Flight to Paradise Ch. 18

Kate giggles into her napkin, both at Darren's antics, and Tim and Andi's reaction to their dad, rolling their eyes in embarrassment.

"Uncle Tony, can you take us flying tomorrow, or maybe one day after school, before you go back?" Tim asks.

Mac looks at Tim in complete seriousness. "I know we usually do that, but I'm not going to do that this time."

Kate can tell that Tim and Andi are crushed, and everyone looks at Mac as if he has grown another head. She can't understand why he would disappoint the kids so, hoping she's not the reason. She's thinking she'll have to talk to him later about it, when he continues.

"Kate is," he says his face breaking into a big grin.

"Kate's a pilot too?" Sam asks in surprise.

"No," Kate says.

"Yes," Mac says over the top of her. "A natural born pilot. She has a great feel for the plane."

Darren looks at Kate a moment. "Model, concert pianist, and a pilot too? Is there anything you can't do?"

Kate can feel herself blushing furiously, unable to answer.

"She can make sausage gravy too," Bert adds, causing everyone to laugh as Mac leans over and kisses Kate quickly on the lips, wordlessly signaling that the teasing is all in good fun.

"Don't forget she helped you unload the truck this morning," Cynthia adds, getting in on the fun.

"And..." Mac says, just to round out the pick on Kate moment, "she can outshoot anyone in this room, including me."

"I don't believe it," Sam says, well aware of Mac's skill with a gun.

"We went shooting one morning. I wagered that if I could out shoot her I could buy her lunch."

"And if she won?" Sam asks as Kate blushes furiously, wondering how Mac is going to explain that in front of the kids.

"If she won, I had to do her a favor, something she wanted me to do for her."

"Who won?" Tim asks when no one else does.

"Well, I got to buy lunch, but it was a near thing. I beat her by fifteen points out of 140. I wouldn't want to live or die on the difference between us. Not to mention she's the shooting champion in her class, three years in a row."

"Remind me not to make you mad," Darren says to Kate.

"It wasn't that close," Kate finally says. "Mac left out the part that the fifteen point difference was after he gave me some pointers and then let me have another chance."

"I'm still impressed," Sam says. "I barely know which end of a gun to point, and you can shoot nearly as good as Tony? He's the best shot I know."

"Me too," Kate says. "He could easily beat everyone at my home range."

"All the picking is in good fun, Kate," Bert says, trying to easy Kate's embarrassment.

"Yeah, it just means your part of the family," Darren says. "After a while you'll learn to give as good as you get."

Kate can feel her breath stick in her chest at Darren's words, wondering if it really means what he said.

"Don't pay any attention to us. Tomorrow it'll be me, or Tony, or Dad, or somebody," Sam says.

"Well," Kate begins with a smile, "you sure know how to make a girl feel welcome."

There is a brief pause before everyone laughs. "She's going to fit in just fine," Bert says.

After dinner Kate and Andi laboriously work through Mary Had a Little Lamb on the piano before Kate plays a few ragtime pieces she knows when everyone begs her to play again. By the time the Carters leave, Sam all but dragging Andi away, Kate is thinking about how much she enjoys playing the piano with Andi and wonders why she quit. She'd taken up modeling because it paid far better than playing the piano, but she could still play for herself.

"Ready for your surprise?" Mac asks as Darrin and his family drive away.

"Will I like it?" Kate purrs quietly.

"I think you will. Dad! I'm taking the truck, okay?" he yells into house.

"Just fill it up if you use all the gas," Bert's voice comes from inside.

He chuckles as he opens the passenger door for her, closing it behind her before trotting around the driver's side. "It's getting cold," he says cranking the truck to life. "That's good. It means it'll be a clear night."

"Why is this thing so loud?" she asks as the truck rumbles to life.

"This is a work truck. It has a diesel engine in it," he explains as he backs the truck out of the garage.

"I didn't know they still made trucks like this." She can just make out Mac's smile from the instrument lights. "What?"

"City girl," he says grinning.

Mac drives for nearly thirty minutes before turning onto a rough dirt road and driving another fifteen minutes, the trucks powerful headlamps peeling away the darkness. They've been riding in companionable silence for the last ten minutes when he stops the truck in the middle of the road, killing the lights and engine. "We're here."

"Where?" she asks, unable to see anything.

"Where your surprise is located. Ready to see it?"

"It's here? In the middle of road?" she asks dubiously.

"Well, no, not in the middle of road," he says before opening his door and hopping out, Kate doing the same.

She meets Mac at the front of the truck, the heat from the engine helping to ward off the cold night air. "Okay, what the surprise?" she asks, wondering what game he's up too, but looking forward to it all the same. They'd have to be quick. It's too cold to bare tender skin for very long.

"Look up," he says, pointing at the moonless sky.

She's puzzled by his words. She thought he has brought her out her so they can do the wild thing, but she looks ups, and feels her heart stop.

"Oh my god," she breathes. Never has she seen so many stars. "Mac..." she begins but runs out of words, not sure what she wants to say. "This is amazing," she whispers as she turns around, looking at the sky. The night sky is bright with stars, uncountable millions of them.

"Look here," he says, turning her.

Kate can barely make out his form in the deep, moonless, darkness, but she allows him to turn her, looking where he points.

"See that? That area where the sky is brighter. You know what that's? That's our galaxy, you're looking at the center of the Milky Way."

Kate is mesmerized by the sight. She knew there were stars in the sky of course, and you can even see a few in LA... but this... this is breathtaking. She feels him take her into his arms, holding her from behind as she looks at the sky.

"I had no idea," she breathes. "Can you see the sky like this at your house?"

"Close."

"Now I know why you don't like the city, growing up being able to see this every night," she says quietly. "Mac, thank you for sharing this with me. I'll never look at the night sky the same way again," she finally whispers after a long silence.

"You know what I find amazing? As beautiful as this sky is, it's nothing compared to you."

She feels her heart melt at his words. He's exaggerating of course, but the fact that he even thinks to compare her to such... magnificence... makes her all tingly inside. She turns in his arms, her gaze falling on something much closer to her than the stars. She's unable to make out his face but her lips find his as if by instinct. Their kiss is slow and gentle, a lover's kiss, not the ferocious kiss of two animals in heat. She slowly pulls away from his lips, her head going to his shoulder, but still looking at the night sky, unable to avert her gaze.

He holds her to his chest, her warmth comforting him, warming him in body and spirit. They stand for a long time, each lost in their own thoughts, her arms tucked into her sides as she seeks to husband her warmth against the chill and yet unwilling to let go of this magical moment with Mac. She begins to shiver but still she doesn't attempt to break the embrace.

"Come on, you're freezing," he says, ushering her into the truck before hopping in, starting it and turning the heat to full.

"You should have told me to bring a coat," she says as the heat from the truck begins to soothe her.

"I didn't think we'd be out here this long. Whatever will my parents think?" he asks in a breathy sounding voice.

"Probably that you are a hell of a man if you can get it up as cold as it is," she says before they both burst into giggles.

It's just after 11:30 when he pulls the Ford back into the garage. They'd been gone nearly two hours and Kate had dozed on the way back, the early morning, and the warmth and noise of the truck, lulling her to sleep.

"Wake up sleepy head," he says quietly, touching her on the arm. "Or am I going to have to carry you in?"

She stretches with a groan and a yawn. "No," she says groggily. "We're home?"

He smiles, wondering if she knows what she's saying or whether she actually feels like this is home now. "We're here."

"I hate you," she says with another yawn. "I'm dead on my feet and you act like you're just getting started. And you're always like that. How the hell do you do it?"

He chuckles as he gets out of the truck. "Fresh country air," he says as he opens her door.

"Bullshit," she mutters as she crawls out of the truck. They move quietly through the house, only a light over the sink providing illumination. "I think your parents are asleep," she whispers as they tip-toe into their bedroom.

"Probably. We had an early start this morning."

"Tell me about it," she mutters as she strips, trying to decide if she wants to shower before bed, then decides to skip it until morning as she slips into her Minnie Mouse sleeper again.

After swishing their mouths clean, they slip between the cold crisp sheets, Kate shivering once until he pulls her to him, sharing his body heat with her.

"Love you," he says as he kisses her on her shoulder, smiling at the ease those words come off the tongue now.

"I love you too," she replies, smiling in contentment. Bone tired, in the arms of her love, sleeping in the house with a family that doesn't judge her, she can't believe how much her life has changed since meeting Mac, and wondering what the future will hold for them. With a deep sigh, she allows her eyes to close, dreaming of a life when this is the norm, as she slowly drifts away into sleep.