But as far as he walked, he knew he couldn’t run away from the truth.He’d spent the last seven months trying to forget what he’d done to his father and now this?How far, he wondered, would he have to run to get away from Casey’s ghost?And with every step that he took, the thing that hurt worst was knowing he’d never said, I love you.
* * *
Casey kept glancing at her watch, then out the window of the plane.Neither hastened the arrival time of her flight.She was going to be at least an hour late getting home.Poor Ryder.He would no sooner get back to the apartment and hear her message on the machine than he’d have to come right back to the airport again.
She leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes, weary from the grueling three-day set of negotiations.But it was done!She’d proven her mettle in more ways than one.She’d been thrust into Delaney Ruban’s shoes far earlier than she’d ever envisioned, and while she’d knownwhatto do, it was thedoingshe’d accomplished that made her feel proud.Delaney had worked all his life to create his empire.She couldn’t have lived with herself if she’d been the cause of its ruin.
Yet the glow she had expected to feel from her success was dim in comparison to the anticipation she felt in just getting home to the man who was her husband.She kept remembering their first meeting in Sonny’s Bar, of how he’d come out of the shadows and into her life.Now she couldn’t imagine what her life would be like without him.
Half an hour into the flight, the plane lurched, and she grabbed at her seat belt, testing the lock that was firmly in place.A few seconds later, it leveled back off and she relaxed.Ryder had been right.This wasn’t a good day to fly.Intermittent turbulence had been nonstop since takeoff, and she told herself she should have seen it coming.
Right after she’d talked to Ryder, her cab had come to a complete halt on the freeway.Traffic had snarled itself into a knot that only time had been unable to unravel.She’d known then that unless a miracle occurred, she was going to miss her flight.
For Casey, the miracle did occur, but not in the way she’d envisioned.She arrived at the airport forty-five minutes late.Not only had she missed her flight, she’d missed her lunch and her mood was not getting better.Just when she thought she was going to have to spend another night in Chicago after all, an airline with a later flight into Ruban Crossing had a cancellation.At last she was on her way home.
* * *
“Ladies and gentlemen, we will be arriving in Ruban Crossing in about five minutes.Please turn off all electronic and computer devices and prepare for landing.”
Casey did so with anticipation.If Ryder hadn’t already received her call about the change in flights, she would call home as soon as she got to a phone.By the time she collected her luggage, he would be picking her up.
And then the plane touched down and taxied down the runway, then up to the gate to unload.It was one of the few times in her life she wasn’t flying first class, but she didn’t even mind having to sit toward the back of the plane, or being one of the last to get off.She was home.
* * *
Ryder moved aside out of instinct as a fresh swarm of passengers began to come out of the hallway to his right.His hands started to shake as he watched a man laugh and wave to a woman and child who were just arriving.
It isn’t fair.That damned plane got here in one piece.Why not hers?
Twice he tried to move through the crowd and was unsuccessful each time, so he stood against the wall, waiting as face after smiling face moved past.Finally the flow was down to single file and he stepped away from the wall.
“Ryder!”
The hair stood up on the back of his neck and he stopped, but couldn’t bring himself to turn.He had to be hearing things.Just for a moment, he thought he’d heard Casey calling his name.
He took a deep breath, clenched his teeth, and started moving again.
“Ryder!Wait!”
He groaned.God!He hadn’t even been this bad after Micah was killed.
Someone grabbed his arm and he turned.
Casey dropped her briefcase and threw her arms around his neck.“I can’t believe you’re still here!This is fabulous luck!I thought I would have to—”
When her arms went around his neck, he started to shake.And when he felt her breath on his face, and her laughter rumble across his senses, he lifted her off her feet.
“My God… my God.”It was all he could say as he buried his face against her neck, turning them both in a small, tight circle in the middle of the crowd.
His grip was almost painful, but Casey laughed as her feet dangled off the floor.This was definitely the way to be welcomed home.
“Maybe I should have stayed that extra day after all,” she said.“If absence makes the—”
“You’re alive.”
The laugh died in her voice.“Of course I’m alive.”
He set her down on the floor, then cupped her face in his hands, and the tears in his eyes were impossible to miss.
