jets and planes and where he wanted to sit. He was truly the happiest kid on the planet in that moment. Nash did that for him. I was going to forever be in his debt for giving Jace something I would never be able to do. It was an experience of a lifetime—for both of us.
“Jace, do you want to see the cockpit?” Nash asked.
“Really?” Jace exclaimed.
“Yep,” he answered.
“I’ll wait back here,” I said. I watched Nash gently lead Jace to the cockpit.
Moments like this made me regret some of the choices I made. Was I depriving Jace? I shook my head. This was not anything. It was a quick trip. Nash didn’t want a family. He was having fun right now. I had no doubt in my mind he would get bored and move on.
“Mom, I got to see the cockpit!” Jace exclaimed as he rushed back to me.
“Was it awesome?”
“It was so cool. I want to be a pilot one day.”
I smiled and nodded. “Then you can. Sit down and you need to put your seatbelt on.”
“Do we get dinner?”
Nash smiled. “We do. We have to wait until we’re in the air, but we are going to have cheeseburgers and fries. Does that work for you?”
“He’s going to think he won the lottery,” I joked.
“I’m so excited!” Jace said. “When do we get to fly?”
“It’ll be a few minutes,” Nash told him.
“Is this a business trip?” I asked him. It occurred to me I had no idea where we were going or why.
“You could say that,” he hedged.
“Will you tell me where we are going? California is pretty big.”
“San Francisco,” he answered. “Have you ever been?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I’ve never left the east coast.”
“You’re in for a treat.”
“What’s in California?” I pressed.
“Business.”
It was a curt response and said he didn’t want to tell me the whole story. I wasn’t going to push it. There needed to be some separation between us. I couldn’t let myself get used to him or this life. It wasn’t anything permanent.
I heard the engines fire up. I made sure Jace was buckled up. “Are you ready?” I asked him.
I was sure the kid was about ready to explode from an overload of excitement. I laughed as I watched him grip his armrests. I turned to Nash who was staring at his phone. “He’s never going to sleep tonight,” I told him.
“Thankfully we’re going back in time three hours,” he joked. “Hopefully, he’ll be ready to go down before midnight California time.”
I smiled and focused on Jace once again. Ten minutes later, we were in the air and Jace had his face glued to the small window. “I can’t see anything!” he complained.
“Do you want to watch some TV?” Nash asked. “There are movies too.”
“Can I?” Jace asked me.
“Yes, go ahead.”
I watched Nash get him set up. It was crazy to think of the alpha asshole I knew Nash to be acting so patiently with Jace. He said he never wanted to have a family, but he was a natural. Once he got Jace set up, he came back and sat in the chair that faced mine.
“He’s not scared at all,” he said in a low voice.
I shrugged. “I guess not.”
“I remember the first time I flew I was terrified,” he said.
“Me too,” I agreed. “I think he is just too excited to be afraid. You have made his whole year.”
“I’m glad I could make him smile,” he said. “How was his week at school?”
“He didn’t get beat up and he didn’t beat anyone up,” I said.
“Is that what qualifies as a good week?” he joked.
“Lately it has been,” I said with a sigh. “Tell me something. Does it ever get better?”
“What do you mean?”
“You told him you’d been bullied in school. He’s in third grade. Will this end?”
He looked thoughtful. “I’m afraid to answer that.”
“Why?”
“Because I think it will get better, but my reason is not something you agree with. We are on this little plane with no escape.”
I rolled my eyes. “You think it was him hitting the boy that will stop the bullying?”
He slowly nodded. “I do. I’m not condoning it, but it shows he will not be an easy target.”
“I will only say this once,” I said and held up a finger. “I think you might be right. But I will not let him go around beating kids up. I will ground him forever if he does.”
“I don’t blame you. I won’t interfere ever again.”