Flannigan’s Pub was having their annual Valentine’s Day celebration, and all
Jessie Dallton could do was cringe. She normally wasn’t scheduled on Thursday evenings, but one of the other bartenders had conveniently called out ill and she had allowed her boss to talk her into working. It wasn’t like she had anything better planned. Her love life was virtually non-existent.

She had no one but herself to blame, really. A week earlier, an absolutely charming gentleman had walked into the bar and introduced himself; he’d even asked for her phone number, but Jessie had decided to play coy and had obviously missed her chance. His name was Lachlan Curry, and there was something different that set him apart from the other military men who frequented the bar and were forever approaching her, asking for a date. Maybe it was the way his eyes sparkled when he introduced himself, or perhaps it was the way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled. Or maybe it was the way a lock of his hair kept falling across his forehead that caused her to have an almost uncontrollable urge to reach up and brush it aside. One thing was for sure; he was absolutely adorable.  

The day after she turned him down, she drove out to a stretch of Kearney Villa Road and for the very first time really watched the various military aircraft flying their maneuvers overhead. The funny looking AWACs with their dish-shaped radar domes, the C-class cargo transports, and the F-18s made famous by the Blue Angels flight team; she’d seen them dotting the sky on so many occasions over the years, but she’d grown indifferent, never really considering the individuals who were up there flying those birds of steel. They were as nameless and faceless as the pilots steering the commercial aircraft into Lindberg Field, but on that day she imagined that it was Lachlan flying overhead, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was perhaps looking down and wondering where she was at that very same moment.   

She had vainly hoped that he’d be intrigued by her refusal to give him her phone number. She knew first hand how men were notorious for telling a girl they would call and how nothing ever came from it. The fact that this Lachlan Curry was a Marine pilot only put her more on her guard. Those guys could be the worst – cocksure, arrogant, self-involved and overly impressed with their own importance, she watched them in action all the time as she tended bar. Women would fall all over these men as if they were sex on legs. Even the unattractive ones had a certain arrogance that never failed to capture too much female attention for their own good, and Jessie didn’t want to be just another one of the bubble-headed bimbos who chased after them.

When he hadn’t called her by the third day after their meeting, she understood all too well that nothing was going to happen. She told herself that it didn’t really matter, but deep down inside, she was crushed. Perhaps she was wasting her time with her old fashioned notions over wanting a man to pursue her. Maybe she just needed to lower her standards and play the game like all her friends were doing and just hope for the best. After all, at 32, she wasn’t getting any younger.

By the time Valentine’s Day rolled around, she was stuck behind the bar watching everyone else having a great time, while all she had to look forward to after her shift was going home to an empty apartment and her cat. It didn’t help that Lachlan’s friend Jerry had been coming to the bar each evening that she happened to be working and spent far too much time chatting with her and asking stupid questions. It was just her luck. Out of the two men who crossed her path, it was the one she didn’t fancy who wouldn’t leave her alone.

Tonight was no exception. Jerry had arrived earlier that evening a rather stunning redhead clinging to his arm and he made a point of coming over to the bar to say hello.

“I’m surprised that you’re working tonight, Jess. A fine looking woman like you; if I was your boyfriend, I’d be here keeping you company until your shift was over then I’d whisk you away for something romantic.”

The redhead stood off to the side and yawned as Jessie served up their beers, not even bothering to cover her mouth with her hand. Jessie fixed her evil eye upon the man. “Tell me, Jerry; is this your idea of something romantic?” 

Jerry only laughed. “Why don’t you have a boyfriend, Jess?”

She felt her hackles rise. If he was thinking of making fun of her, she’d toss the beers she was pouring right in his face. She didn’t care if she ended up getting fired. “Why are you so interested in my personal life?

“I’m a curious guy and I hate to see you spending your Valentine’s evening all alone. It’s kind of sad, really. You’re a good looking woman and you deserve some appreciation.”

She felt herself losing it. “What is it with you? Are you on some sort of mission to make yourself annoying to as many people as possible? For the record, I like being single and if you can’t understand that simple fact, then please go and blow your sunshine up someone else’s ass tonight, okay?”

Several people in the pub turned their attention toward the bar, but Jerry had his answer. Her irritation told him all he needed to know. “Jess, I apologize if I offended you. I was just being nosey when I had no right to be. Here …” He put a twenty dollar bill down on the bar and pushed it over towards her. “Keep the change.”

Grabbing both glasses, he turned and escorted his date towards the back of the bar, but not before Jessie overheard her ask Jerry, “What is that cow’s problem?”  

That was it; at that very moment Jessie swore of men and romance forever. She’d end up growing into one of those funny old women who owned sixty-three cats and lived on top of a hill in a ramshackle house that everyone would claim was haunted. She’d end up dying all alone and her beloved cats would have her body half devoured before the man from the gas company came by to read her meter and noticed the smell of decaying flesh and called the authorities.

“Happy freaking Valentine’s Day,” she muttered under her breath as another happy couple walked in through the pub doors. If she had a rock, she’d have thrown it at them.

***

Jerry led his date to a table and pulled out his cell phone. He wasn’t by nature an overly sensitive man, but Lachlan was his friend and he felt a certain sense of loyalty to make him aware of certain logistical developments. “Hey Curry, I’m over at Flannigan’s and get this – the bartender you’ve got a hard on for – she’s very single and she’s working tonight. Think you can handle it from here?”

***

By eleven-thirty PM the crowd had thinned out and the last call had just been made for alcohol. Jessie was getting ready to close out the register and had her back to the front door when someone came up behind her. Glancing up into the mirror that lined the wall she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, but when she saw the dimples framing the smile of the man who was watching her, she slowly turned around, half afraid that it was all just her imagination.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Jessie.”

Lachlan Curry stood before her holding a bouquet of red roses, looking even better than he did when he first introduced himself over a week ago.

To Lachlan’s eyes, Jessie looked a bit tired and maybe even sad, and he vowed at that moment to figure out all the things that would make her smile.

“Oh my God …” She actually blushed as she realized that she wasn’t imagining him standing there. “I wondered if you’d ever get around to calling me.”

“You wouldn’t give me your number, remember?” He liked the fact that she seemed a little off balance at his showing up unannounced. He had been so close to calling her at work on several occasions, but something had always prevented him from taking the risk. Maybe he had just grown so accustomed to women practically throwing themselves at him that he had lost his nerve when she hadn’t jumped at his invitation. All he knew at that moment was that he was glad that Jerry had called him and told him to get his head out of his arse and make his move. The way Jessie was smiling at him right now told him that maybe he still had a few things to learn about women.

“You’re right, I didn’t.” She came closer and as he handed her the roses, her eyes filled with tears as she realized that just maybe she hadn’t blown it after all. “To be honest, I wish I had given you my number.” For some reason she felt safe in admitting her vulnerability. She had no idea why, but somehow knew that she could trust him. She held the flowers close and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and smiling as the scent enveloped her.

“Would you like to go someplace to talk after you get off work? There’s a Denny’s just up the road and they make a pretty decent cup of coffee …” He was painfully aware that he probably came across sounding like a complete nerd, but Jessie was smiling and nodding her head in answer. Maybe she liked nerds.    
 
“I’m just closing up the till and we’ll be out of here in about twenty minutes. Would you like to sit and keep me company?”

Wild horses couldn’t have dragged him away.

Off towards the back of the bar, Jerry had watched his friend’s arrival and he pumped the air with his fist as he watched Lachlan hand Jessie the roses. His good deed done for the evening, he turned his attention to his date, who looked like she was about to fall asleep out of boredom. “Hey, wanna head on back to my place?”

The redhead’s expression switched from boredom to relief. “Honey, I thought you’d never ask.”

***

An hour later, Jessie was working on her third cup of coffee and trying not to laugh as Lachlan regaled her with stories of his life on the flight line. “Flash? Your call sign is Flash? Why is that?”

He loved the way the corners of her eyes crinkled up when she laughed and he was pleased that she had done nothing but smile ever since they entered the restaurant. “We all get assigned some sort of name by the instructors about halfway through our training. I have this thing for Flash Gordon and it just sort of stuck.”

“I think it’s kind of cute, and kind of fitting, actually.” She helped herself to a bite of his hash browns, smiling coyly as he gave her a teasing pout in response. “But I gotta know – what’s Jerry’s call sign?”

Lachlan let out a hearty chuckle. “He has the honor of being known as Taz, like the Tasmanian Devil.”

“Oh wow, I’m afraid to ask …”

“Jerry likes to think of himself as a real ladies’ man, but he’s cursed with the last name of Badger. The IPs thought it was a funny play on words. Jerry was so proud of his nickname that he went out and had a tattoo of the cartoon character inked across his left shoulder.”

“The IPs?” 

“Instructor Pilots. That’s what Jerry and I do over at MAG11. We train pilots to fly F-18s.”

Jessie suddenly stopped smiling. “You fly combat missions.”

 It was more of a statement than a question and Lachlan noted the change in her voice. “I’ve always wanted to fly, Jess. Ever since I was a nipper. I worked as a private pilot for a big corporation for a while, even worked for one of the commercial airlines for a bit. But I just wanted more. I can’t explain it, but I guess I just didn’t have anything tying me to Vermont other than an incredible extended family … and I just didn’t see anything coming my way that could convince me to stay.”

“How did you manage to find your way to Vermont from Australia? It sounds like there’s more of a story lurking in there somewhere.”

“Oh, there’s a story all right, but to give you the condensed version … I had been doing some extensive traveling and I came to Vermont with a group of friends and decided that I liked it. I’d already managed to get my American citizenship and since I had no real blood family left to speak of back in Oz, I’ve never really looked back. I guess the old saying is true: home is where you make it.”

“I envy how you’ve been able to travel all over the world. I’ve been all over the continental United States and as far south as Mexico City. But I’ve always lived here in San Diego. Don’t you ever get scared, doing what you do, knowing what the risks are?”

She couldn’t quite let that plain fact go, not yet. Maybe not ever. She was beginning to understand that to become involved with Lachlan would mean that she’d have to share him with this other mistress. Funny thing though, it wasn’t scaring her away. Without even thinking about it, she reached across the table and took his hand. 

He liked the way her hand fit in his, her touch soft and gentle as their fingers laced together. He was glad that she was asking him these questions, because it told him she was trying to understand why he did what he did. “There’s no time to feel scared, Jess. I guess it’s just never occurred to me to worry, not about myself anyways. I have a job to do and I need to do it well. If I spent time being afraid of what might or could happen, I wouldn’t be a good fighter pilot. Unless it’s in your blood I reckon it’s rather hard for anyone else to understand.”

Their eyes locked and the volumes of things they had yet to say hung between them. He had to know the answer to the one question that needed to be asked before they could consider going any further than the short time they had spent together up until this point. “Does that frighten you, Jess?”

She didn’t answer right away, knowing full well what hung in the balance. She was being offered a choice; one that she knew would be life altering if she decided to listen to her heart. She had been listening to her head for far too long and she was tired of the end result. Whatever lay ahead with this fascinating man, she was going to need courage and a sense of humor. She was tired of playing it safe.

“Lach, I’d be lying if I said anything different, but I think I can look that fear in the face and handle whatever follows, come what may. I guess there are no real guarantees in life and I admire your bravery. Do you think maybe one day soon you could take me flying? I want to have a taste of what it is that you feel when you’re up there.”

They’d only been in each other’s company for a handful of hours, but something had happened that went beyond the clichéd occurrence of love at first sight. A pact of sorts had just been made and time would tell if they had what it took to go the distance. But it was a great place for two kindred souls to start.

Lachlan squeezed her hand and she held on tight. “I’m free this weekend. I have access to a friend’s Cessna and I think I can make the arrangements. Are you sure that you’re ready for this, Jess?”

She couldn’t stop grinning. Did this silly man really have to ask? “Lach, I’m ready.”

“Wait, there’s only one problem.” Her eyes grew serious and he gave her a reassuring grin. “Do you think I can have your phone number now?”