that could get him into a hell of a lot of trouble. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and a heavy flannel coat off the workbench. As he left the hangar, he made his way to the beach. He dragged one of the camp chairs over to the cold fire pit. Slouching in the seat, he propped his boots on the charred rocks surrounding the pit, crossed his feet at the ankles, and twisted the cap off the Bud.
Stars packed the inky sky, and an owl hooted behind him. As he took a long drink, he listened to the waves sloshing against the dock and the rustling of critters in the underbrush. On the far side of the lake, house lights flickered through the trees. He kept his gaze straight ahead, refusing to look at the house behind him. The house that glowed like a damn Christmas card, making him feel welcome when he knew he was not.
My nana always told me this lake was magical. This water could heal almost anything.
Has it healed you?
Almost.
He might want Jenny with a passion that burned through him, but he knew he wasn’t what she wanted. Today as he’d tossed the ball back and forth with Cody and sat in the stands with Jenny, he let himself fall into a fantasy. One where he was more than just a stranger passing through. Where he was a part of something, part of a family. A part of Jenny’s life. He let himself wonder what it would be like to have her waiting for him when he came down from the sky. But he wouldn’t be coming down from the sky. Ever again. Jenny and his days as a top gun were as out of reach as the stars overhead.
He took another drink. Silhouetted in the moonlight, the seaplane rocked gently at the end of the dock. He waited to feel the same disgust he did every time he looked at the bulky, cumbersome plane, but tonight, looking at the plane bobbing in the water, he couldn’t make himself forget what it had meant to fly. He tried to push the memories away but found it impossible. With the wide-open sky overhead, he could almost hear the roar of the jet engines, smell the jet fuel. There had been a time when he’d been up in that endless sky going eight hundred miles an hour. He’d thought he could walk away, find a bit of peace on an isolated stretch of beach in Mexico. Now he wasn’t sure.
In one gulp, he drained almost half his beer and pulled the invitation out of the front pocket of his jacket. The heavy card stock was intricately engraved. He glanced at the date. Two weeks from today the event would take place. His thumb rubbed over the embossed words, and he wondered what had prompted him to say he would go. But he knew. Just like he knew that he needed to get out of here, as far away from Jenny as possible, and from everything that reminded him of what he could never have.
I have no intention of causing your daughter any harm, Mrs. Beckinsale. Jenny and I have a business relationship. That’s all.
He’d meant what he’d said. Hurting Jenny was the last thing he intended. If he could just walk away, he would. But if he left, he’d leave with nothing, and, more importantly, Jenny and this damn business she was trying so hard to keep afloat would still go under. He’d heard the calls she’d been making all week. He also knew nothing would ever come of them. Twice now, he’d seen how much her family worried about her. It was obvious they would do anything for her—even bail her out. Just like Steven had said.
Jared looked at the invitation again. Maybe this event was just the ticket. Maybe, with her family’s help, she would finally accept the truth: there was no way she could save this business. The sooner she accepted that, the better off they’d both be. Then he could leave, get out of her life, and get her out of his mind.
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number he thought he’d never call again.
“Hello?” The voice was raspy from sleep.
“Hart? Wake up.”
He could hear a female voice in the background: “Sugar, come back over here. I’ve got something special I want to give you.”
“Worth, is that you?” Kenny Hart asked, apparently ignoring his female companion. “Christ, man. I’ve