And then she knew.
She was kneeling at the edge of the crash site where her parents’ crop duster had gone down. Turning her head dizzily in both directions, she located other gashes in the ground that the weather and her family’s farming equipment had yet to remove.
“What’s wrong?” Owen squatted down beside her.
She waved a hand shakily at the ground. “This is where my parents’ plane crashed.”
He moved closer to wrap his arms around her. “I’m sorry, Halle.” That was it. He didn’t try to fill her ears with meaningless platitudes. He simply held her.
“Thanks, Owen.” She leaned into him, absorbing hisstrength and nearness. She already knew she liked the scent of his aftershave, but she would never have guessed how well her head fit against his shoulder or how perfectly their hearts could beat against each other.
Another distant rumble filled their ears and moved rapidly closer, interrupting the poignant moment they were sharing. This time, the sound turned out to be an airplane engine.
They jolted apart as a crop duster flew into view, dipping down over the rows of corn beside them. It flew low enough for Halle to see the outline of Rex Turner’s profile in the pilot’s seat.
As he flew closer, the aircraft pitched sideways, slicing the tops of the cornstalks with one of its wings.
“Get down,” Owen hollered, pushing Halle face-forward on the ground.
They burrowed themselves into the indentation in the dirt, coughing and choking on the dust rising around them.
The earth beneath them shook as the crop duster touched down, skidding and spewing cornstalks and dirt clods in all directions.
Halle screamed Owen’s name, hoping he hadn’t been hit by any part of the aircraft.
He scrambled to his hands and knees, covered in filth. Crawling her way, he ran his hands over her shoulders and arms. “I’m okay! You?” His voice was so hoarse she could barely make out what he was saying.
She nodded, too stunned to speak.
He enclosed her in another tight hug that didn’t last nearly as long as the first one. Then he dropped his arms. “We need to check on Rex.”
He tugged her to her feet and dialed 911 as they hurried toward the downed crop duster.
To Halle’s immense relief, it appeared intact—not a mangled pile of metal that was two smoke puffs away from going up in flames. Other than a long scrape along the ground from Rex’s emergency landing, there was no evidence that the plane had crashed.
Maybe because it hadn’t.
The motor turned off, the cockpit opened, and Rex Turner climbed unsteadily to the ground. He took a stumbling step before slapping his hand against the side of the plane. Then he doubled over and vomited.
Halle and Owen exchanged an agonized look and moved closer to the shaken pilot.
Owen cupped the shoulders of Rex’s red-and-black plaid shirt, while Halle dug a travel pack of tissues out of her pocket. The kindergarten teacher in her wouldn’t let her go anywhere without them or her tube of lip balm, her travel-sized bottle of hand sanitizer, and two or three Band-Aids.
When Rex stopped gagging, she handed him the tissues.
“Thanks.” He used one of them to wipe his mouth. “Man!” He straightened, his tanned features a few shades paler than usual. “For a few seconds there, I thought it was lights out for me.”
“What happened?” Owen squeezed the farmhand’s sturdy shoulder again before stepping back.
“I’m not sure. All I can tell you is that something disrupted the telemetry.” Rex gestured at the controls. “I’ve flown this thing dozens of times, and it’s never happened before. The screen went blank, and the guidance lines disappeared. I had to bring her down manually.”
“That’s awful,” Halle gasped. “I’m glad you’re alright.”She was also glad to learn that he hadn’t deliberately tried to ram the aircraft into her and Owen.
“I’m glad you guys are alright, too.” Though he’d never been one to stop and chitchat while working, he suddenly seemed unable to stop talking. “I was terrified I was going to mow you down back there.”
“So were we.” Owen dusted some of the dirt out of his hair. “I’ve never hit the ground so fast in all my life.”
“The good Lord must’ve decided it wasn’t our time.” Rex went into a more complicated explanation of the mechanical failure the plane had experienced.
