Just For A Moment by Kate Carley

Chapter 10

With her bodyspread on the softest of sheets, Grace sighed at the sensation of Aaron’s hard body pressed against hers. His shoulders were rock hard, as were his abs and ass. And no matter where she placed her hands, she couldn’t quite hold onto the man who plunged inside of her. Together, they moved higher and higher.

“Fly with me, Grace,” he whispered, his words blending with an urgent, shrill sound.

The annoying tone grew louder, more persistent, dragging Grace out of her glorious dream with a groan of dissatisfaction on her lips.

Dreams versus reality.

Grace had played with that thought after she’d left Aaron’s place. And even as she’d worked on Miller Orthodontics website for several hours before falling into bed, she hadn’t stopped daydreaming about kissing him again. He’d commanded her lips and body with such exhilarating power—with only a kiss. But being flesh to flesh with him? Yeah, that was all a dream.

Sure, it would make for a fun reality. But what she should’ve been thinking about was how on earth she was ever going to complete the Tigercat and fulfill her granddad’s dream—a nearly impossible dream, according to Aaron. How could she hope to honor her granddad’s wishes in the face of the hard facts?

Her granddad had always been the dreamer to her realist. It was probably why she’d always loved being around him when she was a child. Her dreamworld had sparked to life when her granddad joined in playing. He’d taught her to think outside the box, to consider every possibility even if it seemed ridiculous. But even as an adult, Grace had benefited from his visionary thinking when he’d encouraged her to open her own website design business. Without him, she would’ve been working for someone else without the flexibility for where and when she accomplished her daily work—flexibility she enjoyed in Oak Bend.

No regular boss would be cool with her living in the middle of nowhere and billing hours in the middle of the night.

That thought flew through Grace’s mind again several hours later outside the airfield, and she let a bubble of laughter escape. Feeling freer than normal, she pulled open the door at Aaron’s Aeronautics. “Good morning,” she called as she stepped inside.

Aaron straightened and glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Just barely. It’s lunchtime.”

She held up the to-go bag from Mickey’s. “Hope you’re in the mood for a burger.”

“Food? Always.” Aaron disappeared through a small door in back that led to the washrooms and came out a moment later, drying his hands on a white paper towel. He tossed it into the trash and signaled her to follow. “Come on. Let’s sit in my office.”

Grace spread the fries out on a paper napkin before putting one burger in front of Aaron and taking the other one for herself. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want on your burger, so I went basic.”

“You could’ve just told Madge it was for me, and she would’ve known what I like.”

“Ha! She would’ve known I was buying this for you.”

“True. Are you worried we’d be the talk of the town?”

“Kind of. Gossip is an ugly thing.”

“It’s not gossip if it’s true.”

She grunted. “You’ve lived in a small town too long.”

“Maybe.” He bit into his burger.

“And is it true?”

“Yeah. Of course, it is.” Aaron cocked his eyebrow up as he took a sip of his water. “I’m not going to lie. I can’t wait to kiss that sweet mouth of yours again.”

“I want that, too.” Memories of him moving inside her flashed through her mind, but there was no way she’d tell him of her dreams last night.

“Tomorrow after work, we’ll take a flight in the Cessna, and then we’ll go out to dinner.”

“I’d love that.” Grace rewrapped her half-eaten burger. “I gave it a lot of thought last night. About the biplane and the old Cessna.”

“Did you come up with three reasons?”

She could tell by his tone and expression that he was playing around. “Don’t you tease me, Aaron Beckett. My method works,” she said in the most dramatic way possible and then offered him a smile. “It all comes down to dreams versus reality.”

“I’m listening.” Aaron leaned back giving her his full attention. She loved that about him, the way he listened with his entire body.

“I’m a realist, Aaron. But my granddad encouraged me to dream big. I want to keep his dream alive. I’m going to sell the biplane and the old Cessna. Then, I’ll reinvest that money into the Tigercat. I want to complete the restoration just like he dreamed. All original parts.” She grinned at Aaron. “What do I need to do?”

“Uh… well.”

“Come on. Win must’ve had a plan to get it up and going?”

“Win enjoyed the hunt. I remember him mentioning some antique aeronautic websites.” Aaron jotted down a few organizations on a notepad and ripped out the page, handing it to Grace. “There are probably others.”

“Thank you.” Grace bent to tuck the paper into her handbag at her feet.

“It’s going to be an uphill battle on the Tigercat.”

Grace met his eyes. “I’m not afraid of hard work if that’s what you mean.”

“No. I didn’t mean you were.”

“I know. I’m being overly sensitive about it.” She grabbed for her water bottle and took a sip. “So, what do you think of my plan?”

“It sounds like a good one.” He popped a French fry into his mouth and chewed. “Your expression says you’ve got another question.”

Grace laughed. “I do. Do you know anyone interested in buying an old Cessna or biplane?”

“Not at the moment. Take some time to set a price on each of them. Research selling prices for Cessna Skyhawks and Stearman biplanes.”

“I’m going to do that when I get home. I feel like I have a plan now, and I want to get started with it. As far as the Tigercat, what can I do? What parts did Win get that could be put on?”

Aaron barked out a laugh and then shook his head. “It’s not like that, Grace. We need all the parts we’re looking for. Then, I’ll rebuild the carburetor and the fuel intake system. Otherwise, we’ll have a thousand pieces spread across the hangar.”

“So, it’s a waiting game?” She could hear the disappointment in her own voice, so she pasted on a smile, hoping it looked convincing.

“Well, yes. It’s a waiting game, but you’ve got some searching to do, too.”

“And until I put the Cessna up for sale, I’m going to enjoy my new airplane.”

* * *

Aaron loathedhimself at the moment. All afternoon, that burger from Mickey’s—and a whole lot of guilt—sat like a giant anvil in his stomach. If someone threw him into the deepest part of Lake Michigan, he would sink to the bottom without a fighting chance. Some might say he deserved it.

He hadn’t been truthful with Grace about Win’s project on the Tigercat. Why? He’d told her it was going to be an uphill battle. That finding original parts was going to be extremely difficult. So, why not let her know that Win had bought a plane that was unsalvageable?

Sure, her granddad had fixed up a few cosmetic issues. He’d gotten some parts for the optical landing system. But overall, there just weren’t original parts available for that beautiful old plane. That was likely why the previous owner had sold her off. Win, however, hadn’t been willing to give up. More than ever, he wanted that old girl to be restored to her original beauty so she could fly.

So, why on God’s green earth hadn’t Aaron been straight with Grace?

He slowed his truck as he turned into the long driveway at the Greens’ home, anxious to get his daughter and get home.

“Daddy! Watch what I can do!” Piper didn’t bother to wait for Aaron to get out of his truck. She climbed onto the banister that circled the porch and jumped to the ground.

“Piper, you’ve got to be careful. You could get hurt doing that.” Cal had come around the corner just in time to see her jump.

“But I’m okay. See, Grampa Cal?” She held out her arms for him to examine, to prove she was okay.

When Cal glanced at him, Aaron simply shrugged. Sure, he might’ve encouraged Piper to be a bit more rough-and-tumble than he should have. Part of that was certainly due to being a single dad, raising a daughter from birth. And part of it was Piper’s energetic personality.

“Did you leave any toys out?” When Piper nodded, Aaron pointed at the house. “Go on in and get them picked up. We’re not leaving that for your grandparents to do.”

She did as he requested without a word of back talk or asking for a moment to do something else. She knew the rules. If she wanted fun, she was expected to follow his requests.

“You seem out of sorts,” Cal said as they followed behind Piper at a distance.

“I’m… fine.” Aaron nodded his head in agreement with his words, but it was such a lie. Seemed like that was all he could do the past few days. Deceiving. Withholding the truth.

But sometimes the truth was ugly. Well, maybe not ugly, but for Grace, it might appear as if her grandfather had been duped—an old man taken for a huge chunk of money and his endless search for gold that didn’t exist. Maybe Aaron’s opinions were distorting the story, but he didn’t want to risk tarnishing Grace’s memories of her grandfather.

Still, he needed to tell her the full story.

“Hi, Aaron. How was work?” Dolores asked, stepping out on the porch.

“Fine.” He lied. Again. “How was Piper?”

“Full of energy.”

“It’s enough to wear a person out,” Aaron said as his daughter reappeared on the porch beside Dolores. This time Piper had her backpack in her hand. “Would you be able to watch her until after dinner tomorrow? I have plans to go flying and to dinner with a friend.”

“That’s absolutely fine. If it’ll be past Piper’s bedtime, she could stay overnight here.” His ex-mother-in-law had always been diplomatic in matters like this, but she did wink at him.

“No. I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”

“Just call if you change your mind.”

“I will. Come on, Piper!” Aaron called to his daughter where she stood next to her grandparents.

“See ya tomorrow.” Cal touched Piper’s head, and she reached up to hug him.

Aaron watched the interaction between the three of them, and for the first time, he noticed that Cal and Dolores looked tired. Old. They really weren’t that old. Mid-sixties. Not so old that they couldn’t care for their grandchild. But perhaps her antics were getting to be too much for the older couple.

Together, he and Piper drove the short distance back to their house. When they’d gotten inside, he said, “Piper, I’ve been thinking.”

“‘Bout what?”

“I’ve been thinking that maybe your jumping beans need to take a break at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.”

“Why?”

“I’m afraid they might be getting too tired.”

“They don’t have jumping beans. They just watch me and mine.”

He grunted a laugh. “Yeah, but that’s exhausting.”

“Why?”

“Hmmm. I’m not quite sure but watching is pretty tiring. Maybe because they worry while they watch. So, I want you to settle down while you’re at their place. No more climbing. No more jumping. Got it?”

“Oh. Okay.” Piper nodded and seemed to ponder what he’d said. “I’ve been thinking, too.”

“Would you like me to slice up an apple while you tell me about it?” When she agreed, Aaron went to the refrigerator and pulled out a piece of fruit, setting to work to make them a little snack.

“Dad, I’ve been thinking that Grace will be the perfect new mom for me.”

He jerked his head upward, and the paring knife in his hand slipped, just missing his thumb. “Why would you say that? Grace and I are just friends.”

“Grandma Dolly said that her and Grandpa started out as friends. It makes for the best relationships, she says.”

“Well…” He hated to indicate that her grandmother was wrong, but he sure as hell wasn’t being a good friend to Grace right now, withholding the full story. “That’s true. Friendship is a good way for a relationship to begin. But that doesn’t mean Grace would become your mom.”

The expression of disbelief on Piper’s face—something she must’ve learned at school—called him all kinds of stupid. “Duh.”

“What?” He shook his head. “Do not take that tone, young lady.”

“Sorry.” She didn’t sound the least bit sorry, and he must’ve been throwing off his own disbelief, loud and clear. “I am sorry. But don’t pretend that you don’t like Grace. I saw you almost kiss her.”

“You saw?” He’d hoped that hadn’t been the case.

“Yeah.” Piper shrugged, picking up the one and only slice of apple he’d managed to cut. “And I just wanted you to know that I’m okay with it.” She smiled as she took a bite.

“Thanks for letting me know.” Good Lord, he’d really fumbled on that one. He picked up the paring knife, cored and sliced the remaining portion of apple, and popped one of the slices into his mouth. The single-parent-dating rule existed to prevent this exact situation. And he’d flat out failed it. Hell, he’d ignored it altogether.

“So, you’re taking Grace flying? And then to dinner?”

No use in lying now. “Yeah.”

“Where are you taking her?”

“Thought we’d go to Gino’s for pizza or Bender’s. I think we’ll play it by ear.”

“You like her, don’t you?”

Where had his little baby girl gone? How had she grown up overnight? Aaron shook his head to clear the thoughts. There were still many years for her to be a child. “I do like Grace. She’s a nice person, and I enjoy spending time with her.”

“I like her, too.”