Page 9 of Track of Courage

Thornwood grunted even as Wilder nodded.

Keely followed the troop toward the small plane. A red stripe ran the length of its compact body, with the wordsMaverick Airpainted on the side.

Wilder got in first, followed by Thornwood. Keely stood on the metal stairs and glanced back at the small town of Copper Mountain.

Woodsmoke rose from the collection of pines between the air base and downtown, evidence of life in the cluster of houses tucked along the dirt roads. Already, the scent of barbecue smokesharpened the air, so clearly the Midnight Sun Saloon had fired up their stoves for the day.

Bye ... Mom?

No, that felt weird. She had one mom, and she’d already said goodbye to her.

Goodbye,Vic.

Keely drew in a breath of cool air, then climbed in beside Thornwood. She belted into the cozy seat and dropped her backpack at her feet.

Mack closed her door, and it latched. She tried to ignore the smell of woods from her fellow passengers.

First class, Alaska Airlines, here she came.

Her eyes burned, and she blinked hard, gazing out the window at the thick forest that surrounded the airfield. To the south, the sky opened up, a beautiful blue patched with clouds.

“You sure you want to leave so quickly? You just got here,” Nora had said this morning as she set a plate in front of Keely, along with a cup of whipped-cream-topped cocoa.

“Gotta get back to work,” Keely had said, not remembering to whisper.

Nora had wiped her hands on her apron, then sat in a nearby straight chair in the dining room, rich with oiled walnut furniture. Keely ate off china on a lacy tablecloth.

Quaint and weirdly comforting, really.

“What do you do?”

Keely took a sip of the cocoa and made a mental note to have her assistant give Nora a jingle and pry the recipe from her. “I ... I’m a singer.” That kept it simple. Sort of.

“Really. Oh, that’s lovely. Opera? Jazz?”

“Pop. And some musical theater.” She didn’t want to say Broadway, because that might raise follow-up questions and maybe lead to her short stint in Hollywood, which would lead to Chase Sterling and ... all the rest. Right?

Nope.

Nora found a smile. “Hal and I are Beatles fans.”

Of course they were.

Nora leaned close. “But back in the day, we liked Dylan and Joplin.” She winked.

“Classics,” Keely said.

“Oh, I don’t think they’d want to be known as that. But yes.” She’d gotten up. “Good luck to you and your music. I hope to see you back here.”

Probably not.

Mack got into the plane, then turned in his seat. “Listen up, this is your safety briefing. First—keep your seat belt buckled. It can get rough, especially with the blizzard heading our way. Our flight path veers a little east before we turn south to Anchorage to dodge it, but you never know what pockets we might hit.”

Nice. Maybe she shouldn’t have eaten the sausage.

“In the unlikely event we need to put down, just stay calm and listen to my instructions. There is a fire extinguisher up by the copilot seat and a first aid kit under the pilot’s seat. The door is opened by pulling the handle up to unlock it and then pushing outward.” He handed back a couple of headsets with microphones. “This will help with the noise, and if you can’t hear me, let me know.”

Keely put on her headset, and he tested it. She gave him a thumbs-up.