Always Valentine's Day

“It kind of gives you that astronaut experience, doesn’t it?” Christopher asked. When she didn’t answer, he leaned in. “You’re going to have to break down and talk to me sometime.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said, and cursed herself the minute the words were out of her mouth.

His grin flashed. “Like I said.” He winked as he walked past her.

The closer they got to the helicopter, the more uneasy Larkin became. She’d been expecting a nice twin-engine Cessna with individual seats. Instead, they had a helicopter that looked like it had been borrowed from a TV traffic report team in Anchorage.

Assuming Anchorage had anything remotely resembling traffic.

The aircraft sat on the pad, doors open. A stocky, bearded man stood beside it, looking large enough to fill it entirely himself. Little backward opening doors on either side gave access to a backseat barely worthy of the name. On the grass strip that ran between the tarmac and the landing pad, a gray brown mutt nosed around, which pretty much said all she needed to know about the professionalism of the operation.

“This is Buck,” Amy said.

“Y’all ready to fly?” He nodded at the helicopter.

“In there?” Larkin asked faintly. “Are you sure we’re all going to fit?” The backseat looked barely wide enough to accommodate two people, let alone three.

He winked. “You’ll get to know each other up close and personal.”

Larkin glanced over to see Carter and Molly.

And Christopher.

Up close and personal.

“Molly, do you want the front seat?” Carter asked.

“Nope.” Buck shook his head. “That’s where Scout rides.” He whistled, and the dog—more of a hound, really—came loping over, tongue out and a big doggy grin on his face.

“No.” Stubbornness glimmered in Carter’s eyes. “The front seat is for one of us. The dog stays here.”

“Nope,” Buck said genially. “Scout always flies with me. If you want to go, he goes, up front. Unless you want him in the backseat with all of you,” he added.

Molly laughed and bent over to rub Scout’s ears. “I don’t mind giving him the front seat. A flight over the glaciers with a big old dog, now that’s an adventure,” she said. “Look at this harness you’ve got, boy. You’re all dressed up and ready to go.”

Amy gave a pained smile. “Buck is helping us out here, sir. It’s the only way we can get you up to the glaciers.”

“We’re here,” Christopher said. “I’d say give it a try.”

“If you’re not completely happy with the excursion,” Amy added, “we’ll refund your money.”

“We’ll see,” Carter grumbled, but he was watching Molly make friends with Scout, who seemed very close to being in love.

Larkin only wished she was feeling so good about it. “I’ll stay here. All four of us can’t possibly squeeze into that backseat. There’s no room.”

Buck looked them over. “Sure there is. None of you’s too wide. It’ll just be cozy. Hop in.”

Cozy. Exactly what Larkin wanted. She heard a smothered laugh and glanced over to see Christopher watching her.

“I’ll take the inside seat. You have the window,” Carter told Molly.

“Of course not. You were the one who paid for the trip. You should sit by the window.”

“I’m taller than you are,” he argued. “You sit on the inside, you won’t see a thing. Take the window.”

Molly folded her arms. “Only if you take it on the way back.”

“You drive a hard bargain.”

“Get used to it,” she returned.

He considered. “I guess I’ll have to.”

Christopher glanced over at Larkin. “I’ll give you the window seat, too,” he told her. “Just to show you chivalry’s alive and well in Alaska.”

“Gee, I’m so relieved.” She watched him fold his long body into the small space and looked at the postage-stamp patch of seat that remained. Right next to the door.

“Need a hand?” Christopher asked.

“I can do it myself.” Reluctantly, she raised a clunky boot to the threshold of the cabin, hoisting herself in and settling back into the alarmingly small space. There was no way to do it halfway. Even staying as close to the edge as she could, she was still unable to keep from touching Christopher.

“All right, over all the way,” Buck ordered. “I gotta shut the door.”

She wasn’t about to look at Christopher and see the humor that she knew would be dancing in his eyes. Instead, she stared studiously ahead and shifted over. Then the little back door slammed and latched with a clunk, leaving her wedged in place.

It was impossible to shut out the awareness of his body. They were practically welded together from ankle to shoulder. It didn’t matter that there were layers of clothing between them. What she felt most of all was strength. He might have looked rangy, almost lanky at a glance, but with her body glued up against his, Larkin could feel that he was solid with muscle.

Buck hoisted himself into his seat and whistled. “Scout, load up.” Scout hopped up into the helicopter, panting as Buck snapped a pair of chains onto his harness. The pilot put on a bright yellow headset and busied himself for a few moments, checking dials and flicking switches.

He turned to them. “Each of you grab a set of those headphones hanging above you. Once I start the engine, you won’t be able to hear a thing unless you got ’em on. It’s two-way, so holler if you got a question or want to get a better look at anything.” There was a click and the rotors started turning. “Okay, guys, we’re ready to go.”

Larkin tensed.

Christopher turned to hand her a headset, then gave her a double take. Frowning, he leaned in close as the whine of the motor grew to a roar. “You okay?”

She nodded and tried for a careless smile as the helicopter began to shudder, but it felt more like a grimace.

Because Larkin had a secret. A seasoned traveler she might have been, but she’d never ridden in a helicopter. Jets, yes, Gulfstreams, of course. Even the odd Cessna, they were all fine.

Helicopters scared her silly.

Everybody else seemed totally confident about the ride. As far she was concerned, they were crazy. Something about a helicopter seemed a bit too improbable to really work. After all, straight wings were everywhere you looked in nature—birds, dragonflies, even mosquitoes.

She couldn’t think of a single critter that had blades whirling around over its head.

The sound of the motor changed. Larkin stared out the window, feeling panic clog her throat.

Suddenly her fingers were caught up in a strong grip. She looked down to see Christopher’s hand clasping hers and glanced up to see him wink.