The Stranger Page 15

  “Okay,” I said. “If I’m still around next week, I’ll go with you.”

  “Deal.” He tightened his laces. “Can you be ready to leave in half an hour?”

  “Sure.” I set the laptop on the night table, threw the covers aside and rose from the bed.

  It was only as I made my way to the bathroom that I realized what Seth had done. He’d gotten himself a date. With me. Note to self: people with tons of smarts and extraordinary grit managed sneak attacks under the radar with impressive cool.

  I halted by the threshold. “Smooth, Erickson,” I said. “Very smooth.”

  “Yeah.” He grinned. “I thought so myself.”

  * * *

  The roar of the helicopter announced the beginning of our newest journey. It touched down on a square landing pad not forty feet from the house. I knew nothing about helicopters, but this had to be the most striking machine I’d ever laid eyes on. The fuselage was a work of art and the modern, sleek lines of the metallic-gray aircraft bedazzled my eyes.

  I swallowed a gulp of fear.

  “What’s wrong?” Seth said.

  “Have I told you?” I stared at the magnificent contraption. “I’m afraid of flying.”

  “Now you tell me,” he said. “Have you flown in a helicopter before?”

  I perched my fist on my hip. “Are you mistaking me for Kim Kardashian again?”

  He laughed. “You’re going to like flying with me.”

  He took my hand and together we approached the helicopter, buffeted by the rotors’ gusty wind. Seth opened the door. I braced my foot on the boarding step, climbed on the flight deck and sat down on the left front seat. Seth strapped me in, shut the door, and strode around the helicopter before he took the pilot’s place in the cockpit.

  “Thanks,” Seth yelled over the roar before he shut the door.

  The man waved and made his way to the E&E truck that came up the driveway to pick him up. Seth put on his helmet and strapped on a kneepad with a tablet. He went through his checklist, tested the instrument panel, checked the radar, and programmed the route into the computer. He handed me a headset and motioned for me to put it on.

  “Ready?” His voice came crisp and clear over the com.

  “As ready as I’m going to be.” I sunk my fingernails into my seat.

  He placed his feet on the pedals, held the stick between his legs with his right hand, and gripped the throttle mounted on the lever with his left. The roar of the helicopter increased as it lifted from the ground. It hovered in place for a moment, shuddered slightly and then moved forward through the air, gaining speed and altitude. Eyes hidden beneath his aviator sunglasses, Seth flashed me a reassuring smile, transitioning us into full flight.

  The knot in my stomach eased as we gained altitude. I took in the cabin’s plush interior, which reminded me of a high-end luxury yacht, complete with lots of leather, polished woods, and an exceptional-looking instrument panel. A quick glance revealed that the rear cabin was even more luxurious, outfitted with a two-toned bench and a couple of plush bucket seats. This wasn’t so bad. Slowly, I let go of my seat.

  “What kind of helicopter is this?” I asked.

  “There isn’t another one like it,” he said. “The basic bones are an adaptation of a Sikorsky S-70C Firehawk, which is the commercial version of the Black Hawk. Are you familiar with the Black Hawk?”

  “Familiar? No, but I’ve seen it in movies.”

  “This is a cutting-edge version of it, upgraded for high performance and customized to my specs.”

  “Very nice,” I said. “Is this what you fly for the National Guard too?”

  “Close enough,” he said. “I fly the Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk for the Guard, which is also a Black Hawk, but adapted for insertion, recovery, search and rescue.”

  “Impressive, Erickson,” I said. “Where are your guns?”

  “No need for guns on this one.” He smiled. “The battles I fight these days involve mostly salvos across the desk.”

  “This must have cost you a pretty penny.”

  “It was pricey, but I saved some bucks by partnering up with the company to produce it as a prototype. They’re hoping to market the concept to companies in the private sector.”

  “Smart bear,” I said. “It must be a coup for E&E to own this piece of equipment.”

  “It’s not E&E’s helicopter,” he said rather forcefully. “It’s my private aircraft.”

  “Oops,” I said. “Why do I feel like I just stepped on your sore tail?”

  “I paid for my Firehawk. I run the company like a business, not like a piggy bank for a bunch of rich kids.”

  “I take it this is a touchy subject?” I said. “Let me guess: Cousin Alex?”

  “I don’t care if he wants to buy a Ferrari collection,” he said. “As long as he pays for it, he can do whatever the hell he wants. I hold myself to the same standard. But enough about Alex. Look out your window.”

  The day was sunny and clear. The magnificent mountains flanked us on both sides, summits frosted with shimmering white. Vast swatches of uninterrupted forest flowed in every direction. The sound rippled beneath us, a smooth, blue carpet. Seth banked the helicopter. Three points sliced the water like knives.

  “Oh, my God!” I squealed. “Are those...?”

  “Orcas,” Seth said. “We’ve got several pods that patrol the sound.”

  “They’re spectacular,” I said. “This is amazing!”

  “And look at three o’clock.” He circled over the mouth of a river. “That’s a brown bear, fishing for salmon. Grizzlies, they call them in the lower forty-eight.”

  “It’s like the Discovery Channel.” I pressed my nose to the glass. “No, it’s even better than the Discovery Channel!”

  His laughter flowed over the coms, quiet, crisp, and rich. “Look closely as we fly over that little lake. There’s an old moose that hangs out on the east shore.”

  “There it is!” I squealed. “Do you see it?”

  “Every time I do this commute,” Seth said. “The wildlife is just one of the reasons I love Alaska.”

  On a day like today, I could understand the attraction. I could feel the place seeping into my veins, awakening my numbed senses to the myriad details that dazzled and thrilled. The landscape’s expansive proportions defied imagination. Sitting next to Seth, with the helicopter roaring beneath my seat and Alaska at my feet, I felt like a queen on my throne.

  I glanced at him and recognized him for the extraordinary being he was. Up here, he was in harmony with his environment, part machine, part wildlife, free to soar. The helicopter was like an extension of him, connecting mind and machine by his body’s subtle movements. It was obvious: he loved to fly. He belonged in the sky just as much as he belonged to Alaska.

  He gripped the stick lightly, as if persuading the aircraft to dance with him. And suddenly I wanted to yield to his touch, to be the stick in his hand, to soar like the helicopter at the whim of his body, to fly him to places only I could take him.

  “What?” he said, when he caught me looking.

  “Nothing,” I gnawed on my lips. “If you’d told me two weeks ago that I’d be in Alaska, flying in a helicopter, seeing bears, moose, and killer whales in the wild, I might have laughed in your face.”

  “And now?”

  I smiled. “I’m glad I came.”

  Chapter Eleven

  We landed on a helipad next to the parking lot of a sizable industrial complex overlooking the Cook Inlet and Knik Arm. An extensive set of understated historic buildings, warehouses, wharfs, and storage lots composed the E&E complex. Seth shut down the helicopter, took off his kneeboard and helmet and, after unstrapping his seat belt, came around and helped me to get down.

  “That was amazing,” I said
.

  The smile he gave me warmed my soul.

  A BMW pulled up. The driver, a very attractive woman, got out of the car and went straight for Seth, hugging him as if she owned him. I refrained from peeling her off by an act of pure will, but I had to grit my teeth.

  “Summer,” Seth said, “this is my sister, Ally.”

  “Oh.” I felt instantly better and not a little foolish. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise.” Ally flashed an open smile that reminded me of Jeremy.

  Seth’s brows quirked. “Who did you think she was?”

  “Oh, well, I—I didn’t know.”

  “I see.” Seth flashed me a grin that said he was on to me. “I asked Ally to show you around Anchorage this morning.”

  “You don’t have to trouble yourself. I can wait. No problem.”

  “It’s no trouble,” Ally said. “Come on. Let’s leave Seth to do his thing. I’ve got a whole morning planned for us girls.”

  She was a platinum blonde version of Jeremy, with sparkling blue eyes, delicate features, and a round mouth that reminded me of a ripe strawberry. Like Jer, she was fun, bubbly, and vivacious and, unlike Seth, she was a prodigiously fast talker.

  I soon learned that she lived in Anchorage with her husband, a Texan who was an emergency room doctor. She worked at E&E but was playing hooky today. She zipped me around Anchorage in her Beemer as if she were a NASCAR racer, shifting with the joy of a natural-born driver. The backseat driver in me cringed at every turn.

  After a glorious morning and a thorough tour of Anchorage, she turned into the parking lot of what looked like a high-end boutique. “Shopping time,” she announced, turning off the ignition. “Seth said you needed a dress for the benefit next week.”

  He hadn’t said any of that to me, but I’d made a deal with him. He’d help me find my sister and, if I was still around, I’d go with him to the benefit. It was fair and square and I intended to stick by it...if I was still around by then.

  I followed Ally into the store, where the two of us had a blast trying on dresses. I don’t know why, but I had assumed that any Alaskan party would be informal. Apparently, I was wrong. Ally informed me that I needed fancy cocktail attire. I found a dress I liked for a price I didn’t. I had to get an overcoat with it, as well as some shoes and accessories. My credit card was about to scream, but when I went to pay, Ally insisted she had strict orders from Seth.

  “He’s buying,” she said.

  “No way.” I handed my credit card to the clerk. “It’s not right.”

  “Of course it’s right.” Ally plucked my credit card from the clerk’s hand and gave her another. “He’s my big bro and he spoils me rotten. He’d like to do the same with you.”

  “I don’t need to be spoiled.”

  “Come on.” She wiggled her very fair brows. “Every girl wants to be spoiled.”

  “Not me.” I’d learned the hard way that guys who pretended to spoil girls sometimes wanted your dignity in return.

  “Give the guy a break.” Ally dropped my credit card in my purse. “If he wants to give you a gift, let him! You didn’t come to Alaska expecting to go to fancy parties. So, I think it’s only fair he pays for your stuff.”

  “Seth has already done a lot for me,” I said. “The last thing he needs is one more person sucking the life out of him.”

  “Seth is a giver for sure.” Ally’s pale blue eyes took a new measure of me. “I’m glad you’re able to see beyond the tough exterior. But if you have any objections to his plan, kindly take it up with him. I have no desire to face his wrath.”

  She flashed me a sparkling smile that displayed the stubborn streak she shared with her brother. These people were nearly as pig-headed as my people.

  “You’re really something else.” Ally took some of the posh garment bags from the clerk and motioned for me to do the same. “You’re like the opposite of a gold digger.”

  “Excuse me?” I followed her out of the store.

  “Sorry.” She opened the trunk and settled the bags in it. “I don’t mean to offend you with a compliment that’s also an insult, but you need to understand. Gold diggers are the norm when you’re an Erickson.”

  The Erickson money would make Seth a target for fortune-seekers wherever he went. His good looks would only add to the equation and his generosity, combined with what I was discovering was a very big heart, would be the icing on the cake. But Ally had me all wrong and, as I got into the car, I rushed to correct her misconceptions.

  “Your brother and I aren’t...you know.” I swallowed a dry gulp. “I suppose I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.”

  “Oh, please.” She pushed on the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot. “I don’t need to know the juicy details.”

  “I’m going back to Miami as soon as I find my sister.”

  “Sure.” She smirked, speeding down the busy street. “If he lets you.”

  What did she mean by that? “Could you, please, um, slow down?”

  “He’s smitten with you,” she said, blunt as her brother.

  “He’s not smitten with me.”

  “Oh, yes he is,” Ally said. “I can tell by the way he looks at you. I don’t know you very well, but I think you’re smitten with him too.”

  “Stop,” I said. “We’ve only known each other for a few days.”

  “I’ll stop.” She hurled the car into a tiny parking space and screeched to a stop. “But only because this lovely place is where we’re having lunch.”

  The charming restaurant was perched on a cliff overlooking Cook Inlet. Cargo ships sailed in the distance and low-hanging clouds cast moving shadows over the stunning vistas.

  “Best caribou burgers in Anchorage.” Ally ordered for me. “Served on hot sourdough.”

  I’d never had caribou, let alone caribou burgers, but the one the waiter parked before me was delicious. I managed to put down a great portion of it. Ally’s slim figure disguised a voracious appetite. She washed down her burger with a handcrafted ale.

  “I don’t think you’re such bad news,” she said when she was done dispatching her meal.

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Seth would hate me for saying this to you, but he deserves a little happiness in his life. He’s been through a lot.”

  I put down the remains of my burger. “What do you mean?”

  “When Mom and Dad died, Seth’s youth got cut off at the knees,” Ally said. “The full yoke of E&E fell squarely around his neck. He’s been an ox ever since, the family’s work beast. He never got to enjoy being young and carefree, so you’ve got to excuse him if he’s a little straight and square.”

  Straight and square—plus sharp like a right angle—described Seth all right.

  “Jer and I tried to help,” she said, “but we were too young back then to fend for ourselves. Seth was like a dad to us.”

  “He’s not that much older than you and Jeremy.”

  “He’s only two years older than Jer and four years older than me,” Ally said. “He used to help me with my homework. Even when he was in college, he’d call me every night to make sure I was doing okay. If I was blue or missed my parents, he’d fly out for the weekend, just to be with me. Seth gave me away at my wedding. A girl couldn’t ask for a better brother.”

  Why wasn’t I surprised at all?

  “Think about it,” she said. “He’s barely thirty-four. Not only has he grown the company tremendously, but he’s managed to do it while helping his community and serving his country. Did you know he holds the record for the highest-altitude helicopter rescue in North America?”

  “No.”

  “He’s a phenomenal pilot, the guy you want to pluck you out if you’re in danger,” Ally said. “He was th
e XO of the Alaska Air National Guard’s 212th Rescue Squadron when they went to Afghanistan.”

  “He didn’t mention any of that.” But of course, he wouldn’t. I gave in to my curiosity. “Ally? What happened in Afghanistan?”

  “They were extracting a group of special ops out of the mountains. They were ambushed. An RPG blasted through the helicopter and killed one of Seth’s crew and the other pilot.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “Yeah,” Ally said. “I read his commendation letter. The helicopter was on fire, and so was he, but he managed to put the helo down and saved the lives of the rest of the crew and the five special ops guys he’d picked up. He was ‘grievously wounded,’ but he dragged three wounded out of the burning helicopter and then organized the survivors’ defense. He held back the attackers for hours, until backup arrived.”

  Talk about the definition of heroism. “Wow.”

  “He’s incredible,” Ally said. “But he was pissed when he came back from Afghanistan, angry and depressed. Sometimes, I think he still is. They gave him a whole bunch of medals and decorations, but he never talks about any of that. My heart still hurts when I remember how sick he was when they shipped him back.”

  “Was it really bad?”

  “Awful,” Ally said. “He was in terrible shape. He broke his back in two places. His lungs were scorched. He couldn’t breathe on his own for a while. And the burns. God. I cried when I saw him, which was the wrong thing to do, because for months after that, he wouldn’t let any of us visit him at the hospital.”

  I had a flashback of his reflection in the bathroom mirror that first time I’d tended to his back. My stomach clenched. It had been so hard for him to accept my touch.

  “The doctors weren’t sure he would recover,” Ally said. “But he did and look at him now. When he came out of the hospital, he moved out to the cabin. Sometimes, when I think of him, alone in his house, I want to pull out my hair. I was ecstatic when he called me up and asked me to take you around. I haven’t seen him excited about anything or anybody for a long time.”