While she tried to calm her fears, A.J. got on the radio and let the Tahoe airport know that he was coming in for a landing. He banked the plane and headed toward the airport.
The ice storm continued to batter the plane and Sienna held on until they could see the blinking lights of a runway. Sienna turned to A.J., but he’d already seen them and was guiding the plane toward them.
She watched him take on the storm; his calm eyes and easy movements reassured her. The sure way he flew made something in her change. Her stomach dropped, but it had nothing to do with their slow descent. He made her feel safe, and with a wonder that grew and moved through her like a tidal wave, she realized that she trusted him. Trusted him to land the plane with the same calm he used while flying it.
A strong wind buffeted the plane, the frigid air reaching her in the cockpit. A.J.’s hands were steady on the controls. She could see the sheet of ice that was the runway, realizing that the crew was having a hard time keeping up with the frigid conditions. They’d made it to this airfield just in time. Even fifteen minutes later might have spelled disaster. She held her breath as the small wheels made contact with the salted asphalt and fought for purchase. A.J. braked the plane, and it skidded from side to side as he diminished the speed until they stopped.
He turned to her, his eyes still the same steady electric blue. “Piece of cake,” he said.
Sienna laughed, surprised at her response. The man was incorrigible.
“Laughter in the face of danger. A woman after my own heart.”
“I’m not after your heart.”
“What if it’s already yours?”
For a moment Sienna stilled even as A.J. looked down and undid his seat belt. She saw the flush of red across his cheekbones. The embarrassment on his face caused her heart to leap in her chest.
“A.J.”
“Right, I know, not the time nor the place.”
It was painful to realize that she was half in love with him. Painful because she saw no future in a relationship with a SEAL. He would be gone too long to places unknown and into terrible danger. And she could lose him as quickly as she found him. Lose him like she lost her parents and all the other foster families that came after them. It would be like being in love with a ghost. No. There would be no safety in that. It wasn’t for her. She undid her belt and pushed open the door of the plane.
Men were already there in heavy winter clothing, putting chocks under the wheels of the plane and escorting them to the small terminal.
“You just barely made it,” a man shouted over the howl of the cold wind. “We were just about to close.”
“How long do you think this will last?” Sienna shouted back.
“No way to know. Most likely overnight. Freak ice storms in the mountains are not uncommon this time of year. Bottom line is you’re not going anywhere tonight, lady.”
Sienna stopped walking, the howling wind clutching at her hair and whipping it around her chilled face.
A.J. bumped into her and with the warmth of his body propelled her into the terminal.
She rounded on him. “Did you hear that?”
“What?”
“We could be stuck here, maybe into tomorrow.”
“I know,” he said grimly.
Just then a terminal employee approached them, and Sienna had to stop the flow of anxious words that wanted to spew from her lips. She bit her tongue as A.J. negotiated for lodgings. They were able to get a cabin at a nearby ski resort.
Sienna tried to use her cell phone in the airport to call Captain Sandoval, but she couldn’t get through. A good Samaritan employee with a four-wheel drive drove them the three miles to the resort. The roads were treacherous, and they almost skidded off the road three times.
The guy got them settled, turning on the heat and electricity. Sienna used the phone in the lobby to call her captain, and he hollered at her for fifteen minutes before ordering her to give him updates.
The small cabin was sumptuous with a huge fieldstone fireplace, a large sunken tub, and a loft bedroom.
Once inside, Sienna noticed that A.J. was watching until the guy drove off. He put his hand on the knob.
“Where are you going?”
“There’s a four-wheel drive parked out front.”