Texas Heir

“Were we hit by lightning?”

“That’s my guess. I’m trying to restart the engine.”

Cari looked out the window and she could tell they were going down. Fear leaped into her throat and she quickly fastened her seat belt.

Melody was trying to help Fletcher, but the plane was not responding.

“Damn it, man,” Reed yelled. “Do something.”

“Mayday, Mayday. We have a problem.” Fletcher spouted off altitude and longitude and other flight facts, but it didn’t keep the plane from careening off course and downward.

The sound of thunder cracked loudly and the remaining engine died away. “We’ve lost contact and power,” Fletcher shouted. “I’m beginning a descent for ditching. Without power the plane cannot stay in the air. We have to land in a remote location. Take your seat, sir. Now!”

The plane wobbled severely and continued to glide slowly toward the ground. Cari began to pray and a scream clogged her throat.

Reed jumped into his seat, his face pale. He stared into her eyes and she saw more in that instant than she had in all the years she’d known him. She saw the fear and she also saw something else. As the plane jerked and spun they knew it was too late.

For them.

They were going to die.

Chapter Three

Cari awoke to pain and a throbbing in her head. Not another Tylenol morning. She opened her eyes and the pain was overtaken by fear.

Where was she?

Something held her in place. A seat belt. Was she in her car? No. She was jammed against something hard and a heavy object was on top of her. Opening her eyes more she saw wires hanging from the ceiling, compartments flung open, items strewn everywhere. She was covered in debris.

The plane had crashed!

Everything came flooding back.

Melody lay in the doorway to the cockpit and she could see Fletcher slumped over in his seat. The nose of the plane had been pushed forward and the instrument panel pressed against the pilot. She didn’t know if he was dead or alive.

An eerie quiet filled the cabin.

Reed!

Raising her head, she winced and noticed blood on her hand. A shard of glass stuck out of the soft flesh near her thumb. She bit her lip, pulled it out and held her hand against her chest to stop the bleeding. Otherwise she was okay. Or at least she thought she was, just cuts, bruises and aches.

Reed’s chair was twisted and his head rested against the side of the cabin, which seemed to be tilted and crushed in slightly. He was bleeding, his shirt soaked with bright red.

Ohmygod!

He needed help. She pushed debris off her and managed to unsnap her seat belt. As she struggled to her feet a wave of dizziness assailed her. The plane wasn’t level, so it made the dizziness worse. The cabin was pushed together and there was very little room. She gripped the wobbly captain’s chair and reached for the pulse in Reed’s neck. She didn’t find one. Ohmygod! No!

Take a deep breath. Stay focused.

Trying to keep her nerves from spiraling out of control, she stepped over more debris and made her way to Melody by holding on to parts of the shattered plane. The cabin was so mangled Cari couldn’t stand upright. She knelt by Melody, checking her pulse. None. Blood oozed from her head. Cari wouldn’t let herself think as she frantically tried to reach Fletcher. Parts of the plane dangled from above, blocking her reach. Then she smelled it.

Fuel.

Smoke.

Ohmygod!

Stay focused! They need you.

The door of the plane had been ripped away. She peered outside. A chilly foreboding swept over her and she trembled. The crushed plane was balancing precariously on a ledge or a mountain. She knew they had to get out and get out fast.

Her high heels crunched on Waterford crystal. She had a sudden urge to laugh hysterically—but she had to get them out. She couldn’t fall apart.

It was hard to stay balanced in her heels, but there was glass everywhere, so she couldn’t remove them. She unsnapped Reed’s seat belt and shook him. “Reed, wake up. Please, wake up.” He didn’t move or make a sound. Blood dripped from his head onto her hands. She grabbed a towel from the floor and wrapped it tightly around his head and then she pulled and dragged him as close to the door as she could. He weighed a ton but she never paused in her struggle. Once there, she placed his arms halfway out the door.

She glanced down, kicked off her heels and jumped. Since the door was tilted down, she misjudged the distance and almost fell flat on her face. Pain shot through her body, but she quickly scrambled to her feet. Looking up, she caught her breath. The opening seemed so far away. The plane was a mangled mess. How was she still living? Oh God! She had to take several deep breaths.

Focus! Focus!

She had to get Reed and the others out before the plane ignited. She stood on her tiptoes until she could grab Reed’s hands, and then she tugged and tugged with all her strength. Slowly, she inched him forward. Catching her breath, she reached for his armpits and dragged him out. Once his weight shifted, his body slid forward quickly and took them both to the ground. She struggled to her feet and grabbed hold of him once again. Her muscles strained and her arms burned, but she jerked and pulled until she had him safely away from the shattered plane.

Now she had to get Melody and Fletcher. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted back toward the plane. A loud explosion flung her backward. Flames roared through the crumpled fuselage.

No! No!

The excessive heat yanked her from the abyss of terror. She rose and pulled Reed farther away from the flames. Then she collapsed into a ball of fear, her body trembling uncontrollably.

She drew her knees to her chin. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she tried to stop the tremors. In a chilled stupor, she watched the smoldering plane until nothing was left but a melted heap of twisted metal.

Hot, smoldering metal.

The rain had stopped, so there was nothing to cool the offensive heat. She didn’t know how long she sat there lost somewhere between Dallas and this horrendous nightmare. When reality returned, tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was holding Reed’s hand.

Praying.

Praying for a pulse. Praying he was alive. But he just seemed cold. The towel was soaked with blood, but it looked as if the bleeding might have stopped. That was good. More tears followed. She cried for Fletcher and Melody and she cried for life’s cruel injustice. After a moment she pulled herself together.

Looking around, it seemed as if they were on a crater of the moon—dirt and rocks and nothing else except an endless sky. Not the moon, but probably a mountain somewhere in west Texas.

They had to just wait and someone would find them.

Someone would rescue them.

She prayed it was in time to save Reed.

RICHARD PRESTON HUNG UP the phone as his wife, Vanessa, entered his study.

“Are you ready?” she asked. Even in her late fifties she was still an attractive woman with blond hair and a svelte figure flattered by a Vera Wang suit. She had the body of a dancer and she never grew tired of reminding him of what she’d given up for marriage and motherhood. He wasn’t going to think about that, though. They were getting along and their children were happy. Life was good.