Tailspin(129)

She was wearing a slender black skirt and high-heeled boots. Her pale gray sweater was thin, not bulky. It clung to her breasts, which he knew were a perfect fit in his palms.

He gave a soft cough. “Marlene tell you I was coming today?”

“She called to inform me a few days ago. Said she hoped I was free. I think she’s matchmaking.”

As though the idea of Marlene White playing Cupid was amusing, he made an effort to smile. It didn’t quite work. “She didn’t know where I was staying.”

“No. I played a hunch.”

“You talked a key out of the pothead?”

“I played him, too.”

“I bet.” He looked her over. “That getup. He’d have to be a monk to hold out, and probably not even then.”

She blushed over the compliment but didn’t acknowledge it. “How was Brady’s flight?”

This time his smile was automatic. “He was like a kid at Christmas. I gave him control a couple of times. I swear, it was so much fun to watch him having so much fun. We flew over this wide-open pasture in a valley. I banked, came around for a second pass, went in real low, almost like I was going to do a touch-and-go, then climbed out steep. Brady—” Catching himself, he stopped.

Her expression was knowing, a trifle smug. “How nice that you can give him such a treat, but remain detached and uninvolved.”

He looked down and studied the toe of his boot. When he raised his head, he met her steady gaze head-on. “It was great.”

She didn’t gloat over his admission. Her victory lap came in the form of a soft smile. “I know today meant a lot to both of them.”

“It meant a lot to me.”

After a brief but weighty silence, she asked if he and Dash were on speaking terms again.

“Yeah. He was in a tight spot. I forgave him.”

“You were the one in the tight spot. How’d it go with the FAA, the NTSB?”

“Good. Wilson and Rawlins helped.”

“They met you when you got back that night?”

“At the hangar when I returned Jake’s plane. They delivered me to the detectives who were investigating the crime scene at the Hunts’. I was questioned.”

“I was deposed in Knoxville the next day.”

“I owned up to ‘subduing’ Timmy in order to protect you. Wilson and Rawlins vouched that neither of us was there to witness the shootings, so we didn’t know how it played out after we left.

“They also explained the medical emergency that you and I were responding to. Lambert confirmed it. The police were much more focused on Senator Hunt, who kept changing his story. Still, it was hours before they freed me to go.

“Rawlins, Wilson, and I barely made the nine o’clock meeting up here, but we did. We trooped out to the crash site. I talked the agents through what happened. You, me, Lambert all attested to Timmy’s confession about trying to crash the plane. I was cleared. Investigation closed.”

Her face lit up with her smile. He found himself looking at her mouth. He longed to dab the corner of her lips with his thumb. His tongue.

He dragged his gaze back up to hers. “How’s Violet? Is the drug working?”

“No negative side effects. Her latest blood test shows a marked increase in healthy blood cells. The cancer hasn’t spread. We’re holding our breath, but it looks good.”

“That’s great news, Brynn.”

“You can drop the surprised act,” she said dryly. “Nate told me you’ve called him three times to ask about her.”

“I wanted to know.”

“No need to get defensive, Rye. I didn’t accuse you of anything except being a kind and caring human being. I appreciate your concern, and so do the Griffins. You certainly had a vested interest in Violet’s prognosis. It would be nice if she could thank you personally.”

Dodging that, he said, “To hear Lambert tell it, Violet’s turnaround was due to him and his genius.”

“Nate is obnoxious and unlikable—”

“That doesn’t begin to cover it.”

“—but he also did the research along with me. He put in the long hours, too. He’s entitled to take credit.”

“No more than half.”

She gave a modest shrug and became reflective. Voice quiet, she said, “You nailed it, you know.”

“What?”

“To some extent, I was doing it for me. Not for acclaim. Not to become famous, but to—”

“Live down being a convict’s kid.”

“You saw that.”

He shrugged. “Little bit. Anyway, it’s not a sin.”

“No doubt my mother’s death contributed to my ambition. But when I was most ashamed of my last name, the loftiest goal I could conceive of was to become Dr. O’Neal.”

“Doesn’t matter why you did it, Brynn. Matters that you did.”

Her saw her throat work with emotion. “Well, the important thing is that Violet’s improvement will open up clinical trials for other patients.”

He gave her a thumbs-up. “Way to go, Dr. O’Neal.”

God, he loved when she blushed.

“Did Nate tell you the irony?” she asked.

He shook his head.