Page 48 of Solid as Steele
What would Owen be like as a husband and father? He didn’t talk a lot, maybe saying ten words on the flight. Imagine if they’d had to travel by car for six hours together.Would’ve been the longest road trip ever.But maybe that wasn’t his true personality. Maybe he’d been silent due to his faulty memory and the stress of telling his parents their child, his sister, had been murdered.
Either way, she knew one thing for sure. She wanted the chance to discover the answer. But where could that lead if she didn’t want a commitment before experiencing more of life’s adventures? Nowhere. Better to keep her feelings in check and start keeping things between them strictly professional.
The helicopter slowed and started the descent toward the circle. She gripped the closest thing and held tight.
Owen looked at her. “Tense much?”
She looked at him.No. Oh no.She’d clamped her hand on his knee. She noticed Sierra watching her. Mortified, Mackenzie jerked her hand free.
The chopper descended. Greenery soon engulfed them as the helicopter slowly lowered, the rotors thumping overhead. The chopper hit the ground with a soft bounce and settled into place.
“Exactly like I promised,” Coop said. “No miss.”
“But you woke me up.” Kelsey laughed.
The laughter took away the last of Mackenzie’s anxiety, and she let out a long breath.
Everyone removed their headsets and hung them on hooks on the walls, then unbuckled seatbelts. The equipment, samples, and Cassie’s remains were in the van and they had nothing to unload tonight.
Coop slid the door open, and the chilly night air swept in like an invader. Mackenzie still wore her jacket from hiking, but the lightweight fabric didn’t do much to ward off the near freezing temps.
Coop held out his hand and helped Mackenzie down. “Thanks for flying AirCoop.”
She wrinkled her nose at his comment. “Next time, if there is one, I’ll trust you.”
He gave a salute.
“Congratulations on the upcoming baby,” she said.
“Thanks.” He beamed a smile. “Grace is almost three, so we figured it was time she had a sibling. She’s a spitting image of Kiera and this time, I’m hoping for a Mini-Me.”
She smiled at his incredible happiness.
Owen jumped down, and both Coop and Owen turned to offer their hands to Kelsey.
“I know I’ve gotten big, but I don’t need two guys to help me. Still, chivalry is dead for most people, so I will accept.” She made a big production of placing her hands in theirs.
Sierra hopped out on her own, clearly proving she’d done this many times. “Parking lot’s across the road. Your sister should be waiting there.”
Sierra set off along a path lit with landscape lights and leading through the nearly forest-thick trees. The rest of them traipsed behind her, and Mackenzie enjoyed seeing the ferns and underbrush glowing in the lights on the edges of the path. They reached and crossed a two-lane highway to a well-lit parking lot. Ryleigh had pulled her slate blue Volvo SUV in next to a white Veritas van.
“I’ll drive.” Sierra glanced over her shoulder. “We’ll all be praying for your family, Owen. Let us know if we can help beyond the recovery and forensics processing.”
He nodded his thanks, a gloomy look on his face.
“Night,” Kelsey said, and the two of them headed for the van.
Ryleigh got out of the car and waved. She was the only woman in the family with short hair. Starting in middle school, she’d been the tomboy athlete of the family and had kept her hair short for years for easier competing. Now she claimed as an FBI agent she didn’t have time to mess with long hair, and she also hoped the male agents would take her more seriously. A theory Mackenzie doubted because with her sister’s big blue eyes and generous mouth, she was a real beauty. Short hair or not, how could guys miss seeing that?
Mackenzie reached the car and introduced Owen to her sister.
Ryleigh thrust her hand out. “Mac told me about your loss. I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled and gripped her hand.
Or was it a grumble? Either way, Ryleigh cast a questioning look at Mackenzie.
“We should get going,” Mackenzie said.
