This short story is the final installment in the Lonesome Lawmen series!
Debra Kirby's boys aren't lonesome anymore, and now the long time widow finds herself pining for a bit of adventure and romance in her life. When Donovan Kincaid offers a plane ride to a friend's wedding, neither of them expect trouble, but that's just what they get. Now the "lonesome mama" is having her own adventure and her own romance—if she can survive.
Excerpt:
Donovan cursed and turned the plane into a spinning dive.
“What is it?”
“Someone’s shooting at us,” he said grimly.
Debra heard the words, but they didn’t seem real. It wasn’t possible. Things like this happened in the movies, or maybe in her sons’ lives, but not hers. She was a grandma for Pete’s sake.
She clutched the sides of her seat as the plane spun down, catching a brief glimpse of the helicopter pursuing them. It looked military. Sort of, but not quite right. Smoke trails spat from guns on each side of it, spurting past them as they spun down. The ground rushed toward them. They were going to crash. Donovan pulled back hard and the plane leveled out. It skimmed along the tree tops, dodging their pursuers as much as possible. The engines whined in protest. Debra wanted to whine, too. She was thrown against the straps across her chest. Slammed against the seat back. Then jostled from side to side. Bullets thudded into the body of the plane at irregular intervals.
Her stomach was having trouble keeping up. Maybe she wouldn’t learn to fly after all. Maybe she’d be dead. Wouldn’t get to see or know her new grandchildren. This trip was stupid, reckless. Those babies were what mattered, not a break from her family. The tiny plane bounced across tree tops, then rose to follow the line of a mountain. Beneath the sheer terror was a fervent gladness she’d missed breakfast or it would be all over the windscreen right now. It felt like they were in a fight they had to lose, but she became aware of a sense of purpose from Donovan. Some of her fear eased. He wasn’t giving up and she wouldn’t either. She had grandchildren to meet and spoil.
She looked out, trying to figure out where they were, but the scenery rushing by made her dizzy and sick. One thing was clear. Everything out there was way too close for comfort. Debra felt questions crowding into her head, but kept her mouth closed. This was not a good time to distract Donovan and if she opened her mouth, more than questions might come out. She focused her attention on the plane’s controls directly in front of her and her stomach angst lessened.
Donovan banked the plane, taking it down into a small valley. For a moment, Debra saw the helicopter and then she couldn’t. The sides of the valley pressed in close. Debra looked ahead. The small valley seemed full of turns and twists, giving them some cover from the helicopter.
“Hang on,” Donovan said, his voice both cool and grim.
Debra found his tone oddly reassuring, considering. She didn’t waste time pointing out she was already hanging on.
The plane hooked around a corner and then he pulled up the nose of the plane. It felt like they clawed through the air. They needed to, to miss the wall of solid rock in front of them.
Debra didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath, until they cleared the cliff and she expelled it in a rush. Below them, there was an explosion. Debra looked back and down to see black smoke billow up from the edge of the cliff.
Eyes wide, Debra looked at Donovan. “Holy cow.”
“And some unholy ones,” Donovan said. “I wonder what that was about? As far as I know, I haven’t pissed anyone off recently.” He rubbed his face. “I’m sure sorry, Debra.”
“Stuff happens. At least we’re all right—”
The engine sputtered, evened out, then sputtered again. This time it didn’t even out. It quit completely. In the sudden silence, Donovan said, “That’s not good.”
Buy Lonesome Mama at your favorite online book seller. More info at paulinebjones.com.