When she pulled away, she grinned and let out a breath. “Was that great, or what? Oh yeah! It feels good to be alive.”
Ignoring the stunned look on his face, she
shimmied off him and threw open the door, already 66
The Trouble with Tomboys
hopping out.
Her father and all three brothers barreled
toward her. As soon as her two feet hit the runway, she hurried to meet them, aiming straight for Leroy.
“You could’ve gotten us killed, you jackass,” she snarled, her fists already clenching.
“What?” he said. “You landed just fine.”
Growling, she wound her arm back and decked
him full in the mouth, causing his head to snap back.
He cursed and covered his face with both hands.
Red immediately seeped through the cracks between his fingers.
Feeling no remorse, B.J. raged, “Next time
you’re not going to do something I ask you to, tell me so I can goddamn do it myself.”
“Next time, just do it yourself.” Leroy muttered, wiping blood out of his nose. He took a step toward her, his own hand balling. B.J. widened her stance and braced herself, in the mood to fight.
But Rudy caught her around the waist and
pulled her away just as Buck put a hand on Leroy’s chest and stopped him midstep.
“Cut it out, you two,” Pop bellowed.
“She hit me first,” Leroy said, scowling around Buck’s shoulder at her.
“And you deserved it,” Pop stated, getting a defiant sneer for his comment.
B.J. was about to smart back something else to set Leroy off even more when she finally noticed Grady exiting the plane with his bag in tow.
She paused and turned. Still pale as all get out, he hobbled past them. Her innards lurched with guilt.
“You sure you’re okay?” she said, moving toward him. “I’m fine,” he said and held up a hand as if to ward her off.
67
“Grady.” Pop stepped forward, yanking off his ball cap and holding it to his chest. “On behalf of the Gilmore plane service, I apologize for all this trouble.
If you’ll just follow me to the hangar, I’ll write you out a refund right now.”
B.J. gulped, suddenly remembering he was a
customer, and she’d just gravely mistreated her customer. Damn, he could sue her if he wanted, and not just for almost getting him killed, but probably for sexual harassment too. Shit.
But Grady shook his head. “No...just...just send it through the mail.”
He began to turn away when Leroy opened his
dumb mouth. “Hey, you ain’t going to sue us now, are you?”
B.J. tensed and held her breath. She noticed her brothers and father doing the same.
Grady glanced around to glare at Leroy, and she was sure that was it. They were going out of business from one lawsuit. But Grady’s eyes
flickered her way, silently studying her. “No, I’m not going to sue you. I just want to be left alone.”
He pivoted and strode away. Still feeling crappy for the way she’d treated him, B.J.’s shoulders deflated. This just wasn’t his week. And it was all her fault. Realizing the best thing she could do for him was leave him alone, she stood back helplessly and watched him leave.
68
The Trouble with Tomboys
Chapter Six
Grady waited two weeks after that near-fatal flight home before he visited the cemetery. With him, he brought a handful of Amy’s favorite flowers.
He’d played the Houston trip over in his mind a thousand times. There were so many things he could’ve done differently, should’ve done differently.
He wasn’t proud of himself, and he wasn’t satisfied with how things had turned out. B.J. might’ve pressured him into doing something he hadn’t felt ready for, but he’d done it under his own free will and even instigated a good portion of it. He didn’t need to feel any kind of anger toward her for that.
But he did.
Then she’d turned around and saved his life the next morning, keeping her head under pressure and landing them safely. If she’d kissed him a second longer after landing, he would’ve overcome his shock and kissed her back. Hell, he probably would’ve taken her right there in the cockpit. And it wouldn’t have had anything to do with gratitude either.
“I guess you already know what I did,” he said without preamble, setting the irises at the base of his wife’s marker and kneeling down to sit on the grass beside the bouquet.
He gave a small laugh as he looked at his hands.
“Yeah, you always knew what I did, usually before I was even going to do it.” Grinning, he lifted his face and stared at the name of his wife on the gravestone.
“Remember when I proposed? You were holding out your hand for the ring before I’d even gotten down on one knee.”