January 1993
Casey hadn’t spoken to Kathryn since the assignment night fiasco. She’d been so happy to get her Tweet to Willie, then so completely crushed by Kathryn’s betrayal. The part that hurt the most was the realization that Kathryn had chosen her career advancement in the Air Force over their relationship. She’d really thought they were in love with each other, but maybe her idea of love was different from Kathryn’s.
There was still so much she didn’t understand. Why didn’t Kathryn talk to her about her school assignment? Did she think Casey couldn’t handle it? Why didn’t Kathryn even try to make it work?
There was a knock at her door. When she went to answer it, Kathryn was standing there looking more beautiful than ever. She started to close the door, but Kathryn blocked it with her foot.
“I don’t want to talk to you. Please leave.” Casey lowered her voice so she couldn’t be heard.
“I know you don’t, but I have to talk to you. I’ll talk to you standing here in the hall or you can let me in. It’s your choice, but I’m not going anywhere.” The look of steely determination on her face was one Casey was very familiar with.
“All right, come in, but it won’t change anything.”
Kathryn sat on the bed and motioned for Casey to sit next to her. Casey stayed standing.
“I need to tell you the full story of what happened. When I’m through, you can ask me any questions, or you can ask me to leave and I will never bother you again. Deal?”
“I’m listening.” Casey stood with her arms folded over her chest.
“The wing commander told me he put me in for promotion and for the school assignment about a month ago. I was honored, but then I realized it would be impossible for you and me to be together if I accepted it. So I asked if I could delay school to give us a chance to be together. He got mad and had his deputy threaten to send me to Greenland immediately for four years if I refused the school assignment. I felt stuck. I had to accept it so I could try and figure out a solution for us. Casey, it was so wrong of me to not tell you about this. I’m so sorry.”
“I already know all this. Is there something else relevant you want to tell me?”
“Yes, there is. I figured out a solution for us. I’m leaving the Air Force.”
“You’re what? You can’t do that. You’re the best IP on this base. I could never forgive myself if you left what you love doing because of me. I can’t let you do that, Kathryn.” Casey sat on the bed next to her and took Kathryn’s hands.
“Casey, loving you is the most important thing in my life. No job, or promotion, or school, or even flying Air Force jets is worth losing you. I thought I lost the love of my life once before, but I was wrong. You are the woman I love, and I will not let anything come between us. This is the only way we can be free. I’m trusting you with my heart. I’m in love with you and I want to be with you forever.” Her last words were choked with emotion as her eyes welled up.
Casey wrapped her arms around Kathryn. “I love you too, Kathryn, more than anything. But I want to fly too.”
“I know you do, and you will. You’ll be a great Tweet IP. I want that for you and I’ll be supporting you all the way. Please tell me you forgive me. I’ll never lie to you again, ever.”
“You damn well better not. Yes, I forgive you. I couldn’t stay mad at you even if I tried. I adore you, Kathryn. What will you do if you’re out of the Air Force?”
“I will get an airline job. I have a lot of friends flying for them. I’ll be fine as long as I get to come home to you.” Kathryn reached for Casey’s face and kissed her soft, velvety lips.
“I want you in bed.” Kathryn was breathless. Their kisses soon became intense as they removed each other’s clothes. They fell back into the bed and Casey pressed her full body against Kathryn’s, inhaling deeply of her unique sweetness. Kathryn’s skin was liquid warmth in her arms and she wanted contact with every inch of her.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Casey murmured into her neck.
“I’ve missed you too. You’re so beautiful, Casey, I almost can’t handle it.” Kathryn held Casey’s face and kissed her with fierce abandon. She wanted to consume Casey and to be consumed by her in return. She hungered for Casey’s tongue in her mouth, her fingers deep in her body, and her soul inside her heart. Nothing else in the world existed at this moment, only their bodies, this bed, and their love.
They moved together in perfect harmony—rising, falling, tasting, giving. Kathryn pulled Casey’s face to her own. “I love you. I love you so much. I’m yours, only yours.” She held Casey as hard as she could as tears came to her eyes.
“I love you,” Casey answered softly. She gently kissed Kathryn’s damp cheeks. “I love you, only you, Kathryn.” They made love to each other the rest of the night, sealing their love once and for all.
*****
Casey had one last student flight before she graduated. She thought back to her very first day at Willie, when she saw that gorgeous T-38 four-ship fly right over her head and now, here she was about to achieve the dream of her life, and lead that same T-38 formation, with the love of her life, Kathryn, waiting for her. She could barely contain her happiness.
She prepared her formation brief, then the other pilots took their seats for the mission brief. The last crew arrived right at briefing start time. Major Bulldog Pruitt and Captain Kathryn “Hard-Ass” Hardesty would be flying the number two jet. Casey tried to be professional, but she couldn’t help smiling at them.
“Flight Safety will be observing our mission today. Y’all know Captain Hardesty,” Bulldog announced.
Casey had to avoid eye contact with Kathryn so she could complete her mission briefing without getting derailed. They all went to the parachute shop, and Kathryn and Casey ducked into the restroom. Casey grabbed Kathryn in a big hug. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d be flying with me today?”
“Surprise! I arranged with Bulldog to fly in his backseat. I couldn’t miss your last student flight. Excellent brief, by the way.” She reached up and gave Casey a quick kiss.
Casey was beaming as she climbed into her jet. She quickly completed her preflight inspection and checked the formation in on the radio. “AWOL 47 Flight, check in.”
She was pleased to hear a crisp, “Toop.” “Three.” “Four.”
They taxied out together, and Casey checked her flight was ready at the end of the runway. She looked over her left shoulder to see Bulldog’s red and black helmet in the front seat and Kathryn’s blue and white helmet in the backseat of the number two jet. Kathryn gave her a gloved thumbs-up and touched her fist to her visor, indicating she was flying the jet. They took the runway as two-ship elements with Casey as lead, Kathryn as Two, doing a wing takeoff followed fifteen seconds later by Three and Four.
Casey rolled to thirty degrees of bank for the rejoin and Kathryn was right on her wingtip like she flew this jet every day. Three and Four joined on the opposite wing as they flew to the practice area in a perfect blue sky.
*****
Kathryn couldn’t stop smiling flying three feet away from Casey at three hundred knots. She didn’t fly the T-38 often, but when she did, she loved it. It was like riding a bike. Once you mastered the White Rocket, you never forgot it. She could see Three and Four on Casey’s other wing holding good position. Casey made a quick wing rock to signal all the jets go to her right side, then she gave the “hook ’em horns” signal and rolled into a sixty-degree banked turn as all four jets rolled with her into an echelon turn. She smoothly rolled out and she continued to lead the four-ship through some very challenging maneuvers. She was a smooth, strong leader who thought well ahead of the jets.
“Bulldog, take the jet. I want to get some pictures.”
“Roger, my jet,” he answered.
Kathryn took several pictures of Casey flying her jet with the Arizona mountains in the background. It was a spectacularly beautiful day and an impressive sight with all four jets flying together.
Casey gave the formation the position change signal and she and Kathryn became Three and Four. Kathryn remembered what Casey was like as a brand-new student pilot. She was so serious and hardworking. Kathryn had been impressed with her from their first flight together. How could she have ever known that Casey would become her favorite student pilot ever, or that she would lose her heart to this beautiful, driven, passionate woman, the love of her life.
Kathryn was bursting with pride. Casey had grown into a skilled, confident pilot with exceptional leadership abilities. Her flying skills exceeded Kathryn’s and she would be a great IP. Kathryn was humbled and honored to love, and be loved by, this amazing woman.
After a picture-perfect formation arrival into the overhead pattern and a greased landing, they met in the flight room for the last debrief.
“Excellent ride, as always, Ace. Well, I guess this is the end of the line for us. You’ve done a great job and I’m proud to have been your IP.” Bulldog reached out to shake her hand.
“Thanks for everything, Bulldog. I’m so glad you were my IP.” Casey pulled him into a big hug.
“All right, that’s enough of that. Now, get out of my hair. Oh, wait, I still don’t got no hair!” They all shared a laugh, then went their separate ways.