Wild Man Creek

Eleven




Jillian had gone back to her outdoor garden after Jack left. Kneeling, weeding, aerating roots, pulling a few root vegetables to check their progress, all she could do was think about the fact that this experience, her time in this house and on this land, was no longer indefinite. Even if this Bay Area couple didn’t make the right offer on the property, someone else would. She wasn’t the only person in the world who would find the fertile beauty of the land and the incredible refurbished space in that big old house irresistible.

She thought the most logical thing for her to do would be to return to San Jose in the fall and work for BSS again; it was work she understood, after all. Regardless of all Harry’s noise about how she should take on the world, start her own company now, move on to a stronger position, the only thing that felt right was the familiar. If she had to go back to corporate life, she’d go back to a company she understood.

She couldn’t be on vacation forever.

She wondered briefly if she should bite the bullet and start her next career as the owner of a B and B. That would justify staying here. With these thoughts in mind Jill worked away for a couple hours until she heard a familiar vehicle in the drive.

Colin had brought some groceries back to the house and volunteered to make their dinner. She took him up on the offer—she didn’t feel much like cooking. In fact, she rarely felt like cooking, or cleaning, or shopping for groceries. She was the kind of woman who did those things because they had to be done, not because they were fulfilling. She was the last person who should ever be the owner of a bed-and-breakfast.

She puttered in the upstairs bath for longer than usual. By the time she heard Colin’s feet on the stairs, coming for her, she was standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom that held all her clothes. She wore pale yellow capris that tied below the knees, a white tank covered by a loose-weave sweater that fell off one shoulder, and three-inch heels.

He walked into the room and came up behind her, his hands going to her hips, a smile on his lips as he met her eyes in the mirror. “Interesting look,” he muttered, kissing her neck.

She turned one ankle to get a side view of the shiny black pump. “I used to wear heels to work every day. Suits, dresses with jackets, skirts and sweater sets, even dress slacks, but I always wore heels. I liked being as tall as the men. I liked looking them in the eye.”

“You liked intimidating them,” he accused.

She turned in his arms. “I was a lot more girlie, that’s for sure. Probably more enticing to the male eye than jeans or shorts, tank tops and Skechers.”

“That might be, Jilly, but there’s almost nothing you can do to make yourself sexier to me.” He slid his hands around to her butt. “You’re the sexiest gardener I’ve ever messed around with.”

“You’re not more turned on by the capris with three-inch heels?”

“You even turn me on in those flannel pj’s pants.” He grinned. “Those babies slip off real easy….”

“Jack has someone interested in the house. My party is almost over. I’m going to have to decide where I’m going, what I’m doing.”

“Haven’t you been thinking about it?” he asked. “Hasn’t your deal with Jack always been till September?”

She nodded. “I fantasized that nothing would change and he wouldn’t have a better deal than me renting here for a long time, maybe another year. Instead of thinking about where I’d go and what I’d do, I was thinking about trying out a winter crop inside shelters with smudge pots and grow lights. But… Well, it was a respite, a vacation, sort of. A break from the real world. I can’t be on vacation forever.”

He laughed at her. “No one works harder at a vacation than you, Jilly. Up before the sun, farming all day, studying plants and gardening online all night.”

“Because it’s fun,” she said. “I guess the most rational thing would be to go back to San Jose and work at BSS. I should be so grateful I’m still welcome there.”

“You don’t sound grateful, honey.”

She turned around and faced the mirror again. “I don’t know how to explain this,” she said, tipping one foot up on its toe and peering at the reflection in the mirror. “That corporate girl in the heels?” She looked over her shoulder at him. She gave her head a little shake. “I don’t feel like her anymore.”

He tightened his arms around her waist. “Who do you feel like?” he asked softly.

“I feel like a settler, like a homesteader. I feel strangely unencumbered, like a woman who never has to set an alarm clock, like someone living off the land. Like a nature kid, but I’m not. I mean, I love organic plants because they’re a perfect challenge but I’m not one of those all-natural fanatics. I also love wearing synthetic blends, not hemp, and I’m not living off the land—I go to the grocery store. And I’m not unencumbered—I live in a huge, beautiful, restored Victorian with upkeep, with bills to pay. But I guess I can’t do this forever. I have to work.”

He laughed at her. “You work seven days a week. And maybe the reason you feel unencumbered is because you haven’t been under a lot of pressure. The plants and your staff have been cooperating. And maybe, just maybe, you could afford to do this for another year. Even if you have to find another plot of land to do it on. Jilly,” he said, squeezing her. “It’s okay to do what feels good, what feels right.”

“I have some money saved, but I’m only in my early thirties. If I don’t add income to the bottom line, I won’t have it for long.”

“Why don’t you think about it over dinner, honey? I bought us a roasted chicken fresh from the deli, some rice, and I tossed a salad—something I have to do until the salad in your garden is ready to pick.”



There was no clock in the bedroom so Jillian had no idea what time it was when she woke. It was pitch-black outside, but her eyes popped open. She slipped out of bed, found one of Colin’s T-shirts and slid it over her naked body. She found her furry slippers and went down the stairs to her office. She clicked on the computer and saw the hour was 2:47 a.m. She logged on and started skipping around the internet.

She was only vaguely aware of the sun coming up and the faint aroma of fresh coffee. And then Colin put a cup beside her on the desk.

“So that’s where my shirt went,” he said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

She glanced at him and saw that he wore only his jeans, zipped but not buttoned, bare chest and bare feet. God, but he was a beautiful man!

“Colin!” she said excitedly. “Do you know how many organic farms and gardens there are in California?”

“A lot, I imagine,” he said, smiling.

“And lots of commercial farms that concentrate on specific items, like organic berries for specially created jams and jellies, or rare, high-end-market fruits and vegetables that are used by five-star chefs in exclusive restaurants, like the stuff I’m trying to grow—the white asparagus, baby beets, teardrop tomatoes, that sort of thing. Then there’s the general organic market—stuff that goes to stores and delis.”

“You have a bright flush on your cheeks and your eyes are very sparkly,” he said. “How long have you been up?”

“Since just after two, I think.” She stood from her desk chair. “Colin, I think I can find a way to do this for a living. Maybe even a good living. At least good enough so I can get by without going back to the corporate world.”

“You think?” he asked.

“A lot depends on the plants—their health, strength, reliability. Customers, especially commercial customers like delis, restaurants and health food stores want to order in advance of the season, and they want some assurance that the fruits and vegetables will come in on time and in the quantities required. So—I’ll have some of those answers in the fall.” She smiled. “I bet I can do this.”

“I bet you can,” he agreed. “But then, I have trouble imagining there’s anything you can’t do, if it’s something you want to do.”



It was a little more complicated than making a phone call to Jack; he had a responsibility to the trust he managed and couldn’t just do a favor for a friend. “I have to get an appraisal,” he told Jillian, “and then list the property and review the offers. I’m sorry it’s not quicker or easier.”

“I understand,” she said. “By all means, I want you to do this the right way and at the end of the day, have no regrets. It’ll all work out as it’s supposed to.”

“And if you don’t get the property?” he asked her.

“Then I guess I’ll be talking to that Realtor of yours.”

“I am sorry, Jillian. You’re doing right by that place and I’d like to see you in it permanently.”

But Jillian didn’t see this as a discouraging bit of news. She’d never been afraid to work hard for what she wanted, and right now, that ethic was coming in handy.



A week later Colin and Jillian were on the road to Chico and while they were away, Jack would be showing the house to the couple from the Bay Area.

“Births, deaths, weddings and critical injuries get a lot of attention from the Riordan family,” Colin explained to Jillian as they made the drive to Chico for the wedding. “I’m afraid that I’m the one with the reputation for being a no-show most often, for making the fastest trip, shortest stay. Aiden, Sean and Luke have always been pretty tight. Aiden is actually close to everyone and the best about keeping up family relationships.”

“And now he wants all his brothers to witness for him,” she said.

“Typical Riordan move—gather them up, make sure everyone is front and center. I usually do what I can to resist the call—sometimes I arrive late, leave early, manage to find an excuse.”

“Why do I get the sense something has changed?” she asked him.

“Because it has. I almost met my maker. My brothers, though a huge pain in my ass, came running. I wanted to kill them all, but they were persistent and it’s probable that because they wouldn’t let me shove them away, I got the help I needed. I’m too goddamn stubborn to do it for myself, to even acknowledge what I need. Do you know they had a conference call about me? Seriously! Paddy was the first to suspect I had a problem with painkillers and he invoked the brotherhood. Aiden was the one to get personally involved—I think he was elected because he’s a doctor. And I think he put his credit card on the treatment bill. None of them will tell me if I owe anything for that. Not even Luke, and I’m pretty sure Luke would like to just shove me in a hole.”

“Come on.” She laughed. “Luke seems like a great brother.”

“When he’s in charge,” Colin said with an indulgent laugh. “He’s not that great when someone disagrees with him. He’s a diamond in the rough—apparently Shelby sees the diamond and the rest of us see the rough.”

“I so look forward to this,” she said with a laugh. “Having only had one sister growing up, I can’t imagine five rough-and-tumble boys. And it sounds like you’re all still at it. Listen, if it would be best for you to stay at your brother’s house with most of the family, I’m perfectly fine in the hotel by myself.”

He reached for her hand. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Really, it’s a family time, and I’m not—”

“You’re with me. Listen, there’s no good way to ask this so I’m going to blurt it out and hope I don’t fumble it too badly. Is taking you to a wedding, to a family gathering—is that going to confuse what we have going on together?”

She smiled at him; a purely indulgent smile. “You mean, am I going to hope for a change in plans?” She shook her head. “Don’t mess with me on this, Colin. I’m keeping my head and my body in the present. I’m not expecting anything to change. I’m not setting up any fantasies. Spending nights in bed with you is fantasy enough….”

“You never thought about marriage? Family? All that?”

She shook her head. “In an abstract way I thought it was somewhere in my future, but there were no contenders. The first person to ever take me looking at rings was Kurt, and I was reluctant to do that—I didn’t want to mislead him.” She shrugged. “I told him that might be way in the future, but I sure wasn’t there yet. I wasn’t in love with him yet—I wasn’t ready to take it that far….” She laughed bitterly. “Isn’t it funny that I was the holdout and yet it never once occurred to me that he was playing me? I was worldly in business at such a young age, but in relationships? Not so much.”

“Inexperienced,” he said. “Which probably means you hadn’t been hurt a lot.”

“Not in relationships with men. I had my hard knocks in other ways—losing my dad then my mom, the usual problems with money, growing up poor, struggling on a shoestring in school, then the struggle of paying for Nana’s assisted living, then her death… But men? No—only a few. Not traumatic. Don’t worry, Colin—I’m not going to try anything like holding your feet to the fire for a promise you never made. I want you to go to Africa! I want you to find what you need, to feel whole again, to reassure yourself that you haven’t missed anything! That feeling you had of being robbed? You’re not ever going to feel like I was the one to rob you. Think of me as your cheerleader. But could we make an agreement about that?”

“What do you need, Jilly?” he asked, squeezing her hand.

“I need you to not ask me again. It takes a certain amount of effort to keep from thinking into the future where you’re concerned. Let’s not keep reexamining that.”

“You’re right,” he said with a nod. “And I’m going to say one thing before the subject is dropped. It takes a certain amount of effort for me, too.”

It made her very happy to hear that, but she said, “It’s important for you to follow your plan, Colin. I could never be happy with some guy who spends his life feeling he made sacrifices for me, sacrifices I didn’t ask for and that you’d eventually resent. I want you to know you did everything in life that’s important to you.”

“You’re one in a million, you know that?” he asked, giving her hand a squeeze.

She lifted her chin. “Yeah, I know.”



Colin and Jillian arrived in Chico early Friday afternoon. Colin checked them into a neighborhood hotel near the country club where the wedding would take place, dropped their luggage and followed the directions they’d been given to Erin Foley’s house.

Aiden had told Colin that this was the house Erin grew up in—a comfortably large four-bedroom ranch. After Erin and Aiden met last summer they returned to Chico together; Aiden had moved into her house. And when Colin and Jillian arrived, the house was already full of people.

Colin’s brothers Luke and Sean, their wives and kids were all staying with Erin and Aiden. Patrick had not yet arrived, but there was room for him there or with Erin’s sister and matron of honor, Marcie. There was plenty of space left over. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay with us?” Aiden asked Colin.

“Thanks anyway,” Colin said. “We’ll be just fine.”

Not long after Colin and Jillian arrived, a big RV pulled up to the house, parked along the curb and gave the horn a blast.

“There they are,” Luke said. “The kids.”

Jillian was introduced to Colin’s mother, Maureen, and her boyfriend, George, and she quickly got the drift that they were traveling around in a motor coach, not even engaged. There were muttered jokes and chuckles about them living in sin, but the older couple seemed amused and completely unaffected.

Maureen took Jillian’s hand in both of hers. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Jillian,” she said. “And I can’t wait to hear all about the garden and your plans for it. I’m a gardener myself, though it’s been a while.”

“You know about me?” Jillian asked.

“It spread like wildfire, dear,” Maureen answered with a smile.

A little while later the baby of the family, Patrick, arrived in a rented car. He had to go through bone-crushing hugs from the men, kisses from the women. A beer was pressed into his hand but before taking a drink he looked askance at Colin. Colin smiled and raised his nonalcoholic brew in a toast, bringing a big grin out of the handsome young man. Young? He was probably older than Jillian.

Jillian had expected to enjoy herself, if only because she was with Colin. But it was way more than simply having a nice time—she had a fantastic time! As the entire family—both Erin’s family and the Riordans—gathered around the patio, kitchen and backyard, there was so much laughing she nearly had to hold her sides. Nothing was sacred; they went after each other like hungry dogs, telling stories on one another. No one was spared—even Maureen had to take her share of teasing.

The stories Jillian enjoyed the most were about the bride and groom who had met in Virgin River. “I couldn’t even get to first base until I shaved off my beard and chased a bear out of her kitchen!” Aiden said.

Jillian sat up straighter. “A bear?” she asked. “In her kitchen?”

“She was baking cookies with all the doors and windows open,” Aiden explained.

“Near as I can tell, Jillian only does Froot Loops,” Colin said.

“Well that goes without saying,” Sean said with a bad boy grin, getting a playful whack from his wife and laughter from the entire crowd.

Except Colin. He grew serious. “Jilly is outside from dawn till dark—sometimes pretty far from the house.”

Then the guys looked between each other. “They’re all over those mountains, Jillian,” Aiden said. “Do you have bear repellent? If not, you should get some, but keep it in a safe place. Erin even used it on my ex-wife. Well, turned out she was just my ex-psychopath, but still—that bear repellant packs a punch.”

“Really?” Jillian asked, sitting forward expectantly.

“I’ll tell you all about it later,” Colin promised. “I’ll get her some right away. Might serve to keep all of you at a distance, too.”

At five o’clock everyone headed for the club for rehearsal. Erin’s attendants were her sister, Marcie, and sisters-in-law Franci and Shelby, and Aiden’s four brothers were his groomsmen. The fact that they had three women and four men in their wedding party did not worry Erin and Aiden—they had the most important people in their life with them on this special day and that was all that mattered. Erin’s younger brother, Drew, would walk Erin down the aisle, and her brother-in-law, Ian, would sing at the wedding. He’d rehearsed his piece once and it nearly brought Jillian to her knees, his voice was so beautiful.

The rehearsal was a quick hour filled with fun and laughter, but the surprises were really just beginning. When they all got back to Erin’s house it was evident the caterers had been busy. Tables covered with linen tablecloths were set up in the backyard with lit tiki torches all around. There were flowers on the tables, china and crystal—it was magical. Members of the wedding party oohed and aahed over the delicious-looking buffet table that was laden with all sorts of food and beverages.

As she looked at all the guests milling around the back garden Jillian realized that their wedding party was made up entirely of family. There wasn’t a best friend or shirt-tail relative among them. They were all brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law or sisters-in-law. For as much as these Riordans were at each other all the time, they were one tight clan. It made her envious.

When the party split up that night they all agreed to be dressed for the wedding and back at the country club at 2:00 p.m. Erin was a modern bride and didn’t hold much with old-fashioned tradition. They were going to take their pictures in the afternoon before the wedding when the daylight was perfect. They’d do two hours of pictures, retire to their dressing rooms at the club for touch-ups and a little refreshment, and the wedding would take place at five.



Jillian and Colin had plans for the day of the wedding. They went out for a leisurely Saturday-morning breakfast, walked around town a bit, then went back to their motel to get ready so they could be at the club by two. Colin took his shower first—he didn’t need much time and wanted to stay out of Jill’s way. After cleaning up and trimming his beard, he threw on some sweats and went out to grab a newspaper and a can of cola, leaving her alone to get ready. When he returned and let himself into the room, the sight of her knocked the wind out of him.

Jillian was in front of the mirror, bent over at the waist while she dried her hair. She was wearing a pink strapless bra and a thong of a matching color. When she noticed him standing just inside the door, mesmerized, she straightened and turned off the blow-dryer. “Colin?”

He tossed the newspaper on the bed, put down his can of cola and went to her. “Look at you,” he said, his voice husky.

She laughed at him. “You’ve seen me in a lot less.”

“And every time it blows me away.” He put his big hands under her arms and slowly slid them down her sides. He lowered his mouth onto hers and kissed her, tonguing open her lips, penetrating her mouth. One of his hands slid up her back and held her head against his mouth. And he moaned hungrily. “Shouldn’t I be getting used to you by now? Every time I walk in the room and see you half-dressed, it’s like the first time. And I start to want you like it’s the first time.”

While he kissed her, his fingers found the snap on that little bra and opened it, releasing her breasts into his palms. He kissed her long and hard, then dipped his head to sample a hardened nipple, smiling inside as she let her head drop back in an erotic groan. He lifted his head and stared down into her eyes, his own eyes growing smoky-dark and intense as his hands slowly ran over her hips and slid that thong to her thighs, then to the floor.

“Uh-oh,” she whispered. “Are you going to make us late?”

“I’d like to make us no-shows,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.

“Oh, Colin, I don’t want to make a bad impression on your family….”

“You mean the impression that I can’t get enough of you? It’ll be okay. We’ll get there in plenty of time….”

His hands on her waist, he lifted her onto the vanity, spread her knees apart and knelt before her, kissing the inside of her thighs right before he plunged his mouth into her core. She gasped, threading her fingers into his hair, leaning away to give him all of herself. The hungry sounds he made were beautiful to her; the strength of his tongue on her, in her, drove her half out of her mind. He pulled her closer and closer to the edge of the vanity, giving himself more space, more room, more depth.

She didn’t last long; her fingers knotted into his hair, she fell back against the mirror behind the vanity and she shook with an orgasm so strong her eyes rolled back in her head. Colin didn’t stop torturing her for a long time. Finally he pulled his head back only to rip his T-shirt over his head, drop and kick off his sweats and stand ready between her legs.

With a hand under each side of her bottom, he pulled her toward him, onto him. He lifted her easily and her legs went around his waist. “Ahhh, Jilly…”

“Your arm, Colin… Be careful….”

“Don’t worry about my arm. When I have you like this, I just about go out of my mind.”

“Sit, Colin. Sit on the bed. Let me do some of the work….”

He grinned against her lips. “Now how can I say no to that?” He sat down on the edge of the bed, his hands still under her perfect butt, buried his hairy face in her neck and began to lift his hips, pumping into her, slowly at first. “God, Jilly,” he whispered. “You’re so perfect….”

Arms around his neck, she held him close to her, close in her, and as always with Colin, she was reaching another pinnacle quickly, gasping and grasping, tightening around him, her legs like a vise around his waist. She knew he felt it because he chuckled deep in his throat, then he plunged into her one more time and she could feel his pulsing, throbbing release.

They clung to each other for a long moment, sweating and still breathing hard. When they’d calmed and Jillian leaned away to look into his eyes, she found him smiling at her. He pushed her hair over her ear. “We’re so right together,” he said softly. “You just do it to me every time.”

She laughed softly and said, “Ah, I believe you just did it to me! And now we have to start over—we need showers. And we’re going to be late! Because you just can’t control yourself and when you can’t, I can’t!”

“Your cheeks are pink, sweetheart. Flushed and satisfied.”

“Get in the shower, Colin. And please hurry.”



In the end Colin had to quickly shower, don his tux and head for the country club for the two o’clock pictures with a promise to come back for Jillian between pictures and the ceremony. When he walked into the hotel room later she shot him a look, held her hand up to ward him off and said, “I swear, if you touch me I’ll scream! I don’t have time for another shower and fix-up!”

He just grinned at her and said, “Do you just have that little pink getup on under that dress? The little bra and thong and that’s all?”

“I think it would be a mistake to talk about it!”

“I’ll be thinking about it all night and then when I get you back here, I’m going to undress you with my teeth.”

“That’s fine, as long as you don’t embarrass me in front of your family!”

“Come on, sweetheart,” he said. “Let’s get you away from the bed. We have to get Aiden married.”



The wedding was elegant, held outside in a sheltered cove. There were about a hundred and fifty guests—many of them Erin’s partners, coworkers from the law firm, a few of her clients and some of Aiden’s partners from his new medical practice. They spoke the traditional vows in front of a woman minister, a string quartet played, Ian Buchanan sang “From This Moment On” and, before Jillian knew it, they were walking back down the aisle. Since the pictures were already done, the rest of the evening was dedicated to a classy party. There was a champagne hour during which many toasts were made, then a beautiful meal was served, finally an incredible cake was cut. There was dancing inside the country club, but most of the guests seemed content to linger outside, visiting, listening to the soft string music that floated over the warm spring night and among the trees and flowers.

Jillian was able to spend lots of time with Colin’s mother and sisters-in-law. By ten in the evening the bride, groom and most of their family were headed back to the house for coffee at the end of the day’s events.

Typically, the bride and groom would be on the next plane out of town to their honeymoon destination, but Aiden and Erin didn’t want to miss out on any time with the family that had traveled to their wedding, family who would have to get back to their lives by Monday. So, instead of leaving town right away, Aiden and Erin stayed and hosted a Sunday-morning brunch. The same catering service was back, this time with brunch specialties.

Most of the family would only be staying until Sunday afternoon. Colin didn’t have pressing business, but Jillian had to get back to her plants. In fact, of all the Riordans, the only ones who had nothing but time were Maureen and George. They planned to stay in Chico for a couple more days, then head north for a visit in Virgin River before getting back on the road.

Before everyone went their separate ways they spent Sunday afternoon just sitting in the garden and visiting. Colin sat on a lawn chair on the far side of the lawn watching Jillian. She was sitting on the grass with Shelby and Marcie, who had their babies, both around nine months old, playing together on a blanket. The girls were talking and laughing; they’d made friends easily. Jill was animated as she laughed with the girls, played with the babies and made them giggle.

He was in awe of a woman who could look so pure and proper one moment and the next be the wild woman driving him out of his mind in his bed. This was far outside of his experience. Oh, he had lots of experience with wild bedmates, but he couldn’t possibly have taken them to family gatherings. And then, of course, he’d dated some real proper girls, but hadn’t met one who could hold his attention after dark.

“Usually you’d expect it to be the bridegroom who would be all fogged over, gazing at his woman….”

Colin looked up to see Aiden smiling down at him. He laughed and shook his head; he was caught.

Aiden dragged a lawn chair over and sat beside Colin. “I like your girl,” he said. “Jillian’s a catch.”

Colin nodded. “She’s pretty wonderful. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

Aiden rested the ankle of his right leg on the knee of his left and leaned back in his lawn chair. “I take it you’re feeling good? Medically?”

“Can’t complain,” Colin said. “Almost never have pain anymore—just the elbow sometimes.” He demonstrated by stretching out his arm. It wasn’t quite straight. “I keep working it, but it’s still a little bent. But at least it’s strong now. I have no trouble carrying heavy things, like a big duffel. I’ve been working with some weights.”

“Don’t overdo it. Take it nice and slow,” Aiden advised. “So, this?” he asked, nodding toward Jill. “Serious?”

Colin gave Aiden his full attention. “Oh, I’m serious about Jill. I’m just not ready to settle down.”

Aiden shrugged. “You haven’t known her all that long. That could change.”

“It’s not about marriage, Aiden. The crash and all the bullshit that followed sneaked up on me. I was a long way from hanging up my helmet. I planned to give the Army thirty, then find a civilian flying job until the age of sixty-five, or as long as my medical held out. I screwed that up.”

“True, you have issues to work through,” Aiden said. “But you aren’t necessarily at the end of your flying career. It’s just a matter of going through all the necessary steps to get your license back.”

“Aiden, I have my license back.”

Aiden sat up straighter. “No kidding? Good for you! When did that happen?”

“Couple of months ago. Six months clean and sober, all healed up—I have my medical back and I’m licensed, but noncurrent. Can’t fly if you’re not current. I’ll need check rides—but first I’ll need an employer willing to set up those checks to get my license current. The Army isn’t going to take me back and a civilian operation in this country won’t be ready for someone like me until the last thing on my résumé looks a lot better than it does right now. Listen—it’s going to be a little complicated….”

“What’s going on, Colin?” Aiden asked.

“I don’t think we should talk about all this here, today. It’s the day after your wedding and I’m not ready to get opinions from Sean and Luke and Paddy. Not to mention our mother.”

Aiden lifted a brow. “I’m ready,” he said.

“Can this be just between us for now? For a few more weeks anyway?”

“As long as you’re not going to tell me you are looking for work as a mercenary,” Aiden said.

“Not directly, but…” He shrugged. “Never know…”

Aiden leaned forward and put his forehead in his hand. “Aw, man…”

“That’s not my first choice. Like I said, I’m not ready to settle down, meaning I’m not ready for a quiet life. I’m not like Luke—I’m not going to be satisfied with some cabins by the river and a sweet little wife and baby. It’s not me. It’s not me yet, anyway. I like to be on the move, challenge myself, do the things not everyone can do. So I have some plans that will keep me moving, give me a chance to check out the possibilities.”

“And these plans?”

“Well, first of all, when my lease on the cabin is up at the end of summer, I’m headed for Africa. I’ve never been there. I want to see as much of it as I can, but I’m planning to do two things for sure—take pictures of wildlife in the Serengeti and check out their aviation installations, see if they need any helicopter pilots. Bush pilots.”

Aiden tilted his head with a nod. “That’s not too shocking for me to handle. Not like the boys in this family haven’t been all over the world. You’re still thinking about this?”

“Nope. I have a ticket—September 1. I’m planning to give the African continent six months—I know they have safari and hunting companies that use commercial helicopters. Since a lot of their clientele are Americans, Canadians and Europeans, an American pilot might come in handy. They even have a couple of aviation ministries that regularly look for pilots, but they pretty much stick to religious guys.”

“So,” Aiden said, “six months and you’re back state-side?”

“No telling,” Colin said, shaking his head. “If I don’t find what I’m looking for in Africa, there are lots of other places to explore, to experience, and while I’m at it, places where I can look for work. Alaska, Costa Rica, Australia and New Zealand, maybe India. I’m into the animals, Aiden, not the sunsets.”

“What about the painting?”

“The painting is good—feeds something in me, but I’m not sure what. I think eventually I’ll paint full-time, and that’s one of the reasons I want to take photographs in the Serengeti and hopefully the Amazon—the pictures could keep me busy painting for a long time. But I’m not ready to give up my lifestyle to paint every day. As long as I can travel and fly, painting is good for me. As a steady diet? Just not enough.”

The expression around Aiden’s eyes was almost sad. “I get it,” he said. “It’s how you’ve always lived—I get that. What about Jillian?”

Colin smiled sentimentally. “You just can’t imagine how incredible she is. She understands and encourages me to do this. She wants me to be sure I’ve done what I have to do to get my life back. It’ll be hard to say goodbye, but I’m going to stay in touch with her. There’s email, live video feed, international cell phones. Until we get bored with the long distance, or she meets someone who is better for her, I’m not planning on just giving her up.” He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe Jilly will get tired of her funky little tomatoes and decide to come with me? She’s a risk taker at heart—she’s not afraid of anything.”

Aiden was contemplative for a moment before he said, “Hmm. Sounds like a good plan.”

Colin sat straighter. “Seriously?”

Aiden just shrugged and smiled.

“No lecture about leaving a good woman just for travel and good times?”

Aiden chuckled. “Colin, if it turns out you love that woman,” he said, tilting his head toward Jillian, “you’ll learn a lot more if you actually leave her than you will if you give up your plans to stay with her. I just hope your instincts and timing are real, real good because if they’re not, the agony of the last year is going to seem like a picnic compared to trying to make a life without the other half of your heart.”