Read Tailspin for Free Online Page A

Sylvie’s mother the sights, including her favorite?
    Will remembered the postcard because of the scripture quote written on it. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
    From the moment he’d seen the postcard and read the verse, Will had always pictured himself as an eagle when he flew. Seeing life from above, the big picture of things, must be how God saw things.
    Could the plane be there?
    Sylvie rubbed her arms. “Oh, Will.”
    â€œDo you know anything about a surprise package?” he asked. “I keep wondering if...” He couldn’t bring himself to say the worst. He didn’t want to believe his mother had delivered a surprise that turned out to be an actual explosive device. The idea was too far-fetched.
    â€œI think the surprise was my mother. She lived in Mountain Cove years ago. She left after she had an affair with a married man. It was a bad breakup. And then she found out she was pregnant. She had to leave.”
    Will hated where this was going. Hated it for Sylvie. “Was she pregnant with you?”
    â€œYes.” She hesitated then added, “My mother’s name was Regina Hemphill. My father was Scott Warren. I have half brothers and one half sister. Maybe you know them.”
    â€œI do.” He released a heavy sigh. “That is one surprise package. But you’re an even bigger surprise.”
    â€œYeah, a surprise nobody wants to hear about. Or at least, that’s what my mother told me as gently as she could when she explained why I shouldn’t try to contact my father or half siblings. I guess she didn’t want to see me get my expectations up and get hurt. I can’t be sure she even told him about me. When I finally worked up the nerve to face him on my own, I couldn’t because he had died.” She shivered, either from the memory or from the chill in the air.
    Will was reminded that he needed to find shelter. They could search for a cave, but what if they didn’t find one in time? He needed to build at least a rudimentary cover. A debris hut would be quick and easy and keep them warm. He’d prefer a bough structure to reflect the warmth of a fire. The problem was a rainforest was much too wet, and the chances he could start a fire were close to zero.
    God, please, we need Snake’s cabin .
    â€œIt’s not fair,” she whispered. “And I have half siblings who may not even know I’m alive. I can’t tell you how often I’ve thought of them, wanted to meet them.”
    Strange to think her mother, given the circumstances of her having to leave Mountain Cove, would have told Sylvie about her half siblings. Or had she done her own research? But she wasn’t finished talking and he wouldn’t interrupt. Instead, he began creating a mound from the forest floor.
    â€œOn the other side of that, they could resent me for the reminder that their father betrayed his marriage vows with my mother. They could hate me. So it’s almost better if I never meet them. Then I can stick with believing they’d want to meet me, but don’t know if I exist or how to find me if I did.” Sylvie groaned. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this. You didn’t exactly ask for the whole shebang.”
    â€œI know the Warren siblings would love to meet you.” He knew the siblings were aware of their father’s affair, and knew they’d tried to find out if they had a brother or sister out there. These were conversations he couldn’t help but overhear when piloting the Warrens to Juneau or sometimes even delivering them to a SAR—search and rescue—command center. They trusted Will. But in all of this, what he’d really like to know was if his mother had known where Regina had gone all along, but said nothing.