Second Chance Destiny Read online

If he wanted to have them do loops in the air, he could do it.

  The hot coffee burned my tongue as I watched the girl walking across the tarmac.

  She was dressed to the nines. Tight pencil skirt. High heels.

  The girl obviously had no idea that she was going to be flying today.

  I could only see her from the back, but it was enough to tell me that she had a sexy figure and had long brown hair that fell in loose curls down her back.

  She most definitely hadn’t planned on flying.

  My father was a wily one.

  I sipped my coffee, more carefully this time, and rested my right forearm against the side of the window.

  As Noah and the girl talked, he swept a hand in my direction.

  The girl turned and looked at me.

  Busted. Owning it, I raised a hand.

  The girl raised a hand back to me. I couldn’t see her face behind the reflective sunshades, but she was obviously attractive.

  I sighed and turned away. There had been a few times like this over the years. A few times when I questioned my resolve.

  And truth be known, my sanity.

  What kind of sane man made a promise to a girl he’d only known for two weeks?

  A promise that he would wait for her.

  I will find you.

  But how did a man find a girl whose last name he didn’t know?

  Tell me your last name.

  She’d looked into my eyes and smiled a sad little smile.

  It wouldn’t be fair to you. Don’t wait for me.

  I’d busted the Internet upside down and back to find a girl named Noelle.

  My Noelle.

  I’d spent hours scouring social media. I’d even tried going through the university to find her. I’d shown up at what would have been her graduation, but apparently, the University of Houston was not her university. There was no Noelle on the program.

  But either she didn’t use social media or her accounts were well hidden.

  I sighed and sat down at my desk.

  How could a girl like her just disappear off the face of the earth?

  There was a possibility that Noelle wasn’t her real name.

  If that was the case, I would never find her.

  But that would be admitting defeat.

  And I wasn’t ready for that.

  5

  Noelle

  “Where are we going?” I asked as I went through the preflight checklist.

  “Mackinac Island,” Noah said. “I have to make a pick up.”

  I nodded. I’d quickly slipped off my heels and changed into a pair of flats I kept in my handbag. It was one of the practical habits I’d formed while in the service.

  Noah sat next to me in the cockpit, no doubt watching everything I did.

  Since this was a nontraditional interview, he no doubt had cues he watched for that would tell him whether or not I was right for the job.

  Like a passion for flying.

  A pilot would never turn down the opportunity to fly. They invented reasons all the time. Sometimes just to hop in a plane and fly somewhere for lunch.

  So flying up to Mackinac Island to pick someone up was as good an excuse as any to be flying.

  And it was a good excuse to see me in action.

  He’d already filed the flight plan, so I checked the information in the plane’s computer.

  Everything looked good to go.

  “Have you ever been?” he asked. “To Mackinac Island?”

  “Unfortunately, no,” I said. “But Somewhere in Time is one of my favorite movies.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the smile that crossed Noah’s features.

  Good. We’d made a connection there.

  We needed three points of connection. One down. Two to go.

  We had plenty of time. Between two and three hours just to get there.

  Personally, I would have scheduled a shorter flight with an interviewee.

  It was possible, of course, that he’d gotten in a bind with his scheduling.

  “This is one of the best times to visit,” he said. “The leaves will be changing.”

  “That sounds nice,” I said. “I have a special affinity for Fall anyway.”

  “It’s my favorite, too,” he said.

  Point two, maybe. But the weather and seasons didn’t usually count. Not deep enough.

  I started the taxi toward the runway and abiding by the Sterile Cockpit Rule, focused completely on getting the plane in the air.

  Checked with flight control.

  Did everything by the book.

  Noah seemed pleasant enough.

  Professional definitely.

  He had quite the reputation to live up to.

  His business was on one those lists the magazines put out. Best entrepreneur. The one to watch. And a host of others I couldn’t remember right off.

  There were a lot of reasons a pilot would want to work for Skye Travels and it wasn’t just because it was based in Houston.

  My takeoff was smooth. No problems.

  We leveled off at altitude and Noah settled back, looking relaxed. I would follow his lead on making conversation.

  If he wanted to take a quiet ride up to Mackinac Island, it suited me just fine.

  I’d just gotten to Houston and I was headed somewhere else.

  It seemed to be the story of my life.

  From childhood on, it seemed like I was always going somewhere. Moving somewhere new.

  I just wanted to settle into one place.

  I hoped it could be Houston.

  But if not Houston, I would find someplace else.

  The country was a big place and the world was even bigger.

  6

  Noelle — Before

  The hotel conference room was oversized. The hotel itself was oversized.

  To get to this particular conference room, from my hotel room, I’d taken an elevator and two escalators.

  I was the first one to arrive, but that didn’t last long.

  It was early, so there was coffee and orange juice on tables against the back wall along with fruit cups and muffins. Something for those who wanted to eat healthy and something for those who didn’t.

  I’d already eaten.

  I’d had room service sent up an hour ago. I’d ordered a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. Toast and jelly included.

  I’d stopped for a latte on the way here—this cavernous hotel had everything—so I had my own coffee.

  I was nervous. My name tag had my first name only. Noelle. That was it. No other identifying information. And according to the rules and regulations of the program, that was all we were allowed to go by.

  Only one hundred people from around the country were chosen to participate in this selectively elite program for top scoring business students.

  Completion of the program guaranteed participants a job just about anywhere.

  But not only was it difficult to get accepted, it was hard to stay in.

  The program had a ninety percent attrition rate. So out of the one hundred people chosen for the program, only ten would complete it.

  It was only open to graduating senior at colleges around the states.

  Applications had gone in over two years ago.

  I’d sent it and forgotten about it.

  Since that time I’d gotten super involved in ROTC and all I knew about my future was that I was going into the Air Force as a Lieutenant.

  But when I got the letter to attend what they were calling a business internship program, I saw no choice but to accept.

  I was far too competitive and ambitious not to.

  Even if it didn’t pay off immediately, I would have it on my resume.

  It was one of the achievements that stayed with a person for a lifetime.

  All I had to do was to keep from being one of the ninety people who were kicked out.

  I wasn’t afraid. Just nervous.

  If I got kicked out, so what? It didn’
t change where I was headed.

  Other students filed in and took their seats. Every day there would be fewer and fewer seats in the room.

  From what I could find out, ten people would find letters inside their hotel rooms at the end of the day excusing them from the program.

  By the end of the ten days, there would be ten people left.

  That was just about all I knew about the two-week program.

  I planned to get through it one way or another.

  A guy sat down right next to me.

  There were plenty of places to sit. I didn’t know why he sat so close.

  “Hi,” he said. “I’m Quinn.”

  “Hi Quinn,” I said, with a glance over in his direction.

  He was what I called a preppy guy. Designer clothes. Classic. Understated. Short haircut. Good teeth.

  This program was supposed to put us all on equal footing. We were to leave our background behind.

  Hence, no last names were allowed. In fact, disclosing one’s last name was automatic dismissal from the program.

  “This should be interesting,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

  “I don’t think we’re supposed to talk to each other,” I said.

  “Probably not,” he said. “but without some interaction, it’s going to be a really long two weeks.”

  “It’ll be even shorter if you get kicked out,” I said.

  He crossed one leg over the other in a casual, nonchalant move.

  Quinn looked like any other college senior. Average height. Lean. Normally I would have just blown him off, but there was something about his eyes. They had a happiness to them that most guys… most people didn’t have.

  It was hard to ignore.

  “We still get out of class for two weeks, though, right?”

  He was grinning at me now.

  So he was one of those. One who didn’t take this whole program seriously.

  That told me that this program wouldn’t affect his future one way or another.

  It probably wouldn’t affect mine, either, but failing wasn’t optional—at least not through overt negligence on my part.

  “I don’t know,” I said. “probably. Does that mean you don’t care one way or the other?”

  “Oh no,” he said. “I have my reasons for wanting to make it through.”

  “Well,” I said, looking over at his name tag. I don’t know why I thought it would tell me something he hadn’t already told me. “Quinn. Here’s hoping we both make it through to the end.”

  “We will,” he said.

  I didn’t disagree. But I wanted inside his head.

  “What makes you so sure?” I asked.

  “Call it a hunch,” he said.

  The folder on the table in front of me blurred.

  I had a hunch, all right. I had a hunch Quinn was going to turn my life upside down.

  If I let him.

  It was a good thing I had a solid wall of fortitude.

  7

  Noelle

  The island below was ablaze in oranges, yellows, and reds. A pop of color in the middle of a lake that looked more like an ocean.

  Noah had been right. Fall on Mackinac Island was a sight to behold.

  “That’s the Grand Hotel,” Noah said. “Longest porch in the world.”

  I recognized the setting for Somewhere in Time immediately.

  So far the flight had been uneventful.

  I’d decided that Noah was testing my ability to pivot.

  It was an important quality in a good employee, especially a pilot.

  And Noah only hired the best.

  I was good at that. I could be up and ready to go anywhere at a moment’s notice.

  Mackinac had no flight control tower on site. I was getting information from the control tower in Cheboygan.

  According to my instruments, there were crosswinds that the fellow in Cheboygan wasn’t aware of.

  I adjusted for a steeper approach. Engaged full flaps.

  Noah wasn’t saying anything. Just watching the instruments and my adjustments.

  With a plane this light, most pilots would choose to divert to another airport. Cut their losses.

  But I’d made enough crosswind landings that I was confident that I could get us safely to the ground.

  After some mental calculations, I made the split-second decision to slightly angle the aircraft across the runway.

  I was taking this plane down for a landing. Noah’s presence faded into the background as I made the necessary adjustments.

  The wheels touched the ground in a smooth landing—as smooth as any. If we’d had passengers, they wouldn’t have a clue that this had been anything other than a regular landing.

  I taxied over to the little airport building, my adrenalin coming down to earth along with the airplane.

  As the airplane came to a stop, I looked over at Noah.

  “Nice landing,” he said.

  I was pretty sure that was an understatement. It was some of my better work and I’d done it while under the pressure of a job interview.

  If I hadn’t known just how impossible that was, I would have thought that Noah had set this up on purpose.

  The weather, of course, couldn’t be manipulated. Not even for a man as powerful as Noah Worthington.

  “Stand up for a minute if you like,” he said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Noah unbuckled, slipped out of the plane, and headed toward the terminal.

  I took my time disembarking.

  The breeze coming off the lake—the same breeze that had caused me trouble with my landing—was soft and cool.

  Unlike the balmy southern air I’d just left, the air here was dry.

  I walked toward the edge of the runway to the stand beneath a row of red maple trees. A red so bright they looked like they were on fire.

  I mentally added Mackinac Island to my list of places I wanted to spend a week.

  Flying in and out of a place was like dropping in on a snapshot. The leaves moved and the wind brushed my skin. I could even hear the sound of a ferry horn wailing in the distance.

  But some places, like this one, begged for more time.

  I wanted to do more than drop in on a snapshot. I wanted to spend at least some time there—getting to know the culture… the history… taste the food.

  Live for a moment in their shoes. What must it be like to live here on this island where winters were so bad they went weeks without leaving?

  Where the lake froze over enough that cars could drive from the island to the mainland.

  Although I wasn’t from anyplace in particular, I’d grown up mostly in the south.

  We’d spent only one year in Montana at the Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana. Now that had been an interesting winter. I’d learned to snow board and make snow angels.

  I’d had my first kiss on a freezing cold Friday night after a football game.

  That was when my fondness for fall really started.

  They could do away with all the other seasons and I would be just fine with it.

  A few minutes later Noah came walking out with a tall surly looking teenage girl wearing a hoodie, the hood over her head, carrying a backpack.

  We weren’t picking up a what, but a who.

  8

  Quinn

  I stayed late. Waiting for Father and his applicant to return from Mackinac Island.

  Out of curiosity I’d made the effort to look up their flight plan. I just glanced at it see where they were headed and what time they were scheduled to get back.

  For a pilot’s son, I didn’t fly all that much.

  But I had made the trip up to Mackinac and I had to say that it’s one of my favorite places.

  Some places are just good for the soul. And Mackinac Island is one of them.

  A beautiful island at the top of the country. Horses and carriages. No cars. The only way to get to the island is by ferry or plane.

  Knowing that and seeing th
e mansions along the edge of the lake and the Grand Hotel itself is just astounding. Not only is there a steady tourist industry during the summer, but a community of people who live there year round.

  If I ever decided to give up the city life and move to a rural area, I would move to Mackinac Island.

  That wasn’t likely to happen. Houston was my home.

  A second home wasn’t out of the question though.

  They returned right on time at dusk.

  I watched the plane from a mere speck in the sky until they made a smooth landing and taxied over to the Skye Travels area.

  I couldn’t tell who was piloting the plane. If it was the applicant, she was probably getting the job.

  Father was known to hire the best, though, so it wouldn’t be surprising.

  Darkness fell as they secured the plane. The full moon hung low in the sky, bright and big behind the city lights of downtown Houston.

  The Houston skyline was rivaled only by the New York skyline.

  Father stepped out of the plane first.

  I caught myself holding my breath in anticipation of seeing the woman again.

  But instead of the woman, a teenage girl stepped out and started across the tarmac.

  Even from here, I could see the attitude exuding off her.

  I should have checked the manifest, but I hadn’t expected Father to be picking someone up.

  Right on cue, I got a text from Momma.

  MOMMA: Are you still at the office?

  ME: Yes.

  MOMMA: Daddy is bringing Makenna home from Mackinac. I ordered some pizza for her. Will you make sure the delivery makes it? Daddy is interviewing someone.

  ME: Sure.

  Mckenna was my half-sister Danielle’s youngest child. Danielle’s oldest daughter, Sarah, lived on Mackinac Island with her husband. Makenna visited her often.

  The downside to working for the family business. After hours, especially, there was no one to delegate to.

  I pulled my attention away from the plane.

  I’d meet the woman later. If Father hired her. If he didn’t, it didn’t much matter anyway.

  As I walked down the hallway to open the door for my niece, a clear and salient thought occurred to me.