Higher Than Eagles (Donovans of the Delta) by Peggy Webb

that motivates me. I just don’t relish the thought of having to follow two people around in order to find out the truth.”
    He stood up, enjoying the advantage of standing, which made him appear to tower over her. Casually, as if the contact were unplanned, he propped one foot on the bench, brushing the toe of his jogging shoe against Rachel’s thigh. She jumped as if firecrackers had been lit under her skin, then tried to cover herself by brushing at her leg.
    “Ants,” she said.
    He lifted one eyebrow but said nothing.
    “We do have ants down here in the summer. Everywhere.”
    Leaning down, he cupped her face. “Rachel . . . Rachel. How long are you going to keep pretending with me?”
    She didn’t try to deny anything. “Go away, Jacob.”
    “I will. For now.” His thumbs circled her skin, then he released her face. “But I’ll be back. I promise you that.”
    She watched him leave. Fear clawed at her throat as he detoured by the seesaw and said goodbye to Benjy and Vashti. Both gave him big hugs.
    Seeing her son there, wrapped in his father’s arms, made her weep inside. Strange how one lie could become a web of deception that tangled so many lives—hers, her father’s, Jacob’s, Benjy’s, Bob’s. Only Vashti remained untouched by the lie. She accepted all the stories, the premature birth, the quarrel over Jacob’s life-style, the lack of other children due to Bob’s poor health and her career.
    Only when Jacob was out of sight did Rachel move from the bench. Then she joined her son and Vashti for a laughter-filled summer ride on the merry-go- round.
     o0o
    Jacob wasted no time after he left the park.
    Jerking Bob’s hated shirt over his head and flinging it into a corner of his motel room, he picked up the phone.
    “Rick,” he said without preliminaries, “is the Baron serviced and ready to fly?”
    “You bet.”
    “How soon can you leave?”
    Rick paused for a quick swig of orange soda. Jacob could hear the slosh of liquid in the bottle, almost see the way Rick tipped back in his chair, his throat working as the sweet warm drink went down. The bottle thunked against the wooden desktop.
    “As soon as I make a couple of phone calls.”
    Jacob laughed. “Only two women? You must be slipping.”
    “Slow night.”
    “I’ll meet you at the airport.”
     o0o
    Rick McGill didn’t emerge from the Baron; he bounded out like the leader of a marching band. Blond hair disheveled, brown eyes crinkled with laughter, lean body swaggering, he strode across the tarmac toward Jacob.
    They clapped each other on the shoulder, their usual brotherly greeting. The same age, almost the same height, with Rick having two inches over Jacob, the same devil-may-care smiles, they might have been brothers instead of comrades.
    They had met the year Jacob went into fire-fighting. Rick had already been part of the team Jacob had joined. They fought fires together, drank together, night-clubbed together. Best friends almost from the moment they had met, they kept no secrets. Rick knew that Rachel Windham Devlin had broken Jacob’s heart, and Jacob knew that no woman would ever break Rick’s heart. He loved them all, and he was far too cagey to let one get under his skin.
    “Man, it’s hotter that Maria Jaurez’s kisses down here.” Rick peeled off his poplin flight jacket and slung it over his shoulder.
    “You would know. Let’s step inside the lounge, where it’s cooler.”
    “Reckon they’d have a warm orange soda?”
    “From the glimpse I got of that waitress, she can heat up anything just by looking at it.”
    “I see what you mean,” Rick said as they slid into a booth at the back of the small airport lounge. “She might be worth checking out.”
    “You may not be in Biloxi that long.”
    “Sounds serious, Jacob.” Rick leaned back and studied his friend. “You look serious. Don’t tell me you’re letting Rachel get under your skin again.”
    “It’s not Rachel.” Jacob had doubts about the