A to Z Reviews

1

       Jax trembled as an occasional shadow moved from the eerie darkness of an alley, but she kept running. Dark clouds bent on colliding with the earth appeared to be devouring the tallest skyscrapers. A thickening fog rolled in off the lake to obscured buildings and muted the glow of city lights. She held on to the stitch in her side and moved closer to the street, so one of the malevolent creatures couldn’t reach out and drag her to some worse fate. Her feet splashed into a huge puddle formed by the indent of a drive as she crossed its apron; only then did she become aware she had taken flight without her shoes. She stood gazing down at her bare toes bathing in the shallow pool.

      As she caught her breath, and her senses returned, the emptiness of the street registered. Streetlights and traffic signals reflected on the empty pavement; an occasional taxi or car disrupted the surreal landscape. St. Clare Ave. sent shivers through her small frame; all the businesses, even the bars, were closed. Their usually bright neon signs dead. A sense of urgency forced her on from the respite of the small footbath. She traveled a few more blocks before calling another halt. A bit more lucid, she investigated the sticky substance she suddenly felt on her skin. The foggy glow of a street lamp highlighted the blood on her hands and arms. Red, all she could see was red! Her stomach pitched with the realization that she was covered in it, except for her clean bare feet. She was losing the battle against her rebelling tummy when the strobes atop a CPD black and white added to her red nightmare. Jax lost what little food she’d eaten just before that night’s ordeal began. Clothed only in a huge over sized blood soaked T-shirt and baggy shorts Jax collapsed on the soggy tree lawn, beneath the revealing light.

      She vaguely remembered the Cleveland police officers asking her, “Are you hurt? Have you been in an accident?” Even foggier was the memory of the trip in the ambulance summoned by the two concerned officers.

      A booming voice over the airport public address system startled Jax from her slumber. She banished the disturbing memories that had penetrated her unguarded mind. It was hard to dismiss her resurrected specters. She calculated the passage of time. It was1972 she was stuck in the Atlanta airport during an epic ice storm with several hundred other folks. This was not how she wanted to spend the short Christmas Break. That particular nightmare hadn’t reared its ugly head in nearly six years. Why now? Was it some kind of a warning? What brought back the terror of her flight down a Cleveland street more than a decade in the past?

      Thirty minutes had elapsed since she disembarked from the horrendous flight from Atlanta to Denver. Dexter wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and she had been keeping an eye out for him upon entering the terminal. Jax scanned the area around the baggage claim one more time before making the hike to the closest line of pay phones to call Maggie.

      “Hi. I am in Denver, and I don’t see Dex anywhere!”

      “Oh Lord! I am sorry Jax; it isn’t Dexter, but I sent his cousin Garrett to bring you home. It completely slipped my mind that you hadn’t met him.”

      She scanned the immediate area again. “Well, there isn’t anyone around here that even resembles a McBride.” Dexter, and the rest of the male clan she was acquainted with all had auburn or darker brown hair with a red cast. “What does he look like?”

      “ He’s very tall.”

      “Come on Maggie, a little help here? You know that half the world looks tall to me.” Her disgusted observation brought a chuckle from the other end of the line.

      “Oh… say, six foot four, broad shoulders, black hair and beard. Probably wearing jeans and a Stetson.” Jax was busy scanning the crowd while she listened to Maggie’s description of her assigned pilot.

      “Wait a minute.” Phone receiver placed safely on the counter, she cautiously made her way around a column near the baggage claim carousel. All of the McBride men were big, but this one was even larger than the rest! She prayed, “ Please, let him be someone else.” She sucked oxygen into her lungs, like a swimmer preparing for a deep dive, let it out slowly and skirted around the far side of the large column near where he stood. Jax mastered her trepidation and approached slowly, after assessing the tall dark stranger at a safe distance. It was a supreme effort to sound calm and confident. “McBride?”

      He looked down at her from his towering height. “You Jax?”

      All she could manage was to nod her head. He was easily a foot taller than her, and had to weigh twice as much. She quickly executed a sharp one-eighty and fought the urge to run back to the phone. Her mouth suddenly felt dry and gritty! The usually simple reflex of breathing became a struggle. God! He was intimidating. At least Dexter was a known quantity, and his six foot two athletic frame didn’t bother her anymore. Fingers trembling, she fumbled with the receiver on the counter. Jax informed Maggie she’d found Garrett. Of course, Maggie wanted to speak with him. She turned around with the intention to call him over to the phone and nearly jumped out of her skin. He stood right behind her, and she ran smack into his large muscular form.

      “Shit!”

      “Nice language,” he told her with obvious disapproval.

      “You scared the hell out of me. I didn’t realize you were there!” He looked at her as if she were simple minded. Jax shoved the phone at him, and then all but ran to claim her luggage.

 ######

      Maggie had always been good to Garret as a boy, and for years they had been more like family than neighbors. So, he flew to Denver to pick her adopted daughter. He wasn’t sure why the girl flew to Denver and not Sheridan, but he agreed to transport her home.

      In desperate need of a distraction, he was more than happy to be of service, but he should have gotten more information. All he knew about her was that she was in her early twenties, and her name was Jax. Sure a strange name for a girl he thought. Maggie had been distracted when she called to ask him to pick up her daughter. He could excuse her for forgetting that he didn’t know the girl, but what was his excuse for not asking for a description? The need to put distance between himself and his father was the catalyst that sent him flying south. His annoyance with his father was secondary to the urgency he felt to avoid Alicia’s company. He’d been fighting the very real urge to strangle her, so he jumped at the chance to fly to Denver.

      Jax’s flight wasn’t due for another twenty minutes. He took advantage of the time checking on the weather and filing his return flight plan. Planes were stacked up on arrival, and he knew that he would have to wait a while longer. He decided to ease the gnawing and audible rumbling of his stomach. An over priced cup of hot coffee and a couple of bear-claws were just the ticket. He’d taken flight before lunch and was doubtful they would make it back for supper. Not that the meal was his motivation, but Maggie’s promise of a thick cut of prime rib increased his anticipation and hunger.

      Another unknown was the disposition of his passenger. “She might be a bit testy, if tired or aggravated.” Maggie warned him. Now, he wondered what the hell that had meant? The words Maggie had used to describe the girl should have been a sane man’s cue to ask for more information.

      The flight was finally at the gate, which prompted a huge sigh of relief. Garrett speculated that they might, yet, make it in time for dinner. A quick stop removed the sticky residue from his hands and relieved his bladder before heading to the designated gate.

      Passengers were beginning to enter the terminal, and he mentally kicked himself for not asking for a description. A long legged blonde caught his eye as the first class travelers entered the terminal; she appeared to be alone. He glanced in the direction she waved, and an elderly couple rushed forward to embrace her. One down, he thought. He was sure that there couldn’t be to many young females traveling alone, on the same flight.

      The coach passengers filed into the terminal He noticed a brunette, a little on the plump side, but very attractive. She looks too old to be Jax, he estimated. Sure enough, hubby and the kids were there to meet her.

      A Marine caught his attention. He could tell by the way the man was moving that the sergeant had been wounded. His arm was around a cute little girl, and she was hauled up against him like he was afraid to let go of her. Garrett waited; no one else entered the terminal. “Better check to make certain she’d actually been on the flight,” he mumbled to no one in particular as he made his way to the information counter.

      “Did you say Duncan sir?”

      “Right” As an after thought he added. “The first name is Jax”

      “No Sir… But…there was a Jax Wyse on that flight.” He was directed to the baggage claim area for the flight. “If you don’t find her there just have her paged.”

      He wondered how the hell he’d missed her. Garrett stationed himself where he could keep an eye on the baggage area and still see people coming and going.

      “McBride?”

      He looked down into the face of the little girl who’d been wrapped around the Marine! “Jax?”

      She nodded, and then just walked away. He followed her while pondering her strange reaction. She picked up the receiver resting on the counter that underscored a bank of wall phones.

      He thought it strange that her voice sent chills down his spine! The sensation had only happened prior to this in extremely hazardous combat conditions. The woman appeared harmless enough. Then she turned around and ran smack into him.

      “Shit!” She hollered at him.

      He reprimanded her choice of words, but she just continued to tell him off, threw the phone at him, and then marched off. He picked up the phone while attempting to keep an eye on her retreating form as he raised the receiver to his ear.

      “Garrett you better be careful with her, she means a lot to me.” There was a definite threat in Maggie’s tone, which took him back a bit.

      “I’ll get her home in one piece Maggie.” He hung up the phone then looked around to see where Maggie’s precious girl had gone. She was small enough that he’d lost sight of her in the mayhem of passengers collecting baggage. He zeroed in on her as he walked over to the baggage conveyer. As he watched her surveying the pile of luggage passing before her, he was thinking, Christ! Two huge bags already sat next to her, and she watched the conveyer for additional luggage to come around. “How many bags did you bring?

      “There’s only one more.”

      “That’s a relief. I was beginning to worry about getting enough altitude to clear the mountains.”

      “Mountains?”

      “Yep, there are a few between here and home you know.” He made the casual comment as he picked up the two largest bags and walked off.

      “Right,” She was really feeling queasy, now. Jax had to hustle to catch up with him. “Umm…Mr. McBride, I really need to make a pit stop, if you don’t mind waiting a few more minutes?”

      “Sure,” He watched her add the third bag, and her carry on to the two he’d already set down in front of him. So, there he was standing there in the middle of all her baggage and waiting for Maggie’s pint sized girl to return.

      I drank too much water, she thought, explaining away her face down encounter with the public toilet bowl. Exhaustion made the small chore of brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth seem like a humongous task. A wet paper towel on her face helped revive her some, as she attempted to pull herself together. “God! You look like crap.” She scolded the tired and frail girl with huge dilated hazel eyes gazing back at her from the mirror. Still procrastinating, she found herself wishing it had been Dexter who’d come to fly her home. That wish caused her wonder about her mental state. Dexter was a known quantity, a friend, and she knew how to deal with him. Garrett was out there waiting, but she’d not a clue how patient a man he was, and his size alone made her uneasy. She surveyed the two pills in the palm of her hand, and considered the advisability of taking them. His voice invaded her thoughts, along with his comment about not getting enough altitude over the mountains. Well… she reasoned, if I’m going to be splattered all over a mountainside, I don’t want to know about it. She coaxed one tremendously heavy foot in front of the other; at the nearest drinking fountain she shook out one more pill and downed all three. Jax pulled on her black winter coat with the fur collar that matched her white wool bell shaped hat. She experienced some difficulty fastening the large buttons. Her fingers didn’t seem to be functioning correctly! She inhaled deeply breath to shore up her lagging courage, and then rejoined Garrett.

      He stood with all her luggage in front of him, and it appeared that he hadn’t moved a muscle. Without a word, he latched on to the two largest bags, and walked off before she could suggest a baggage cart. Was he aggravated at the delay? She’d taken an inordinate amount of time pulling herself together and working up the nerve to join him. She snatched up the carry on and pulled the third bag behind as she followed him. It seamed she trudged a hundred miles through the terminal. It was becoming more difficult to keep up with his long stride; the effort to keep pace was beginning to take its toll. The floor began to sway like a ship on a rough sea. Jax fought the overwhelming urge to just stop, curl up, and snooze. She was woozy from lack of sleep as well as not having any decent food the better part of three days. For the first time it occurred to her that she could have taken too many motion sickness pills. She sucked in a deep breath as Denver’s frosty air rudely smacked her in the face. She was grateful that the long red, navy, and black, plaid skit was a heavily lined wool that covered most of her tall black winter dress boots. An audible sigh of relief that sounded more like a groan escaped from her as they approached a group of private planes. Her sense of relief blew away on a quick gust of wind, and stopped Jax dead in her tracks.

      Garrett opened the door to the passenger side of the cockpit before he reached down to load the luggage. At that point he realized that she was standing about thirty feet from him and appeared as white as the snow that was now falling! He walked back to her, “Are you alright?” No answer, not a word. “Jax?”

      She gazed up at him and asked; “Is that the plane?”

             “Yep.” He grinned at her.

      She looked at him skeptically, surveyed the plane again, her complexion turned more pale, though Garrett was not sure how that was even possible. She shook her head in the negative, turned, and started back the way they had just come. He caught her by the upper arm. “Whoa.” To his utter amazement she looked at his hand like it was a rattler. He quickly removed it, but stepped in front of her.

      “Please move.” She requested in a weak voice that scared the hell out of him.

      “Where are you going?”

      “To rent a car and drive home.”

      “NO.”

      “What do you mean, no?” She demanded in a belligerent tone.

      He wondered if this was what Maggie meant when she warned him the girl could be testy. “No” He repeated. “You aren’t driving anywhere, in your condition. I promised Maggie I would get you back to her safely, and in one piece.”

      “Stop, shouting at me!” She yelled at him.

      He hadn’t really shouted at her. He’d just annunciated every syllable, in a commanding voice.

      “I am not going over the mountains in that, that, that puddle jumper!”

      Garrett exercised considerable self-control to avoid laughing at her obvious skepticism regarding the flightworthiness of his plane. “I thought you’d flown, with Dexter?”

      “Why do you think I want to drive?”

      For the second time in a matter of seconds he suppressed the long forgotten urge to laugh. His mirth was brought on by the disgust in her voice, and he made an attempt to reassure her. “I’m not Dexter.”

      “No shit, Sherlock. That still doesn’t mean you’re any better of a pilot.”

      “Why don’t we find out, Jax?” He relieved her of the carry on placing it under his left arm, and picked up the piece of luggage she’d been towing behind her. Then he placed his right hand on her upper arm, and guided her to the plane. Garrett assisted her into passenger seat. Once she was seated he continued to load and secure the luggage while keeping an eye on her, incase she decided to make another run for it.

      Jax was not able to stage an escape, should her very life depend on it. She was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open. However, they flipped up, like and old fashioned roller shade wound to tightly, when he got into the plane filling the small cockpit with the overwhelming aura of a self-assured, dominate, male. Ingrained mistrust and self-preservation welled up threatening to break through the fragile barriers she’d painstakingly erected to hold them at bay. She kept a suspicious eye on him while he went through the preflight requirements with the controllers in the tower. Now, he was waiting for further instructions. She was entranced by his dark good looks, even though his powerful build and equally powerful presence unnerved her. She’d noticed when first locating him in the terminal that his eyes were so dark they appeared black. A trick of the lighting she’d figured and wondered what color they really were. Now that he’d replaced the wide brimmed hat he’d been wearing, tipped low on his brow, with the headset she could see his hair was pitch black and wavy. His beard was just as black, close cropped and neat. It flitted through her foggy mind that he sure didn’t look like any of the McBride clan that she new. A strange out of body experience overtook her; head buzzing, she was finding it difficult to concentrate. Then she felt him touch her and panicked! Jax slapped at his hands with what strength she could gather.

      “Calm down. I’m only checking to make sure you’re fastened in correctly.” He turned away from her, said something into the radio, then they were moving. Eyes scrunched closed, she began to recite a string of Hail Marys.

      “You can open your eyes now, we’re up.”

      She looked over at him, alarm in her eves, “Do you supply barf bags on this flight?”

      He reached over and dumped something out of a paper sack that smelled suspiciously like donuts. The aroma of the spilled contents made her stomach roll and growl. He handed her the empty bag, but never looked at her or took his eyes off of the mountains in the distance.

      “Thank you.” Saints be praised! She didn’t have to use it. Her stomach was settling now that they had leveled off, but she was so tired that her eyes closed of their own accord.

      Garrett glanced over at his passenger who was sound asleep. He figured she must be beat, after spending two days stranded in an airport; she probably hadn’t slept much. He wondered how much of that time she’d spent with the Marine? The thought aggravated him. It wasn’t any of his business what the girl did or didn’t do. It sure didn’t add up though, she recoiled when he’d touched her arm, and nearly jumped out of the seat when he’d reached over to check her safety belts. She’d let out a panicked little cry and started batting at his hands. He could tell by the look in her eyes that she’d been disoriented. Jax slept the remainder of the trip.

      He focused on the air currents and unpredictable wind shears that could develop in a heartbeat crossing the mountain ranges. Concentrating on the flight broke his speculation about his passenger. The landing accomplished, he taxied toward the hanger, shut down the engine, and transferred her luggage from the plane to his truck. Then fired up the engine to warm the cab of the pickup while he worked on clearing its windows and mirrors.

      His passenger was still asleep. She didn’t wake when he opened the cockpit door; carefully he reached around her to unfasten the safety belt. She came awake with a look of pure terror. Once more, she didn’t seem to know where she was. She didn’t scream, just whimpered deep in her throat and tried to move away from him. “Take it easy Jax” He spoke to her in the calm quiet voice he used on frightened or skittish young horses, and he then backed away. “We’re here.”

      “Oh!”

      He continued to observe her as she unbuckled her belt then stepped out of the plane on to solid ground. He would not have been shocked had she knelt down and kissed the ground; her relief was so profound. She gazed around at the snow, the mountains, and the clear star filled sky, at that point she almost fell over.

      Garrett held his breath as he moved to steady her. He was preparing himself for her to get worked up again, but he couldn’t just stand there and let her topple over.

      “Oops!”

      His mind registered her response. “Oops”… that was it just oops?” Then, she had the nerve to look at him and giggle. “That tears it! Maggie owes me big time for this one.” He grumbled into the night, as he grasped her upper arm. He maintained his hold until she was seated in the truck. “Put your seat belt on.” He growled in his best don’t mess with me voice. “I’ll be back as soon as I get the plane in the hanger.”

      Jax was still a little foggy. However, she was able to manage the adjustment of her seatbelt. His truck must be new, she thought, the older models didn’t have them. The cab had warmed up considerably. Jax yawned, snuggled into the seat, and closed her eyes.

      Garrett settled behind the wheel and aimed the Jimmy down the long drive toward the road. She was out again. He didn’t think her behavior was normal, and he didn’t give a damn how tired she was. They’d been driving for a good twenty-five minutes when she joined the living again.

      “Where are we?” She uncurled her body and stretched like a lazy cat. “Garrett, thank you”

Her voice sent a shock through his body that he was unprepared for. Now what is she up to? His inner voice asked, but all he said was, “Your welcome, Jax”

      Maggie must have been watching for them; she was standing on the porch waving, like a mad woman. As soon as he stopped the truck, the tall slim graying blonde boss of the Double D came rushing to the passenger side to yank the door open. Jax had barely unbuckled her seat belt when Maggie hauled her out of the truck and tried to squeeze the stuffing out of her. The tough no-nonsense woman’s dark blue eyes looked suspiciously moist. Garrett grinned and watched them walk up to the front steps where Maggie encountered Sid, the older couple stood eyeball to eyeball. She gave him a peck on the cheek then directed, as she shepherded Jax into the house. “Sid, give Garrett a hand with the bags. Then wash up. Dinner is waiting.”

      For a man in his middle fifties, Sid was in good shape. About six foot one, and maybe one sixty-five, ranch work kept him fit. Thick salt and pepper hair, more salt than pepper these days, contrasted with his rugged weathered complexion and soft brown eyes. As requested, he marched down the porch steps to shake the younger man’s hand, and help with his little darling’s luggage.

Look for the e-book release of this adult novel  in May 2013 on Smashwords.com, Amazon, and other e-reader points of sale.