Chapter Six
Kory
Hayden came over the headphones to speak since we were in uncontrolled airspace. I’d flown with him frequently over the summer and learned more than I ever thought I could about flying.
“Skagway traffic, King Air November 740 Alpha Whiskey ten miles south, inbound to land runway two zero. Skagway.” Hayden’s voice was strong, commanding. There was something insanely attractive about hearing him over the headset speaking pilot talk. Once before, we’d fucked in the back of the float plane after he’d landed in a lake surrounded by mountains. Thinking about it sent tingles along my skin.
There was no response, which would be the case if no other pilots were airborne or in the area. Throughout the flight, I remained quiet while listening to Hayden and his copilot, Anthony. I had a lot of mental sorting out to do.
There was so much to do. No matter what, I had a place to stay. Sooner rather than later, I would need to find a car, cell phone, winter gear, and other essentials. The five thousand wasn’t going to last long. I would have to plan out a budget. Living arrangements would have a huge effect on what else I could afford. Hayden had insisted that if we rented Alexa’s place, we would split the rent.
Maybe I could get a waitressing job to help kick-start the inflow of money. I had done well with tips at Maggie’s. Waitressing wasn’t what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, but it was a source of income. As of five months ago, I had a bachelor’s degree, but had never had the opportunity to put it to use. Working while I was in college hadn’t been an option. Hell, I was lucky I’d gotten the chance to get a degree. When I’d brought up getting my master’s, my parents had put a stop to it.
Again, Hayden’s voice came over the headphones. “Skagway traffic, King Air November 740 Alpha Whiskey, five mile final two zero. Skagway.”
The landing gear came down, signifying that we were close. There would only be one more call before we landed. My family had a private jet, but I’d never been able to sit in the cockpit. The precision it took to fly a plane was mind-boggling. And typically, I’d spent flights with my family going over details of some mind-numbing, overly orchestrated event.
“Skagway traffic, King Air November 740 Alpha Whiskey, short final two zero. Skagway.”
The small town of Skagway became more visible. During the summer, cruise ships typically used it as the first stop. Skagway was a historic town. During the Klondike gold rush, people landed in Skagway in hopes of becoming rich. They’d stock up on supplies before heading up the treacherous Yukon Trail. From the air, it looked similar to Ketchikan, like one of those picturesque old towns written about in history books. I was already in love with the place.
Home.
This was my new home. My fresh start. And I couldn’t wait.
The wheels touched down. It was a smooth landing with only a minor screeching protest from the wheels as they touched the pavement. We taxied up to the hangar, where the guys did the post-flight checks and shut down the engines.
Hayden had three planes: a seaplane, this twin-engine, and a smaller Cessna. Most of his income came from booking excursions for passengers on the cruise ships. Hunters also hired him to fly them to remote parts of the state that could only be reached by plane. The size of the excursion and the location determined which plane he used. Prior to today, I had flown in both the seaplane and the Cessna. Today had been the first day in the twin-engine. It had been a smooth flight.
The door to the plane opened and Hayden came back. “You ready, sweetheart?”
“Yes.” This was an adventure I couldn’t wait to start.
I only had two suitcases. The first held some mementos from my childhood—things I held most dear, like the stuffed teddy bear I got from my grandparents when I was sick with pneumonia at two and the water globe I got after seeing The Nutcracker for the first time. Seeing the ballet had been like a dream. Those had been the good days. After I turned five, I’d lost those grandparents to a freak car accident. I remembered being so sad when my parents told me I would never see them again. I never knew my other set of grandparents.
In my other suitcase, I had some clothes, makeup, and a limited selection of shoes. These were all the things I’d purchased while I’d been in Alaska. By taking only what I’d bought myself, my parents couldn’t use the tactic that I somehow owed them something when I saw them next. I wanted nothing from them.
As we walked down the stairs, the briskness of the fall day hit me.
Alaska.
The leaves were already changing, and soon, the trees and landscape would be covered in snow.
Oh, how I loved this state. There was something about the clean, crisp air that awakened my soul. I took another deep breath. I can’t believe I’m here. When I’d hurriedly left Ketchikan, I never imagined I would be back.
The last night we were together, before telling me he loved me, Hayden had casually mentioned meeting his family. It had wrecked me. I’d known I had to leave before I got in too deep.
Hayden put the suitcases in the back of his truck, and I climbed into the beast. It was strange to think I’d never been in this enormous vehicle before even though I’d been on multiple dates with Hayden. While gigantic, it was clean and smelled of pine. It occurred to me that there were so many things we didn’t know about each other. Before he put the truck in drive, he looked at me. “Alexa texted me. Are you ready to see the place? Or would you like to get something to eat first.”
If Skagway was anything like Ketchikan, my arrival would most likely not go unnoticed. The tourist season was over, and I would stick out like a sore thumb in a small group of local people. I wasn’t ready for that kind of attention today.
Finding a place to live would be nice. “Let’s look at the house. I don’t know if I’m up for people right now.”
“I understand. I’ll text her now.”
Nervous butterflies swarmed my stomach as I thought about meeting someone from Hayden’s family or soon to be in his family. They must’ve thought I was crazy. “What does your family think about me?”
“My family doesn’t judge. And Alexa is one of the sweetest people I know. She came from a shitty family. Beyond shitty. They tried to ruin her life. So she understands that sometimes family can be tough.”
“She sounds amazing.” I looked forward to meeting Alexa. Hopefully we could become friends. I’d never really had a girlfriend that I could be myself with. I’d always been too nervous for anyone to find out the truth about my home life. I had few friends over while I was growing up, never had a birthday party with school friends or a slumber party as a teen.
As we drove, Hayden told me a little bit about the town of Skagway. It was small—only about eight hundred people lived there. At a stoplight, I noticed two older women in gold-digging uniforms staring intently at us. They each carried a notepad and a pencil.
Strange.
“That’s Sylvia and Elvira, the Twiner sisters. They have a newsletter I’m sure you’ll be signed up for as soon as you give them your email. They are the town’s gossips, so to speak. You’ll grow to love them.” He winked.
Oh my. They waved our way as we passed them, and my hand went up automatically. They definitely put a new spin on paparazzi.
“They seem harmless enough,” I commented.
He chuckled. “Don’t let looks deceive you. Hell, those women have a knack for being at the best place at the worst possible time. They do have good hearts, but man almighty, it sucks to be the center of their attention.”
Hopefully, I’d be able to stay out of their crosshairs. That brought up a good point. “What do I say to everyone when they ask me any personal questions?”
“What do you want to tell them? Whatever you decide, I’ll relay it to my family and they’ll keep that as the story.”
It needed to be as close to the truth as possible. “Let me think about it. Maybe that I came up to Ketchikan to try something different. We met, and I decided to move to Skagway. If they ask about my family…” I paused, reality setting in. “I don’t have any.”
That was easier than creating a family that existed but didn’t. And I wasn’t the type who wanted everyone to know what happened.
“That works.”