She doubled over and wrapped her arms around the backs of her knees. “I think I’m going to throw up.”
Maggie let her carry on while repacking the rest of her clothes. Once the suitcase was zipped, she rolled it to the door.
“You’re going to be fine. Call me when you get there, and don’t worry about us while you’re gone. We’ll be fine.”
Maggie’s mother-in-law and her sister, the previous owners of the bar, had volunteered to help out in Perrin’s absence. “Don’t let Rosemarie or Colleen fire the new waitress.”
“Oh, please. I’m depending on them to train her.”
She gave a doubtful look. “Good luck with that.”
Maggie kissed her cheek and pushed her out the door. “Go. And keep me posted.”
Arriving at the airport without a ticket or itinerary was a lot more chaotic than traveling by private jet. She’d looked up Gage’s work address and decided to ambush him there, because she wasn’t interested in a run-in with his wife at their home, which was unlisted anyway.
“I need a ticket to Houston, Texas.”
“You don’t have a boarding pass?”
“No.” Didn’t people travel spontaneously anymore? This is how it happened in the movies.
“We don’t sell tickets, ma’am.”
“What?”
“You have to reserve your ticket online through the airline you want to travel.”
“Are you kidding me?”
She made an impatient face and glanced at the line forming behind her.
“Fine.”
For the next forty minutes she searched available flights. There wasn’t one until six a.m. She ordered the ticket and found a place to wait. This gave her plenty of time to come up with a plan for when she arrived, but as the sun rose over the tarmac and her flight began to board, she still didn’t have a clue what was in store. She just knew she had to get to Gage.
Flying economy was much more stressful. Rather than champagne and strawberries, she got a long spiel about what to do in case the plane exploded in-flight and they went spiraling to their deaths. Apparently, a little floaty life vest was going to save her. She was drenched in sweat before the engines even started.
The man next to her asked if she was all right, but she could only manage a tight nod as the plane began to move. The large woman to her right was oozing into her space, and Perrin, in a moment of sheer panic, gripped her chubby hand.
“I’m sorry. I just need to hold something.”
The woman smiled and squeezed her hand tight. “No problem, dear.”
She did a double take at the thick baritone. Then she noticed the woman had a distinct Adam’s apple and a five o’clock shadow and looked strong. “If we go down and somehow live through the crash, will you be my swim buddy?”
She patted her hand. “We won’t crash.”
Gravity pushed her back in her seat as the plane ascended into the air. Her feet vibrated and she squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, God, please don’t let me die before I tell him.”
“Tell him what, sweety?”
She couldn’t open her eyes. Her stomach sloshed and her mouth watered. She was going to toss her cookies at any moment if this plane didn’t level out. “I love him.”
“Oh, girl, give me all the dirty details.”
When the captain announced they were flying at thirty-three thousand feet—information not everyone needed to know—she ordered a cocktail.
Amanda, her traveling compadre, donated a third cocktail, since each passenger was only permitted to have two alcoholic drinks in coach. By the time they were circling the West Houston Airport, Perrin was three sheets to the wind, telling her life story to all the surrounding passengers.
“So that cheating scum actually expected a second chance?”
“Yeah, but I felt nothing. I should have known then I was in love with Gage.”
“I can’t believe he left you the land,” Amanda sighed, fanning herself with a big, manicured hand dusted with knuckle hair. “A true gentleman.”
“Either that or he just wanted to get the hell out of Jasper Falls.”
“No way. I think he did it because he loves you, too. And as soon as you tell him, you’re going to get your happy ending.”
“What about his wife?”
“Honey, that’s what ballistic missiles are for.”
After spending a night in an airport followed by several hours of sweating and drinking on a plane, she smelled like the mats of the bar. She took a shuttle to the nearest hotel, ordered a pot of coffee, which she guzzled down, and showered. Unfortunately, the shower drained the last of her energy. She passed out halfway through getting dressed, not waking until housekeeping woke her the following morning.
Maggie had left a thousand messages on her phone asking if she was alive.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep!” Perrin said as soon as her sister answered.
“I thought you were dead!”
“I know. I’m a total asshole. I’m so sorry for worrying you.”
“Have you found Gage?”