Read Falls Like Lightning for Free Online Page B

and it’s already her runway.”
    She pointed a finger at Warren. “You better believe it.”
    The spitter straightened, teeth littered with tobacco. “If cleaning that up means I get to fly with you, pretty lady, then absolutely.”
    Thunder rolled overhead. Rain spat on the tarmac in dime-sized circles.
    “All right, boys,” Warren said. “ ’Nuff of that. Go get showered and fed, and I’ll find out if we get the privilege of flying somewhere soon with Captain Westmore here, as we will respectfully address her from this point on.”
    The crew shuffled off.
    Warren patted Elle on the shoulder and started toward the base. “Good to see you again.” He threw a glance at Silas. “You coming?”
    Silas hesitated, and Warren put up a hand. “Never mind. Don’t know why I asked.”
    “Mommy, can I come down now?” Madison stood in the passenger compartment doorway.
    Elle turned. “Not now, baby, we’re just going to get fuel and then get right back in the air for your appointment.”
    She faced Silas and smiled. Mr. Kent, meet my daughter.
    Silas stood there, a look on his face like he’d seen a host of angels.
    Elle breathed out a laugh. “Are you all right?”
    He glanced at her, back at the plane, and ran a hand through his hair. “That’s your daughter.”
    Elle bit her lower lip and nodded. “Yeah.”
    His eyes fell to her left hand.
    She shifted her weight.  Let him wonder—he deserves it.
    Returning his attention to her little girl, he whispered, “She’s beautiful.”
    She wiped a raindrop from her forehead. “Thank you.”
    “Four?”
    “Five.”
    His eyebrows rose. She could see him doing the math in his head.
    Yes, Surfer Boy, I got married and pregnant less than six months after you left.
    He looked at the ground and blew out a breath. Smiling, teeth white against his ruddy cheeks, he flipped up a pocket flap on his brush shirt. “You know, I actually have something for you.”
    That she didn’t expect. Her voice laced with cynicism. “You brought me something. That’s a good one. It’s been, what, seven years? You didn’t even know you’d see me here.”
    She spotted the fuel truck coming down the tarmac. Oh, the things she wanted to say to him. She thought of half a dozen beginnings, certain that all of them would devolve into an argument. Okay. She’d humor him. “So, what is it?”
    From his shirt pocket Silas produced green sprigs, slightly charred at the tips. “Found this on the hike to the helicopter landing zone.” He plucked a leaf, tossed it into his mouth, and handed her the rest.
    Elle looked from him to the leaves. She held them to her nose and breathed in. She closed her eyes and smiled. Mint. That summer at the beach . . .
    Wait.
    How’d he do that? What was the matter with her anyway?
    She plucked a couple leaves and handed the bouquet back. “Wild mint.” She turned and started walking back to the plane. “Thank you.” She popped a leaf into her mouth and stuck the other in her pocket.
    He trotted up next to her. “It wasn’t like I just pocketed it for myself. I’m not lying when I say this—you were the first person I thought of.”
    Elle raised and lowered her eyebrows. This wasn’t going to go anywhere. She turned to the horizon. “Another cold front’s coming in.”
    “It’s good to see you again, Elle.”
    She pasted on a smile. Be strong. “It is good to see you. . . . And Warren too.”
    “Oh. Me and Warren.”
    “Yes.”
    “I heard you mention an appointment. . . . Is your girl sick?”
    Maddie was off limits. “She . . . no. She has a condition, and they’re letting me take her to a specialist in Oakland.” The sky turned cobalt and cauliflower. Virga pulled like cotton from boomers in the distance.
    He nodded, not taking his eyes off her. She saw in his face something sad, something more . . . grown-up.
    His next words surprised her.
    “You think that, maybe, you might want some company down to Oakland?”
    She