While the emotional part of him wallowed in guilt, reason told him that he had done all he could to save Becky. Yes, he could be a thoughtless jerk, but he had tried desperately to reach her.
He looked up and down the empty tarmac. My thoughtlessness hurt Maria. He sighed deeply. So many people he cared about had been hurt or killed and the memories of the dead pressed down on him. God, just get me through this day.
A door opened at the terminal, interrupting his bleak memories. A soldier stepped onto the runway followed closely by a Secret Service agent. As he watched, another soldier and David Weston exited the terminal. Next a silver-haired man in an expensive, but creased, business suit appeared—Governor Monroe. Caden had attended several conferences with Senator Stevens that the Governor had also attended, but had never been formally introduced. Monroe looked back at the door as a lady, about the age of the governor emerged. Caden assumed she was Monroe’s wife. David talked to both of them as another soldier appeared with the second Secret Service agent. The group of passengers, now complete, moved as one toward the aircraft.
As the Governor approached Caden said, “We should be ready to leave in twenty minutes.”
“Thank you.” The Governor’s eyes scanned the length of the plane. “You’re Mr. Westmore?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You did a good job arranging this flight.”
Caden was about to thank him when the lady he’d noticed moments before linked her arm in Monroe’s and asked. “Who is this, Daniel?”
He smiled gently, and touched her hand. “Oh forgive me.” The Governor introduced his wife Celeste.
She shook his hand, “Where are you from?”
“I’m from Washington, Ma’am.”
“Oh? D.C. or Evergreen?”
Caden smiled, “The Evergreen state, Ma’am. I grew up in Hansen, a small town southeast of Olympia in the mountains. I still have family there.”
She grinned. “I do believe I’ve visited your town. Isn’t there a ski resort nearby?”
“Yes,” Caden nodded. “That and tourism are the only real industries since the collapse of the logging business.”
The Governor chuckled and held up his hand. “That was another administration.”
Small talk continued for several minutes until the loadmaster announced, “You can board now.”
Caden grabbed his duffle bags and walked up the access ramp with the others. He dropped the load near the front and exited the plane. His eyes drifted back toward the refugee camp and then to his watch. Slowly he stepped up the ramp jingling the keys in his pocket. I should have done something with my car. He looked up and down the runway, then walked to the top of the ramp. Again, he paused and was about to board, when he heard a vehicle race down the tarmac. Turning he saw a jeep screech to a halt near the bottom of the ramp.
A soldier quickly exited the jeep with a duffle bag and full kit and jogged into the plane. Turner and Maria sat in the back talking. Caden wanted to rush up to Maria and hurry her onboard, but he paused as Turner continued to talk to her. The surrounding noise drowned out their voices. Maria stared down at Adam as she bounced him softly on her knee. The driver glanced over to Caden with a bored expression. Turner stepped from the jeep and with his kit walked toward Caden and the plane.
“I got her this far,” Turner said as he ambled up.
Caden looked at Maria, sitting in the back of the jeep. He wondered what he could say to her. He thanked Turner then asked him, “What took you so long?”
Turner’s right brow shot up. “She wouldn’t come! Said she wasn’t going anywhere and didn’t want to talk to you.”
Caden’s heart sank. He had only minutes to convince her to go with him.
Turner groaned. “And when she finally did get in the jeep she didn’t have one of those Homeland Security IDs.” He shook his head. “If I didn’t know the guard on duty she wouldn’t be here now.” Turner put his hand on Caden’s shoulder. “She’s quite the spitfire,” then he continued onto the plane.
As Caden walked toward Maria he wondered what Tuner had said to get her this far.
Maria sat stiff and unmoving, like a statue.
As Caden approached he tried to look her in the eye, but her eyes moved only to the baby.
“Will you look at me?”
Neither her eyes nor her lips moved.
The turbines whined as the pilot brought the engines to life. Great, now it will be even more difficult to talk. “We don’t have much time….” It was almost a shout.
“I’ve lost everything. All I have is time.”
“I’m sorry you….”
“Don’t feel sorry for me,” she yelled over the roar of the engines.
Caden shook his head. “That is not what I meant.” In a voice both calmer and steadier than he felt he said, “I respect you too much to feel sorry for you.”
She glanced at him with just the slightest hint of a smile, but her eyes quickly returned to Adam.
“I am sorry. I’m sorry that I was thoughtless, but I do want you to come because….” He tried to find words, but he couldn’t. He wished he merely said he wanted her to come and left it there, but he hadn’t. He had started to say something more, and now he didn’t know what that was. He wanted her to come because she had saved his life. He wanted her to come because she was resourceful and he enjoyed her company, but for some reason he didn’t wanted to say more than that. “…because I miss your big brown eyes and I want you with me.”
Finally she met his gaze. “If you want me to come, I want to go with you.”
“I want you to come.” He looked at Adam. “I want you both to come.” Caden held out his hand for her.
A smile lit her face. She dropped the baby bag into his hand, and walked to the plane.
Caden grinned and reached into the jeep to grab her duffle bag. One bag over each shoulder he followed her onto the plane.
Cargo filled the center of the aircraft, except for the most forward part. Even in this front section, smaller crates were strapped down in the center, but he could at least see over it. Bunched together at the front, everyone sat along the windowless fuselage.
Looking at the cargo and the simple web seats Maria said, “I’ve flown economy before, but this….”
Caden smiled, “Welcome to Air Mobility Command. No movie, no peanuts and no drinks.” He bent down to help Maria strap Adam in a seat. “For entertainment you can watch the pilot fly the plane.” They both looked toward the cockpit; no door or wall separated it from the aft part of the aircraft.
Maria continued to look forward as Caden’s eyes drifted back to her face. When she turned and their eyes met, his face flushed. He sat down next to her. As the plane rolled down the runway, Caden turned to her. “The other day you mentioned brothers and sisters are any…ah, still….”
Slowly she shook her head. “They were all in Atlanta.”
The aircraft lifted off.
Maria smiled, but her face was filled with sadness. “Mom and Dad had come to get me. I was in my senior year at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.
Caden heard the landing gear retracting and then the thud and clunk that told him they were up and locked.
“Grandma and Grandpa were driving my brothers and sisters to the lake house we have in southern Georgia.” A tear ran down Maria’s cheek. “We were all going to stay there.” She paused, put her hand to her lips and took a deep breath. “Dad was talking to them on his cell phone. Grandpa was still in the heart of the city on I-75 when it happened.”
Caden squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry. I lost someone in Atlanta too.”