Just For A Moment by Kate Carley
Chapter 11
With azure skyabove and fluffy white cumulous clouds below, Grace clutched the edge of her seat as Aaron took them higher. A delicate wisp of a cloud floated into their way, and they plunged through it, exiting out the other side.
“Wow! It’s exhilarating! I don’t fly often,” Grace said into the microphone attached to the headset she wore. According to Aaron, it cut down on the noise and ensured they could hear one another clearly.
“With the way you’ve got that seat in a death grip, I’m not surprised.” He wore a sexy grin as his words gently caressed her ears. Did he find this as intimate as she did?
“But this is such a different view. Whenever I’ve flown before, I’ve looked out a side window. Here, I’m seeing what’s in front of me and where we’re going. It’s just incredible.”
“It’s addictive. I think this is why people get their pilot’s license and buy personal planes.” He tilted his head, surveying her. “Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
Grace laughed. “Yes. When you picked me up. When you helped me get into your truck. And when we arrived at the airstrip. You’re the perfect gentleman.”
“I like your dress,”—he pointed at her skirt and then her top—“or outfit. Or whatever you call it.”
She fluffed her skirt a little, loving the flowing length with swirling autumn colors that paired perfectly with knee high boots and a burgundy button-down top. “Thank you.”
For several long moments, the roar of the engine and the whir of the propeller was all Grace could hear as she gazed out the window, catching glimpses between the clouds of the ground below. Occasionally, Aaron dipped below the clouds, and for a second her stomach defied gravity and then fell back to where it ought to be. And when Aaron pointed the aircraft upward, a flutter of panic and delight danced in the pit of her stomach. It reminded her of riding a roller coaster at the county fair.
Together they rose and fell, soaring across the sky like a bird darting between the tree branches on a spring day.
“You’re being kind of quiet,” Grace said.
“Hmm. Just concentrating.”
“Really? Seems more like you’re thinking. Like I can hear your gears grinding.”
He chuckled. “I’m going to take us below the clouds as we approach town. I thought you might enjoy a bird’s eye view of Oak Bend before we land.”
“I’d love that.”
Aaron piloted the plane low enough for her to see the sights. “There is something I want to discuss with you.”
“What?” Grace asked waiting for him to reply. She could tell by his expression it was serious. But then the ground below them fell away to a ravine and the most the fabulous view. “Look at that, Aaron!” She pointed toward the highest peak in the area. “That’s Overlook Ridge. Back when I was in middle school, that’s where everyone went to make out—or at least that’s what I heard.”
“So, you never got kissed there?”
“No. I really wasn’t old enough for that—a car date.”
“When did you have your first kiss?”
“Third grade, behind the school during recess. His name was Robby. Or Bobby. Something like that.” She shrugged at the fleeting memory.
“Not too big of an impression if you can’t remember his name.”
“Nope. In ninth grade, I had my first real boyfriend, Donovan Nicoletti.”
“And you remember his name.”
Grace laughed. “He made a big impression.”
They glided over the main stretch of town, past Mickey’s and the theater. She could see it all.
“Right there.” She pointed to the line of rooftops a few blocks south of the town square. “That’s where I used to live. I can see everything up here.”
All too soon, Aaron turned the plane toward the airstrip. The landing was smooth and gentle. Nothing like the landings on other flights she’d taken. Slowly, they taxied toward the hangar where they’d started.
“Like always, your Skyhawk flies like an old pro,” he said.
“That’s right. I own this thing. At least for now.” She smiled at Aaron.
He parked the plane close to the hangar, popped open the door, and stepped down. He reached up to help Grace make her exit, and she flung herself into his arms.
“That was amazing, Aaron!” With her arms around his neck, she kissed his cheek and then pulled back to plant a lingering kiss on his lips.
With a gentle stroke, she let her tongue tease at his bottom lip until he joined in. His tongue skimmed against hers and played over that space on the roof of her mouth, right behind her front teeth. Before she could start rubbing against him and panting like she hadn’t had sex in nearly a year, she slowed the kiss and eased back. “Thank you for taking me flying.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He grinned like a teenager. “I’ll take every chance I get to go for a ride.”
“Do you have your own plane?”
“No. I can’t afford that. But it’s a goal for the future.”
Grace bobbed her head. “That’s a good goal.” She reached up and touched the left wing. “Now what? How do we get it back inside the hangar?”
“I’ve got a caddy to park it. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
The process of hooking up the plane to the battery-operated caddy didn’t take long, and neither did maneuvering the plane back into its parking place inside her granddad’s hangar. When he was done, he closed the wide overhead door to the hangar and crooked his finger at her. “Come over here.”
He leaned against the side of the plane he’d just parked. “I want to kiss you again.”
“I wanted to kiss you while we were up in the air.” Grace moved toward him, and when she was near, he snared her in his arms and drew her even closer until she could feel his hardness against her stomach.
“A little peck would’ve been okay. But I could become easily distracted by you, Ms. Holland. Actually, if someone else had been flying the plane, I would’ve loved to be distracted by you straddling my lap and kissing me senseless.”
“Mile high club?”
He laughed. “Me? I’ve never done it before, if that’s what you mean.”
She ran the tip of her tongue along the shell of his ear. “Would you want to if you could get away with it?”
“Oh, woman. I imagine you and I could get into some trouble.” Laughing, he flung open the front door of the Cessna, and stepping up, he took the driver’s seat. Just like the front seat of a car, he slid the seat way back. “Join me?”
Grace took his outstretched hand, and he helped her mount the giant step up.
Throwing one leg over him, Grace shifted her skirt out of the way and sat across his legs. Chest to chest. The steel length of his hardened cock wedged against that sensitive spot between her legs. The feeling was so delicious, she sighed.
“Grace.” He groaned out her name as he ravaged her mouth, commanding her body even though she was on top. With his fingers tangled in her hair, he directed her chin upward, kissing down the side of her neck to the deep V of her shirt. Heat radiated through her body, igniting a firestorm of need.
“I want you,” she whispered while his nimble fingers unbuttoned her shirt and worked the cups of her bra down over her breasts. Roughly, he rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefinger until they were flushed, and then his tongue laved the rosy tips of flesh.
“Are we doing this?” he asked, drawing the pebble of flesh deep between his lips.
“I could come just sitting here grinding against you, but I’d prefer to feel you inside me. Condom?”
When he pulled a foil packet from his pocket, Grace lifted herself slightly and shimmied her underwear down her legs. She tossed the tiny piece of satin, wet with her arousal, onto the floor by their feet and watched him sheath himself.
“This isn’t how I plan—”
“Hush. You rolled on that condom like a mile-high expert.”
“Planning isn’t the same as hoping.”
Grace interrupted his chivalrous platitudes with her mouth, licking the defined bow of his upper lip, and then, when he attempted to take control of the kiss, she sucked on his tongue, caressing the very tip of it with hers until he moaned. “Next time,” she whispered the words as a promise, drawing another moan from him.
With his thick erection in her fist, she aligned them together and took him in, delighting in each scrumptious inch. Maybe it was the adrenaline pumping through her veins after that flight, but she felt bolder. Moving with confidence and propelled by the mounting tension, she set a pace that stimulated her clit with the exact motion she needed.
“Grace, look at me.”
Unaware that she’d closed her eyes, they popped open only to be ensnared in the intensity of his gaze. Exposed to his inquisitive regard, she was certain he could see that she was losing her heart to him with every rise and fall of her hips against his.
“Aaron,” she breathed out his name. “It feels amazing.”
“I know.” His hands were at her waist, encouraging her to move faster, harder.
“I need more,” she whispered, wanting this connection to last forever.
Suddenly, her world tilted, and somehow, Aaron pivoted them within the tiny space and took control. Her back was flat on the seat cushions with her knees caught up in his arms and pressed against her chest. His penetration was deeper than she’d ever thought possible, and he thrust wildly, crushing her clit between their bodies with each stroke.
His aggressive tempo overwhelmed her, along with turbulent sensations he created. Building the tension. Amplifying the pleasure. Driving her upward until there was no place left to go. Except to free-fall.
“Aaron!” The explosion hit her without further warning, and he followed swiftly after her.
Coming back to earth in Aaron’s arms was pure bliss. Lazily, his fingers stroked her cheek, and he dotted kisses on her lips until she cracked open her eyes.
“Hmm.” She caressed his back, noting the way his lungs were pumping just like hers, dragging in breath after breath. “I want more of this. More of you.”
“Definitely. But not here. We both have homes with beds.”
Grace released a breathless laugh.
“Next time, I’m going to worship your body, not this half-clothed, in-public sex.”
“I’ll give you half-clothed. But this is my hangar. Hardly public.”
“Semi-public?”
“Are the doors locked?” she asked, raking her fingers through his hair.
She felt the rumble of a laugh through his body. “No. It’s Oak Bend. We don’t lock the doors.”
“What do you think the percentages are for first times as a quickie, half clothed, semi-public location versus in a bed? Fifty-fifty?”
He laughed. “Probably seventy-thirty.”
“What a horny society we live in.”
She flicked her tongue over his upper lip, and he immediately kissed her, his tongue returned to the duel they’d begun earlier. It wouldn’t take long to get her ready again, and his kisses made it clear that was what he planned to do. But suddenly, he jerked away, sitting up and reaching for his phone.
“Sorry. I’ve gotten a string of texts and now a call. Hold that thought.” With his free hand, he entwined fingers with hers as he connected the call. “Hi, Dolores.”
Even with his breathless tone, Grace could hear the love and respect he had for his ex-mother-in-law. That made her like him all the more.
“What happened?”
His breathlessness turned urgent, and she quickly untangled her legs from his, so he could jump down from the plane. She climbed down after him, taking a second to adjust her clothing and rebutton her blouse.
“Where are you taking her?” A slight pause. “We’ll meet you.”
“Is Piper okay?”
“They think she broke her arm. They’re on their way to the hospital in Cass Harbor.” They locked up the hangar and rushed toward Aaron’s truck. “I can drop you off at your place.”
“No. That’s out of the way. You need to get to your daughter. I can hang around and wait with you. Or I can hike back to my house. Either way.”
“Of course, I want you to stay.”
“What will Piper say?”
His eyebrow lifted, but he pinched his lips together. “You don’t want to know.”
“Now I really want to know.”
He made a gesture as if giving up. “She wants you to be her new mom.”
Grace laughed. “Well, that’s sweet. But she hasn’t seen me when I’m grumpy.”
“She likes you, Grace.”
“I like her, too.”
“Sorry, this is messing up our first date.”
“That’s not important. We’ve got to take care of your little girl.”
Aaron broke every speed limit law between Oak Bend and Cass Harbor. From what he’d said about the phone call from Dolores, Grace figured that Piper and his in-laws hadn’t arrived all that long before she and Aaron did.
They rushed into the emergency entrance, and Aaron went straight to the desk. A security guard sat behind glass.
“My daughter was brought in with a broken arm.”
“I’ll call back to the doctor,” the security guard said. “Please wait over there.” He pointed to the spacious waiting area on the left.
“Aaron.” An older man stood from his chair where he’d been waiting.
“Hey, Cal.”
“They took Piper back right away. They only allow one visitor back at a time, so Dolores went in with her.”
They took several steps away from the security desk. “First, Cal this is my friend, Grace Holland. Grace, this is Cal Green, Piper’s grandfather.” After they shared pleasantries, Aaron asked, “What happened? Dolores said she fell.”
“You know how rambunctious she can be. Just like yesterday when you picked her up, she was climbing up on the railing on the porch and jumping off. Next thing I know, she’s screaming in pain, holding her arm.”
“I told her she wasn’t allowed to do that anymore.”
“Yes, she mentioned that to me and Dolores on the way here.” Cal chuckled. “She was bemoaning the fact that she hadn’t listened to you.”
The electric doors swung open. “Mr. Beckett,” a young nurse called. When Aaron stepped forward, she said, “Follow me.”
Aaron paused, dropped a kiss on Grace’s lips, and squeezed her hand. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be here.”
“Come. Sit with me, Grace.”
She followed Cal Green back to his spot, curious what he thought of Aaron seeing her—the woman who had disappeared from town sixteen years ago and whose family hadn’t returned—and kissing her right there in front of everyone. She wasn’t sure what she thought about that either.
“I was sorry to hear about Edwin. He was a good man.”
“Thanks.”
“I knew your folks when you lived here years ago. How are they?”
She pasted on what she hoped was a pleasant smile. “My mom is doing well. She lives in Grand Rapids. My dad is in Detroit. I don’t see much of him.”
“Oh. They’re divorced?”
“Yes. They separated when we moved away. Caroline’s death was just too much for their relationship.”
“I hear that the death of a child can do that. Rip a family apart.”
Grace considered that for a moment and then nodded. “Maybe.”
From her perspective, Caroline’s death had seemed like an excuse for their parents. They never talked about the loss of their eldest child. And they never sought out counseling to work to repair their marriage. She might’ve been a child, but at thirteen and fourteen, she had been well aware of what was happening in the home, even prior to the accident.
“Grace Holland?” an older woman paced up to where Grace and Cal were sitting.
“This is my Dolores,” Cal said.
Grace stood to greet the woman. “Mrs. Green, it’s been a long time since eighth grade English class.”
“Oh, yes it has been. But you’ve grown into quite the lovely woman.” She turned to her husband. “It’s going to be a while. Should we walk down to the cafeteria to grab a quick bite? Or should we just head home? Aaron says you can wait, or we can drop you. Whichever you’d prefer.”
“Let’s grab dinner here,” Cal said, standing and giving his back a stretch. “Grace, come dine with us.”
The narrow food selection was disappointing, although both Cal and Dolores quickly chose the meatloaf dinner with mashed potatoes and a side of green beans. Grace decided to go for the salad bar, which looked freshly prepared with a wide variety of toppings.
They had just sat down to eat when a hospital worker approached the table. “Gracie Jane Holland? Is that you?”
Grace had just shoveled a forkful of greens into her mouth, so she simply nodded.
“Remember me?” The snide question hung in the air. Grace took a sip of water to wash down the salad, wishing for a clue. Or a glimpse of the woman’s name tag. That would help. “Your sister and I were on the cheerleading squad together, along with Reagan and Raquel Jansson. Remember me now?”
“Right. Shelby. Nice to see you.”
“Well, I wish I could say the same.” Shelby flipped her hair over her shoulder and tilted her chin just a fraction of an inch higher. The practiced move allowed her to look down her nose at Grace as if she held the ultimate authority, but captain of the cheerleading squad was likely the highest standing this woman had achieved.
“Would you like to grab some food and join us for dinner?” Cal asked, pointing to an open chair at their table.
Grace wasn’t sure if he was clueless to the tension between her and the other woman or if it was a ploy to get her to leave.
“No. I’m working.” Cold eyes met Grace’s. “I just wanted to let you know that you look exactly like your sister. I can’t even look at you without thinking of Caroline and Reagan and Raquel and all that I lost that night. How can you bear to look in the mirror? How do you live with yourself every day?”
“Shelby,” Dolores said. “You’re being rude. Go back to work.”
“Fine. I just don’t think it’s healthy for anyone for her to be here.” Shelby spun on her heels and marched out of the cafeteria.
“Grace? Are you okay?” Motherly, Dolores patted the back of Grace’s hand. “I’m sorry she said that. She doesn’t speak for everyone. I’m glad you’re here. I hope you’ll stay.”
Grace stuttered out a breath. “My mom always said that the people of Oak Bend would judge. That they blamed her and my dad. That our family’s name was mud after the accident.”
“That’s not true. It was an accident, Grace. No one blamed you or your folks.” A little bit of drama at his table didn’t appear to have any impact on Cal’s digestion. He took another bite of meatloaf.
“I’d planned to stay. But maybe I shouldn’t.”
“You should. Don’t let Shelby upset your plans. She’s not worth it.” Dolores shoved her plate to the side and clasped Grace’s hand. “And as you settle in here and get out and reacquaint yourself with the people around town, you’re going to find that Oak Bend really cared about you and your folks after the accident.”
“I hope you’re right.”