Lumber Jacked(3)

I aimed for the landing spot and I zoned in on the last three hundred feet of elevation. I bounced roughly around my seat, thankful for the strong body harness keeping me from hitting my head. My headset flew off after one especially strong gust and I tried to be gentle as I directed the joystick, and the nose of the plane, further down. I couldn’t see a damn thing through the rain and the fog on the water, but I knew I was far enough from the shore. Jack’s house sat like a beacon of light about a quarter mile from my landing spot and I knew I was right on the nose.

The bumping and bouncing continued as I tried to level out the plane, but it was a lost cause. The tail end was going to hit the water—hard—but it was better than the nose. I’d go through the windshield if I hit the nose. I held onto the joystick with both hands as the wind jostled me just fifty feet above the water. At the last second, I pulled up on the joystick and forced the nose up and the tail down. The tail smacked the water, the floaters connected loudly with the waves, and my plane teeter-tottered wildly as it coasted. I continued to coast as the plane slid across the choppy surface of the lake, my floaters rocking for a moment long before they settled.

Holy shit.

I breathed out as I decelerated the plane and turned towards the massive dock by the shore. The wind was even more intense on the water than it was in the air and I had to accelerate more than usual to get to the spot where I turned off the engine. The plane coasted the last fifty feet or so.

That was going to make a great story when I get back to town, I thought, but then balked as I realized I wasn’t flying home until the weather cleared. Until then, I was stuck out here. With Jack.





Chapter Two





Jack





Where the hell was she?

Anna Jackson was a wisp of a woman, but she was a force to be reckoned with. All five foot nothing of her and she flew a damn floatplane. She was the Alaskan version of FedEx and I relied on her for all my deliveries, even my fucking groceries.

How did such a tiny woman command that damn plane? And in this shitty weather. As I looked outside, a hard rock of worry settled in my gut as I realized that she just might be ballsy enough to risk the damn delivery.

It was near dark, but not because of the sunset. The sky had turned a nasty, dark gray, and the wind was so bad that the trees looked like they were growing sideways. At this time of year, the sun set around midnight and it was barely seven. She wasn’t late, but it was dark and with this storm, I couldn’t imagine a worse time to be in a small plane. I’d heard that bush plane crash rates were higher than any other. No wonder, with the crazy ass weather. She was probably already on her way when the weather changed. But had she turned back?

Moving inside, I picked up my radio and tried to call through to the nearest village, get them to radio Anchorage and find out if she was on her way or sitting safe and sound at home. On good days, I could get a clear signal. Today, there was no answer, as I’d expected with this damn storm. I tried my computer, but with the cloud coverage, my satellite service was down as well. No way to get messages in our out until the storm cleared.

I sat down at my desk and flipped through the pages of a small tech company’s investor portfolio to keep from worrying. She was a big girl. Knew what she was doing. Knew my supply of spaghetti sauce and toilet paper weren’t worth dying for. No. She was safe on the ground, waiting out the storm.

I returned to the tech company’s details. Brothers started it two years ago and had grown the firm exponentially. That’s why they contacted my investment broker. They really wanted me to get involved. They were definitely going places, but could do a lot more with their brand. I knew I could help them, but I wasn’t ready to return to the real world, to the fucking rat race. If I did, this company would be my first choice. A return to Seattle was a big deal, though, and I wasn’t going to rush into a decision. I’d left the city, and all the bullshit behind for a reason. That reason hadn’t changed. Maybe I would be ready tomorrow, maybe I needed a little more time.

Speaking of time. I looked out the window, watched the rain paint my window sideways.

Work wasn’t effective as a distraction. I kept thinking about Anna, the infuriating woman with her shit kicker boots, tight jeans, and perfect breasts she tried so damn hard to hide under those long sleeved shirts that clung to every curve. She was stubborn as hell and every week she refused to let me help her unload her plane. Always said she didn’t want me to fuck up my manicure.

Oh honey, I wanted to purr in her ear, You’re the only thing I want to fuck...

I never got close enough to say it; she never seemed interested and I wouldn’t fuck a woman who wasn’t willing. I’d be lying if I said her reaction to me didn’t sting a little. Women had wanted me my entire life, practically thrown themselves at my feet, but that was only because they knew I was rich. That’s why Victoria had pretended to fall in love with me. I let it happen, too. I’d even been the dumb-ass who’d asked her to marry me.