you’re just leaving anyway.” He slid the car over into the drop-off lane in front of the airport. “You let me know when you want to come down for another visit. I’ll be happy to have you. I might even pick your sorry ass up at the gate if you ask me nicely.” He flashed a grin from the driver’s seat.
“I don’t know if I had the chance to tell you this, Amar, but you haven’t changed a bit.” Roman shook his head and laughed as he retrieved his bags from the trunk and headed into the terminal.
He made his way through check-in and security. The airport was horribly crowded. Parents yelled at each other as they tried to keep track of their children, people swayed restlessly as they queued up for overpriced coffee, and young businessmen in suits carried out their deals loudly on their phones. Roman just wanted to get past all of it and back to the peace and quiet of Wyoming, and he was grateful for the short wait at the gate.
Though he hadn’t meant to, he ended up next to the window to accommodate a young couple who wanted to sit together. They whispered excitedly to each other, her hand touching his arm, his hand touching her leg. The seats were too close together for Roman to scoot his hulking frame any further away from them, but they were oblivious anyway. He spent the rest of his flight concentrating on all the ranch work that awaited him when he got back home, purposely keeping Melody from his mind.
The plane landed with a thump that woke him up. Roman had been dreaming, but seeing the runway stream by through the window made him forget what it had been about. He was there. He was back home in Wyoming, right where he belonged. His new clan was there, and they wouldn’t create the sort of drama he’d been living through over the last few weeks. It would all just be work as usual, and that was exactly what he needed.
As eager as he was to get off the plane, and even though he knew exactly where his one carry-on was stowed, his best-laid plans to get off a plane quickly never worked out. There were always too many people in the aisle, blocking the way as they stumbled over feet and purses to find their bags and get themselves together. Roman had often found this annoying. It wasn’t as though it was a surprise that the plane had landed when it did; they ought to have been prepared for it. Moreover, they ought to have had a little more courtesy and organization so they could’ve disembarked in an orderly fashion. People, however, were much like cattle. The most you could hope for was that they’d be walking in the right direction.
Stepping into the airport, Roman was greeted with a blast of hot air and the sound of Christmas music ringing in his ears. Someone had decorated the place with cheap plastic garland and a sad old Christmas tree that should’ve been put out of its misery long ago. Faded gold ornaments dangled from its sagging branches.
Roman didn’t want to see any of that as it was. He wasn’t in the holiday spirit, but it was all the more aggravating because it made him think of Melody. If she had been there, she would’ve had the whole place glitzed up to the nines, with a beautiful tree, tons of lights, and little touches that would make all the difference. He thought of that sprig of holly that had been in her hair that first night he’d met her. He could easily imagine himself reaching up and taking it out, watching as her hair tumbled down in a cloud of untamed fire.
No. The whole reason he’d come back early was to get away from Melody, and that meant physically as well as emotionally. He had no place in her life, and she had no place in his. This was how it was supposed to be. Who cared that their inner animals had created such chaos? He could restore balance by force, and he would do just that.
Roman trudged through the airport, his carry-on bag slung over his shoulder. The Sheridan County Airport was much smaller than the one he’d left just a few hours ago, and he was grateful for it. He’d get his suitcase and be on his way.
“There he is!” someone called off to his left.
“Hold up