Redwood Bend

softly.
Could he? Well, maybe he did that once. It must have been subconscious. It was definitely spontaneous.
“Well, I’ve been around a while now.”
“A little over a month,” she said, smiling at him. “But you’re leaving in a couple of days, right?”
He turned to look at her. “Have I stayed too long?” he asked her. “So long that when I leave now, because I will have to go, will it hurt you so much that you hate me?”
She looked at him, patiently shaking her head. “Dylan, did I say or do anything that made you think I was involved with you against my will?”
“Of course you didn’t…”
“I’m not offended that you have so little faith in me. You haven’t known me long enough to judge that fairly. But sometimes it hurts me how little faith you have in yourself.” She gave his cheek a stroke. “Do what you have to do. You’ve had so many successes in your life, stop being so afraid of failure. You’re not going to fail.”
Those eyes of hers put him in a trance. He could drown in those eyes. He found himself leaning toward her and she turned in her chair to lean into him. And their lips met. He threaded his hand around her neck, his fingers stretching into her hair and he moved over her mouth with longing.
And there was a shriek and a shout from the yard, breaking them apart. “Ew, Mom, gross,” Andy cried. And Mitch pulled Andy to him and made wild smacking noises. They hugged like little bears and fell to the ground, rolling around in the dirt as they made kissing noises and laughed themselves stupid.
“Silly asses,” Dylan muttered to Katie’s laughter.
Almost daily, Dylan rode to the top of that hill where his view was sensational and his iPhone reception was excellent. It was a Thursday afternoon; he’d spent some time with Katie in the morning and now was attending to his business. His first call was always to Childress Aviation. And the news was not getting any better.
“Dylan, buddy, we’ve had charter cancellations, the BBJ leasing company came for their jet and they’re talking about holding us to the lease. That would definitely wipe out petty cash.”
“We had petty cash?” Dylan asked.
“By September we’re going to have to shut down the training center—not enough instructors or students to run it. I thought we could limp along for six months, but it doesn’t look like it. By fall we’ll be down to just the fixed base operation—storage, maintenance, fueling and landing facilities. I’m sorry, buddy. We’ll be joining the ranks of many other small airports in this country, gasping for breath.”
“I’ll be on the road in a couple of hours,” he said when he could find his voice.
“There’s no hurry, man. There’s nothing you can do here. Come home when you feel like it. I’m sending out résumés—just looking, just in case something pops up. If I get a job offer, I’m going to take it.”
“Flying job?” Dylan asked.
“I’ve heard some shipping companies are hiring pilots for freight transport. Multiengine heavies, which, thanks to you and your fancy BBJ, I’m qualified to fly. I might as well throw out my net. It wouldn’t have to be forever, just until we get back on our feet.”
It was on Dylan’s lips to shout Don’t do it! He knew Lang wanted to live and work in Payne; wanted to raise his family there. So he said, “I know you have your reasons…”
“Five of ’em,” Lang said.
“I understand. But you want to live in Montana…”
“I’m just looking around, D. You can’t carry us all forever, not on just a little airport that gets minimal use. I’ll let you know if I get any promising news.”
Dylan pressed his thumb and finger into his eyes, trying to ease the ache there. If Lang got a job offer, he’d probably have to move to a larger city, a larger base of operations. He felt like shouting, You’re my only family! You can’t move away! He said, “We probably should have done this a long time ago, when we could have found flying jobs at the same company…”
“Nah, we had us some good years here and I don’t regret a day of it. With any luck, and we’re due some, you can operate this company on your own. You can still instruct—you’ll get the occasional student. With Stu on maintenance, you’ll have yourself a two-man show. It’s your land, after all.”
“Only sort of,” he said. It was Adele’s land. They’d paid back what they owed her for the runway and buildings, but she wouldn’t take lease