Flight to Paradise (Flight Trilogy, Book 1) (19 page)

“Dude, when are you planning to hit her with the news?”

“I guess when I get home.”

“Good idea. I definitely wouldn’t call her. You want me to come over? My being there might keep her from going ballistic.”

“Thanks, but I don’t exactly think you being there to tell her about your L.A. assignment would be a good thing.”

“I guess you’re right. She might want to pack up and come with me.”

Ryan scowled at Rex’s comment. “This is not the time for jokes. I’ve got a crisis on my hands.”

“Sorry, dude. Let me know if there’s anything I can do. I gotta run. I need to make a few phone calls back home and tell everybody the good news.”

“Yeah, you do that,” Ryan said. He knew Emily was going to have a melt-down even though they had discussed the unlikelihood of a Dallas assignment many times.

The short drive to the apartment was a blur as his mind played out ways to tell her the news and how she might react. There was no easy way to do it.

He pulled into the apartment parking lot. Being mid-afternoon, spaces were plentiful. Within seconds after turning off the ignition, the boiling heat engulfed the interior of his car. He opened the car door, greeted by an even stronger blast of heat.

He wondered what mood he would find her in? Possibly she’d be relaxing in the pool, but more than likely, he’d find her in front of the TV watching her depressing melodramatic soap operas. It’s where she spent most weekday afternoons. He argued that filling her brain with such trash only made it worse. She defended her addiction with the comment, “I’ll have you know, these shows are the only glimpse of freedom I have outside this God-forsaken place you dumped me.”

The logic of her rationalizations worried him the most. The little he had watched these daytime serial dramas had proven to reveal nothing more than is presented in any typical paperback romance novel. The story lines all weave intricate, convoluted, sometimes confusing tales of characters who have affairs, meet mysterious strangers, fall in love, and are swept off their feet by dashing, yet treacherous lovers. They sneak around engaging in adulterous affairs keeping their audiences returning to find out who is sleeping with whom; who has betrayed whom; who is having whose baby; and so on. He didn’t understand how she could feed her mind and emotions this type of garbage and not be affected in a negative way.

Cooped-up for a month with little outlet for exercise, she started to look bloated. Seeing her lounging around the pool in her bikini no longer gave him the thrill it once had. It amazed him how she was able to put on so much weight in such a short period of time. She must have been starving herself while they dated.

Since they’d been in Texas, she hardly ever wore make-up, and, except for her occasional morning outing to the local shopping mall, her uniform for the day consisted of either a T-shirt with gym shorts, or a T-shirt over a bathing suit.

The door to the apartment opened into a small foyer separated from the den. The sound of the squeaky door was muffled by the steady hum of the air-conditioner’s fan. After closing the door, he heard a woman’s pleading voice. “I don’t love him anymore. Our marriage means nothing to me. I love you.”

With the shades drawn, in an attempt to knock-off a few degrees of heat, the apartment was likened to a movie theater. Emily sat curled up on the sofa, engrossed in the lives of her “TV people” as though they were her beloved friends.

He glanced around the apartment seeing that no attempt had been made to tidy up the place since he last saw it at 5:00 a.m. Dishes were piled-up in the sink from the previous night’s meal. The coffee pot from breakfast sat half-full, and an opened carton of milk looked to be souring on the counter. The stale smell of dirty laundry mixed with the odor of old garbage made him want to gag. He noticed a soda can and an opened bag of chips on the end table beside Emily.

He walked through the darkened room unnoticed. “Did you have a good day?” he asked with a forced enthusiasm.

Without as much as a simple turn of her head in his direction, she offered, “Is that possible?” Her voice so faint, it could barely be heard over the breathy romantic dialogue of the beautiful young woman on TV, pleading with her lover to leave his wife and take her with him.

Ryan made his way into the narrow kitchen flipping on the light switch. “Is that necessary,” she said.

He lifted the carton of milk to find it half-empty and slightly warm, as he suspected. The contents of the refrigerator showed the need for a trip to the grocery store.

He emptied the cold remains of the morning coffee grounds and began washing the dishes. The cold water felt soothing.

Within a matter of fifteen minutes, the kitchen was clean and neat with everything put away. He wiped the counters with a damp dishtowel then tied off the full garbage bag, replacing it with a new one. He glanced at the TV to see the credits running accompanied by the somber music signaling an end to another day of afternoon sex and seduction. He felt there was no better time to drop the bomb.

“We got our assignments today,” he said.

She seemed to show interest getting up from the sofa. “What did you get? Dallas I hope. Please…tell me you got Dallas.”

“I told you Dallas would be a long shot.”

“New York?” she asked. He nodded. “I should have known!” She flopped back down on the sofa.

He walked over and sat beside her. “Listen, it won’t be that bad. It’s just six months, and then I should be able to get back to Dallas,” he said, trying to sound confident.

“Ryan,” she tilted her head. “Let’s get real. Look at me. Do you think I’m going to last six months in this hellhole?”

Those were thoughts he had entertained more than once. “We can make it. Maybe if you get a job, like we had originally planned, you could make some friends and get your mind on something positive. You
know
we could use the money.”

“I’ve tried.” Her gaze returned to the TV as though seeking sympathy from one of her friends.

“I’ll help you. I have a week off after I finish school. We can spend it together, job hunting. There’s got to be something out there you would like to do.”

His mood changed to one of compassion sprinkled with affection. “Emily, I love you. I know we can make this work. It’s going to all work out just like you imagined. Everything is going to be fine. The hard part is over, and it’s only six months.”

“Okay. But only if you promise to help. I just don’t like looking by myself.”

His sensitivity must have triggered something. “Listen, I have one more week and then my check-ride. After that, I’m all yours.”

She took one of his hands. “Ryan, do you really think things are going to work out?”

“I know they are! Trust me. Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see.” He kissed her. She smiled.

The week passed quickly. Emily had even started to show signs of personal revival in her attitude. She began jogging and exercising in the gym at the apartment complex which resulted in her taking more pride in the appearance of the apartment. The idea of a new life must have given her a fresh start.

The week they spent job hunting turned out to be a needed breath of fresh air for their marriage. Intimacy and the physical contact they both craved returned. They jogged together in the mornings, had coffee at a local coffeehouse, and spent the remainder of the day pursuing leads.

On Thursday, as Ryan shuffled through the mail, a letter caught his eye. Addressed to “Resident”, he almost tossed it, but the quality of the envelope and professional presentation intrigued him.

Dear
Resident
:

Career
opportunities
await
as
“
Excalibur
Homes
”,
a
regional
homebuilder
and
subsidiary
of
an
Atlanta
-
based
national
conglomerate
,
expands
into
the
Metroplex
.

Consider
this
your
invitation
to
stop
by
and
see
what
we
have
to
offer
.
We
are
looking
for
smart
,
aggressive
,
and
professionally
minded
leaders
to
join
our
team
in
the
Dallas
-
Fort
Worth
area
.
Six
-
figure
salaries
possible
.
Sales
and
non
-
sales
positions
are
available
.

Sincerely
,

Donald
Towers

V
.
P
.
of
Sales
,
Southwestern
Division

“Hey honey, look at this,” Ryan said.

Peering over Ryan’s shoulder, Emily read the letter silently. “Do you think I can do that?”

“Are you kidding? It sounds perfect…and look at that.” He pointed to “Six-figure salaries possible.”

“I guess we can go check it out tomorrow.”

After meeting with Donald Towers, he offered Emily a position as the sales manager for one of their residential developments. “You are just what we were looking for,” he told her. She accepted.

The base pay, not including the possible commissions, exceeded Ryan’s and her expectations—a giant boost to her confidence. Ryan found it hard to believe she was able to land such a lucrative job with no previous experience in real estate. He also found it strange Mr. Towers asked very little, if anything, about her past work experience. It was as though all he was looking for was a pretty face.

With the new job came a new outlook on life for Emily. All Ryan had to do now was survive the next six months of separation and pray Emily could hang on until he could get an assignment back to Dallas. However, based on what he had seen so far—the honeymoon; the move; and only six weeks in Dallas—the next six months were guaranteed to be full of surprises.

CHAPTER 30

Keri sat by the phone in her Laguna Beach condo waiting anxiously for Rex to call. The chances of his being assigned to the West Coast—a very senior base—was highly unlikely, but God owed her.

Regardless of his initial assignment, Rex would eventually return to the West Coast, but she needed him in her life now, more than ever.

The phone rang….

“Hello,” she said.

“L.A. here I come! I’m coming home!”

“You got it? Fantastic!” Keri tried to contain her excitement, but she couldn’t. “I am so happy for you—”

He interrupted, “For us.”

“Yes, for us!” she agreed.

Thank
you
,
God
.

She had missed him and needed him. “When will you be coming home?”

Home
.
That
feels
good
.

“I only have one more week of training, then a week off before I start flying.”

For the first time, stability was returning to her life. Rex had given her hope and a reason to move on.

Sounding a bit somber, Rex interjected, “Ryan’s assignment didn’t turn out so well.”

“Where’s he going?”

“New York.”

“How is he taking it?”

“Ryan’s good. It’s not him, it’s Emily. She’s the one that almost lost it.”

“What do you mean ‘lost it’?” Her voice rose with curiosity.

“Ryan and I both knew she would freak—possibly leave him—if they tagged him for New York. But somehow he was able to encourage her to pull herself together. She’s fine now. She found a great job and is stoked.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah. That guy is amazing.”

Keri sensed a tug on her heart. Ryan was an amazing guy, but that was not what caused her heart to jump; it was hearing that Ryan was having trouble with Emily. One side of her—the selfish dark side—hoped it was the beginning signs of a marriage headed for divorce, while the other side of her knew Ryan would do whatever was necessary to make his marriage work.

Thanks to Rex, she now realized that she and Ryan were not meant to be. She was happy for him and wished him the best, but she had fallen for Rex.

“That’s great. Well, hurry up and get home. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Me, too.” Rex hesitated, then said, “Keri?”

“Yes?” She sensed a change in his voice. He sounded serious.

“I love you,” he said.

She hadn’t expected it. Hearing his words, ‘I love you’, opened a part of her heart she had not yet opened to him.

“I love you, too, Rex.” Her response felt so natural. With three simple words, she felt their relationship jump to a new level—simple, but powerful words able to synchronize two hearts in commitment to each other.

* * *

After hanging up, Rex felt a surge of power.

Yes
!
Right
where
I
want
her
.
Shouldn’t
be
too
much
longer
,
now
.
The
good
ones
always
take
a
little
more
time
.

Good
ones
, he thought. Unlike the other women he’d been with, this one was different. Most of his relationships were short: a night; a week; at most, a month—any longer and there was the risk of the woman becoming “clingy and demanding.”

And when it came to living together, a female roommate totally violated his principles. Experience had taught him that romance often dies when lovers become roommates. Sleeping together for sex is quite a different commitment than sleeping together for rest. However, he wasn’t sure if the little peach might be worth making an exception. What did he have to lose? It’s not like he’d have to stop seeing other women.

Speaking
of
other
women
….

It was Friday night, and he didn’t want to keep the cowgirls waiting. Time to celebrate. A quick shower; grab a bite to eat; then mozy on down to the local saloon and herd up a lost calf, or two.