Kade

“Please tell me you didn’t schedule Mrs. Bailey with me,” I said.

Madison smiled. “I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to have her on your schedule. After all, she’s bringing her twelve-year-old nephew and her two dogs.”

I groaned. “Now I seriously hope you didn’t put me with her.”

Madison laughed. “You’re not on the weekend schedule.” She pulled her keyboard toward her and looked up at me from beneath those thick, dark eyelashes. “But I can change that for you.” She rested her fingers on the keyboard. 

Now she was teasing me. I could tell by that smug expression on her face.

“Unfortunately, I have other obligations.”

She nodded. “Part of your deal with Quinn?”

“You bet.” I waited a moment. She wasn’t my boss and I didn’t report to her. But she was in charge of the schedule. “Do you have me down for a flight in the morning?”

She clicked a few keys on the keyboard.

“Somebody does. It wasn’t me. But you’re down for a ten o’clock flight.”

Damn. 

I did not need to ask for a schedule change the first day on a new job.

I would just have to reschedule Mother’s appointment. 

It wasn’t anything life-threatening and, besides, I hadn’t expected to get her in so soon.

My phone chimed telling me the pizza was five minutes out.

I pulled up my texts to Susan. Started typing a request to reschedule.

“You know what,” Madison said. “I misread. You’re actually all clear tomorrow.”

I stopped typing my text, my fingers hovering over the keys. “Are you sure?” 

“Positive,” she said. “You’ve got an ethics training thing to do online before you can take anybody in the air.”

“Alright,” I said. “Any particular time?”

“Totally up to you,” she said. “The first couple of days are flexible. You know. For people moving into town. Having things to take care of. Besides basic paperwork and training.”

I had things to take care of. 

And it was generous of her to offer that, but I had a feeling I was going to need more than just flexibility tomorrow morning.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about it all, just yet.

But I did know that I’d figure it out.

I was here now, so I at least I was close enough to know what was going on with my mother.

“You okay?” Madison asked.

I forced a smile onto my lips. 

“I’m good.” But I’d forgotten about how impossible it was to hide anything from a psychologist. Especially Madison who already knew me pretty much inside and out.

We’d both changed some, though.

I’d like to know the grownup Madison better. To see what how, exactly, she’d changed.

“The pizza’s here,” I said and the elevator dinged.

Just in time to save me from further inquiry.

Madison

Kade and I sat on the sofa in the lobby of Skye Travels, the pizza box between us.

Other than me wearing a skirt suit and him wearing a suit, it was just like old times.

Those college days when we’d eat right out of the pizza box.

Since there was no one else around, that was exactly what we did.

There was something going on with Kade. I just didn’t know what it was yet.

He’d been on the schedule for tomorrow. 

But I’d changed it for him.

I knew he wouldn’t ask. He couldn’t very well ask for a schedule change his first day on the job. 

Fortunately for him, he had me to take care of it for him.

“Does Noah ever come around?” he asked. “I see that he has a really nice office here.”

And I also knew that whatever was going on with Kade, he wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“Sometimes,” I said, answering his question. “Daddy still has his old office in Dallas/Fort Worth.”

I took a big bite of cheese pizza. I should so not be eating this. Unlike the college days, my body couldn’t metabolize junk food like it used to.

“But mostly he works from home,” I added.

Kade was already on his second piece of pizza. He must work out. He had to. He was in better shape than he had been in college.

“But they still live here, right?” he asked.

I nodded, chewing another bite of the evilly good pizza. 

“Yep. Moved here not long after they got married, liked it, and stayed.”

A small jet landed on the tarmac. It wasn’t one of ours.

“The competition,” Kade said.

“Something like that. I think of it as more like overflow.”

My daddy, Noah Worthington, had somehow turned a passion into an empire.

Other small companies came and went, but he just kept steadily growing. 

He jumped on opportunities before most people even knew they were coming.

Noah Worthington, the legend, had no fear.

Noah, my daddy, had four daughters with Momma and another daughter with his first wife. Every one of us had him wrapped around our fingers. 

But not like Momma. Daddy worshipped the ground Momma walked on.

They’d dated in college, then drifted apart for awhile…

Just like…

I stopped chewing and looked over at Kade.

He winked at me and opened a bottle of water.

Just like me and Kade.

I realized in that moment that I wasn’t mad at him anymore.

I’d tried to stay mad at him over the years, but it had been a futile effort.

I couldn’t do it.

I’d never stopped loving Kade Johnson.