Rerouted Obsession - A Sexy New Adult Contemporary Romance Novella (3 page)

“Hi, there,” it said.

She twisted around in the direction of the voice. One of the men who had arrived earlier was just a few feet away.

“Don’t be startled,” he went on. “Looks like a great job you’re doing there, man.”

Of course he thinks I’m a man.
Biting back irritation, she stood up and pulled the heavy helmet off. The look of shock on the pilot’s face was priceless.

“So you’re one of those guys who doesn’t think a woman can work on a plane?” As she spoke, she ran her hand over her pixie-cut hair, hoping none of her locks were standing straight up as they happened to do sometimes. “Typical—”

“Just wait a second.” He smiled, putting up both hands. “That’s not how I am, I promise. I’m just surprised to see that such a beautiful woman was underneath that helmet.”

Now it was Abby’s turned to be surprised. He couldn’t be serious. Had he even noticed her sister? Everyone noticed her beautiful, blonde sister first. Not that it mattered too much to Abby.

“How was your flight in?” she asked, hoping he could detect at least a modicum of interest in her voice.

“Perfect. The skies were clear and smooth,” Jake told her.

“That’s nice,” she said. Abby was pretty sure if it wasn’t the dead of winter, she would hear crickets chirping.

“The name’s Jake, by the way. And you are. . . .” He waited.

“Abby.” She shook the hand that was held out to her.She knew she should try to strike up a better conversation, but the words wouldn’t come out.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Abby,” Jake replied.

“Um, you too. I have to get going, Jake. Maybe I will see you around tomorrow,” she said.

After she had grabbed her things from the office and started making her way across the darkened parking lot to her truck, it seemed to her that Scarlett hadn’t needed her help in the first place, as she saw no sign of Scarlett or the other man anywhere on the grounds.

* * * *

Jake was dumbstruck as the beautiful creature walked away. Her beauty was not like the obvious beauty of the blonde bombshell who had greeted them when they arrived. He was used to women fawning all over him, usually after someone informed them of his wealth, but this girl had seemed like she couldn’t get out of there fast enough. Jake decided he had to get to know this intriguing girl better. He would find her again tomorrow and try to strike up a more substantial conversation.

Right now, he thought he had better check in with Will. There was no telling what wiles that vixen was currently throwing at him.

He made his way back to Jim’s office. Jim was at his desk, wearing reading glasses and intently studying some paperwork.

“Jim, I am taking off, but I will be back in the morning,” Jake said.

“Sounds good, Mr. Penner. Have a good night” Jim replied.

“Please call me Jake,” he reminded the older man before he left the office.

On his way across the parking lot to his rented SUV, Jake pulled out his cell phone and called Will to see how he was doing.

When Will answered, the background noise sounded like he was in some sort of bar.

“Hey man, everything is going well on this end,” Will said loudly into the phone. Jake could hear a female, presumably Scarlett, laughing in the background.

“So the blonde has trapped you with her feminine wiles?” Jake replied.

“Pretty much,” Will laughed into the phone.

“Be careful, Will. She seems as if she has another agenda, since she just whisked you away like that,” Jake warned.

“Hold on a second. . . . Yeah, I am. She seems pretty harmless to me, Jake, but I do think she has wrongly assumed I am buying the airport, and I haven’t told her anything different,” Will said seriously. He must have stepped out of her earshot, Jake thought.

“Okay, let’s keep it that way for now. We can clear everything up soon enough,” Jake said.

“Gotcha. She is really fun to hang out with, Jake,” Will told him.

“Well, have fun then. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Jake laughed.

“So I won’t do anything at all except work? I definitely plan on doing things you wouldn’t do,” Will teased.

“See ya later, man,” Jake said.

             
He ended his call with Will, as he was pulling out of the airport. Since it had been hours since he had eaten, he decided he would go into town, grab a quick dinner and call it a night. He wanted to get back to the airport first thing in the morning, and between his super-early business meeting, the flight to Pinesville, and perusing the airport, he was beat.

He pulled onto the well-lit main street of Pinesville. It was only about a five minute drive from the airport, and even though it was pretty dark outside, he appreciated the quaint, homey feel that exuded from the downtown area. He parked in front of a promising looking diner located on the main drag of older buildings.

When he stepped inside, the aroma of homemade food greeted him. His stomach rumbled in anticipation. Sitting at a booth, Jake quickly scanned the menu, decided on the Salisbury steak special, and looked around while he waited for the waitress to come to his table. The diner was small and lined with hunter green booths, complete with vinyl tablecloths and plastic menus. What it lacked for in aesthetic, it made up for in welcoming warmth.

The diner was fairly crowded for it to be nearing eight on a weeknight in such a small town. Jake was interrupted from his observations when a middle-aged woman came over to take his order. The tag on her apron informed him that her name was Glenda.

“Hey there, hon. What can I get you?” Glenda asked with a kind smile.

“Glenda, I would like the special and whatever dessert you recommend,” Jake told her.

She walked away to put in his order, and the other waitresses flocked to her, hoping for a tidbit of gossip about the newcomer, but Jake didn’t mind. He knew that it was the norm in small towns like this.

While he savored every bite of the steak followed by a blackberry cobbler topped with fresh whipped cream that Glenda had promptly brought over, Jake’s thoughts wandered to the intriguing woman he had startled earlier in the day.
Abby was her name
, he recalled.
I wonder what she is doing now
.

Abby watched the fire hiss, crackle, and resettle, thinking her own thoughts as she ruffled Connor’s fur. What would she do if the sale went through and Scarlett did not succeed with her ridiculous plan? The thought wasn’t pleasant.

Abby loved her job as a plane mechanic, but she had once assumed a husband and children would be in the picture, too. She had cast those dreams aside a couple of years ago after the third man to whom she had attempted to give her heart hopped on a plane after she revealed her feelings for him. She found that it was easier to put up a wall around her barely-mended heart than to contend with more men just looking for a little fun during their short time in Pinesville.

There was too much heartbreak that accompanied finding a mate, and Abby had already had her fair share of it, in her opinion. If her drop-dead gorgeous sister could not keep a man from leaving, what chance did she have? She remembered helping Scarlett heal from the broken engagement that had shattered her heart four years ago. She felt as though Scarlett was still only a shell of the person she once was. That was probably one of the reasons she thought attempting to marry someone in a matter of days was a good idea: it didn’t give them a chance to run away, and it didn’t give her a chance to really feel.

As for Abby, she firmly believed she was content in her small cabin with its lovely stone fireplace, a good cup of tea, and the unconditional love of Connor.

“You are the only love I need,” she babbled to the fluffy dog as she ruffled his ears. He lovingly laid his head on her lap in response.

Since she knew the next day would prove to be very trying, she decided to call it an early night. Rustling Connor from his favorite spot on her legs, she shuffled around in her fuzzy slippers, turning off lamps and making sure the fire was petering out. While she took care of her nightly tasks, she contemplated her snappy treatment of the man who had startled her that afternoon. As she moved around the kitchen, washing her tea cup and putting her lunch together, she resolved to put her best foot forward and treat the out-of-town guests with as much hospitality as she could muster. It wouldn’t be the easiest task for her. She wasn’t really a people person.

As she was brushing her teeth, she heard her cell phone chirp in the bedroom, alerting her that she had received a text. After rinsing out her mouth and washing her face, she padded over to her nightstand to see who had texted her. It was Scarlett, of course. No one else would be texting her this late.

“I’m at Will’s (who is a totally hot by the way!) cabin with some friends and am making major headway. Chin up, little sis! All will work out!!” it read.

Abby smiled at her sister’s optimistic outlook on life. It would not hurt her to take a few lessons from Scarlett in that department. She knew there were also a couple of departments from which Scarlett could take a few lessons from her as well, particularly the self-control department. Abby sent a reply, “Be careful Scar—youdon’t know this guy very well. Make smart choices!”

She knew it probably came off as motherly, and that would probably annoy her older sister, but she hoped Scarlett would listen to her advice. Abby comforted herself in the knowledge that Scarlett was not alone with this man, Will, whom she hadn’t even known for eight hours.

Feeling cozy in her antique bed with its down comforter and numerous quilts hand-stitched by her mother and grandmother, Abby fell into a restless sleep.With Connor at her feet, listening to the light patter of snow falling against her window, Abby worried about her older sister and the man that controlled their airport’s fate.

* * * *

About twenty-five miles away at his mansion-like cabin rental, Jake arrived to a very unexpected scene. After Jake had finished his meal of comfort food at the diner, he expected to arrive to a nice quiet cabin, since Will would still be busy with Scarlett. However, he was quite mistaken.

When he pulled up the long graveled drive, it looked as though every light in the cabin was on, and several vehicles were parked haphazardly in front. Jake managed to pull his car into the garage without hitting anyone else’s, but it was a challenge.

When he got inside, Will and Scarlett—along with about a dozen other people Jake assumed were locals from their dress and casual demeanor—had the country music blaring and were all pretty busy tossing back quite a few drinks in the main living area. Various beer and liquor bottles were on the kitchen island as well as several opened snack packages. Jake was more than a little annoyed at the takeover that had happened to his home away from home before he had even stepped in the door, but did not feel like dealing with any drama at the moment. He was too tired. He just wanted a shower and a bed.

Scarlett was sitting on Will’s lap in the great room, casually conversing with a couple of other people lounging on the sofas. From the way Will was rubbing Scarlett’s back, it looked to Jake as though the two of them were becoming more than friends quite rapidly.

A peal of laughter and Scarlett’s voice carried over to him. She was telling a joke, it seemed. Will looked over and noticed Jake’s arrival, but Jake put his finger to his lips, signaling to keep quiet. Will nodded slightly and put his attention back on Scarlett.

             
Jake managed to bypass most of the people making themselves at home and headed upstairs with plans to checkout the master bedroom. On his way up the stairs, he decided that Scarlett might get suspicious if he were to take the master bedroom instead of Will, and that would cause a lot of explanation he didn’t care to get into tonight. Will seemed to have the situation with her handled. Consequently, Jake opted for one of the smaller guest rooms at the end of the hall, instead. It was quieter on that end of the house, anyway. As long as the bed was comfortable and the room was clean, it would be perfectly acceptable accommodations in his book.

             
He tossed his bag and jacket on the navy comforter and took a hot shower in the small bathroom connected to his room. The steamy shower helped him relax his stiff muscles and wind down despite the muffled noise of the music and Will’s rowdy guests. He usually got a glass of water before bed, but with so many people downstairs, he chose to go ahead and hit the sack, instead.

With his arms beneath his head on the pillow, he thought about getting an early start at Seymour Airport the next morning. Not only did he intend to thoroughly inspect every inch of the property that was soon to be his, but he couldn’t wait to see Abby again.

* * * *

             
The next day, Abby arrived at the airport even earlier than she normally did. The ride to work had been eerily quiet, as not even the school buses were out and about on their daily routes yet. She knew the only person who would even think about getting to Seymour’s Airport at this time was her father, who practically lived there. She wanted to start her day off productively with a little peace and quiet, and getting a jump on her work was the perfect way to achieve her goal. After all, she had to start babysitting the buyer’s friend later in the day, and she didn’t know how much work she could get accomplished once he was underfoot.