“We’ll see,” she said in lieu of an agreement. “What was the thing you wanted to talk to me about for Brady?” Rachel continued her trek in the direction of the dock—away from the trail. The pull of the water was intense.
Back in college, she’d swum on the competitive team. That was long before she’d gotten pregnant. Back then things were as simple as diving into deep water and swimming away her cares.
“I’d like to take him up a few times in my single-engine.” Travis cleared his throat. “Let him get the feel for flying in a small aircraft.”
Rachel’s heart seemed to stop beating.
“Dave liked the idea, too,” he continued.
She stilled. Swallowed. Blinked. “I know I’m supposed to say yes, but I’m not going to say yes.”
“Do you want me to quote you some statistics about the safety of flying?” he asked. “Because I’d be happy to.”
She just bet he would. That didn’t change anything, though.
“I know the statistics say it’s safe.” Rachel grabbed a stick from the ground and broke off small pieces, tossing them aside as they walked along. “But statistics don’t help when it’s my kid up in the sky in a piece of metal with a single engine.”
“But you take that same kid in a piece of metal with an engine down I-70 at seventy-five miles an hour?” Travis asked, trotting to keep up with her pace.
She nodded and tossed the whole stick aside. “I see your point. I acknowledge your point. I even agree with your point.” She turned to him. “But the answer is still no.”
“You’re being unreasonable,” he said, crossing his arms and glowering, his brown eyes boring into her.
He couldn’t ask her to trust him with her kid. Not Travis,of all people.
“You have no idea how unreasonable I can be,” she said.
“I think I have a fair idea.” He let enough southern into his accent to piss her off furtherandmake her heart beat faster.
Trust was earned and he, he absolutely hadn’t earned it. As a matter of fact—
“Then I guess I’ll ask Gavin,” he said.
“Seriously?” She shoved her hands onto her waist.“Play the go-to-dad game?”
He stared at the water, seeming to track one of the boats in the distance. “I don’t play games.But this is important. That kid had stars in his eyes when he started talking about planes. It’s in his blood.”
She’d seen the stars,too. They made her throat clog with motherhood-induced panic.
“That doesn’t happen for everybody.” Travis stood closer to her. A little too close. She could smell his brand of achingly woodsy cologne. It mixed with the low oxygen content of the mountain air,and the combination made her not want to argue anymore. Her traitorous body wanted to do other things with him. Inappropriate Molly-type things.
She moved a couple of inches away.
He seemed to get the point and moved a few inches in the other direction.
“Brady’s safety is important to me,” she said through gritted teeth.
He turned on her, hands on his hips. “You don’t think his safety is important to me, too?”
Not the same way it was for her. He didn’t have the same investment.
“Right. Uncle Travis. Understands the significance of safety.” She let out a laugh.
“You know, Rach—” Travis took the stairs up to the dock and walked to the edge. “You put too much weight on the wrong shit. You worry about the wrong stuff.”
He had no idea what she put weight on or why. Why the safety of her kids mattered more than any other thing on the planet.
“And you don’t know anything about it.” She crossed her arms under her breasts.
