Chapter Six
Joe watched Enid disappear into the hospital ward with the nurse. When the door closed, he realized he was left with the young Alpha and his sister, whom Joe hadn’t met. He stepped forward and offered his hand.
“I’m Joe Villalobos from Big Wolf,” he said quietly.
“Helene LaCroix,” the young woman replied, shaking Joe’s hand with confidence. She carried a strong female wolf spirit, much like her brother’s. “My brother told me how you saved the day by using your own jet to get Enid and her cargo the rest of the way here in time. Thank you.”
“I’m glad I was able to help,” Joe said, aware they were in a hospital with humans all around. The corridor they were in was quiet at the moment, and there was a waiting area off to one side with some vending machines. “Maybe we should sit for a bit? Looks like there’s a coffee machine in there.”
“Sure is,” Henri put in, moving toward the open door of the empty waiting room. “I’ve been patronizing that particular machine all night,” he added with a grin. It seemed the relief of knowing his mate was awake and recovering had helped buoy his mood.
“I bet you have,” Joe put in as they moved as a group toward the corner with the coffee and snack machines.
Helen opted for a bottle of juice while the men got coffee. They were alone in the waiting room, so it seemed all right to talk about sensitive topics, as long as they kept to vague terms rather than specifics.
“Are you returning to Texas today?” Henri asked bluntly.
“That’s the plan,” Joe replied, not taking offense. “I have a large…uh…town to run in addition to the businesses. I don’t often leave my territory, but this was important. You probably don’t know much about me, but I lost my wife a decade ago in a commercial plane crash. Since then, I’ve devoted my energy to making sure that any of my people who want to learn how to fly get the best training possible. I also built up my own airport and the town around it.”
“We’ve heard a bit about your town,” Helen put in, her gaze steady, though Joe could see the respect in her eyes. He liked her attitude. Not cowed by his presence, as some shifters were, but respectful. That was a healthy reaction to a stronger, older Alpha, in his opinion. “All good things, actually, which is rare. But now, having met you, I see it wasn’t just a good PR job. Our parents taught us that the person in charge sets the tone for the rest of the group, and you seem like a steady, good-hearted sort of man.”
“That you came all this way to help Lucinda is something I won’t ever forget,” Henri added, deep emotion clear in his tone.
“I know how important it is when a mate’s life is on the line. It hits very close to home for me, and there really was nothing else I could do, than help. I’m glad everything seems to be working out for you all, and I am also happy to help in future, should you decide to ally yourselves more closely with me and my people,” he added. He wanted the young Alpha to start thinking about future cooperation, now that his mate’s situation had improved.
He might’ve said more, but Enid came into the waiting room and walked over to them. She was smiling, which boded well for what she’d found when she’d examined Lucinda.
“She’s being monitored too closely for me to do much of anything, right now,” Enid reported, “but I was able to take a quick look using my…um…abilities, and I think it’ll be pretty straight forward once they let her out of here.”
“That’s great news,” Helene said as Henri looked visibly relieved.
Joe excused himself to call home quickly while Enid and the LaCroix siblings talked more about Lucinda’s condition. He had to check in on things and firm up plans, but it didn’t take long. Joe finished his call just before Henri took his leave to go back in to sit with his mate. Helene was going to go home for a bit to rest before returning to take turns with her brother, watching over Lucinda. The three of them left the hospital together, going to their separate vehicles once they arrived at the parking area.
The plan was for Joe and Enid to fly back to Big Wolf. He’d phoned home while Enid had been catching up with the others and learned that Enid’s plane was almost finished being repaired and would probably be ready to fly back home later today. They’d decided that Joe would take her back to Big Wolf so she could pick it up and bring it back here.
He didn’t like that his time with Enid was rapidly coming to a close, but he also couldn’t change anything. He had responsibilities in Texas, and she had promises to keep here. Though, he would try to convince her to visit. Either today or later, once she had some free time. Either way, he wanted to see her again. Even if he still wasn’t quite sure what it all meant, in the grand scheme of things.
They didn’t speak of anything too heavy while prepping for their departure. They didn’t need to do much, since she was only going to turn around and leave once she had her plane. They stopped back at Enid’s house so she could pack some food for the flight, including sandwiches that Joe helped make. Enid had a thermos, which she filled with coffee, and another that she filled with juice. It wasn’t that long a flight back to Big Wolf, but she made the comment that she knew how much shifters liked to eat, and she wanted to be prepared.
Joe appreciated her effort to make him comfortable. In fact, it touched him deeply. Usually, he was the one seeing to everyone’s comfort. Not since he’d lost Tess had anyone really looked out for him this way. Even such a small thing as making sure he had enough to eat should he get hungry. It was a kind gesture that he wouldn’t soon forget. In fact, it created a little warm spot near his heart as he thought about it.
They flew back to Big Wolf without incident. The only sticking point came when Enid insisted on filling up the jet with fuel on her account. Joe knew jet fuel was costly, and he didn’t like the idea of taking Enid’s money, even in this roundabout way, but she was adamant.
“This way, we split the cost, though I’d be more than willing to foot the entire bill,” she told him. “You paid for the fuel one way, I’m paying for it the other.” She shrugged. “I really should reimburse you for the entire flight. I mean, you went out of your way to bring me here.”
“Not at all,” he’d argued. “I won’t hear of it. I did what any decent person would do.”
She’d acquiesced, and so had he. They’d decided to split the cost, though Joe still felt a bit strange about it. He had let Enid handle take-off and was impressed all over again, by her skills as a pilot. He could imagine her behind the stick of a fighter jet, and the thought made him surprisingly horny. Down, boy.
There wasn’t time or space to get up to any frisky business in the jet, anyway. The flight to Big Wolf seemed even shorter without the weather to deal with, and before Joe knew it, they were landing back at his airport. He taxied the plane back to its hangar, noting the crew still working on Enid’s plane as they passed. The work didn’t look as far along as he’d been led to believe.
They had, at least, towed the craft into the hangar, parking it in the spot next to where he kept the jet. There were still large pieces disassembled, and a lot of tools laying around.