me.” He lifted her chin up. “Nothing is going to happen to me. We’re going to be fine. If things get too bad, I’ll quit…find another job. We can move back to Georgia. All I care about is you and the kids. A job is a job… even if we do have to live in a hut and forge for nuts and berries.”
She smiled. His words seemed to ease her, but the reality of his words blanketed him with a new wave of stress. Leaving the airline and starting over—at his age—presented many concerns. He was not eligible for retirement for another two years. David would be starting college in less than three years, with Martha close behind.
Thoughts of living in a hut and forging for berries were pushed aside when Keri said, “I just can’t stop thinking about it.” Sounding anxious and fearful, she said, “Why would someone want to kill Emily?”
“Calm down.” Ryan took her hand.
“Well, if Rex didn’t do it—and you and I both know he didn’t—then don’t you think it’s kind of strange that Emily was murdered on the same night Rex’s flight crashed?”
I don’t want to get into it with Keri . If the two events were tied together , someone would have had to know that I traded trips with Rex the week before the flight . To know that , they would need access to the company computers , or know someone who did . And if Emily was murdered simply because she was the pilot’s wife … that means if I had flown the trip , instead of Rex , Keri would have been killed — and possibly the kids too .
A dizzy wave washed over him. His chest tightened, pushing his heart into his throat. His skin tingled with currents of electrical impulses.
If I had flown that trip instead of Rex , there would be four , granite markers in the grass instead of two .
He looked at Keri. Her eyes searched his soul as though she knew something bothered him. “What’s wrong?” she said.
He turned away, not wanting her to see the fear in his face. He gazed in the direction of Rex and Emily’s gravesite. His good friend and ex-wife were dead. Rex had died in his place. Emily had been a substitute sacrifice for Keri and his children.
“Ryan, what is it?”
“Nothing,” he lied. Beside him sat the most dedicated and loving wife a man could ever dream of having. He needed her more now than ever. If he told her what he was thinking, she would freak.
The silence weighed heavy as they drove away from the cemetery. “What are you thinking?” she said. “I can tell something is wrong.”
He glanced at her, then back at the road. He sighed. She shifted more toward him as if she was preparing to catch the outpouring of his soul, but the mere thought of verbalizing what he was thinking made him want to vomit—he should be dead, not Rex Dean. Emily had been murdered on the same night of the crash. If the two events were connected, as he was beginning to suspect they were, and he had flown the trip that night instead of Rex—as it had been originally scheduled—there is a strong probability Keri and the kids would have been murdered, instead of Emily. This put an entirely new twist on the fear he battled daily.
His heart raced. Bile rose in his throat. He swallowed hard. “We just need to be thankful my life was spared.”
“I’m scared,” she said, her voice weak and trembling.
He took her hand and looked her in the eye. “Honey, it’s over. We both need to put this behind us. It’s been almost a year.”
“No! It’s not over! It will never be over until they find out who killed Emily.” She burst out crying and buried her head against his shoulder.
“Keri, we can’t let fear keep us from living.” The words he regurgitated were cold—almost mechanical. How could he expect her to do something he couldn’t do? Every flight he flew carried the risk that some lunatic with a death wish might board his plane, but it was not until now that he feared for the safety of Keri and his children. Fear was the driving force in his life
She smiled. His words seemed to ease her, but the reality of his words blanketed him with a new wave of stress. Leaving the airline and starting over—at his age—presented many concerns. He was not eligible for retirement for another two years. David would be starting college in less than three years, with Martha close behind.
Thoughts of living in a hut and forging for berries were pushed aside when Keri said, “I just can’t stop thinking about it.” Sounding anxious and fearful, she said, “Why would someone want to kill Emily?”
“Calm down.” Ryan took her hand.
“Well, if Rex didn’t do it—and you and I both know he didn’t—then don’t you think it’s kind of strange that Emily was murdered on the same night Rex’s flight crashed?”
I don’t want to get into it with Keri . If the two events were tied together , someone would have had to know that I traded trips with Rex the week before the flight . To know that , they would need access to the company computers , or know someone who did . And if Emily was murdered simply because she was the pilot’s wife … that means if I had flown the trip , instead of Rex , Keri would have been killed — and possibly the kids too .
A dizzy wave washed over him. His chest tightened, pushing his heart into his throat. His skin tingled with currents of electrical impulses.
If I had flown that trip instead of Rex , there would be four , granite markers in the grass instead of two .
He looked at Keri. Her eyes searched his soul as though she knew something bothered him. “What’s wrong?” she said.
He turned away, not wanting her to see the fear in his face. He gazed in the direction of Rex and Emily’s gravesite. His good friend and ex-wife were dead. Rex had died in his place. Emily had been a substitute sacrifice for Keri and his children.
“Ryan, what is it?”
“Nothing,” he lied. Beside him sat the most dedicated and loving wife a man could ever dream of having. He needed her more now than ever. If he told her what he was thinking, she would freak.
The silence weighed heavy as they drove away from the cemetery. “What are you thinking?” she said. “I can tell something is wrong.”
He glanced at her, then back at the road. He sighed. She shifted more toward him as if she was preparing to catch the outpouring of his soul, but the mere thought of verbalizing what he was thinking made him want to vomit—he should be dead, not Rex Dean. Emily had been murdered on the same night of the crash. If the two events were connected, as he was beginning to suspect they were, and he had flown the trip that night instead of Rex—as it had been originally scheduled—there is a strong probability Keri and the kids would have been murdered, instead of Emily. This put an entirely new twist on the fear he battled daily.
His heart raced. Bile rose in his throat. He swallowed hard. “We just need to be thankful my life was spared.”
“I’m scared,” she said, her voice weak and trembling.
He took her hand and looked her in the eye. “Honey, it’s over. We both need to put this behind us. It’s been almost a year.”
“No! It’s not over! It will never be over until they find out who killed Emily.” She burst out crying and buried her head against his shoulder.
“Keri, we can’t let fear keep us from living.” The words he regurgitated were cold—almost mechanical. How could he expect her to do something he couldn’t do? Every flight he flew carried the risk that some lunatic with a death wish might board his plane, but it was not until now that he feared for the safety of Keri and his children. Fear was the driving force in his life
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