”
“It wouldn’t. I’m delighted to have come this far, to know I could do it if I wanted to, which I don’t. You understand that, don’t you?”
“I’m trying to. It’s something I want for you, but only if you do, too.”
“I’ve given this a lot of thought, and my conclusion is that this, what I just did, is enough. Can you live with that?”
“Of course I can. All I wanted was for you to overcome your fear of flying. That you’re also an outstanding pilot makes it that much better.”
“I had an outstanding instructor.” She kissed him again. “And now we need to get going because we have a party to get to.”
“Before we do that, hear me when I tell you that was a beautiful flight, I’m super proud of you, and I love you more than anything.”
Smiling,