Such a Rush(76)
Author: Jennifer Echols

“My dad, in his infinite wisdom, made Jake the executor of his will. Since Jake’s gone, the will is tied up in court. But I’m sure you’ll be getting a call in the next few weeks. Or you would, if you had a phone.”

I gaped at him. I couldn’t believe it. Mr. Hall had left me the Cessna.

Grayson shifted uncomfortably. “See, it didn’t make sense to me that he would will an airplane to a flight student, unless you were a lot closer than he’d admitted. That’s why I was… unkind to you at first this week. It wasn’t until that night we ate at Molly’s café, when you talked about flying, that I began to understand. You might never have come out and told my dad how you felt about flying like you told us, but he saw that in you. He knew. And then, as you and I talked and… did more than that… I got it. I felt guilty for suspecting you. It’s just that there was this airplane!” He spread his hands, indicating the thirty-six-foot wingspan, twenty-seven feet propeller to tail, and thousands upon thousands of dollars.

I owned a Cessna. I still couldn’t believe it. “Has Alec known about this the whole time?”

“No. I was the one who talked to the lawyers. I just told Alec about it this morning.”

“But he was going to find out,” I said, “and you knew that. How could you go ahead with this plan to get him and me together?”

He held out his hand. “I didn’t care about him finding out,” he said as he touched his thumb. “Or you finding out.” He touched his pointer. “Or him being mad.” He touched his middle finger. “Or you being mad.” He touched his ring finger. “All I cared about was keeping him alive.”

I nodded. I understood that.

I still couldn’t believe I owned a Cessna.

“I can’t accept it,” I said.

“I figured you’d say that. You think you don’t deserve it. But Dad gave it to you because he loved you. Love isn’t something you have to deserve.”

He sounded like he was reading a cue card. I looked at him, puzzled.

He grinned. “I learned that recently.” His grin faded. “At least, I hope it’s true.” He looked toward the Hall Aviation hangar. We couldn’t see the white Cessna inside, but we knew it was there. “I was thinking you could sell the plane and use the money to live on and pay tuition until you graduate from college, if you’re careful. Of course, then you wouldn’t have a plane, and knowing you, you’d rather have a plane to fly than a place to live.”

I laughed, because it was true.

“Some people sell shares of their airplanes,” he went on. “A retired doctor around here would love to buy half an airplane that my dad kept up the maintenance on.” In his voice I heard his pride in his dad. “You could still fly it half the time and pocket the profits for the other half.”

I sat back in my chair on a sigh, overwhelmed at the whole strange idea of owning an airplane. “Wow.”

“I know,” he said. “This changes everything for you, and I should have told you. If I’d told you, though, it would have been a lot harder to make you do what I wanted. So if you want to walk away from me now, I would completely understand, and—” He took off his hat, ran his hand back through his blond curls, and put his hat back on. “That’s actually not true. I would grovel at your feet.”

I giggled, but I didn’t tell him I forgave him. Not right away. He’d put me through a lot. I understood why, but it might be nice to see him grovel a little. I wasn’t sure yet. “What did you want to ask me?”

“Oh.” His cheeks turned bright pink. He cleared his throat. “Will you go to the prom with me?”

I cackled so loud that my voice echoed against the Hall Aviation hangar and back to us. “The prom!”

“Yes!” He grinned.

“In Wilmington?”

“Yes, next Saturday.”

I looked over my shoulder at the airport office door. “I would have to ask off work.”

“It’s at night, when the airport is closed.”

I nodded slowly. “I would have to wear a prom garment.”

“It doesn’t matter what you wear. You could wear that bikini top you fly in, and every girl I ever dated would…” He grinned at me. “And all the guys… I know I’ve ribbed you for being beautiful and taking advantage of it, but you’ve got to give me my turn.”

“Well, if you frame it like a revenge plot from middle school, how could I refuse? I’ve never been to a prom before. Mine was a few weeks ago and I never thought about going.”

“We’ll make sure this one is good.”

Still thinking this through, I asked, “Would you drive down and get me? I would hate for you to come all that way and then bring me back. That’s a lot of driving.”

“I would come get you,” he said. “You would stay at my house, in the guest room, and my mom would make sure I didn’t touch you inappropriately. While she was looking. Or…” He held up his finger like he’d just gotten a bright idea. “You could fly up to Wilmington in your airplane.”

I stared at him for a moment without understanding what he was saying. And then realized he was talking about Mr. Hall’s Cessna. Which was now my Cessna. “Can I do that?” I asked. “It’s not technically my plane yet.”

“Right,” he said. “It belongs to Hall Aviation for a few more weeks, until I sign it over to you. But you’re insured to fly planes for Hall Aviation. It’s all good. You can go wherever you want.”

“Really.” I pictured flying to the prom in Wilmington. Flying anywhere I wanted, anytime. I pictured rising above the ground to a thousand feet, where I could see, and pointing the plane in every direction. The whole Atlantic coast, the whole country was suddenly mine.

Grayson chuckled. “I thought that would make you smile. It’s taking a few minutes to sink in, but now you see.”

“Yes,” I said. “Now I can see.”

“The only thing is, Alec’s asking Molly to the prom too, so it would be nice if you made up, and you could bring her with you.”

On cue, the yellow Piper dove low over the grassy strip and dropped a banner. The fabric sank straight down and settled on the grass. The wind was calm.

Watching the plane sail away, I said, “I hope things won’t be awkward between you and Alec because of all this.”