I nodded. “We are. His dad Truitt is my best friend.”
“I didn’t realize you had a family ranch in Texas. Where about?”
“Boerne, Texas. It’s west of San Antonio.”
“Nice. Well, hopefully you won’t make the small child get on a bull.”
I stroked my chin as I looked up in thought. “You know, I never thought about bull riding.”
He laughed. “You know, I still think there’s a deeper meaning behind why you get up and fly in those planes and go on the vacations that you go on. You are one intense motherfucker.”
My smile slowly faded away.
Pete let his own smile fade.
It was time to get serious. “Look, when you mentioned me having another reason why I became a test pilot…”
Pete held up his hands. “Dude, I didn’t mean to pry. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Pete. Honestly. I didn’t want you to think I was upset about it. I’m sure Jack probably gave you a stern talking to.”
He lifted a single brow. “He might have told me not to ever mention it again.”
With a roll of my eyes, I let out a sigh. “Jack is like a brother to me. We were in the Academy together and at pilot school. He knows the reason behind it all, but you’re right in a way, Pete. When I go up, I am attempting to right a wrong from my past.”
Pete nodded, and I knew that was the end of our conversation. He didn’t need answers and wouldn’t ask a million questions.
“Jack and I are going out for a few beers,” I said. “You want to join us?”
“That’s it? Just beers? No side trips to bungee jump off a bridge or anything?”
Laughing, I held up my hands. “Just beers. Maybe pizza. We can meet at Joe’s.”
He smiled. “Then, I’m in.”
“Great, see you in what, an hour?”
“I’ll be there.”
“No chicks, it’s guys’ night,” I said as I stood and headed out of his office.
“Nolan?” he called out before I turned the corner.
“Yeah?”
He frowned for a moment and then smiled as he shook his head. “Never mind. See you later.”
As I headed out of the building to my motorcycle, I pulled out my phone and pulled up Truitt’s phone number.
Truitt Carter had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. We grew up together in Boerne, and he had been there for me during some pretty fucked-up moments of my life. He built playhouses—luxury playhouses—for a living. His wife Saryn was our other best friend Ryan’s sister. She had moved from Boerne and gotten married to a douche from high school and had a sweet little girl, Liliana, who was now five. After she and Truitt got married, they had Nolan. I would never forget the moment he called to tell me his son was born, and that he named him Nolan. It meant more to me than he could ever know.
I sat on my bike and sent Truitt a text.
Me: I’ll be able to make it this weekend. Flying in tomorrow and staying until Tuesday. That’ll give me a few days to see y’all and then check on the ranch.
It wasn’t even thirty seconds before he replied. I had already slipped on my helmet as I looked at his text.
Truitt: Dude, you have no idea how much this means to me. We can’t wait to see you.
With a smile, I closed out of his texts and saw I had one from Amy. Actually, I had five from Amy and three missed calls.
I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. “I can’t right now, Amy. I can’t.”
Eight. Years. I had cut back my trips to France to twice a year. Last year I had gone only once. The pain of seeing her was too much to handle. She had walked right past me one day a year ago and hadn’t even stopped. Her eyes had been steadfast in front of her, and I had prayed like hell she would swing her gaze slightly, if only to catch a quick look at me. She hadn’t. She continued to throw herself into her job, and the tension between me and Amy started to grow. She wanted to tell Linnzi. Hell, I wanted to tell her, but we still all agreed there had to be a better way. In a sense, Linnzi was hiding from her past. She even told her parents she was going to a therapist in France. If only she would go back to Texas. Maybe something there would trigger her memory. My only fear was that it would open the floodgates, and she would remember everything. I hated not having her in my life, but I feared her hating me forever the moment she remembered. Sometimes I thought it would probably be better for everyone if Linnzi had moved on with someone else. The thought of it killed me, and I knew if it ever happened it would destroy me, but there must be a reason she hadn’t remembered me in almost eight years.