Page 36 of Betting on her Best Friend
“And then he’s going to let us through?” she asked, hopeful.
“No, once he’s distracted, wecan sneak past to get to Pat.”
“Never mind,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll just try to go with the flow.”
He smiled. “Good idea.”
They watched as Connie reached her target. She struck up a conversation and expertly drew his attention to her ample cleavage with a seemingly innocent scratch with a single French-manicured nail. Then she laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“That’s our cue,” Will said. “Everybody act normal and follow me.”
Knots tied and retied themselves in Alyssa’s stomach. She’d always been a rule follower, and this wasn’t like parking in a handicapped spot. The government didn’t mess around when it came to airport security. Images of them being dragged into a remote room for interrogation and body-cavity probing flooded her mind.
Grabbing Will’s arm with both hands, Alyssa prevented him from going anywhere. “I don’t want to go to jail. I’m thinking maybe this is a bad idea. And by ‘maybe,’ I mean definitely.”
Will gently pried her fingers from his biceps as he spoke low enough for only her to hear. “I might still be crazy about Trent, but I wouldn’t do this for him if I thought my job, much less my freedom, was at stake. You just have to trust me, and we’ll be on the other side in no time. Okay?”
Alyssa studied his bright blue eyes and felt her blood pressure go down a few notches. Though her head still screamed for her to turn around, her heart was about to board a plane somewhere on the other side of those security gates. Trent might be her Wizard of Oz, but Will was her Glinda the Good Witch. He was the only one who could get her to where she needed to be.
Nodding her head with renewed confidence, she said, “Yeah, okay.”
“Atta girl,” he said, softly chucking her beneath the chin before giving the sign to the group that the plan was still a go.
They played follow the leader over to the corralled security area where he opened a section and gave it to Trent who hooked it back up once they were all through. Will led them to a sweet-looking old lady with white hair and more wrinkles than a shar-pei puppy. Back and forth, she paced on the other side of the security arches, helping the more travel-challenged individuals find their bins and get on their way.
As soon as she saw them, she moved off to the side and held open a small swinging door and motioned them forward.
One by one, they passed through without a single alarm going off. Will kept walking so they kept following, past the stainless-steel tables backed up with bins of belongings and past the “Recombobulation Area” where travelers desperately tried to redo everything they were just forced to undo.
“Hurry, we have to take the tram to the D Gates.”
The motley crew hustled to the boarding area for the tram and arrived just as the doors opened to accept passengers. They piled in and all grabbed a pole. Will turned around to do a head count like a teacher on a field trip. “Everyone in?”
“Yep,” Elvis answered. “Looks like we’re in the clear.”
“Thanks to me and Pat,” a woman with a feminine, accented voice said behind them.
The group turned to see Connie and Pat rush on before the doors closed securely behind them and the tram began to move.
Will bent down to buss the older lady’s soft cheek with a quick kiss before bestowing the same on Connie. “Thanks for helping out, ladies.”
Alyssa held her hand out to shake theirs in relief and gratitude. “Yes, thank you both so much. I truly appreciate it.”
Connie’s eyes sparkled. “It will be thanks enough to see you reunite with your man.” She sighed wistfully. “It is very romantic, no?”
Holy shit, if this kept up, she’d have a live studio audience worthy of a daytime talk show. She tried not to think about that as the tram slowed to a stop. When the doors opened, everyone spilled out into the lower level like a clown car in a circus. While most of the travelers walked briskly toward the escalators, their party walked even brisker.
As Alyssa hoisted her skirts up and hopped onto one of the moving metal steps, she heard a woman’s voice echoing from above. “Last call for Frontier Flight 756 to Denver. The door will be closing for departure in five minutes.”
A bolt of panic shot through her as they stepped off the escalator. Will cursed and peered down at her with bad news in his eyes. “The gate is on the other side of the terminal. Even if we run, we’ll never make it in time.”
Connie’s lush mouth turned down in pouty empathy. “I am so sorry, mija.”
Alyssa swallowed past the lump of disappointment in her throat, then took a deep breath until it dissolved. It had no right to be there. These people had gone above and beyond to help her, and she wasn’t about to discredit that with a pity party. “That’s okay,” she said, trying her best to tug up the corners of her mouth. “It was a crazy idea to begin with. I’m not usually so impulsive.”
“Maybe you won’t have to wait that long after all,” Pat said. “Look! We can hitch a ride with Charlie.”
Six pairs of eyes followed to where Pat pointed to a man driving a stretch golf-cart thing with three benches—two facing forward and one facing back. Sitting next to Charlie was a showgirl with giant turquoise plumes sticking out of her headdress like a peacock in full strut mode. Her left calf rested on the dash of the cart with an ice pack strapped to her ankle.
