Jesse: Merry Christmas, Cowboy. Lynnette Kent

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СКАЧАТЬ not enough room,” she said, her voice fretful. “Only a few seats. Where will everyone else sit, Janie?”

      “Don’t worry, they’ll find a place, Mom. Why don’t you lean back and let me fasten your seat belt?” By the time she got Abby settled and interested in a travel magazine with lots of photographs, Jesse had climbed aboard, shutting the door behind him.

      “Ready?” Underneath the sheepskin coat, he wore the standard rodeo “uniform”—good jeans with one of his trophy belt buckles, dressy boots and a Western shirt in a soft blue chambray that made his eyes an even brighter blue by comparison. Weak-kneed with nerves and longing, Janie sank into the seat beside her mother. “Um…sure.” Her hands shook as she buckled her own belt.

      Jesse grinned. “You don’t sound too sure. I promise, everything will be fine. The weather is great, the plane’s in perfect condition, and I am a terrific pilot.”

      She couldn’t resist a little dig. “Modest, too.”

      “Always. Just relax, and we’ll be flying high in no time.”

      “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Janie muttered.

      She could see him in the pilot’s chair from where she sat. He donned a set of earphones, then flipped switches, turned knobs and consulted charts, plus a hundred other complicated motions she guessed were necessary to make the plane function. Finally, with a slight bump, they started rolling along the ground.

      Janie looked over at her mother, who was asleep again, her head resting against the butterscotch-colored leather of her seat, the magazine in her lap. Janie realized her own hands now gripped the arm-rests, but just when she thought she might loosen her hold, they hit another bump. Then another. Were they going to die now?

      In the next moment, though, the front end of the plane lifted. The noise of wheels on pavement stopped, and she knew they’d taken off. The plane was flying.

      She was flying.

      A glance out the window showed her the ground falling away, the sky growing larger, enfolding them, sup porting them…and then the wonders of a bird’s-eye view as they flew southwest, across Yellowstone, the Tetons and Utah. Abby stayed asleep, so before too long, Jesse had lured Janie to the cockpit so they could talk about the wonders she saw beneath the wings.

      “I don’t want to land,” she confessed at last, as they neared Las Vegas and the desert floor came closer. “The magic’s in the sky.”

      Jesse grinned. “Well, we’ve got to fly back next weekend. Something to look forward to.”

      Before she could respond, a cry came from the cabin behind them. “Janie? Janie, help me!”

      When she reached her mother, Abby grabbed her arm with both hands. “Janie, what’s happening? Where am I? What is this place?”

      “Shh, Mom. Shh. It’s okay.” Janie knelt next to her mother’s chair, trying to be calm despite the pain of fingernails digging into her arm. “We’re going to Las Vegas, remember? Mark’s riding in the National Finals and we get to watch. We took an airplane, so we didn’t have to drive so far. Remember?”

      But Abby didn’t remember and Janie spent the rest of the flight trying to reassure her and calm her down, thankful for the seat belt which kept her mother in the chair. Her moans and cries would be easily heard by Jesse up in the cockpit. The last twenty minutes of the trip approached Janie’s worst fears.

      Just as her mother had subsided for a moment, Jesse’s voice came over the intercom. “Janie, sorry to bother you, but you’ll need to be in a seat with a safety belt for the next few minutes while we land.”

      At the sound of the disembodied voice, Abby became agitated again. With her arm still in her mother’s grip, Janie sat in the seat facing Abby’s and leaned forward to ease the strain on her shoulder. She couldn’t begin to imagine how they would get the hysterical woman off the plane and into a car, much less through a crowded hotel lobby, onto an elevator and settled in a hotel room.

      What a terrible idea this had been. Or, rather, how stupid she had been to accept the Codys’ invitation. She should have refused and watched Mark ride on TV.

      But instead, she’d let Mark and Nicki persuade her to “join the fun.” She’d grabbed at the chance to experience the Finals for herself, maybe the only time she’d ever attend the biggest event in professional rodeo.

      And maybe the last opportunity she would ever have to make an impression on Jesse Cody. Deep in her heart, unconfessed to anybody else, was the hope that she could maneuver some private time with Jesse. Maybe, if she was really lucky, he might see her as something other than Elly’s friend or Mark’s sister. She’d certainly shopped for that chance, running up the balance on her credit card way beyond her ability to pay it off any time soon.

      Not only had she spent too much money, but she’d dragged her mother away from the home where she felt safe and subjected her to all the terrors of travel. Sure, Mark’s chance at the championship provided an excuse, and he’d wanted Abby to be there.

      But Janie knew the truth. If it weren’t for her feelings for Jesse, she would have had the strength and good sense to keep her mother at home. How selfish could she be?

      With just a couple of slight hops, the plane touched down and claimed the runway surface. Janie barely felt the braking action as Jesse slowed their speed and approached the hangar. Only the smallest jolt signaled that they’d come to a stop.

      Jesse appeared in the doorway to the front of the plane, and Abby shrank back into her seat. “Who is that man? What does he want?”

      At least she’d finally let go of Janie’s arm. “This is Jesse, Mom. He’s a f-friend of mine.”

      Her “friend” came and squatted down by Abby’s chair. “I’m going to take you somewhere you’ll be safe.” He spoke slowly, in the soothing tone Janie had heard him use with frightened horses and puppies. “Would you like that, Abby?” He fixed his wide, steady gaze on hers.

      To Janie’s surprise, her mother nodded without looking away.

      “That’s good.” His smile was warm and reassuring. Janie could see her mother relax. “We’ve got a car waiting outside, and then we’ll go to a place where you’ll feel comfortable.”

      “I get to go home?”

      “Not right away. But Mark is waiting for you. And Janie will be there.” Jesse placed a hand over Abby’s clenched fingers. “You know Mark and Janie would never let anything happen to you. They will always keep you safe.”

      Janie smiled through her tears as her mother looked at her.

      “I know.” Abby nodded. “They take care of me.”

      Jesse nodded. “I know they do. Now, I’m going to make sure the car is ready and then we’ll get in and drive for a little while. Wait for me—I’ll be gone just a minute.”

      When he returned, events proceeded exactly as he’d promised. He coaxed Abby down the steps from the plane and then into a waiting limousine, where he offered her some water and a Snickers bar, her favorite candy. After a short trip, the limousine stopped in the drive of a towering resort building, but СКАЧАТЬ