Page 159 of Saving Soul

My mouth fell open. “Finn…”

Finn undid his seatbelt, stood, and motioned with Adam to swap.

“But what if you need me?” I asked with a voice full of desperation. I was embarrassing myself.

“Mom, I’m eleven! I’ve got this.”

I slumped back into my chair. “I don’t,” I grumbled, turning my gaze out the window.

Adam eased down beside me. “He’s perfectly safe, Cass. The pilot will inform us if there’s any turbulence.”

“Turbulence?!” Fear bubbled up inside.

“You’ll be okay, Mom.” Finn giggled from his new seat. “Adam will look after you.”

Adam’s eyes tempered as they rolled over me. “You’ll be fine, but I better get you both some chewing gum.”

“Finn won’t be able to sleep if you give him candy.”

“Trust me, it will help your ears adjust to the cabin pressure. And don’t worry, it’s sugar free.”

“Oh.” I couldn’t argue with that. “Okay, then.”

Thankfully, the gum stopped my jaw from seizing as the plane rolled onto the runway.

“This is so cool!” Finn yelled as we picked up speed. “Way better than the helicopter ride!”

As we shot forward, I grasped the arm of the chair and closed my eyes. It wasn’t until Adam’s hand slid over mine that my shoulders eased, and my breathing regulated to a steady pace.

“Thank you,” I whispered, lifting my gaze to find he’d been watching me the entire time. “That wasn’t so bad.” Unable to hold his stare or hand any longer, I turned my body toward the window where the twinkling lights below grew smaller and smaller.

“You should try and get to sleep,” he said once the seatbelt lights turned off. “Or you’ll be exhausted tomorrow.”

The hostess gave us pillows and blankets while Adam demonstrated how to adjust our chairs into their reclined position. Once the lights dimmed, I tucked Finn in, then climbed into my bed.

“Night, buddy,” Adam said as he passed Finn on the way back from the restroom.

“Night, Adam. Night, Mom.”

As Adam settled into the chair-turned-bed beside me, I became acutely aware of how close we were.

“Goodnight, Cass,” he whispered with a small smile playing on his lips.

I closed my eyes and focused on the rumble of the engine. “Goodnight, Adam.”

Sleep came quicker than expected, but when the plane hit turbulence, my stomach dropped, and my eyes shot open. I searched the roof for fallen oxygen masks, but none had dropped. Instead, a warm hand slid over mine and stayed until my eyes grew heavy once more.

The morning light streaming through the windows pulled me out of my slumber. I was comfy, warm, and snuggling with…wait. My eyes popped open to find my arms wrapped around Adam’s bicep. “Ugh, I’m sorry!”

“It’s perfectly okay.” Adam snickered as he stretched out his glorious arm muscles. “Sleep well?”

“I did, surprisingly.” Better than I had in years.

Thankfully, Finn was too busy playing video games to witness me using Adam as a human teddy bear.

Once we returned the chairs to an upright position and had a lovely—albeit quiet—breakfast, I finally relaxed back into my seat and stared out the window. The ocean I loved dearly materialized in the distance, and I couldn’t help but smile.Home.

Suddenly, a loud thud vibrated through the plane.