idea,” she said. “I need wheels for this thing.”
How the hell she didn’t realize that was beyond me. I gestured to the desk ahead as we crept forward, because she was still not making any move to get her wallet out. In a crowded airport, the rest of the line would get frustrated fast with someone who didn’t have their shit together. “You need your driver’s license or passport out, and your boarding pass.” I pulled my ID out, and my boarding pass, hoping she was paying attention.
She beamed up at me as if I’d given her a winning lottery ticket. “Thank you.” She dug in her purse, and came out with the stuff she needed.
She made it through the check-in okay, but when it was time to put her belongings on the conveyor belt, before sending it through the x-ray machine, she hesitated. I saw her looking at the sign that listed all the prohibited items.
“First time to fly?” I asked her.
She spun to face me, and her brown eyes went wide. “No. I mean.” She bit down on her lip. “It’s the first time I’ve left through this terminal.” She pointed at the sign. “I have a lot of stuff listed there in my purse.”
Behind us, people were already starting to groan and make irritated noises. I looked at my watch. I still had plenty of time before I boarded. “Do you need some help?”
“Please.”
To hell with being creepy. We needed to get this done. I picked up her big camera bag from the floor and slung it over my shoulder. I motioned for the couple behind me to go forward, and I took the young woman by the arm and moved her back in line with me.
“Show me what’s in your bag.”
Her cheeks turned red. “Everything?”
What the hell did she have in there? “Do you know the rules?”
“Which rules?”
How old was this woman? Who didn’t know the security screening rules? “Come on.” I tapped her shoulder and pointed. “We’re going to the back of the line. All the way back. We’re lucky you qualified for TSA pre-screening, or we’d be in a much longer line.” About ten people scooted around us, and I held out my hand. “Let me see.”
She handed over her bag. Inside was a glass water bottle with a silicone case, a huge bottle of lotion, and a giant can of hairspray and about a million other things.
“You can’t take half of this on board.”
“Why not?”
Had she been living under a rock? Maybe she’d been homeschooled, and wasn’t allowed to watch television or read the news. “The TSA says so. They think it could lead to something dangerous--”
“Like a bo--”
I put my hand up to her mouth. It was way more personal than I’d normally get with anyone I didn’t know. Had she seriously been about to say the word bomb? At an airport?
“Rule number one. If you were about to say what I think you were, don’t. Never ever say that word in an airport for any reason.”
She nodded. “That makes sense.”
“Rule two.” I picked up the hairspray. “Anything over two ounces is a big no.”
“You must think I’m insane,” she said, but she didn’t look the least bit embarrassed. Her large brown eyes were dancing.
“You’re definitely insane. Why do you need this much of hairspray? Are you staying for a year?”
She grabbed the can from me. “My cousin’s getting married.”
“She can’t pack her own hairspray?”
She popped the lid off and shook it, then pretended to aim it at my face.
I took the can back before she accidentally doused me. “See, that’s why they can’t allow aerosol sprays on the plane.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you’re scary with it. And it can blind someone.”
She laughed. “I’ve always wanted to be scary. But the can is for my clients. No one ever has enough hairspray at a wedding.”
“Ever?”
“Nope. Not ever.”
I opened her bag again. I’d have preferred to dump it on the ground. I rounded up all the stuff that wasn’t allowed, and handed it to her. “You better ditch all that. Your only other option is going back to your car and stashing it there.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Too much trouble.” She leaned over the rope and dropped it all into a trash can.
“I think you’re the one that’s trouble.”
“That was lame. Really lame.”
“I never said I was cool.”
She put her hands on her hips and stared up at me. “I’m Loren,” she said.
“Jackson Williams.” I found myself laughing. This woman was pure chaos. “Headed back