Unbound (9 page)

9—Mac

We decided to meet at Pier’s End, a nice little restaurant on the outskirts of town. It sat at the end of the last pier in the city, overlooking a portion of the sea that looked as if it dropped straight off the edge of the world. People were willing to pay the often ridiculous prices just for the view. It was a trendy establishment that I actually didn’t care for all that much, but I figured if Jack was going to make me meet him in what I felt was something of a hostage negotiation, I could at least get an expensive meal out of him.

When I arrived, I found him waiting at the bar. I approached him slowly, doing my best to size him up. He was drinking dark beer, hunched over the bar like someone that really hadn't spent much time doing it in his past. He looked uncomfortable, staring from the TV behind the bar to some of the other patrons.

Seeing him like this helped me tremendously. I felt like I was on my home turf
and
he was already showing some cracks in his façade.
Good,
I thought. And then, on the heels of that, I thought:
Was I really crushing on that man less than six hours ago?

Yes, I had. It was disappointing for the situation to turn out like this, but it seemed par for the course as far as my love life was concerned. Even as far back as high school, it seemed that any guy I ever showed interest in turned out to be bad for me in some way or another.

He turned his head, apparently sensing me coming up behind him. He gave me a faint grin and swiveled around in his bar stool. The lights in the restaurant—particularly in the bar—were dim, striking him just right. I
really
hated the way my body responded to his smile at that moment. I saw that he had taken the time to trim up his facial hair and dress rather nicely. He wore a button-down flannel shirt, but one of the more astute-looking ones and no the super-casual ones that always seemed to be plastered onto outdoor enthusiast.

“
Apparently,” he said, “I was supposed to make a reservation. But I didn’t. We’re on the list now, though. We should have a table in about twenty minutes.”

“
Oh,” I said. “This is going to take
that
long?”

He looked hard at me for a moment and then smiled.  “Well, I could have dropped some names or offered the m
aître d'
some cash, but what's the fun in that?”  He said jokingly, watching me like a hawk as I took the stool next to him. The bartender came by and I ordered a glass of red wine.

“
Question,” Jack said.  His smile faded and I was relieved to see nervousness come across his face. 
Is he one of those guys that's used to his good-looks getting him whatever he wants?
  Surely not… he seemed so laid-back earlier.

“
What?” I asked, steeling myself against whatever question was plaguing his pretty little head.

“
The little awkward spark or whatever it was… the thing we both felt in your store earlier today. Should we pretend that didn’t happen? Is that going to make this harder than it has to be?”

I stared.  It was such a blunt and strategic question that it took me off-guard. That was the last thing I had been expecting. And damn him, I was pretty sure I was blushing right away. So, to circumvent his little jab, I nodded.

“
Yes, I think so.”  As soon as it was out, I cringed.
Damn,
I thought.
I should have denied the spark. That would have shown him.

But it was too late. There was nothing to do but sit in silence for a moment as the bartender brought over my glass of wine. I took a sip, trying not to let the fact that Jack’s eyes were watching my every move get under my skin.

“
Okay then,” he said, taking in a deep breath and easing the grin off of his face. “Strictly business. That being the case, let me ask you: if you want a plan so badly, why not buy one elsewhere?”

It was a good question, and I knew the answer that I had was stupid. The truth was that I wanted Mr. Tanner’s plane because I knew him well and when I had seen the plan floating there behind his shop with the FOR SALE banner on it, I felt as if it had been meant for me. The solution to something that I had been thinking about for years had been staring me in the face. The only thing stopping me from at least inquiring about it had been laziness and fear. But I had asked about and had been incredibly serious about buying it—but, in the end, had been beaten to the punch by the man sitting next to me.

“
Because it’s from a local man,” I said, telling a half-truth. “I don’t have the funds to buy a new one and, honestly, if I’m going to buy used, I’d rather it come from someone I know.”

Jack nodded.  “
That’s understandable,” he said, taking a drink from his beer.  “But what I don’t get is why you want it so badly. You must have had some good plans, huh?”

I gave him a contemptuous smile. “That’s really none of your business.”

His flinched, his eyes narrowing slightly.  “Okay, then
let me tell you about why
I
wanted it,.”  I honestly didn't care to hear why he bought the plane, but he didn’t give me an opportunity to say
no
or to interrupt him. “I got my pilot’s license years ago, just as something to do, really. I enjoyed the hell out of flying but not nearly enough to go into the Air Force. So when I went into the military, my interest in flying took a back seat.”

I felt the blood rush from my face.  “
You were in the military?”

Jack nodded and paused, giving me an odd look as he did so.  “
I was. But that’s not the point. You see, I have worked hard over the last few years and have missed flying. When I saw Tanner’s plane, it occurred to me exactly how much I had missed it.   And then I took my little walk to Catchman’s Pass. As…,” he shook his head, searching for the right word, “...as cheesy as it sounds, watching the sunset up there solidified it for me. I figured I could make some money by flying people to these really remote destinations where they can have weekend retreats or just some alone time in the wilderness.”

No freakin' way.
  I blinked hard.  “You’re kidding me.”

“
No. I’m not. Why?”

“
Because that was
my
plan.”

Jack twisted his head, brows furrowed.  “
Really?”

“
Really.”

“Huh.”  He looked somewhat amused.

Suddenly, my anger morphed into this flat and featureless thing. It was still there, but it was useless. I knew that any arguments I had to use against him would come out making me sound like I was a spoiled little girl that just wasn’t happy with not being able to get my way.

Jack toyed with the condensation on his mug of beer for a moment.  Well, “I might be willing to rent it out here and there if that’s something you’d be interested in, but—,”

“
No,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m not going to rent the plane from you.”

His chocolate eyes looked up from the beer to me and he frowned.  “
I don’t know what else to say then.”

Before I could get another word in, a pretty waitress that look straight out of high school came over. “Excuse me, but your table is ready, sir,” she said to Jack.

He gave me a hook and shrugged. “I’d like it if you joined me,” he said. “I don’t want you leaving here upset.”

“Well, I’m hungry and certainly not about to give up.”

“
I figured as much,” Jack said with a chuckle, following the waitress.

Angry, awkward, and all-around confused, I followed the good-looking guy.  Again, I watched him to see how he interacted with his surroundings. He walked as if he had all the confidence in the world, but there was something about his face that betrayed that. He almost looked like a scared little boy that shut down whenever he was taken to a new place.  Despite my anger, I was slightly amused. 
Who is this Jack guy… where did he come from and what exactly brought him to Sitka?

We were led to a table that sat near the back. The view of the ocean was obscured by tables, chairs and other patrons from where we sat, but I didn’t care. What was I doing here, anyway? Jack had told me several times that he wasn’t interested in selling the plane. So why was I wasting my time?

Oh, please.  You know why
, a long forgotten part of me said. This was the part of me that was desperate for a man’s mouth on my lips, for a man to grab me and pull me down onto his body...

Stop it…
I cleared my throat as I looked to the menu, pretending to be very interested in it. The waitress read off the specials but I wasn't really paying attention. I cut a glance at Jack and saw him nodding as he listened to the young woman.

I don't like him,
I thought. I guess it was true in that moment. Here was this new guy from out of town, blindly setting his roots down in Sitka and, in the process, stepping directly in front of a huge goal I had set for myself—hell, a goal my father had sort of set a while back.

I could pull the my-dead-father-wanted-this card,
I thought. But the thought of bringing up my dad in Jack’s presence seemed like a cowardly thing to do.

The waitress walked away to let us ponder over the restaurant's offerings. The moment she was gone, Jack sat his menu down and looked at me with a sly smile, one that was sort of crooked… like he was up to something.  
God, so freakin' sexy!
  The look on his face indicated that he still wasn’t quite sure what to think of me.

“
There is one thing that might be able to solve this problem,” he said, folding his large hands on the table.

I made a frustrated chuckling noise and tore my eyes away from his face. “Does it involve you giving me Mr. Tanner’s plane?” 
Shut up,
I told myself.
You’re starting to sound like a whiny entitled bitch. 
My own comments to myself were starting to annoy even me.

Jack continued to smile. “No. Not quite.”

“What is it then
?”

He pursed his lips together, staring down at the table. The look of sheer concentration reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t place my finger on who it might be. For a moment, I thought that I had maybe seen Jack somewhere before, but where? When he looked back up at me, the thought vanished. His eyes peered directly into mine and I tried to keep the desperate part of me that badly wanted this to be a date far to the back of my heart.

“
Well, you said that you had the same plan as I did, right? About flying people out to remote locations?”

“
Yes. I was going to offer it through The Pine Way.”

He nodded, looking off for a moment.  “I see.”

“
What?” I asked. I hated that he had me on the edge of my seat. If this
had
have been a real date, I would have been an absolute mess by now.

He looked back to me and smiled that radiant smile of his.  “
Partner with me.”  His eyes unwavering from mine.

The idea was so far out of left field that I was unable to respond right away. When I finally did, all I was able to say was
“
What?”
and even then my voice sounded strangled, like some weird exotic bird.

“
It makes sense,” Jack shrugged. “
You
know the people of the town.
You
have a central hub for people to come to when they need the services. And I have the plane and the pilot’s license.”

My first reaction was to flatly refuse. But as the negative response sat on the tip of my tongue, my gears went into overdrive.  While I had no desire to work with him or share
my
plane, his idea made a bit of sense.