Page 36 of Deserving Lara
“Because he needs you.”
“I think it’s the other way around,” Lara said dryly.
“Nope. If you think men don’t need their women, you’re wrong. You need eachother. Owl is perfect for you, just as you’re perfect for him.”
“I hope so. I think it would break me for real if he rejects me.”
“He won’t,” Cora said firmly.
Lara smiled. “How did we get here? With you being the one who’s all boy-positive and me being reluctant?”
“Fate,” Cora said with a small smile. Then she hooked her arm in Lara’s. “Come on, let’s go figure out our schedule with the kids who’ll be descending on The Refuge.”
Feeling excitement well up inside her, Lara nodded. She was happy to be helping out, to be doing what she loved. With every day that passed, she felt more like her old self…albeit with a little more caution thrown in.
She couldn’t forget that Carter Grant was out there somewhere, but her determination to live her life was slowly returning. Lara couldn’t control the future; all she could do was live in the moment. And that’s what she was going to try to do.
CHAPTEREIGHT
After Owl and Pipe returned from the hike with the guests out to Table Rock, they headed to the lodge. Brick had requested an owners’ meeting and no one hesitated to agree.
When he entered, Owl wasn’t sure what the huge grin Alaska shot his way was about, but he immediately asked where Lara was. After sticking his head into the small room where Alaska said he could find her with Cora, and seeing for himself that Lara was all right, he made his way to the larger conference room where his friends were convening.
Tonka was the last one to join them, and as soon as he was seated, Brick spoke.
“We talked about the possibility of getting a chopper for The Refuge after Stone and Owl borrowed that helicopter to head down to the border to rescue Reese. And after what happened in Arizona, I think it was made even more clear that having a chopper at our disposal would be a good addition. We could help with searches for missing hikers, and maybe even transport firefighters in the case of wildfires.
“I’ve talked it over with Stone, and we agree that the best place for a hangar and helicopter pad is near his cabin, where we’d been planning on building a few more cabins. But this isn’t a cheap proposition. We’d have to forego the extra cabins for now, and more staff to help with the housekeeping and admin. But more importantly,” Brick looked at Stone and Owl, “you two would bear the brunt of buying and maintaining the chopper. You guys are the pilots, and you know about upkeep and safety and pretty much everything that has to do with owning a helicopter. What do you two think?”
Excitement rose within Owl. After he and Stone had crashed and been tortured, for years he wasn’t sure he’d ever wanted to fly again. But he’d kept up his training and licensure because he hadn’t been able to let it go. And flying down to find Reese with Stone had felt so right. Climbing into the pilot’s seat was like coming home.
And while the circumstances in Arizona hadn’t been ideal, and he really didn’t like flying the R66 chopper, the adrenaline rush he’d gotten from the rescue was eye-opening.
The one thing he knew without a doubt he could do better than just about anyone on earth, was flying. In the sky, he didn’t feel as if he was lacking. It didn’t matter how well he could shoot, or how good he was at hand-to-hand combat. Up there, he was the best of the best. And he loved it. Being an Army Night Stalker pilot was one of the things he was most proud of in his life. And the thought of being able to continue to fly and help others with his skills—and not have to worry about being shot down by terrorists—sounded like a dream come true.
But Brick was right. There was a lot involved with owning a helicopter. Safety being the top of the list. They’d need to find mechanics who could help troubleshoot and fix issues they couldn’t, they’d need to figure out how to get fuel, and while The Refuge was profitable, they weren’t a charity, so they’d need to decide when and how much to charge people for their services.
Maybe they could even offer rides to their guests, so they could see the beautiful landscape of Northern New Mexico…for an additional price, of course.
Even though building a hangar and a landing pad would be a pain in the ass, Owl couldn’t help feeling thrilled by the prospect.
He looked over at Stone, trying to determine what he was thinking about all of this. When their gazes met, Owl knew his friend and fellow pilot was on the same page.
“Yes,” Stone said firmly as he turned back to Brick.
“Hell yes,” Owl agreed.
Their friends all grinned.
“Are we really buying a fucking helicopter?” Tiny asked with a huge smile on his face.
“I think we are,” Brick agreed. “Although, now we have to find one. I’ve talked to Tex, and he’s connecting me to some contacts who can help find what we’re looking for.”
“A Bell,” Stone said. “Maybe a 505. They’re reliable, a lot of law enforcement departments use them. The avionics system is top notch and easy to read, and it has a good-size cabin. It’s not the largest bird on the market, but for what we need, I think it’ll be a good fit.”
“Agreed,” Owl said. “And it only needs one pilot, which comes in handy.”
Stone grinned at his friend. “What? You don’t want to fly with me anymore?”
