Grub consisted of a wide variety of food, including freshly grilled cheese burgers and turkey cream cheese croissant sandwiches with red peppers, chips, more champagne, tortillas with beans and cheese, and rotisserie chicken right off the bone. Cassie and Brendan had lunch, cheese burgers and chips with a champagne chaser. Carol had glass champagne flutes out of a plastic crate with foam packing. Very classy.

“How are you feeling?” Cassie asked, remembering how she felt after her first flight last year. And how she felt right now, a gentle exhaustion.

“Very tired, but I’ll be fine. How about you?” Brendan had finished his food and used his hands to massage Cassie’s shoulders. She leaned back into his touch and sighed.

“Very tired myself. Food helps, but I will need a nap when we get back to the hotel.” She yawned.

“A nap sounds good.” Brendan bent down, brushing away the strands of hair that had come loose from her braid to kiss Cassie’s cheek.

Captain Bob came back with the truck and he and Jonny set to the remaining grub. Carol told Captain Bob about her morning’s flight, her basket tipped over, too, but since it was a smaller basket, that was a more common occurrence. She was surprised at the story of Cherokee Woman landing and falling over after a gust of wind caught the envelope and collapsed it. It wasn’t impossible, after all, but with Captain Bob’s larger and heavier basket, tipping was low on the probability scale.

After all the grub was packed up and the trash deposited in one of the 55 gallon barrels serving as rubbish bins, the various crews split off and headed back to their respective hotels. Most would end up at the Best Western in Rio Rancho. Cassie and Brendan climbed back into the truck bed and snuggled together the entire ride back. Captain Bob stopped for gas for fan one and they were back at the hotel before they knew it.

Captain Bob said all crew was due back at 3:00 pm for the afternoon ride. He had a 3:30 pilot meeting on festival grounds. They got to the hotel just before 1:00 pm, plenty of time for a nap. Cassie hugged Captain Bob and said she’d be back. “Bring your friend, I can always use another pair of hands.”

“Will do. See you in a bit.” Cassie took Brendan’s hand and they walked across the courtyard to her room.

A flicker of fear came over her when she dug out her room key card. She had met Brandon probably seven hours ago and now she was inviting him into her room. Somehow, she had forgotten all of her innate wariness when it came to men, or strangers in general. She somehow knew Brendan would never hurt her, but she had no idea where she got that idea. She found the key card, but continued to rummage to give herself a moment to think.

“Cassie, is everything ok?” Brendan laid his hand on her shoulder, skin touching skin. The tingling warmth filled her along with a sense of well being and calm. Of course she trusted him; he was different from anyone she had ever met. And he would take care of her, for the rest of their lives. Again, another irrational belief, but Cassie couldn’t shake it even if she wanted to. She grasped the key card and let them into the blessed darkness.

The alarm blared its annoying call for the second time that day. Cassie groaned and rolled out of bed. Her hair was still damp from the shower she had taken before lying down. Brendan sat up and stretched his arms. Cassie knocked the alarm clock over trying to turn it off, and then found the off button; silence fell over the room. She shook out her hair and finger combed it, considering another braid.

He came up behind her and laid his hands on her shoulders. Stroking down softly, he kissed the top of her head in a mass of damp hair smelling faintly of lavender. “Sleep well, my love?” he murmured into her hair.

“Wonderfully, thank you.” She turned toward him and put her arms around his neck. Their lips came together in a tender, lingering kiss. “Too bad we don’t have time for any ‘extra curricular activities’.” Cassie blushed at the words having just come out of her mouth. How absolutely brazen of her!

“Plenty of time for that later, my dear. We have the rest of our lives for that.” He kissed her mouth again, filling her with the now familiar warmth.