“I set up Maggie’s car seat here because I thought you’d prefer to face forward. You’ll find bottles of water and ice over there.” He pointed to the narrow cabinet behind the cockpit. “There’s also a thermos of hot water to make Maggie’s bottle.”
“Thank you. I made one before we left because it helps babies to adjust to altitudes if they’re sucking on something.”
“Great. We should be set then.”
Hadley settled into her seat and buckled herself in. She looked up in time to see Liam closing the airplane’s door.
“Wait,” she called. “What about the pilot?”
The grin he turned on her was wolfish. “I am the pilot.” With a wink, he slid into the left cockpit seat and began going through a preflight check.
Surprise held her immobile for several minutes before her skin heated and her breath rushed out. For almost two weeks now his actions and the things he’d revealed about himself kept knocking askew her preconceived notions about him. It was distracting. And dangerous.
To avoid fretting over her deepening attraction to Liam, Hadley pulled out Maggie’s bottle and a bib. As the plane taxied she had a hard time ignoring the man at the controls, and surrendered to the anxiety rising in her.
What was she doing? Falling for Liam was a stupid thing to do. The man charmed everyone without even trying.
As the plane lifted off, her stomach dipped and her adrenaline surged. Hadley offered Maggie the bottle and the infant sucked greedily at it. Out the window, land fell away, and the small craft bounced a little on the air currents. To keep her nervousness at bay, Hadley focused all her attention on Maggie. The baby was not the least bit disturbed by the plane’s movements. In fact, her eyes were wide and staring as if it was one big adventure.
After what felt like an endless climb, the plane leveled off. Hadley freed Maggie from her car seat so she could burp her. Peering out the window, she saw nothing but clouds below them. With Liam occupied in the cockpit and Maggie falling asleep in her arms, Hadley let her thoughts roam free.
* * *
Several hours later, after Liam landed the plane at a small airport outside Vail, their rental car sped toward their destination. When she’d stepped off the plane, Hadley had been disappointed to discover that very little snow covered the ground. She’d imagined that in the middle of January there would be piles and piles of the white stuff everywhere she looked. But now, as they neared the mountains, her excitement began to build once more.
Framed against an ice-blue sky, the snow-covered peaks surrounding the town of Vail seemed impossibly high. But she could see the ski runs that started near the summit and carved through the pine-covered face of each mountain. Liam drove the winding roads without checking the navigation, obviously knowing where he was headed.
“What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Wait until you see the views from the house. They’re incredible.”
“Do you rent this house every year?”
“A longtime friend of my grandfather owns it.”
“I didn’t realize you like to ski.”
“I had a lot more free time when I was younger, but these days I try to get out a couple times a year. I go to New Mexico when I can get away for a weekend because it’s close.”
“It must be nice having your own plane so you can take off whenever you want.”
“I’m afraid it’s been pretty idle lately. I’ve spent almost ninety percent of my time at the ranch this year.”
And the other ten percent meeting Maggie’s mother and spending the night with her. Hadley glanced into the backseat where the baby was batting at one of the toys clipped to her car seat.
“You said that’s been good for your business,” Hadley said, “but don’t you miss showing?”
“All the time.”
“So why’d you give it up?” From the way Liam’s expression turned to stone, she could tell her question had touched on something distasteful. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Forget I said anything.”
“No, it’s okay. A lot of people have asked me that question. I’ll tell you what I tell them. After my grandfather died, I discovered how much time it takes to run Wade Ranch.”
She suspected that was only half of the reason, but she didn’t pry anymore. “Any chance your brother, Kyle, will come back to Texas to help you?”
“No.” Liam’s answer was a clipped single syllable and discouraged further questions. “I’m finding a balance between ranch business as a whole and the horse side that I love. Last summer I hired a sales manager for the cattle division. I think you met Emma Jane. She’s been a terrific asset.”