“Not that he ever makes me do that,” she laughed sadly. “He cleans them himself, but he says it to get a rise out of me.”
A lovely relationship, by the sounds.
Jett was almost afraid to hear the rest.
“I waited this morning for his call, and…it never came.” Fresh tears sprouted. “I know my husband, and I figured he was probably so excited to get back out on the ice, he’d forgotten to call, so I gave him an extra hour, then I phoned him.
“He didn’t answer,” she whispered gutturally. “I’ve been calling and calling ever since, and he hasn’t picked up. His truck has a tracking device on it, and it’s still in the exact same place he parked it when he arrived. So now…I’m really worried,” her voice cracked. “I know if I drive up there, or get someone to drive me, it will take hours to get there, which might be…too late. Then I remembered you talking at the open house about having a seaplane.”
Jett vaguely recalled the couple hanging around in the group while she’d talked.
“So you want me to head up and look for him?” Jett asked in a soft, conciliatory voice.
“Yes. I’d appreciate it so much,” Eloise dabbed at her eyes. “Is that something you can do?”
“Absolutely.”
They’d figure out logistics, later. Right now, it was all about making Eloise feel heard.
“How long will it take you to get there?” the older woman asked.
Jett turned to Trask, already knowing he’d have the answer.
“Roughly 170 miles,” he told her, having consulted his phone. “A three hour, plus, drive.”
“But not much more than an hour for me,” Jett told the worried woman. “Not including getting to my plane and doing my preflight check.”
While Jett was talking, she noted that Trask had called the contingent who were at breakfast to fill them in.
Of course, they arrived at the shop almost as soon as he hung up.
“Eloise,” Tabitha said, kneeling down next to the woman’s chair, clearly being familiar with their new client. “I heard. You can stay here with me and Sheila while everyone else mobilizes.”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” Eloise demurred.
“Not a bother at all. And this way you’ll know the minute they find your husband. And once they have him, you can give him a piece of your mind for worrying you so much.”
Eloise managed a chuckle, but she wasn’t fooling anybody. They all understood that something must have gone wrong.
Jett just hoped it wasn’t a situation that was beyond their capabilities to help.
CHAPTER 29
It was quickly decidedwhich role each one of them would take on with this surprise reconnaissance they hoped wouldn’t turn into a rescue.
Jett was flying, that was a given, but…
“Who wants to parachute in?” Jett asked, although Trask figured she already knew the answer. All three of the Sothards were proficient in skydiving, but as had been discussed during one of their meetings a few weeks earlier, only Trask had jumped within the last six months.
“That would be me,” Trask spoke up, anyway. “I’ll be in the Cessna with you, if you have all the gear I need onboard.”
“I do,” she answered.
Of course. Her plane was like a bottomless treasure chest. Where and when it mattered, Jett was always prepared.
Her often hairbrained behavior never seemed to interfere with work
Interfere with work…
