“Didn’t you hear?” Poppy asked as she came to the table to take Reagan’s drink order. “Bridget broke her ankle today.”
“What happened?” Sydney asked with surprise. “Is she okay?”
“She’s madder than an old wet hen,” Poppy told them. “Luckily, she has staff in place to continue with all the training. She’ll be limited in her mobility for a while. Dr. Emma was in here after her shift at the ER, and she said Bridget was already back at work ordering everyone around from a chair she had them place outside for her. Apparently she was trying to teach a dog to scale an eight-foot wall and was sitting on top of it. When she dropped to the ground, she landed wrong and broke her ankle.”
“Poor Bridget,” Sydney sighed.
“Poor Ahmed. He’s going to have a hard time keeping her from running around,” Aniyah said with a shake of her head. And it was true. “But the real gossip is you and Carter. You’re all flushed and glowing. I know that look well. Why do you think I always look so good?”
Reagan felt her face flush. Sometimes she wished she wasn’t a redhead because her fair skin did nothing to hide embarrassment.
“Betting erupted following several bets on your father killing Carter tonight. Word is they came to blows. There was also a sharp uptick in engagement bets,” Poppy whispered the inside information as she topped off the sweet tea. Carter hadn’t told her any of that. When she’d asked about how it went with her father, Carter had said they’d come to an understanding and that everything was good.
“Gossiping, I see,” Carter said with a grin as he placed both hands on Reagan’s shoulders and bent to kiss her cheek.
“We’re not gossiping, we’re catching up,” Sydney said haughtily.
“Until you went and kissed Reagan in the middle of the café. That’ll be gossiped about all night,” Piper teased, though it was the truth.
“Then it’s a good thing you don’t know what I have planned for the rest of the night.” Carter winked at them and Reagan smacked his hand that rested on her shoulder.
“I have these great oils,” Aniyah started but Piper cut her off.
“I don’t want my cousin to catch fire, Aniyah.” Piper looked over at them and though she smiled, Reagan saw it wasn’t a full smile. “We’ll let you get to your dinner. Remember what I said about Nikki.”
“Why don’t you call her?” Reagan asked as Carter waved goodbye to the women and headed over to a tableful of his friends to say hi.
“I’ve thought about it, but I have a lot going on at the lab right now. I’m heading to Rahmi to visit the international lab in a month or two and then to Washington, D.C. I could be gone months. I don’t know when I would be able to see the little guy.”
“Piper,” Reagan said, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand. “Is everything okay?”
Piper flashed a smile, but Reagan knew her so well she knew it was fake. “Everything is great. I just have something I’m working on, and it’s distracting me. I haven’t said it yet, but I’m happy for you. Carter is a wonderful man and the two of you are perfect together. So perfect I’m putting a bet on it. But, now I need to get back to the lab. I’ll see y’all tomorrow.”
“Not me,” Reagan said, standing to hug Piper. “I fly out first thing in the morning.”
“Then we’ll get together when you get home.” With a smile that held a little grimace, Piper walked out of the café.
“She needs to get laid, bless her heart,” Aniyah said as she made the sign of the cross and offered up her prayer to the heavens.
“Ready for dinner?” Carter asked as he slipped his arm around her waist.
“Starving.” Reagan ignored the way Aniyah snorted as if she knew that the reason Reagan was so hungry was because she’d just had hot shower sex.
Reagan placed her order with Poppy and when they finally had a moment alone, she leaned forward. “So, what really happened with my dad?”
“We came to an understanding. We’re good. Don’t worry. About tomorrow, what time do we need to leave the house?” Carter asked, changing the subject.
“Five in the morning. Daniel is copiloting, so it’ll be a little different from the last time we flew together.”
“I haven’t flown in the new plane. I’m excited. Do I get my very own stall?” Carter teased.
Reagan laughed and shook her head. “There’s a small seat behind mine. You can sit there for takeoff and landing or you can sit in one of the passenger seats in the main part of the plane. Then we’ll be in Ocala for six hours before flying back here.”
“And Daniel can fly the plane if I want to steal you away for a roll in the hay? Literally.”
Reagan laughed and shook her head. “We are not joining the mile-high club with Mrs. Bristol on the plane. But, yes, he can fly the plane. There’s an autopilot too.”
Poppy came with their BLT sandwiches, and before long, they were wrapped up in their own world as they talked about their day and upcoming events they could now go to as a couple. The patrons of the café were placing bets and people were coming and going, but all they saw were each other.
13
It was still dark out when Carter and Reagan arrived at the airport in Lexington. Reagan had an office next to her hangar and the light was already on in the office when they parked next to the building. Carter saw a man walking around the plane with a clipboard and a flashlight as the exterior lights from the building illuminated the plane.
“Is that Daniel?” Carter asked as Reagan looked up from the paperwork in her hands. She wore her official dress of black slacks and a royal blue blouse with her company logo embroidered on it and gold captain’s bars on the shoulders and sleeves.
“No, that’s Stewart, the flight engineer,” she told him as she slipped the paperwork into her satchel. “He’s doing the preflight check. We don’t want the horse waiting long, so we get everything ready beforehand. Daniel is the copilot and will be here soon. And that’s Paul, the flight mechanic,” Reagan said, pointing to a man in jeans and a T-shirt who was walking up the portable flight stairs carrying a bag and a sweatshirt. Reagan opened the passenger door and Carter followed into her office.
“Why is the plane running?” Carter asked when the door closed.
“To run the air conditioner and allow all the system checks to be done.” Reagan paused in front of the main desk. “Jane, do you remember my boyfriend, Carter Ashton?” Reagan asked the woman sitting at the large L-shaped desk in the middle of the rectangular room. There was a door on the back left wall that led to the attached mechanics’ garage and storage area, and then an open doorway in the back right of the room that led into the small galley kitchen. The office was not fancy by any means. The floor resembled any school cafeteria and the office could be described as “cramped college dorm room chic.” Behind Jane’s desk was a second desk that belonged to Reagan and a couple of chairs propped against the walls.
Jane smiled kindly. She was the mother of three teenage boys, and Carter always thought she had such a peaceful and calm look on her face. No matter what work threw at her, it couldn’t be worse than living with three teenage boys.
“I do. But I didn’t know he was your boyfriend. It’s so nice to see you again, Mr. Ashton.” She held out her hand and Carter shook it. Jane was about fifteen years older than Carter with blonde hair cut short, no nail polish, and barely any makeup. She didn’t need it. She looked like the cute girl next door.
“Please, call me Carter. Did Reagan tell you I’m hopping the flight with her?”
“That’s wonderful, but I’ll need—”
“Here you go,” Reagan said, passing her all the paperwork for the flight.