Rebecca Winters - Another Man's Wife

“Because pilots like you and Spade are chosen for extraordinary qualities. You’re not as weak as the rest of us, especially when you’re at the controls. Our country’s security depends on you.”

“No pilot or racing pro is a superman, Rick. Every man has his breaking point. We all hope we’ll never have to be tested to that degree. It hurts to think Spade’s wife might’ve been the one ultimately responsible for his death. He really loved her.”

After a long silence, his brother said, “Did you talk to her?”

“It was unavoidable. She approached me.”

“And?”

“In so many words I told her to go to hell.”

Rick shot him a troubled glance. “That doesn’t sound like the brother I know.”

“I’m not the brother you knew.”

“Neither of us knows who we are right now. It’s too soon. Emotions are still too fragile.”

“Since when did you turn into the philosopher?”

“Don’t ask.”

Nate wasn’t about to. He already knew the answer. “If you want to sleep in, I’ll drive Dad and Mom to the airport.”

The second the word slipped out, they both froze.

“I made the same mistake earlier in front of Dad,” Rick confessed. “It’ll probably happen a lot until everything sinks in.”

“Let’s hope you’re wrong.”

“Whether I sleep tonight or not, I plan to go to the airport with you in the morning. Pam seems grateful for the smallest crumb.”

“So does Dad,” Nate said.

Rick’s cell phone rang, disturbing the quiet. He plucked it from the coffee table and glanced at his call display.

“Damn. It’s Natalie.”

“That doesn’t sound like the brother I know.”

Rick raised his head. Their eyes met in brotherly understanding. “Touché.”

“I’ll leave you alone. If something comes up, call me on my cell.”

“Where are you going?”

“After I change clothes, I thought I’d drive over to the ski shop and take a look around. Since Dad missed the buying trip this year, I’m curious to see how low the inventory is.”

“Hang on and I’ll join you. This call won’t take long.”

Nate grabbed his jacket and tie from the floor, then bounded up the front stairs to his old bedroom. Once he’d dressed in jeans and a well-worn sweatshirt, he made his way to the foyer.

Rick was still on the phone.

A disturbing restlessness drove Nate to the den. He turned on the light. Ever since childhood, the framed Olympic medals hanging over the mantelpiece were always the first thing that drew his gaze.

Only once had they been removed from this wall. He’d begged his parents to let him bring the medals to school for “Show and Tell.” Initially they’d refused—out of modesty, he now understood—but they’d given in when they saw how much it meant to him. His teacher and eight-year-old classmates had been duly impressed.

His mother had taken the silver for the women’s downhill. In those same Olympic games, his father had won gold in the giant slalom. That was where they’d met.

Like some of the paired ice-skaters who were husband and wife, his parents’ passion for the sport had led to the grand passion of their existence. Each other. They’d married soon after and decided to live the rest of their lives at ten thousand feet in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

Life had been idyllic for Nate and Rick. The family that prayed together, that worked and played together, stayed together. How many times had Nate heard that maxim from the pulpit? He’d always believed it.

The trick was to find one’s soul mate first.

In just one week Nate had decided there was no such thing. Judging by Rick’s savage expression as they met in the hall, he’d reached the same conclusion.

LAUREL WAVED the family off. “See you at twelve.” She’d driven them over to the lift so they could ski as many runs as possible before noon. Brent wanted to get an early start back to Denver to avoid the worst of the traffic.

By tacit agreement, any reference to last night’s unfortunate incident was avoided. When the family returned to the suite from dinner, Laurel had put on fresh makeup, and she greeted them with a smile. She insisted the boys sleep in her room. Brent and Julie had no choice but to go along with her wishes.

Today was a new day, and she intended to enjoy it. First on the agenda, she’d have a leisurely breakfast in the coffee shop. Afterward she’d drive into town to do a little shopping. Maybe she’d see something cute for a baby girl in one of the stores at the Bell Tower mall.

If she was having a boy, Julie had saved enough baby and toddler clothes to fill every need. Brent had already set up their old crib in Laurel’s room. She was as prepared as she could possibly be.

She pulled into the lodge parking lot and got out of the car. During the night a storm front had moved in, bringing lower temperatures and the threat of more snow. Her breath curled in the air.

Glad of Brent’s old black-and-white parka, which covered most of her, she made her way toward the lodge, hoping no one noticed that she walked like a fat penguin these days.

A line of cars idled outside the entrance. Sunday mornings tended to be the busiest time, with the majority of guests departing. As she walked between two of the vehicles where people were loading their bags, she got the distinct impression she was being watched.

The feeling grew so strong she glanced to her right and caught a glint of blue. The wintry blue of eyes that had condemned her last night. It was Hawk at the controls of a four-wheel-drive Blazer.

There was a logo on the side. Eagles’ Nest Ski and Bike Shop, Copper Mountain. Was it a loan from a friend for the occasion?

Her timing couldn’t have been worse. He’d told her he was with a wedding party. Maybe it had been his own. If so, good luck to his little brunette bride. Any woman foolish enough to marry a man carrying around that much rage—that much cruelty—would need it.

Laurel picked up her pace and walked through the huge glass doors of the lodge. When she reached the coffee shop, it looked filled to capacity. Making a snap decision, she headed back to the suite. It would be easier to order breakfast from there, then visit the mall.

But once inside the room, she discovered she was too angry to eat, let alone shop. She removed her parka and sank down on the bed.

During the night she’d relived the hurtful experience on the dance floor over and over again. No matter how many times she’d tried to analyze it, she couldn’t understand why it had happened. There was no way to reconcile his behavior with what she knew about Hawk.

If he and Scott had suffered a falling-out, she had no idea when it would have occurred. Once her husband had been transferred from Nellis, their careers had taken them to different parts of the world, although they’d always stayed in touch.

Twice there’d been periods where they both served with NATO forces for many months at a time. The most recent had been right before Scott had returned to perform in the air show that had cost him his life. Her husband would have told her if there’d been trouble between them.

Now that she’d recovered from the initial shock of their meeting, she was more curious than devastated by his rudeness. From everything she knew about him, he’d acted out of character last night.

Scott might be gone, but for her own peace of mind she intended to solve the mystery. If some wrong had been done, if Scottie had somehow offended the man he used to idolize, Laurel wanted to know. Perhaps it was too late to make amends, but she could try.

If memory served her right, after seeing action, Hawk had been sent to Edwards Air Force base, then Holland. Duce had mentioned something about his testing jets with the Dutch Air Force. No telling if he was still stationed there.