Page 62 of Flight Plan
“I should have made better arrangements for him tonight—not leave him alone in his bedroom to wait for me. Look what happened.”
“No. You can’t control everything.”
“I’m not good with him. How are you so good with him? You seem to have this unshakable bond. He adores you. Honestly, Jack loves you.”
“You’re just upset, as you should be.” Wesley seemed pained by her confessions, but his expression changed; a small smile turned up one corner of his lips. “Jack has a special place in my heart. You both do.”
“Wes, you have amazing things happening in your life and I’m just a helicopter pilot with baggage—not my son—but you know, baggage.”
“Ava, you’re so brave. I love who you are.”
“You shouldn’t. Look at tonight. Because of me, having left my responsibility to fall into your hands…your special event is ruined.”
“No. Just the opposite.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and showed her a clip of her landing the helicopter in the perilous storm.
The video feed read, “Like in the video game,Dragon Rockbecomes a true-life hero.”
“One of your guests took this?”
“A whole bunch did. Especially the media influencers.” He added with excitement, “It’s all over social media. The videos are blowing up.”
“Oh,” she murmured, not fully understanding the implication.
The door opened and the technician maneuvered the wheelchair over the threshold. “He did great.”
She distanced herself from Wesley and sniffed back her unshed tears, putting on a happy face for Jack’s sake. “Terrific. Let’s see about getting you out of here.”
“What about Goliath?” Jack asked. “Has anyone found him yet?”
“Oh, yeah.” She genuinely grinned, glad to have something good to cheer Jack up. Todd had texted that Goliath walked out of the wreckage unscathed. “He’s back in his cage in your room, waiting for you to come home.”
An hour later, Jack climbed into the helicopter with his wrist in a cast. Returning to Bluff House, Ava was thankful the guests had gone home, but it was comforting to be welcomed back by Brock, Todd, Jorge, and the team.
That night, she never got another chance to talk privately with Wesley, unwilling to leave Jack’s side. After getting him ready for bed and a lengthy goodnight to Goliath, she laid on the bed next to Jack, listening to his steady breathing as he fell asleep. Ava, too, drifted off, plagued with difficult questions. She contemplated gut-wrenching answers that did not include Wesley in their future.