Oslo Overtures (7 page)

They crossed the room to where the pastor and, presumably, his wife chatted with a young woman. They stood to the side to wait their turn.

The pastor immediately noticed them. Leaving the two women to continue speaking, he stepped forward.

Anjelica stretched out her hand. “Hello, I’m Anjelica. My brother, Ralf Joergensen, attends your church. He’s told me so many exciting things about what’s happening here that I had to come and visit while in Oslo.”

The pastor’s eyes lit up as he smiled. He had one of those faces that looked like heaven itself lived inside his head. “Ah yes, Ralf. You must be his crazy little wingsuiter sister. He’s told me much about you and your…interesting sport.” He stuck out his hand, grasped hers and shook it. “Adam Carter. And this is my wife, Eveliina.” He touched the blonde behind him lovingly on her arm. She turned around. “Honey, this is Ralf’s sister, Anjelica. You know, the one who jumps off buildings and mountainsides and flies.”

“Really? It’s so nice to meet you.”

Anjelica giggled. “And you, too.” Anjelica reached forward to touch her swelling belly. “May I?”

Eveliina nodded.

“When’s your baby due?” Anjelica asked.

“Early August. Just a little more than two months, if I make it. Pregnancy and an approaching summer will not go well together. I’m already feeling it with this unexpected heat wave.” She rubbed her tummy. “That aside, I can’t wait for this little
pupu
.”

Kyle cleared his throat. He was here to talk to this prayer warrior, not chit-chat about babies. Anjelica shot him a look. He returned a sheepish smile.

Adam extended his hand to Kyle. “Are you the lucky one who has to put up with all her high-flying?”

Anjelica shook her head, waggling her finger. “Oh no…we’re not… Kyle’s another wingsuit pilot. He’s from New Zealand. We’re taking part in the bigway on Friday—part of the National Day celebrations and a new world record attempt.”

Adam laughed. “I’m sorry. You looked as if you were a couple.”

“A handsome couple, too,” Eveliina added.

Enough. This kind of talk wasn’t making things any easier. Kyle had to put a stop to it. “Pastor, would you mind if we spoke for a few minutes…privately?”

“Sure. There’s a prayer room at the back of the hall. Let’s go in there.”

“That would be great, Pastor.”

“Please, call me Adam.”

Adam closed the door of the small prayer room, separating them from the rest of the world. They sank into the armchairs facing each other. How many prayers had gone up from this room? How many had been answered? Lots, if the pastor’s reputation was anything to go by.

“So, Kyle, what’s on your mind?”

Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m not quite sure where to…”

“Start? The beginning is normally a good place.”

With a nod, Kyle began to share his concerns with Adam. He had no problem discussing his fears about falling for a woman who lived on the other side of the world and his disappointment at discovering she was already involved with someone else. Finally, he told Adam about his stupid agreement with Luke.

Adam spoke little and listened much.

“So, Pastor…”

Adam raised his brow, and a smile appeared on the side of his mouth.

“I mean, Adam. I really need your prayers. Anjelica told me she’d heard that when you pray, things happen. I’m desperate not to feel this way about her. And I really need prayer for safety on Saturday.”

“Why don’t you call off the flight? It seems dangerous.”

You have no idea.
“Because I’m a man of my word. Luke’s here tonight. I owe it to him to stick to our agreement, no matter how foolish.”

“And Anjelica? Was she a foolish choice, too?”

Kyle clasped his hands together and lowered his head. “Much as I try to convince myself that she is, I can’t.”

“You know, my story is not so different from yours. I, too, fell for a girl from the other side of the world. Literally. My year-long mission in Finland had just begun when Eveliina and I both landed up at her grandparents’ summer cottage in Helsinki, each expecting to have the place to ourselves. Two strangers on a tiny island, neither of us prepared to leave.” Adam chuckled. “Although she did try everything to get me to go. A few days later, I was helping her paint the cottage when it started to rain. Pour was more like it. It was a deluge. I should’ve stopped and gone inside, but I was eager to finish. There wasn’t much more to be done and the roof overhang kept the area I was painting dry. I don’t know if I slipped off the ladder, or passed out, or the ladder tipped, but I fell and hit my head against a rock.”

Kyle cringed. “That had to hurt.”

“Landed myself in the hospital in a coma.”

“My fall wasn’t so spectacular. I landed on the floor after kissing Anjelica. Slipped right out of my chair. The only thing that got hurt was my ego. Not sure which injury is worse though—yours or mine.”

Adam chuckled, louder this time. “Yours, I think.” He leaned forward. “Anyway, I had suspected Eveliina was in a relationship, which it turned out she was. For that very reason, I didn’t want to pursue her, no matter that I’d fallen in love with her the moment I first saw her. It went against what I believed. Like you.”

“But you obviously recovered—from your injury, your obstacles—and went on to live happily ever after.”

“God brought good out of my accident. When I was in hospital, she realized it was me she loved. She broke it off with her boyfriend right away. A month later we were married in a small ceremony at the place we met.” Adam shook his head and smiled. “Man, I love that summer cottage. Point I’m trying to make is this: God directs our steps, and He might use strange, even frightening events to fulfill his purposes for us. Maybe this daredevil flight of yours is part of that plan, like my fall and coma.” He patted Kyle on the shoulder. “As for Anjelica, make sure what you saw between her and Erick is true. It’s often easy to misinterpret things when you view them from a distance.”

7

After dinner in the city, Anjelica parked her car in the hotel lot at the end of a row of tall trees. In front of them, a large grass square, with a concrete circle in the middle, covered the earth.

“Ah, the drop zone.” Erick smiled as he hoisted his backpack onto his back.

Anjelica slipped on her cardigan. The night cooled as the earlier heat wave eased. She should’ve dressed warmer. She hadn’t banked on hitting the sights of Oslo after church when she’d dressed this evening.

Up ahead, the hotel loomed. The four stared at the thirty-seven floor skyscraper. The evening sun reflected off the glass wall. Surrounding buildings mirrored their images on the hotel’s face. Soon it would be dark, and the pictures would change.

Not soon enough for Anjelica. Even though part of her wished she’d brought her suit along, she was far happier for the opportunity to be alone with Kyle—even if only for a few minutes. She turned to Luke. “You should’ve brought a bag as big as Erick’s so you could hide your helmet.”

“It’s not legal to jump from this location?”

Anjelica wasn’t sure if that was worry or excitement edging Luke’s question. “It’s legal, but we probably should’ve cleared this jump with hotel management.”

“They have to catch us first for us to get into trouble.” Luke waggled his brows.

“Easy for you to say, Luke. You and Erick will just fly off the building—Anjelica and I have to get ourselves down thirty­-seven floors and back to the car without getting caught.”

Luke patted Kyle’s back. “Not so easy for us either, Bro. We’ve still got to get to the ground and haul up our chutes before we can hightail it back to the car. We’re both at a disadvantage if we get found out.”

She touched Kyle’s hand. “We’ll be OK. I have a plan.” She turned to Luke and reached for his helmet. “Give me that.”

Without questioning, he obeyed. An amused look filled his face. He was obviously eager to see what idea Anjelica had.

She took the helmet and shoved it beneath her strappy tee undershirt. The snugness of the cotton held the protective headgear firmly in place. And well camouflaged. The loose-flowing, flowery cotton top now protruded nearly a foot from where it used to hang, adding to the disguise. As she smoothed the material over her fake belly, she thought of Eveliina Carter in her third trimester, and Anjelica wondered what it would be like to have Kyle Sheppard’s babies…lots of them. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks and hoped nobody else noticed.

Luke burst out laughing, pointing at her midriff. “Now that’s one classic move.”

“Laugh all you want, Luke Maskil, this little baby’s going to get you your jump.” She linked her hands beneath her stomach, keeping the package safe, and strode on ahead, belly leading the way. She shook her head at the chorus of chuckles that rose from behind, one voice thankfully missing.

Kyle hurried up beside her. “You’ll need a husband beside you if you’re going to go around looking like that.” He slipped his arm into hers. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all.” She peered over her shoulder at Luke and Erick. “Jerks,” she said, loud enough for them to hear.

As their laughter once again filled her ears, Anjelica realized that her rebuke had only fueled the fire of their amusement.

By the time they walked into the hotel, they’d regrouped.

Anjelica smiled at the concierge. “
God kveld. Det er en flott kveld for drinker i Sky Bar 34, er det ikke
?”

The uniformed man returned her smile. “
Ja, absolutt
.”

Kyle’s arm tightened around hers. “What did you say?”

“Oh, I just told him we’re going to the top to jump off the roof.”

“What?” Alarm laced his voice.

Anjelica giggled and Kyle’s elbow nudged her side.

“I told him it was a beautiful night for drinks in 34 Sky Bar. He agreed.”

Luke pressed the up arrow on the elevator. “Talking about drinks, how about a sundowner before we jump?”

“Shh.” Anjelica pressed her finger to her lips and whispered. “You don’t know who might overhear you. I’d hate to get into trouble.”

“You shouldn’t be drinking and flying,” Kyle scolded.

They tumbled into the empty elevator, laughing.

The elevator clung to the side of the towering hotel. The sights from there were glorious. The higher they rose, the further the views extended over the Oslofjord.

“Can you see the Dyna Fyr lighthouse from here?” Luke asked.

“You mean the Dyna lighthouse,” Anjelica corrected.

“No, the Dyna Fyr lighthouse,” Luke said, adamant he was right.

“Luke,” Erick called. “Fyr is Norwegian for lighthouse. So while we’d refer to it as Dyna Fyr, you would call it Dyna lighthouse.” He laughed. “None of us should call it Dyna Fyr lighthouse…ever.”

“Well, you know the place…” Luke turned his attention back to the view. “Can you see it from here?”

Anjelica pointed to the right. “Over there, about two miles from here into the fjord. If you look carefully, you should see its flickering light.”

“Yes, I see it.” Luke turned to Kyle. “Do you see it, Bro?”

Kyle nodded.

“Why do you ask?” What was their sudden interest in historical Norwegian landmarks? Did they think they could jump off a lighthouse next? Anjelica didn’t think they’d be that stupid. Besides, one could jump off Dyna Fyr without a chute.

Grinning at Kyle, Luke answered. “No reason…”

Anjelica was convinced there was one.

Reaching the thirty-seventh floor, they stepped out of the elevator. The Sky Bar would not see them tonight. They headed for the stairwell to the roof, unseen.

Anjelica pulled the bump from beneath her shirt and handed it to Luke.

He rubbed the helmet, then cradled it. “Hmm, warm…”

She swatted his arm. Always the joker. But after an evening spent in the presence of the Kiwi with the quick smile, she was becoming accustomed to his never-ending sense of humor.

In the descending darkness, Luke and Erick slipped their jumpsuits over their clothing and their chutes onto their backs. They exchanged their fancy church shoes for a pair of sturdy boots with plenty of ankle support.

Kyle took Luke’s backpack, while Anjelica relieved Erick of his.

“Give us ten minutes to get back to the car before you jump,” Kyle instructed, then grabbed Anjelica’s hand and headed for the door. He only released it once they got to the elevator.

Her hand felt abandoned, and she wished he would have held it for the duration of the ride down.

As they hurried across the lobby, Anjelica was grateful she’d decided not to wear heels tonight. She brushed her hand across her flat stomach and prayed the concierge wouldn’t notice the difference. Right. Everyone notices a pregnant lady.

“Missing your baby already?” A smile curved at Kyle’s mouth before disappearing. “You’re concerned about getting out of here without getting into trouble, aren’t you? You’re worried the doorman will notice the difference in your size.”

“And that we’re now carrying the backpacks, and two of our party are missing.”

“I think that’s the least of our concerns.” He slid his arm around her and pulled her close. “If I keep you at this angle, he shouldn’t notice a thing.”

She felt safe in his arms.

“
Forlater så snart
?” the concierge said as they neared.

Before Anjelica could come up with a good explanation as to why they were leaving so soon, Kyle spoke.

“Morning sickness. She’s had it for the past…uh…for some time.”

“That’s too bad,” the concierge said, his accent heavy. He smiled and opened the door.

That
was
too bad. Too bad they had to be deceptive. Too bad this was all make-believe. Too bad she wasn’t involved with Kyle.

The farce over, Kyle released his hold on her as they burst into the cool night air. She wished he hadn’t. She wished she could pretend forever.

~*~

Kyle looked back into the darkening sky as they hurried toward Anjelica’s car. The hotel was lit like a Christmas tree. He could barely make out the two forms in black on the roof. Kyle looked at his watch. In five minutes, they’d jump.