Shadow in Serenity

twenty-six


Carny was almost surprised to see Logan when he pulled up at the hangar the next morning. Even though he had helped her find Jason, and despite that quiet, vulnerable moment last night, she half expected that he had disappeared in the dead of night.

Yet here he was, with Jack at his heels, ready for his lesson as if it were any other day in Serenity.

“How’s Jason this morning?” Logan asked as he entered the office.

She smiled. “Fine. I was going to keep him home from school, since he didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, but he wanted to go.”

“Good,” he said. “I’m glad he’s okay.”

It was only then that she noticed he was holding something behind his back. “What’s that? What are you hiding?”

With an awkward grin, he brought the wrapped box around and handed it to her. “It’s for you. I hope I got the right size.”

“For me?” She looked almost distressed as she took it. “Logan, you shouldn’t have gotten me —”

“No, it’s really from Jason,” he said. “Sort of. Open it and I’ll explain.”

She opened the box and pulled out the red dress that had been on the mannequin in the window of Miss Mabel’s Boutique for the past two weeks. She had noticed it, but she would never have bought it for herself. It was too expensive, for one thing, and it would definitely draw attention — something that made her uncomfortable. Still, she tried to smile. “It’s … beautiful. But … how could it be from Jason?”

Logan leaned against her desk, smiling. “Yesterday when Jason gave me the money, he told me what he would do with his earnings. He said the first thing he’d buy was that dress in Miss Mabel’s window, so that you could wear it and find a husband.”

Carny almost choked. “What?”

Logan chuckled. “Yep. That’s what he said. He wanted you to look nice so you could find a husband.”

Flabbergasted, she dropped the dress back into the box. “I hope you told him that I’m not in the market for a husband.”

“I told him I had that feeling. He said it didn’t matter, that the dress would make husband candidates find you.”

She moaned and dropped into her chair. “That child.”

“It was sweet,” Logan said. “And this morning I thought it was kind of sad that Jason wasn’t going to earn that money now. I hated to think of you going through the rest of your life without finding a husband, so I thought I’d go ahead and get it as soon as they opened. Time’s a-wasting.”

Twisting her lips to keep from laughing, Carny threw the dress at him and hit him in the face.

“Hey, now!” Laughing, Logan caught it and shook it out. “It really is gorgeous, Carny. I think you should wear it.”

“It’s not me,” she said. “But thanks, anyway. You can take it back now.”

“Oh, no,” he said. “I insist that you keep it. Your son has excellent taste, even if his motives are a little questionable.”

She took the dress back and sighed. “Where on earth would I wear this?”

His smile grew more serious. “Guess someone will just have to take you out someplace fancy.”

“I’m not the fancy type.”

“Oh, but I think you are,” he said. “There’s a beautiful French restaurant in Houston, and it would do that dress justice.”

“Well, Houston’s a long way from here.”

“Not by plane.”

She laughed. “Right. We’re supposed to hop in the plane and jaunt down to Houston for one dinner? I don’t think so.”

“A woman who drives a Harley can’t be spontaneous enough to do that?”

She regarded him soberly. “I like adventure, but I have Jason to think of and a business to run.”

“What if it coincided with business?” he asked.

She smiled at his persistence. “How could it?”

“Easy. I hire you to fly me to Houston, and then Dallas, and later to Austin, where I have to meet with some of the bankers who want to talk to me about investing in the park. While we’re there, I take you to dinner … in that red dress.”

His mention of his investors took the amusement out of the moment. She folded the dress and laid it back in the box. “Come on, Logan. We both know there aren’t any investors. And I’m not interested in flying your getaway plane.”

“Getaway plane?” he asked, throwing his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt. Carny, you’ll know my every move. We’ll get hotel rooms next door to each other, so you can hear me if I skip out. And I’ll have to leave Jack with somebody while I’m meeting with my team. He can stay with you, sort of as collateral.”

She hesitated, wanting to believe him. “Logan, are you forgetting that I saw the packed suitcases last night?”

“You never gave me the chance to explain.”

“Explain what? You were on your way out of town.”

“Yes, but why? It was for this trip, but I was planning to go by car. Your reaction made me realize what people might think if I just disappeared like that. So I’ll keep my room here, leave all my stuff, and one of Serenity’s most upstanding citizens will fly me wherever I need to go and keep an eye on me while I’m there.”

For a moment, she only stared at him, wondering if he could, indeed, be trusted.

“Come on, Carny. I have to meet with these people. It’s very important. I’m offering you the chance to make sure I don’t run out with the money.”

“All right,” she said, finally. “I’ll do it. But it’s going to cost you.”

“I never doubted that.”

“When do we leave?”

“I was thinking about Monday. That should give us time to get all our ducks in a row. And we won’t have to miss the church picnic Saturday.”

She stared at him for a long moment. “Okay,” she said, finally. “I’ll make sure that time is free.”

“And don’t forget the dress,” he said.

She held his gaze for a second longer than she should have. “Thanks, Brisco. For the dress, and for Jason …”

Logan shrugged. Their eyes locked, eloquent with words that shouldn’t be spoken.

“I guess we should go out to the plane now. You wanted me to teach you how to land, didn’t you?”

Logan smiled and followed her out.