One Long Embrace (Eternal Bachelors Club #5)

“I know as much as you do, Elaine,” he ground out and jumped up.

Tara looked out through the window next to her but couldn’t see anything either. Had an animal wandered onto the tarmac by accident? Truth be told, she hoped it was the case. Any delay in returning to New York was welcome.

Her father banged on the door to the cockpit. When it opened a few seconds later, Tara leaned out of her seat to catch a glimpse through the large cockpit window to see what the pilot was seeing. But her father blocked most of her view.

Tara released her seatbelt.

“What’s going on? Why aren’t we taking off?” her father barked at the pilot.

“There’s a truck on the runway,” the pilot replied, pointing to the nose of the plane.

Tara jumped from her seat and rushed to the cockpit door, peering past her father. What she saw put a smile on her face. A sign saying Charlie’s After-School Boating was painted onto the side of the truck. The hood was open and an old man was leaning over it as if he was trying to repair something.

“Charlie,” she murmured to herself. If Charlie was here, trying to stop the plane from taking off, Jay couldn’t be far.

Her father pivoted and pinned her with a furious glare. “You know who that is?”

Involuntarily, she stumbled back a few paces, but her father grabbed her upper arms, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh. “Who is this?”

“Damn it, Tara, what’s going on here?” her mother added, her voice shrill and impatient. “What have you done now?”

Tara smiled involuntarily, looking over her shoulder. “I’ve done nothing.” She turned her head back to face her father. “That’s all my boyfriend’s work I believe. So I guess you lost this round.”

“How dare you—”

Her father’s voice was drowned out by a voice coming from a megaphone from outside. “This is the police. Pilot of aircraft N37PAR, please turn off your engines. This is an order.”

Tara glanced out one of the side windows and saw a police car with its lights flashing. It had pulled up close to the plane. She pulled herself from her father’s grip.

The pilot exchanged a look with the co-pilot before looking over his shoulder. “Sorry, sir, but I have to do what the police say.”

A moment later the engine noise died down completely.

“Open the door to the fuselage,” came the next order from the police.

Inside, Tara felt giddy with excitement. She could barely contain herself until the co-pilot had opened the door to the outside and lowered down the stairs. Moments later, a police officer entered.

“What’s going on here?” Tara’s father addressed him instantly, his voice booming. “Why aren’t you removing that truck from the runway?”

“Mr. Pierpont?” the police officer asked.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“We’ve been told that you’re holding a Tara Pierpont against her will and are planning to take her across state lines,” the police officer said calmly.

“That’s preposterous! Who’s spouting such nonsense?”

“I am!”

Tara whipped her head to the door again and saw Jay enter the fuselage. “Jay!” She flew into his arms.

He pressed her to him. “Are you all right, darlin’?”

“Now I am,” she murmured.

“What is this?” her father growled. “Arrest this man! He’s an imposter and a thief!”

Tara looked over her shoulder, watching as the policeman raised his eyebrows and corrected her father, “I’m afraid, sir, that accusation is incorrect. We verified the identity of this man. And there’s no doubt that this is Mr. Bohannon and that he is the owner of the yacht that was falsely reported as stolen. And if I find out that you were the one making such a false report, there’ll be consequences.”

Tara’s mother pointed at Jay. “But this man is a waiter!” She glared at Tara. “You said so yourself.”

“I tried to tell you who he is, but you wouldn’t listen,” Tara replied.

“Bohannon from Hannon Boats?” her father asked.

“Yes, sir, I’m the owner of Hannon Boats, not that it should matter. Your daughter loves me, no matter who I am. And that’s all you should care about.”

“But, but,” her mother stuttered. “Why didn’t you tell us you were dating Mr. Bohannon? We would have given our consent. We would never put any stones in the way of your happiness.”

Tara huffed. “Yes, as long as I’m happy with a rich man, isn’t that what you mean?”

“Well, let’s not discuss something like that in front of strangers,” her mother said quickly.

“No, let’s,” Tara insisted. “You have no right to tell me who I can or can’t love.”

Her father cleared his throat. “Mr. Bohannon, I apologize for the misunderstanding. I hope this will not taint our relationship in the future.”

Jay nodded. “Mr. Pierpont, I hope you understand that our relationship will depend on the decisions your daughter makes. I won’t go against her wishes.”