Time for Grace (15 page)

It
was
that. He hadn’t fooled himself to the extent that he hadn’t known his own mind. But he had to admit it had also been his way of leaving the world in some way beholden to him. A way to mark his name on the hearts of those he left behind so they’d remember him in a positive way.

It had been a good life as he’d constructed it. Not perfect but good enough.

Until Sarah.

He’d been a fool. All his planning had been for nothing. He’d still be right where he was at that moment—in a busted plane, in danger of dying—even if his health was perfect and if his ancestors had lived into their eighties. People died young everyday.

He checked his fuel consumption again and adjusted his air speed a few knots. Then banked into another turn to approach the airfield. Maybe it would be over on this pass. He was getting antsy to just do it and live or die with the results. The waiting was killing him anyway! Slowly!

Kip took a deep breath trying to ready his mind, heart and soul for what lay ahead.
I’m so sorry, Lord,
he prayed silently.
It was all so out of my control. There I was, eighteen years old with life bursting with promise. And then…
Kip shook his head. The Lord knew better than he did what he’d felt that day his aunt had redirected his future.
I guess I just decided to control what I could. But I can’t, can I? If today’s the day You call me, I’m gone. I won’t have a choice. Now there’s a lesson learned too late. I should have listened to Sarah. Now, if I don’t get us out of this, she’ll never know how much I wanted a life with her and Grace.

I’m sorry. If You could give me a little extra skill and get me out of this, I’d sure be grateful. I’m not trying to bargain, but if I do get out of this alive, I’m going to ask Sarah to marry me. And I’m going to grab every second of every day You’ll give me. I’ll make it enough. I’ll make it worth the pain she’ll feel when I’m gone. I’ll make her feel so loved while I’m here it’ll make up for all the lonely years before she met me and the ones after I’m gone.

His starboard engine coughed, grabbing Kip’s attention. Then it caught. “Valley Green Tower, this is AA-8493. What’s the ETA on that truck? I’m about out of fuel and two minutes out. I need that runway. Now.”

“AA-8493, your partner is helping the foaming operation. And we’re working on some extra lighting. We’re all but ready for you. As soon as you’re lined up with runway one-niner, start your approach. We’re lighting ’er up now.”

Kip took a deep breath and called back to his passengers, “Assume crash positions, guys. And, hey, I got an A in crash landing in flight school so relax. We’re going to be fine.”

He had just lined up for his final approach when both engines coughed and this time went silent. “Valley Green Tower. AA-8493 is lined up on approach—coming in dead stick.”

Suddenly the runway lit up brighter than it ever had on a night approach. Then he realized cars had lined up along the top end of the runway. Their headlights shone on a runway bright white and thick with foam. He’d never seen a more welcome sight.

Kip glided her in and set her down as easily and slowly as he could. The gear touched the runway. He used the flaps to slow their forward motion even more. The gear held for another second or two as they passed the last car. Then just when he thought he had total control of the landing, the nose slammed forward into the ground as the front gear folded. Then the aft gear collapsed and the tail skidded left. And then the plane was pinwheeling out of control.

Just like life.

If he’d ever seen a more appropriate metaphor, he didn’t know what it could be. He braced himself against the now worthless yoke. “It’s all You, Lord,” he said and readied himself for whatever lay ahead. It was out of his hands. Apparently it had never really been up to him at all.

T
he plane spun like an out-of-control carousel for hundreds of yards down the runway, foam spewing everywhere. The sound of steel tearing and crushing beneath the weight of the plane was something that Sarah knew would live in her nightmares for years. There was a loud gasp from the assembled spectators as the plane left the runway on the far side of the field. The nose caught in the dirt and burrowed into the turf. Then the tail rose in the air till the craft stood on end. Then, mercifully, rather than flipping forward onto its roof, the stiff wind caught the crippled plane and knocked it backward and sideways. The wing ripped off but then it dropped back to earth to settle on its belly. Then the beast, its rampage over, lay spent and silent.

The racket left in its wake a heavy silence that seemed to descend over the small airfield as they all held their breath waiting for something. Then before Sarah could ask what it was they thought might happen the wait was over.

A fire truck shot forward across the grassy field and the din of three ambulances and several pickup trucks revving their engines filled the air. Then they too tore off toward the mutilated aircraft, following the fire truck in a new flurry of urgent activity.

Sarah started running then, heedless of her parents and Miriam calling after her that it might be dangerous. No matter. She couldn’t stop. Regardless of the danger, she had to see with her own eyes if Kip was all right. After she saw him, she wasn’t sure what she’d do. She just knew she had to see him and make sure he was okay. He’d been in the nose of that plane when it stood on end. The nose that was now crushed into a wrinkled tangle of steel.

The smell of chemicals in the foam permeated the air but didn’t quite overpower the odor of burnt rubber and overheated steel. Also in the air was urgency.

The ground crew was already trying frantically to pry the hatch open. They were getting nowhere because the bottom of the big steel door was crushed and torn into a mass of fused metal. The firefighters from the fire engine sprayed some more foam, onto the engines this time, she supposed as a precaution. Then two men ran to the plane with the hydraulic tool usually called the jaws of life.

They pushed it between the hatch and the fuselage and started it up. The hatch groaned a minute later and a loud crack echoed across the airfield. It had finally given way. Everyone seemed to breath a sigh of relief as someone in a uniform hopped up into the plane. Then a man quickly emerged from the yawning darkness of the fuselage.

But it wasn’t Kip. This man was dark-haired and he wore a wool suit jacket. A passenger. Sarah stood on tiptoe but couldn’t see past the dozen or so tall rescue workers who crowded near the opening. Moving left then right, trying to get to the plane, Sarah wove her way through the would-be rescuers, stepping over hoses and discarded tools of their trade. She was dimly aware that it was cold and that the foam was beginning to soak through her shoes, but she paid no attention to physical discomfort. Where was Kip?

One after another, the rest of the passengers emerged and were led and helped toward the paramedic trucks and ambulances. But still no Kip.

Then the crowd parted a little and she spotted Joy talking to someone who’d crouched down next to the plane. It was Kip, his blond hair blowing in the breeze the way it had the day she met him. He looked hale and hearty as he examined the plane’s crushed underbelly with his partner. Then he stood and laughed at something someone said. He turned toward the hatch and spoke to a paramedic, who jumped to the ground and pulled his big kit out behind him. Kip must have cracked a joke because several of the men laughed as did the medic.

Sarah felt a blush heat her face as a path between them opened up further. She shouldn’t be there. What was she doing? She took a step back, suddenly embarrassed. He’d made it quite plain he didn’t want her around. But before she could pivot and slink away, Kip, as if drawn by some invisible force, turned sharply. His gaze locked with hers across the space separating them.

Never taking his eyes off Sarah, Kip said something to Joy, handed her a clipboard, then loped across the expanse between them. When he reached Sarah, he stopped, pausing a few feet away. “How did you know?”

“Miriam. She was on her way here when I got home. I had to come. I’m sorry if I made this whole thing more difficult for you but I had to know you were okay.”

“No. Stop. There’s no one I’d rather find waiting.” Then the space between them seemed to disappear and she found herself in his arms held so tightly she could hardly breathe. But that was just fine. She didn’t need all that much air as long as Kip was holding her and the air she breathed was full of the special scent of lime and leather and Kip. She grabbed a fistfull of his jacket and held him as tightly as he held her.

Nothing had ever felt so good as that soul-deep hug. It was an affirmation that he was alive. They just stood there with everyone milling around them until someone bumped into her. It seemed to bring Kip to an awareness of where they were. He let go of her and took her hand, looking around. “Come on. Over here,” he said and pulled her to stand in front of the fire truck where they’d be out of the path of all the activity. The heat of the engine warmed the frigid air, too. Only then did she realize how awfully cold it was.

He cupped her face and kissed her sweetly then pulled her close in his arms again. His scent enveloped her again and chased away all the scary smells that reminded her of how close a call he’d had.

“When I was up there just circling, you were all I could think about, Sarah,” he said next to her ear. “You and the opportunity to be happy with you that I nearly threw away. I was so sure I could control what future I had left but I could have died right here. Tonight. That’s what you were trying to tell me. Any of us can go at any time.”

Sarah couldn’t find her voice. She just nodded against his chest then tipped her head back to stare up at him. And then he dipped his head and covered her waiting lips with his.

“I love you,” he told her when he broke the kiss, breathing the words against her lips.

“I love you, too,” she whispered back. “So much. I didn’t know what love felt like until you.”

“I didn’t either. I called my mom last week. I asked her about my dad the way you suggested. She was pretty horrified that I thought she might have regretted marrying him because of the grief she suffered later. But even so, I still couldn’t get past knowing I’d eventually hurt you that same way.”

“Kip, I told you—”

“Shhh. And now I understand. There aren’t any guarantees. I made myself and God a promise up there while I was circling I mean to keep. So,” he took half a step back, took hold of her hand. Before she understood his intention, still holding her hand, he grinned and dropped to one knee in the torn-up, foamy and frozen grass. He looked up at her, his eyes shining with love and his blond hair glimmering in the light of the fire truck’s headlamps. “Sarah Bates, will you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”

Sarah suddenly became aware of silence all around. She cut her gaze to the side. “Uh, Kip, we have a rather large audience.”

He grinned and shrugged but looked only at her. “Then tell me yes. They probably all think a smart, talented woman like you would be nuts to get hitched to a loser fly-boy who just crashed a million dollars’ worth of aircraft.”

The audience had already faded into meaninglessness. “Then they’d be wrong. Nothing would make me happier than to marry you.”

Kip jumped up, scooped her into his arms and spun her around, laughing. Their audience burst into applause. He set her down and kissed her again. “I have to talk to some people. Would you mind staying with me? I’ll drive you home and we can make some plans. Okay?”

She gave him a cheeky grin, feeling more confident of her place in his life. “Just try getting rid of me. But first I need to thank you. My parents came, Kip. They told me you wrote them about the way they’ve treated me. They’re sorry. I really think they’re sorry.”

He cupped her face again and kissed her nose. “I couldn’t stand by and watch them hurt you with their neglect any longer. You were so alone and I knew I was only hurting you by stepping in when you needed support. I couldn’t stay away knowing you needed someone there with you either. Contacting them seemed like the only solution.”

She tiptoed and kissed his cheek. “I know why you did it. Thank you. I love you for being you. So, what do you need to do first?”

He turned toward the wreckage. “Well, I have to get checked out by the paramedics. I promised them a shot at me even though I know I’m fine. And I need to talk to the feds. It’s their job to investigate. I think I’d rather get that over with first. And, then—” he stopped talking and staggered a little to the side. He shook his head.

“Kip, what is it?”

“Just a little dizzy. That was quite a carnival ride. But I’m sure I didn’t hit my head or anything like that, not even when we stood on end. I’m fine.”

They walked toward the wreckage hand in hand. There were three men standing with Joy obviously waiting for Kip. They wore navy-blue jackets and held clipboards. “Congratulations,” Joy said when they got to the plane.

Close up the wreckage looked more mangled than she’d even thought. Big portable floodlights now ringed the aircraft turning night into day.

“You still have my flight log?” Kip asked Joy. When she handed it to him, he looked it over again, then gave it to one of the investigators. Sarah stood with Kip, listening to his explanation of what had gone wrong. He went into such exacting detail she marveled that he could have kept so clear a head when his life and the lives of his passengers had hung on his every decision.

He’d been talking to the federal investigators for about ten minutes when she noticed Kip growing a little restless. He seemed distracted, too, even though he continued to respond to questions. His answers, however, began to lack the precision they’d had minutes before.

Then he put his hand to his chest, frowning. He shifted to the side and put his arm around her shoulders. But not for closeness or for emotional support. She realized that what he sought was physical support. His weight shifted onto her even more. Sarah looked up at him and even in the light of the spotlights she thought he looked pale. “Kip. Are you okay?” she asked, interrupting the investigator.

Kip looked down at her and blinked as if trying to clear his vision. “Sarah?” he asked slowly and his knees buckled.

Then Joy was there, making a grab for him or he would have pulled Sarah to the ground with him. The two of them with the help of one of the federal officials managed to lower him to the ground. The paramedics charged over then and muscled Sarah aside.

Joy clasped hands with Sarah and it was impossible to tell who was squeezing the other’s hand harder. She started praying even though she felt as if her world had just imploded. Because of that really. Her prayer was simple because her emotions and thoughts were in such a turmoil. “Please. Please. Please,” she prayed, trusting that God knew her need. She needed Kip and the life they had only just promised each other.

Then the paramedic with the stethoscope confirmed her worst fear. “I don’t have a heartbeat,” the man told his partner.

“He’s barely got a pulse. We’re losing him!” the other confirmed.

“Grab the defibrillator. I think he’s in v-tac or some other kind of arrhythmia,” the first medic shouted as he fisted his hands together and started doing chest compressions. “Come on Kip! Breathe! Does anyone know if he has a history of arrhythmia?” he asked.

Sarah could barely breathe. She felt numb as she watched them cut through his shirt after stripping him out of his jacket. She picked it up off the ground and hugged it. It smelled like him. Leather and lime.

“His father died of some sort of heart problem he says no one could ever diagnose. So did his uncle,” Joy said.

Miriam came running up then and just stood wide-eyed, staring in horror. “This can’t be happening! Not now.”

“Clear,” the medic not doing CPR shouted. The other one quickly sat back.

Kip’s whole body jumped. But then he went still as death again. The medic twisted a dial and repeated the exercise with the same terrible lack of results. Then he turned the dial again. This time, though, the one with the stethoscope smiled when he listened to Kip’s heart. “Sinus rhythm. He’s back.”

With that Kip’s eyelids fluttered, then he opened them. “What?” he asked, clearly confused. “What happened?” he demanded, his mind growing more alert. Then he tried to push himself up into a sitting position.

The paramedic pushed him back to the ground. “Whoa! You aren’t going anywhere but to a hospital.”

“Paoli Memorial, don’t you think?” the paramedic who’d been using the defibrillator asked the other. “It’s a great heart hospital, Kip. They’ll fix you right up.”

An ambulance crew pulled a stretcher next to him then and Kip looked a little frantic. He cast his gaze about at everyone standing around him until he found her and visibly relaxed. “Sarah?”

The question in his voice could have been asking any number of questions but the answer to every one of them was still the same. She nodded. “I’m coming, too. You aren’t getting rid of me that easy, mister. I have lots of witnesses to that marriage proposal.”

“I’ll follow with your parents, Sarah,” Miriam told her while they lifted him on the stretcher.