Hangar 13

Mac waited on the front porch, while Ellie went to get her purse. Ruby-colored climbing roses encircled the two dark green trellises that leaned against either side of the porch. Their fragrance was subtle and sweet. The sun had set, and the sky looked as if it was on fire, a combination of red and red-orange, thinning out to a light peach color. For some unknown reason, he was happy. It was a mood he’d felt very little of lately—unless he was flying.

As Ellie quietly reappeared with her shoulder purse and a green shawl across her arm, Mac smiled at her. She was right—they were exact opposites. Ellie was grounded, rooted in the earth. He was an unfettered eagle who loved the air far more than the ground. And yet he couldn’t help feeling some connection with her. He held his hand out.

“Want to ride over with me?”

Ellie looked at his hand. It was long and almost artistic looking. She had to remind herself that Mac Stanford was a throwback to another era. “Sure,” she said, and allowed him to cup her elbow and guide her down the walk. Her skin tingled wildly where Mac gently held her arm.

“You remind me of a bygone time,” Ellie told him, glancing up at his tall, proud form.

“Oh?”

“Military officers carry the weight of tradition on their shoulders. You’re a true gentleman.” Ellie felt him guide her toward a bright red sports car, a Corvette. She smiled to herself and thought the machine matched Mac’s world. He flew hot jets. Why not drive a hot car?

Mac smiled absently and unlocked the passenger-side door for her. “You mean, the fact I’d open a door for you? Escort you?” He gestured for her to seat herself. Amusement danced in Ellie’s eyes again, and he liked discovering how she thought or felt about things.

Ellie moved into the expensive, black leather seat. “I’m not saying you’re the typical Neanderthal male trapped back in the cave.”

With a chuckle, Mac shut the door. “That’s reassuring.” He moved around the rear of his sports car, opened the driver’s door and climbed in. Putting on his seat belt, he glanced over at Ellie. Her lips were still pulled in a soft smile. “I was just curious how you saw me and my world,” he said, easing the car away from the curb.

Ellie leaned back and enjoyed the ride in the sports car. It seemed appropriate that Mac was driving it; the instrument panel had a wraparound design, reminding her of the cockpit of an aircraft. “I think if this thing had wings, you’d fly it, too.”

With a laugh, Mac nodded. “There are no secrets about me, are there?”

“Once an eagle, always an eagle,” Ellie said. “You’re always happier in the air.”

“No argument there,” Mac said. He turned off the boulevard and headed toward the interstate that would take them to Luke Air Force Base. The streetlights broke up the darkening sky, the coverlet of the night now stretching from horizon to horizon.

“What led you into the life of a military pilot?” Ellie asked. She wanted to know more about Mac. The fact he’d already asked her out on a date had startled her out of her normal response to men. Did he live fast? Had he asked her out from mere curiosity about her, or from genuine liking? Those were questions Ellie dared not ask.

Mac kept most of his attention on the nighttime traffic, which was diminishing now. “Since my father was an electrical engineer, I grew up helping him fix things around the house. He had always wanted to be a pilot, but had bad eyes and flat feet.”

“So the military wasn’t an option for him?”

“Right. He couldn’t meet the physical qualifications.”

“But he passed on his love of flying to you?”

“Yes. He took me to the airport at least once a year and I saw the Air Force Thunderbirds fly. I knew when I was ten what I wanted to be.”

“A bird,” Ellie said.

Mac glanced at her and smiled. “Exactly.”

“Birds can fly above a situation and not get involved.”

“That’s an interesting observation,” he murmured.

“We all have our escape routes when things get bad or too painful for us to cope with.” Ellie opened her hands. “Look at me. When I’m unhappy or in pain, I work in my garden for a couple of hours and I come away feeling much better.”

“Oh,” Mac said. “And do you view this escapism as a cop-out?”

“Not necessarily. I see going to the garden as something positive, something life affirming. I’ll bet when things get bad around your office, you take off and go fly. When you come back, you feel better. Right?”

He chuckled. “You’ve got me all figured out, haven’t you? You’re right, of course—flying is more than just a simple pleasure for me. It’s also an escape valve.” His brows dipped. “Right now, with all my work pressures and this trouble at Hangar 13, I’ve been wanting to grab my g-chaps and helmet and fly all the time.”

“Sure, you’d like to leave it behind.”

“Flying helps me think more clearly,” Mac said. He met and held her luminous eyes. “Does gardening do the same thing for you?”

“You bet it does.”

“Maybe we’re not so different after all.”

Ellie chuckled. “I’m a ground person and you’re an air person—we’re not exactly similar.”

“But we derive the same things out of our experience.”

With a nod, Ellie conceded his point.

“Just because people are opposites doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t get along,” Mac added.

“Is that argument for my benefit or yours?”

He laughed. It was a deep, rolling laugh, and he hadn’t laughed like that for a long, long time. “You’re a pleasant surprise to my world, Ms. O’Gentry.”

“Thank you, Major.” Her smile lit up her face.

“Can you say the same about me, I wonder?”

“You’re a surprise,” Ellie said. “Can we leave it at that?”

“For now.” He chastised himself for moving too quickly with Ellie. She was cautious, and he couldn’t blame her. What had gotten into him, anyway? It had been a long time since he’d entertained the thought of having a woman in his life. Since the divorce, Mac had thrown himself into his work—usually twelve-hour days—to forget the pain from the past.

“So you grew up in Portland. You were a city kid. When did you learn to fly?”

“My father paid for my flying lessons and I had a student pilot’s license when I was seventeen.”

Ellie was impressed. “And what made you choose the air force?”

“I enrolled in the Air Force Academy because it was my father’s favorite military service.”

“So your father was pretty much living out his unfulfilled dream through you.”

“That’s right.”

“And you didn’t mind?” Ellie wondered what might have happened to Mac if he hadn’t been so strongly influenced by his father.

“No. It was just sort of a natural progression, I suppose.”

“Is there anything else you wanted to do besides fly?”

Mac slowed down and took the off ramp leading to the air base. The sky was completely black now. Luke sat west of Phoenix, and he could see the thousands of stars quilted into the fabric of the sky. “When I get a chance, I like to hike in the desert.”

“Oh?”

“I like to hunt for rocks.”

“Really?” So there was a streak of earth in him!

“I’m an amateur rock hound of sorts,” Mac said hesitantly as they approached the main entrance of Luke Air Force Base.

“An eagle who likes rocks. Isn’t that a bit of a dichotomy?”

Mac braked the sports car at the main gate. “I don’t know. Is it?”

Smiling, Ellie said nothing. She saw the sentry, dressed in a light blue, short-sleeved shirt, and dark blue slacks, snap to rigid attention and salute Mac as he slowly drove past onto the base. The base seemed quiet and Ellie couldn’t see much in the darkness.

“What do you know about Luke?” Mac asked as he navigated through the streets toward the hangars silhouetted in the distance.

“Not much. You don’t learn a lot about the military when you’re raised on a reservation.”

“I see.” Mac swung the car down another street and drove toward the last hangar silhouetted in the darkness.

“I’m opposed to war,” Ellie told him. “Men have waged too many wars over the centuries and no good ever comes from it. Everybody suffers.”

“No argument from me.” Mac eased into a parking space next to the huge, dark hangar. “I see myself as a deterrent to war.”

“Really?” Ellie eyed him questioningly. “Were you in Desert Storm?”

“Yes.” Mac turned off the engine. Silence settled as he turned and gazed at her shadowed face. “Being in the military doesn’t give us the right to decide who’s right or wrong. We’re in place to protect this country and its people.”

With a sigh, Ellie said, “I’m not a warrior like you, Mac. I have real reservations about the military in general.”

He opened the door; he didn’t want to open that can of worms. “This is Hangar 13. Come on, I’ll take you inside and you can check out where I work.”

With a nod, Ellie got out before Mac could come around and open the door for her. Not to be deterred, Mac cupped her elbow and led her along the sidewalk that curved around to the front of the hangar. Ellie noticed he deliberately shortened his long, lanky stride to match hers.

“Tonight there’s no one working in the hangar,” he said, gesturing toward it.

The place looked like an oversize Quonset hut to Ellie. Lights illuminated the top of it.

“We repair the jets from our squadrons in these hangars,” he explained as he opened the door for her.

Ellie nodded. Once inside the huge, shadowy structure, she said, “Let me just stand here for a moment and accustom myself to the vibrations.” The bay area was nearly dark. Two huge F-15 fighters sat quietly, ready to be worked on come morning. No unusual sounds disturbed the silence.

Mac nodded and dropped his hand from her elbow. “I can turn on more lights if you want.”

“No…this is fine.” Ellie took a deep breath to center herself. With Mac’s presence, it was tougher than usual for her to focus inwardly. She liked him, despite his career calling. And, to be honest, she found him more than a little attractive. Still, a voice in the back of her head told her, there was no room in her personal life for a military officer. They could never hope to find a common meeting ground.

Mac stepped aside and watched Ellie as she closed her eyes. Her lashes lay like thick ebony fans against her high, golden cheekbones. She had placed her shawl around her shoulders and stood with her hands clasped against her breast. She bowed her head slightly, eyes still shut. He wondered what she was doing.

Taking deep breaths through her nose and releasing them through her mouth, Ellie was able to center herself, to switch to her internal guidance, which connected her gut, her heart and her right brain. Everything had a feeling to it, a frequency, and as she opened herself up to all possibilities, she allowed the feelings of the hangar to permeate her consciousness. The silence was almost oppressive to her. Then, suddenly, she felt movement.

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