Chapter Two
Three years later
As the pilot eased the plane to cruising speed, Reece glanced out at the receding shoreline. He smirked.What the fuck am I doin’?While he believed his brother railroaded him into this trip, Reece accepted that his distracted state of mind had recently turned him into a real douche. Even his family noticed the change. Cody suggested Reece help his Uncle Buck at the older man’s mill. The craggy bastard might be in his late sixties, but he was a mean old bugger with a shrewd business sense. A week ago, Reece thought this a crazy-ass idea. Now, he was no closer to changing his mind. It sucked being the youngest in the family.
Adjusting the headphones over his ears, he glanced over at the pilot, who flicked switches and squinted at the dials. Reece debated whether the man knew where he was going. “Been flyin’ long, Billy?” he asked into the mike attached to the headset they both wore.
Billy’s bloodshot gaze leveled him with a scowl then he grinned. “Nervous, bud?”
Irritated, Reece cocked a brow. His bush pilot disappeared, and the flight from Salt Lake City to Dubois got delayed. When Billy finally showed up, two hours later, he reeked of whiskey and cheap perfume. Bad weather forced Reece to sit out the wait at the airport. The tin can his pilot called a plane, worried him. He wondered if the rumbling, squeaking engine on floaters would survive lousy weather. Coming out here wasn’t exactly an ideal change in the mundane—getting lost in the mountains even more so.
“Just askin’.”
“Relax. Been flying since my teens. I’ll get you there safely.”
Reece grimaced. Not entirely calmed by those slurred words. “How long?”
The pilot glanced at his watch with a shrug. “If the weather holds up, ’bout an hour and a half to Shadow Valley.”
“What do you mean if the weather holds up?”
“Storm’s coming.” Billy pointed to his right.
The gathering of distant gray clouds gave Reece the creeps. “We should be there before it hits, right?”
“Yep. Even if it hits before we get there, our low altitude won't hurt as much.”
“What?” Reece swung his head around sharply.
The pilot’s shoulders lifted in another shrug. “We’d fall into the freezing water or those wooded mountains.” He pointed to the pine-covered slopes dotting the distant peaks and then to the sun-speckled water spread out to the horizon.
Flabbergasted, Reece gaped open-mouthed at the other man. “As a pilot, you sure as hell stink at calming your passengers.”
Billy chuckled. “Relax, man. I’m just messing with you.”
“Damn, you've got a sick sense of humor,” Reece muttered. The pilot laughed louder.
“Son, I’ve been flying for a long time. Haven’t lost a man...yet.” The pilot clapped Reece on his back, letting out another chuckle.
Reece stared out the wrap-around windscreen at the snow-capped mountains filled with acres and acres of pine-covered slopes. A breath-taking view one might miss if traveling by a commercial flight. The low altitude of this small plane allowed the passengers a generous view of both white and green effortlessly designed by nature. As darkness etched over the gray sky, he settled into a smooth flow of conversation with Billy. It took his mind off the grumbling aches and pains of the plane.
An hour later, Reece was yawning when the first series of turbulence shook the plane. He shut his mouth, braced himself, and glared at Billy. “What the fuck?”
“No biggie, son. Turbulence.” The old man smiled. It would’ve been pleasant, but the missing two front teeth made him look weird. For an insane moment, Reece wondered if turbulence had knocked out the old man’s teeth. “Happens all the time.”
“Are you shitting me—” The second bout of turbulence, more aggressive than the first, cut Reece off. Silently cursing every swear word, he clenched his jaw and double-checked his seatbelt. With each jolt and lurch, his stomach convulsed. It took every effort to keep his insides from becoming his outsides. For all the fierce bravado he portrayed to the world, his fear of flying took the mickey out of him.
“Why the fuck am I doing this?” he grumbled. ’Cause Cody and Samantha thought—more like conspired actually—that the change in scenery would do Reece’s cranky mood some good. He recalled the strange look between his brother and his wife when they shoved this trip down his throat. Reece saw no reason to question his brother.
“The winds picked up a bit,” Billy shouted against the roar.
“No, shit.” His sarcasm was useless. Uncertain what irked him more, the bucking plane or the drunken old coot. “Call someone.”
The pilot glanced at him with a laugh. His calm irritated Reece. “Call who, son? We’re miles from nowhere. It’ll pass.”
Annoyed, Reece scanned the cloud-blurred landscape in the hopes of a rescue. Water, the color of midnight occasionally dotted by white patches of trees, met his searching gaze. Another risky jerk tipped a box just behind the pilot’s seat. Keys, in all shapes and sizes, spilled out.
“Those important?” Reece jerked his head at the fallen box. The keys slid around the swaying plane, disappearing into various nooks and crannies.
