King of Her Desire

39

I had Sochi, Che and the little sibs get on the jet with me, so the kids could mess with the seats and TV and whatnot for a little while. And the attendant guy helped them make egg creams while the pilot was doing something up front and Abra was getting out of those "walk of shame" clothes in back.

I'd just found out about them myself--there are no eggs in them, right? We just put a little milk and a little chocolate syrup in these tall glasses, and then spritzed a whole bunch of fizzy water into it to make it bubble up like crazy.

The little sibs had two apiece before I kissed and hugged them and promised we'd fly somewhere soon. Although they're scared of actually flying, so I didn't have to fight too hard to get 'em to leave---Che, either. She's worse than they are about that.

But they still looked sad down there as the jet started to taxi off. Even sadder than I felt, which was pretty damned sad. Especially when Sochi blew me kisses with both hands and then waved with both hands, too, just as the jet turned away from them. And Carli standing there grinning with her fingers in her ears--priceless.

I wanted to stop the plane and run right back to them. I really did.

But I sat back for takeoff and sighed. And pretty soon the attendant came with one of their ridiculously fancy breakfasts. Something called kedgeree. One of Ben's favorites.

We're talkin' fish, eggs and rice, right? Yeah, kinda strange, but also spicy and delicious. Something the Brits invented back when they still ruled India he said. I was a bit concerned about all the curry and stuff at that hour of the morning, but it was so good that I took a chance.

And then Abra sat down across from me, sniffed and said, "You're brave. But then you're 19. You could eat glass and live to tell about it."

"It's really good, though. Taste?"

"Not after all the cactus juice I've had. Man, that guy knows his tequila!"

"What was his name again?" I said. Sort of just to see if she could even remember it.

"Wes. Wesley Hart."

"Okay, that's a serious rodeo name."

"He can ride, too," she said. With this little smile that said just how well.

"Got a lot more'n' you bargained for on this trip, didn't you?"

She reached for a bottle of that Voss water in a little compartment next to the window and said, "Matt's asking about Sochi's paintings--Ben told him, not me."

"See, that is exactly—"

"Hold on, wouldja? There's a Native guy, some actor who needs some stuff for an event he's doing. It's a whole concert type of thing at Red Rock. How bad could that be?"

I sighed and said, "Perfect. So, she meets this Native actor who loves her work..."

"You can't be serious. He's, like...twice her age."

I stared. And she laughed and said, "And he's not nearly as well-preserved as Elliott. I love the guy, but I don't see her getting all hot and bothered. Not with you to come home to."

"Look, I'm all for helping her with all that. But I don't like how shit just kinda happens out of nowhere all of a sudden. All these offers you can't refuse."