Surrender by June Gray Read Free Book Online Page B

logic.
    â€œYou won’t miss me?” I asked.
    â€œYeah, I will. But I want you to have fun, too.”
    My sight blurred with tears, though with what emotion, I couldn’t tell. I hugged him to me, holding him tighter than what was probably comfortable. He made up my entire world, and I was actually considering leaving him behind.
    â€œReady?” Elodie asked, coming into the room with her purse and keys in hand.
    â€œAre you sure about this?” I asked Will one more time. “I really don’t have to go.”
    He smiled, his big blue eyes bright as he nodded. “I’ll be fine, Mom. Go.”
    â€”
    The drive over to the airport went by in a blur, affording me no time to second-guess myself. After thanking Elodie, I went inside the tiny Monterey airport and looked around for Neal.
    But he was nowhere to be found, and only then—as I stood stranded in that building—did it occur to me that he might not be waiting for me after all. I’d told him I wasn’t coming, so it stood to reason that he wouldn’t wait.
    I went up to the ticket counter but the agent informed me there were absolutely no scheduled flights to Las Vegas departing at four thirty. I stepped out of line, swallowing down my disappointment, and stared down at my phone in hopes that a message from Neal would pop up at that very moment.
    â€œYou’re here.”
    I spun around and found Neal beaming at me, holding a duffel bag in his hand. He bent down and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I thought you weren’t going to show.”
    I folded my arms across my chest. “There are no flights to Vegas.”
    He grinned. “Not on their planes. But Neal Airlines has one departing in thirty minutes.” He took my bag and led me through the airport and out the other side of the building. We walked on the tarmac for a little while until we reached a small hangar.
    â€œReady?” he asked before opening the side door.
    Inside was a small white plane with red and yellow stripes along its thin body, white propellers, and wheels that looked as if they belonged on a go-kart instead of a plane.
    â€œYou’re going to fly
this
?” I asked incredulously as my heart thumped wildly.
    â€œYes.” He chuckled as he walked around the plane, running his hands along its shiny body. “What did you think I meant?”
    I threw my hands up. “I don’t know. Maybe you were rich and had your own private jet.”
    â€œI do,” he said, bending down and pulling yellow wedges from around the plane’s tires. “This one. It’s a Lancair IV. My dad and I built her from a kit.”
    All the blood rushed to my head. “You built this? From a
kit
?”
    He pursed his lips, biting back a smile. “You’re wondering what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into, right?”
    â€œSomething like that.”
    â€œWell, it’s a four-seat, carbon-fiber-composite, high-performance plane and has been certified airworthy by the FAA. I’ve got over two hundred solo flying hours under my belt and at least a hundred with my dad.” He leaned an elbow on the nose of the plane. “You’ll be in capable hands.”
    I focused on his earnest face, anchoring my skittering thoughts to the way he’d held me in bed. In his capable arms I’d felt safe and wanted, as if after all these years of standing guard alone, someone finally had my back.
    â€œOkay,” I said, shutting out the little nagging doubts. “But I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.”
    He beamed and came toward me, cradling my face in his hands and planting his lips on mine. The kiss, meant to be quick, deepened as I opened my mouth and let him in. His eyes were bright with excitement when he pulled away. “You’re going to love flying.”
    He helped me up into the cockpit, which was not all that roomy for a four-seater, and climbed into the