Takeoff Read online

  Takeoff

  Open Skies, Book Five

  Becca Jameson

  Copyright © 2021 by Becca Jameson

  Cover Artist: Originalsyn

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. And resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Newsletter

  About the Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Author’s Note

  Also by Becca Jameson

  About the Author

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  Becca’s Newsletter Sign-up

  About the Book

  Raeann

  She started a new life working for Open Skies in Dallas three years ago.

  With her mother gone and no one constantly chasing her, life has been peaceful.

  But her luck has run out. The stalking has begun again.

  She can’t pretend to be a regular person anymore.

  She never should have let her guard down and fallen for Deacon.

  He’s everything she’s dreamed of, but she can’t have him.

  She can’t have anyone.

  It’s not safe.

  It’s time to change her name and move again.

  * * *

  Deacon

  Life took an unexpected turn and flipped his world upside-down.

  Now is not a good time to start a relationship.

  His new responsibilities all but ensure he’s off the market for good.

  If Raeann thinks she has concerns, wait until she hears about his.

  He can’t walk away from her though.

  She’s the best thing going for him.

  If he could put a stop to the stalking…

  Convince her he doesn’t care who’s hunting her or why.

  But that’s not enough. He also needs to reveal his own problems.

  And then pray she agrees to share the burden.

  Chapter 1

  “So, what happened between you and Deacon?” Heather asked.

  Raeann glanced at her roommate over her shoulder in the bathroom mirror. She’d been messing with her dark hair for far longer than necessary. It was fine. Blow-dried. Straightened. Brushed to a shine. Lately, her hair had consumed her thoughts, and she needed to stop it.

  When Raeann didn’t readily offer any information, Heather continued. “I mean, you two went out several times when you first met. I thought you hit it off, but then you stopped mentioning him.”

  Raeann shrugged. “No big deal. I knew it wasn’t going to work out. It seemed ridiculous to pretend otherwise.”

  Heather’s brow was furrowed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Nope. Like I said, it’s no big deal.” Except it was. Especially today. She hadn’t seen Deacon in a month but today she wouldn’t be able to avoid him. All their friends would be at Bracken and Bex’s baby shower. Including Deacon.

  She needed to pull up her big-girl panties and face him anyway. She owed him an apology.

  Raeann fiddled with her hair again, tucking it behind her ear over and over.

  “Why do you bleach that front section and then try to hide it all the time?” Heather asked.

  Raeann turned to face her friend. “I don’t bleach it. I was born this way.” She rarely discussed her hair with anyone. She knew most people assumed she bleached it on purpose, and it was easier to just let them think it was her style preference.

  “Oh. That’s so cool.” Heather looked at it closer. “Yeah, I guess I never notice the roots. It’s always white.”

  “It’s the bane of my existence,” Raeann admitted.

  Heather frowned. “Why? Most people work hard to get their hair like that.”

  Raeann shrugged. “I guess it’s like anything else. People who have curls wish their hair was straight. People with straight hair wish they had curls. And on and on.” She didn’t feel like getting into it about her hair right now. Plus, they needed to leave.

  Heather sighed as she gave a tug to a lock of her curly hair. “No truer words have ever been spoken. Most of the time, I’d give my right arm for straight hair.”

  “See?”

  “I guess. But, I think yours is cool,” Heather stated as she turned to leave the bathroom. “Meet you downstairs?” She headed into her own room across the hall.

  “Yep. Five minutes.”

  It was a Tuesday night, but when dealing with flight attendants it was hard to get them all in one place. Libby had planned this party, and Raeann knew she’d juggled everyone's schedules for weeks trying to make it work for the majority of them. As it was, the only close friend who couldn’t be there tonight was Destiny. And even she might make it at the tail-end if her flight landed on time.

  Raeann grabbed her flats and rushed down the stairs to meet Heather at the door. They had all decided to dress up for this party. Make it something slightly formal instead of the usual jeans event. After all, this would be the first baby in the group. That was cause to celebrate.

  Raeann grabbed her gift off the table and followed Heather out the door.

  “I’ll drive,” Heather stated.

  “Sounds good.” Raeann climbed in the passenger side of Heather’s Toyota and fastened her seatbelt. She was far more nervous about this party than she wanted to admit to herself or Heather. Facing Deacon was going to be tough. Tougher than anyone knew. Including Deacon.

  She forced herself not to fidget during the drive and took deep breaths as they parked and walked toward Bex and Bracken’s house. Christa and Kraft had pulled up at the same time and arrived at the door simultaneously.

  When they entered, Raeann was spared having to face Deacon by the chaos of everyone greeting each other. She accepted a glass of wine from Libby almost immediately and took a seat next to Bex where the women were all gathered to comment on how huge her belly was.

  Raeann kept her focus on Bex for the next two hours while she opened gifts and they all played silly games. It wasn’t until she went to the bathroom that she finally encountered Deacon.

  Not by accident. He obviously followed her and was standing in the hallway waiting for her when she came out.

  She was startled to find him there, leaning against the wall across from the door, fingers in his pockets, gaze narrowed on her. For a moment they just stared at each other, neither uttering a word. Then Raeann motioned over her shoulder. “I should get back…”

  Deacon reached for her hand and stopped her. “No. You should talk to me.”

  She swallowed as she lowered her gaze. “There’s nothing to say.”

  “Oh, there’s a lot to say.” He crowded her, his scent overwhelming her.

  Why did he have to smell so damn good? And why did her heart rate have to pick up as his thumb stroked the back of her hand?
And why did a flush have to crawl up her cheeks at the thought of other places he’d had his hands on her body a month ago?

  “You can talk to me right here right now or wait until everyone leaves, but we’re going to talk before this night is over.”

  She flinched at his demand. She deserved it, but part of her had hoped he would accept her ghosting and move on without pushing the issue. At the same time, part of her was glad he wouldn’t be so easily swayed.

  It would be easier to walk away without a word. Safer. Tidier. Less stressful.

  Lonelier.

  An unexpected and uninvited tear slid down her cheek, and she quickly swiped it away. Why the hell did she have to start crying? Jesus. She sucked back her emotions and took a deep breath. “After. Please,” she murmured.

  He cupped her cheek, tipped her head back, and met her gaze. “Okay,” he said softly, wiping another tear. “Did you drive here?”

  She shook her head. “No. Heather did.”

  “Good. Leave with me. We’ll talk.”

  She looked away. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Leaving with him would end with her dumping on him, and she didn’t want to dump on anyone. She wanted to bury her problems and keep them to herself. That had been the problem with Deacon from the day she’d met him. He drew information out of her easily, and she wasn’t a sharing sort of gal.

  They’d spent two weeks together, sort of dating, though they hadn’t slept together. Two weeks during which she pretended she was a regular person with normal relationships. Two weeks of blissful ignorance on his part.

  She never should have gone out with him to begin with. She’d been caught off-guard the day he picked her up from the airport to keep her safe from Hawke Richman—the airline pilot who was stalking her roommate at the time, Shayla. It wouldn’t have been safe for Raeann to go home, so she’d gone home with Deacon.

  The man was delicious. Six-three. Built. Dark hair still growing out from his Army days. His skin was tanned, and she’d seen evidence of tattoos that peeked out from under his short sleeves. He was also intense. His gaze bore into her as if he could read her mind. He was the sort of man women fell in love with.

  She was not the sort of woman who fell in love with men, however. She had no intention of ever settling down with a man. It wouldn’t be fair to him. A month ago, for a pile of reasons, she’d cut ties and stopped returning Deacon’s texts and calls. It had been for the best. But she’d always known she’d eventually have to face him like this.

  She’d sort of hoped he might be pissed-off enough with her to think she wasn’t worth the confrontation. Apparently not. And she wasn’t shocked either. After all, he was a good guy. A great guy. Not the kind who would easily walk away, nor the kind who would badmouth her to the other guys, nor the kind who would snub her after the fact, nor the kind who would express anger toward her.

  Nope. Deacon Matthews looked genuinely worried and concerned. And he should. Her shit-pile of problems warranted concern. She simply didn’t want to share them.

  Deacon lifted her hand and rubbed her knuckles against his cheek before letting her go. “If you leave without talking to me, I’ll follow you home.” He lifted his brows.

  She nodded. “I won’t.” Damn. What a mess.

  Chapter 2

  Deacon gave about one-tenth of his attention to the baby shower. The rest of him watched Raeann’s every move for the entire evening. He knew she was nervous about being at the party and the fact that he was there too. It was obvious in the way she kept crossing and uncrossing her legs, the way she chewed on her lower lip, the way she rubbed her hands together over and over.

  There was a story behind her discomfort and he suspected it had to do with more than just ghosting him. Something was up with her. Something that undoubtedly led to her cutting off contact with him.

  At first, when she’d stopped returning his calls and texts, he’d been hurt and annoyed. He hadn’t said a word to anyone else because it wasn’t any of their business. The last thing he wanted was for one of the guys to talk to their woman and it getting back to Raeann. What happened between the two of them was just that—between the two of them.

  As the party wound down, he kept an eye on her. He wasn’t kidding. He would follow her home if she fled. He’d left her alone for a month, partially to lick his wounds and partially because he was pissed. Since pissed wasn’t an emotion he usually expressed, he hadn’t wanted to confront her. If she didn’t want to talk to him, fine. He’d let her go.

  But seeing her tonight changed things. She was…off. Something wasn’t right. It wasn’t just his opinion either. He could tell the other women were concerned. They kept looking at her with furrowed brows and noticing her fidgeting and discomfort. Maybe it was all because he was in the room and she was worried about facing him, but he suspected more.

  No matter what the reasons, he wanted answers. And he intended to get them.

  He watched her speak to Heather, who then glanced at him, so he knew she’d told Heather to go home alone. That was a start. Heather hugged her before she left, and if Deacon wasn’t mistaken, she shot him a smile. Whatever was up with Raeann, Deacon didn’t think she had badmouthed him to her roommate.

  Deacon had imagined so many scenarios over the past weeks, trying to decide if he’d done something to upset Raeann. He’d come up empty every time. He had to assume whatever her reasons were, they had nothing to do with him.

  He could let her go. He could ignore her and shake her free. There were lots of things he could do. But after seeing her tonight, he didn’t want to make it easy. He wanted to look her in the eye and talk to her.

  After saying his goodbyes to Bex who was exhausted and remained seated on the sofa with her feet up at Bracken’s insistence, Deacon headed for the door, following Raeann. They didn’t have to make a big deal out of the fact that they were leaving together. He wouldn’t bring it to anyone’s attention. He would simply follow her out.

  “Thanks for coming,” Bracken said at the door. “Really. You guys are the best. I don’t know what we’re going to do with all this stuff. Surely one small baby doesn’t need that many bouncy seats,” he joked.

  Deacon chuckled. His niece and nephew were very young. He knew they had many types of bouncy seats to keep them occupied. “Looks to me like you better get started assembling all that shit or the baby will be here before you’re done,” he teased.

  Bracken laughed. “This is true.”

  Deacon waved goodbye as he followed Raeann down the front walkway. Everyone was getting in their cars at the same time. Libby and Hatch. Christa and Kraft. Shayla and Tank. Even Destiny and Trent had shown up during the last hour. The only two members of their group who were single were Neil and Heather. Deacon, for one, kept glancing at them, wondering if there was any chance they would hit it off. Why not? Weirder things had happened.

  This was an amazing group of friends, and Deacon felt blessed to have landed this job at Westside Programmers when he’d left the Army. Tank owned the company, and his crew made work not seem like work at all.

  Raeann went straight toward Deacon’s SUV. Of course, she knew which vehicle was his. He’d picked her up in it several times during the two weeks they’d been dating.

  He passed her at the last second and opened the door to let her in, closing it as soon as she was settled. He was uncharacteristically nervous as he rounded the hood and climbed in his side. “Where would you like to go? We can go someplace public. A bar? Coffee shop? Or my place?” He didn’t want to pressure her to go to his house if she’d rather not be alone with him.

  “Your place,” she murmured. She didn’t meet his gaze.

  “Okay.” He started the engine and pulled away from the curb. Several of the rest of the crew surely noted he was leaving with her, but it couldn’t be helped. He’d deal with their questions later. Or never. He’d dodged the inquisition when Raeann first ditched him a month ago. He could dodge their inquiries this time too if need be.

>   It was only ten when they reached his house. The party had been early. Apparently, Bex turned into a pumpkin by about nine these days. Not surprising.

  He parked in the garage and shut off the engine, beyond aware that neither of them had spoken during the entire drive.

  Raeann jumped down from her side of the SUV and followed him into the kitchen, setting her purse on the island as she passed him. The only light was coming from the living room lamp and Deacon decided to leave it that way for now.

  He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, handing it to her before lifting a second. “Unless you’d rather have something else?” It wasn’t likely. He knew she preferred water over just about any other drink. She’d had two glasses of wine at the party, and that was her limit most of the time. Her job as a flight attendant required her to be prepared to get called in with short notice.

  Raeann carried the water with her but didn’t open it. She made her way into his living room and curled up in the corner of his black leather sectional.

  It was weird. He’d only dated her for two weeks. It had been twice that long since the last time she’d been in his home. And yet, that spot on his sofa felt like hers. She looked comfortable when she kicked off her flats and tucked her feet up under her skirt.

  She was wearing a sexy black dress with a colorful short jacket over it. Floral. Bright. It looked amazing with her hair.

  Deacon sat a few feet from her, angling his body toward hers. “Did I do something wrong?” he asked right off the bat. He needed to eliminate the possibility.