Brandi came into Mav's hangar carrying a tray of sweet tea and freshly baked cookies and placed them on the coffee table in the corner. She stood straight, hand on her hips, and watched as her uncle and Bradley worked together to restore a vintage P-51 Mustang. She smiled at the sigh, hating to break them up but they needed a break.
"Hey, boys!" she called, peeking around the older model. "Take a break, I made cookies."
Mav took a step away from the plane. "What kind? The last time you baked you tricked me into eating an oatmeal raisin."
Brandi playfully rolled her eyes. "Their chocolate. And you liked them, they're my mom's recipe."
Liking the idea of chocolate, he paused his work and went over to the sitting area. "Did I say that though?"
The girl feigned hurt. "Uncle! I'm gonna tell her you said that."
Mouth full of food, he looked up at her with wide eyes. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Please don't."
She hummed. "We'll see."
The thrum of an engine sounded loudly and was suddenly cut off. Looking towards the hangar entrance, the two saw Penny waiting against her 1973 Porche. She noticed Brandi and gave her a small wave. The girl waved back. Brandi realised that Mav hadn't moved from his spot.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she questioned, pushing his shoulder with hers. "Go on, I'll hold the fort down while you're busy."
He sent her a pointed look but went to his girlfriend anyway. He leaned down to kiss her and Brandi turned, figuring it best to occupy herself elsewhere.
"Bradley?" she called as she came around the other side of the Mustang. He wasn't there. "Bradley?"
"In the back, honey!"
She blushed. After the chaotic month they had, the two agreed to take things slow. They weren't a couple, but they weren't looking for other people. Well, Bradley wasn't, there was still the question of Jake that Brandi had to figure out.
It was weird in-between, this 'situationship', but they managed . . . except for the terms of affection that Bradley could never drop no matter how hard he tried. But it didn't bother her, it just solidified her decision to wait for when they were ready.
Thumbing the ring around her neck, she slipped into the back of the hangar where Mav kept his smaller tools and memorabilia. Dressed in a white Hawaiian shirt to commemorate his dad, Rooster gazed at the collection of photos on the wall. She slid beside him and without taking his eyes away from the images, Bradley wrapped an arm around her waist.
Her eyes fell on the photo Ice had of him and Mav on his desk. Then she looked at the collection as a whole. She and Bradley. Goose and Maverick. The Bradshaw family. All her loved ones and more.
Leaning her head on Bradley's shoulder, he tapped the wall, for luck or something else, she wasn't sure. But she was sure of one thing: life was finally going in the right direction.
