“I’ll run the names and see what I can find in the meantime. After I check on Sienna and get some sleep, that is. Safe flight.” Ryan hung up and Carter pocketed his phone before hurrying up the stairs.
Paul closed the door and locked it as Reagan, Daniel, and Stewart worked together to get the plane ready for takeoff. Carter decided not to bother them so he closed the door to the cockpit and walked around the metal wall between the entrance to the plane and the horse stalls to where Suzanne and Mick stood. Normally people sat in the back of the plane where twelve seats were located for takeoff and landing. But there were three seats up front attached to the metal divider facing the cockpit door that Carter would call jump seats. On the other side were the first three stalls, one currently holding Miss Mambo. Everyone was petting the horse, but Mrs. Bristol turned to him as the plane began to move. “Where should we sit?”
“There are three seats right up here. It’s a tight fit to get to the seats in the back,” Carter told them. The aisle to the back of the plane was a small space between the stalls and the wall of the airplane, probably no more than a foot wide with a low ceiling.
The three moved to the jump seats facing the closed cockpit door and took their seats. Mick sat on the far side, holding one of Suzanne’s hands. Carter took the seat on the other side of Suzanne. Suzanne reached over and grabbed Carter’s hand. With a sad look in her eyes, she squeezed it. “Thank you for being such a good friend, Carter.”
As the plane taxied down the runway, Diego took a seat in the back of the plane with Paul. “That’s what friends are for, Mrs. Bristol.”
“Don’t you think you can call me Suzanne? I’ve known you your whole life,” she said, finally smiling.
“Which is exactly why you will always be Mrs. Bristol to me.” Carter laughed as the plane picked up speed. The nose lifted off the ground, and then they were airborne.
14
So far the flight had gone smoothly. Miss Mambo was the best passenger Reagan had ever flown. But now they were cruising over the mountains as they flew out of Kentucky and into Tennessee. Reagan handed over the controls to Daniel and unbuckled herself from the captain’s chair.
She slid behind Stewart, who was sitting facing his wall of buttons and controls, and opened the cockpit door. Stepping out into the body of the plane, she found Carter, Mick, and Mrs. Bristol on the other side of the metal divider talking as Diego stood in front of Miss Mambo lovingly scratching her behind the ears. Paul was standing next to him as they continued their discussion of the very memorable woman from last night.
“We should be in Ocala in an hour and fifteen minutes. We’ve just flown by Knoxville and are settling in over the Appalachian Mountains.” Reagan grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and held it out to Mrs. Bristol, who shook her head, but Mick took it from her with a kind smile.
“It’s so cold up here,” Mick commented as he opened the bottle.
“The horses like to feel the air on them. They also like it cooler. Lucky for you, we’re only flying your horse so we can keep it at a balmy sixty-two. When this place is full, it’s kept at fifty-seven degrees with vents at full blast. It’s why Diego and Paul have sweatshirts with them. I have blankets if you need them,” Reagan offered, but Mick shook his head, indicating he was fine.
“You have such a wonderful young man here. Carter was telling me that you two have been dating over a year already.” Mrs. Bristol smiled as Mick walked away to talk to Diego and Paul.
“That’s right,” Reagan smiled. It was nice being able to talk openly about their relationship. “Did Carter tell you we fell in love on a flight just like this?”
“He sure did,” Suzanne beamed. “But now I’m going to let you two young people have some time together while I go snuggle my girl.”
Reagan protested, but Mrs. Bristol held up her hand and smiled kindly as she walked the five feet or so to see Miss Mambo. Reagan watched as she and Mick began talking while Miss Mambo nuzzled Mrs. Bristol’s neck, rubbing her scent all over the older woman dressed elegantly in a white pantsuit. Not the most appropriate for a horse transport, but Mrs. Bristol didn’t seem to care as Miss Mambo rubbed her nose and head all over her shoulder and neck.
Carter turned to join Reagan in watching the horse’s antics. “It’s nice being here with you. It amazes me how you can fly such a large plane so confidently. I remember when your father sent you to the wilds of Alaska to learn to fly on those small planes.”
Reagan smiled at the memory. She’d spent one fall going into winter flying with bush pilots to learn what a plane could really do and how to handle anything Mother Nature threw at you. “I enjoyed it. There’s something about flying that feels right to me.”
“Is there something that feels right about me?” Carter asked, dropping his voice so she could barely hear it over the engines.
“More than right. Perfect,” Reagan said back to Carter before kissing him on his lips. The kiss wasn’t heated. It was one of ease between two people who were in love.
Reagan’s brow creased with confusion as Carter took a step back and then went down on one knee. “What are you . . . oh my God, Carter.” Reagan gasped as Carter pulled out a black velvet box and opened it. Inside was a cushion-cut diamond ring. It was perfect. It wasn’t too big, and it wasn’t overly flashy. And that was good because she didn’t like huge rings. It was simple, just like her.
“I fell in love with you on a plane and I want to get engaged to you on one too. For over a year I have watched you grow, take risks, and expand your business. I couldn’t be more proud of you than I already am. But I also was lucky and saw the other side of you—the side that loves fiercely and deeply. The side that loves lying in bed holding each other and talking about our dreams. So, with your father’s blessing, I want to ask, Reagan, will you marry me?”
Reagan blinked through the tears and nodded. “Yes, oh my gosh, yes!”
Carter reached for the ring and slipped it onto her finger. She saw the love in his eyes, the happiness in his face, and knew it mirrored her own. She heard her name being called in celebration as Carter stood and wrapped his arms around her.
“I love you with all my heart and soul,” Carter whispered to her as the plane suddenly went quiet.
“Reagan!” Stewart yelled from the doorway of the metal divider. The shout pulled her from her fairy tale. Reagan looked around before sprinting for the cockpit. She didn’t need him to tell her what was wrong. She already knew.
“Buckle up! Secure the cabin!” she yelled over her shoulder as she leapt into her chair. “Get Paul up here!” Her eyes read all the gauges before she disengaged autopilot and took control of the plane. “It’s like we’re out of gas, but that’s not possible.”
“The gas level reads full.” Daniel said before looking at her with fear. “It shouldn’t still be reading full.”
“What the hell?” Paul asked, squeezing into the cockpit.
“We’re out of gas,” Reagan told him.
“We can’t be. I tested the fuel early this morning.” But there was no denying it. They were going down. “Dammit,” Paul cursed before running from the cockpit to see if there was a leak or something he could fix.
The fear of crashing should have frozen her. Daniel sat unmoving as the reality of the situation hit. But Reagan’s mind was already in full motion. They were going down. “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Keeneston Air flight 1217. I am flying at 25,000 feet and the fuel is out.”
“Should we try to start the engines?” Daniel asked as he tried to hide the panic in his voice.
“No time. Look for someplace to land. Stewart, see what you can do,” Reagan ordered as Stewart tried flipping the fuses to see if that would kickstart the engine. The time spent trying to restart the engines would be better spent trying to find a good place to land.