Just For A Moment by Kate Carley

Chapter 6

The greenof her plaid button-down accentuated her brown eyes, and her lips looked dewy soft and plump as a ripe peach.

“Stop being an idiot,” Aaron muttered under his breath, closing his eyes for a brief moment and analyzing the way her intention to stick around town had changed everything in his brain. How was he supposed to focus on the conversation while he took a mental inventory of Grace’s best attributes?

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” He titled his head toward the Tigercat. “Win and I worked together on this. You see, you need to have both A&P licenses—certifications from the FAA—to work as an aviation maintenance technician. Without them, Win needed someone like me to oversee the work.”

“What does A&P stand for?”

“Aviation maintenance has two portions, and most people working in the field choose to earn both. The first is the Airframe license. That covers the mechanical structure of the aircraft, including electrical, fluids, navigation and communication, landing gear, hydraulics and pneumatics, and the fuel system.”

“That’s a lot.” Grace flashed her big brown eyes at him. Was it awe he saw on her face? “What about the P? What’s that about?”

“That stands for powerplant.”

“Powerplant?” Her brow pinched together as she waited for more.

“Basically, the propulsion components and systems—the engine and everything else necessary to propel an aircraft.”

Grace smiled and touched his arm playfully. “You make it sound so easy.” She gestured at the open hatch that revealed all the inner workings of the engine.

He chuckled. He wasn’t going to lie—there wasn’t anything easy about getting this big beast back into the sky, which had been Win’s ultimate goal. “This one? Not easy. But it was Win’s passion.”

She nodded. “Yeah, he adored World War II. And he loved all the things he could collect. Actually, I’m surprised he settled on a Cessna.” She jerked her head to the right to indicate the smaller plane.

Completely distracted by her closeness, Aaron noted the scent she wore—something warm and sexy with hints of vanilla—and the subtle cascade of her silky waves across her shoulder. He was obsessed with her hair. How would it feel as it sifted through his fingers? How would sunlight play through the strands? What about when they had sex? With her on top leaning over him, he imagined them sheltered together in a curtain of caramel and chestnut locks swaying to the rhythm of her hips as she rode him.

“What’s this?” Grace’s question did the trick, drawing him back to the hangar and the open engine hatch.

He glanced at where her finger pointed and then let his attention stray as her hands moved, joining together to gather her hair into her fist and twist a hair tie around it.

Disappointed that she’d tamed her gorgeous mane, he reminded himself that he wasn’t going there with Grace Holland. Though, it seemed his dick hadn’t quite gotten the message. Ignoring the tightness at the front of his pants and glad for the cover of the plane in front of him, he tapped the open flange Grace had indicated. A part was missing. There was no hiding that. “Win and I were waiting on a part. A carburetor.”

“Once you have that, will it fly?”

“Um.” With the way those big eyes gazed at him, he wanted to promise her the moon. But there were so many ugly truths in this situation. How could he be honest without crushing her heart? “There are about two dozen parts we’re waiting on.”

“Wow! That’s a lot.” She straightened, being mindful of the hatch above her and shifting to stand up straight. With her back to the railing around the rolling staircase, she propped her elbows there and stared at him. The position—God, help him—accentuated her breasts, giving him a fine view. “When will you have them in your hands?”

“In my hands?” Breasts? He blinked at her.

“Yeah.” She straightened. “All the parts. When will you have them?”

“Oh.” Yeah, that was smooth. He sounded like a fool.

Grace touched his arm. “I’m sorry if I seem like I’m pressing you for answers. I’m just trying to get a handle on when this will be done, so it’ll fly.”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that. How did he give her the truth without damaging the image of her grandfather? “When Win bought the Tigercat, almost all of the outside bodywork was done. We worked on the inside of the fuselage near the cockpit.” Aaron reached for her hand, happy to feel her fingers wrap around his. “Let me show you.”

When he’d helped her down from the ladder, he wheeled the rolling ladder platform around to the side of the aircraft to a where the pilot and copilot would sit. “Climb up, step onto the wing, and then step down into the cockpit.”

“What?”

The panic on Grace’s face had him reaching for her hand. “You can do it. I’ve got you.” Even with her anxiety, she followed his direction and slipped into the pilot’s seat.

“This thing is huge.”

“It is.” Aaron stepped up onto the wing and leaned in, taking a moment to point out the flooring around the rudder pedals and the surface of the instrument panel. Both were aspects that Win had taken great pride in completing with Aaron’s oversight.

Grace relaxed in her seat while he rested his forearms on the fuselage so he could gaze at her face.

“When I left town, I was fourteen.” Her forehead scrunched as she considered him. “We must be near the same age. Did you graduate from Oak Bend?”

“No. I grew up north of Detroit.”

“How did you end up here in the middle of nowhere?”

He grunted. “My ex grew up in Oak Bend. We met while we were in college—she was in Ann Arbor, and I was in Detroit. We got married as soon as she graduated and moved back here to be near her family. Then, we had a baby, and Mel walked away.”

“Mel Green?” Grace’s eyes popped, and then she tempered her response. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I heard from my mom that Mel had walked away from her new husband and even newer baby.”

“Yeah, that was me.”

“Still. I’m sorry. It’s just…Well, you live here. You know how all is fair game for the gossip mill.”

Aaron did indeed, so he gave a shrug. “Did you know Mel?”

“No. Yes. Our paths crossed around town. She was several years ahead of me in school. But her mom was my English teacher. Mrs. Green. She was so strict.” Grace laughed, shaking her head. “I loved that in a teacher.”

“So, you were that kid, huh?”

“Yeah. I was a rule follower. I did my homework. And then, I did extra credit.”

Aaron couldn’t help but laugh. “I can see that in you.”

Grace grunted at his comment. “So, you have a baby?”

“She’s seven and full of energy. She loves to rough house. She’s a tomboy with the gentlest heart in the world.” He paused. “You know, sometimes I wonder if Mel would’ve stuck around, if Piper would’ve turned out different.”

“The whole nurture versus nature argument?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” Grace shrugged. She had this cute thing she did with her lips, tipping them up and to the side just before she spoke. It was as if she were quickly assessing her words before letting them spill out. But with the way it happened—in a flash—he wondered if she was even aware that she did it.

“What are you thinking now?” he asked.

“Why?”

Aaron lifted a shoulder. “Just because it looks like your wheels are spinning.” He didn’t press her, but he didn’t look away from her either.

Perhaps flustered from his scrutiny, she stood, retracing her steps to climb out onto the wing. Aaron reached for her, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her into his arms. When her feet settled on the metal platform of the staircase, they were inches apart. With her hands on his upper arms, she lifted her face and met his eyes. In that moment, there was a connection. He was certain of it by her reaction. The slight hitch in her breath. The way her fingers curled just a bit tighter onto his arms.

But in a blink, the moment was over as she disengaged and stepped backward. “It’s just interesting to me. Thinking about how people turn out. How just one decision, on one day, can impact the future and the final product.”

If he hadn’t been watching, he would’ve missed the subtle shift in her hand and the way she gestured at herself. And he would’ve missed the flash of sadness in her eyes—the windows to her soul for sure. She turned away, leaning her elbows on the railing and gazing across the hangar at the Cessna. Aaron stood by her side, mimicking her posture.

“You’re thinking of Caroline’s death. Do you think it changed who you are?”

“Yeah. Of course.” Grace pinched her lips together. “If nothing else, it’s made me appreciate every minute on this earth.”

“No guarantees.”

“Right.” She bumped her shoulder against his and met his gaze. “And if someone else’s death impacts who I am, then I’d have to say, not having a mom in the picture impacts Piper.” Grace’s brow lifted, watching for his reaction to her statement and considering the fact that Piper’s mom hadn’t died. She’d made the choice to leave.

Aaron covered Grace’s hand with his own. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Grace stared at their hands resting together on the steel railing. She glanced up at him. “What I just said wasn’t necessarily pretty.”

“No, but it was the truth.” He squeezed her hand gently, wanting so much more than just this private moment at the side of a WWII bomber in a greasy hangar. “I find that people try to cover up the harsh reality of Mel abandoning her kid with flowery shit. Doesn’t fix it. Doesn’t help. Piper is beautiful, and she’s the best thing in my life.”

“Does she see her mom often?”

“Never. I have full custody.”

“Never?”

“Last time was when Piper was about three months old. That was the day Mel left.”

Grace’s jaw dropped. “I can’t imagine. But you see Mel’s parents. Does she ever contact them?”

“By phone. They were crushed by her lack of interest in their only grandchild. In the beginning, they had concerns that she had some mental health issues like postpartum depression. As the years have gone on, I guess Mel has told them often enough that she never wanted kids in the first place. They just hate that she’s missing out on Piper’s life.” He sighed. He never talked about this with anyone. On occasion, Cal and Dolores would brush up against the topic, but he never took the bait.

“Last November in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, Mel indicated that she planned to be back in Oak Bend for the holiday. They wanted me to let Piper be with them on Thanksgiving.”

Grace frowned. “Like without you?”

“Yeah.”

“No way.” Grace shook her head. “What did you do?”

“I told them no, and then I dug in my heels for a fight.” Aaron raked his fingers through his hair as he remembered glancing into the living room at his in-law’s home to ensure Piper was busy with her iPad and then waiting for his mother-in-law’s response. “Dolores insisted that Mel was Piper’s mom and that she deserved to see her child. I countered with the standard, ‘no, she doesn’t—not when she abandoned her.’”

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I took Piper back to Detroit to see my folks as I’d planned, and Mel was a no-show.”

“That’s got to change the flavor of your relationship with your in-laws.”

“To a degree. Mostly, we don’t talk about her.”

This conversation had strayed into personal territory, which was okay. Talking to Grace—discussing what had happened between him and the Greens—felt cathartic, but Grace was business. Or at least, that’s what he needed to remind himself. Because when she found out the truth about the planes and Win’s dreams, she was going to be crushed. And she likely wouldn’t let Aaron help her put all her pieces back together.

Like removing a Band-Aid, he needed to just come clean with Grace, because the longer he waited to tell her, the more likely she would hate him.

“I’m sorry,” Grace said.

“What? Why are you sorry?”

“I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m sorry you had to be a single parent.”

He hummed dismissively. “That’s not unique.”

“True. But it’s not what most people plan.”

“You know what I’m sorry about?”

“What?”

“I’m sorry Piper will never know her mom. Eventually she might, but not as a little girl.” Aaron pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time. No matter how much he wanted to stay here with Grace, he had an appointment with Lon Harris to discuss an aircraft he was considering buying.

“I’ve got a meeting with a potential new customer, so I’ve got to go.” Aaron extended his hand to help her down the steps, watching the second of hesitation and the way she nibbled on her lower lip. But the moment she wrapped her cool fingers around his, his body hummed to life. God, what would it feel like if he kissed her?

At the bottom of the steps, she released his hand and moved toward the doorway. “We’ve met twice to go over my granddad’s hangar, and we still haven’t discussed his goals for these planes.”

Aaron bobbed his head, shoving his fists into his pockets. The temptation was so great, but if he pulled her close, he could whisper the devastating words in her ear in order to avoid looking into her eyes when he spoke them. Maybe it would provide them both with a bit of consolation over the grief of losing Win.

“Would you like to join us for dinner tonight?” he asked instead. “After dinner we can talk about the planes.”

“Only if you let me bring dessert,” Grace said with a grin.

“It’s a deal.”