Tracking Trisha

Chapter 1-1

Chapter One

Trisha Grove grimaced at the faint scars marring her flat stomach. One large and a half-dozen smaller ones fanned out in different directions. She pulled the black top of her uniform down to cover them and turned away from the mirror. She pictured a nice, sturdy metal filing cabinet in her mind. Once she had a clear vision of it, she mentally put all her bad memories in it and locked it securely, throwing away the key. The damn thing always found a way to open itself up, but it was taking longer and longer for it to do so, she thought in satisfaction.

Trisha pulled out her black canvas duffle bag with the Boswell International logo on it and packed two changes of clothes, one for work and one for play. Not that she did much playing any more. Oops, she thought to herself with a self-reproving smile, forgot that one.

After packing her bag, she walked back over to the mirror and pulled her light brown hair up and braided it into a rope. Her hair was extremely curly from the top all the way to the tips. She tried cutting it short once and found out that was a huge mistake! She ended up with an Afro that would have made the comedian Carrot Top proud if her hair had been red. After that disastrous style decision, she let it grow out, thinking the weight of it would at least allow her to braid it or put it up into her current favorite style of the braided rope.

She studied her face for a moment with a sigh. She had to admit that at twenty-eight, she wasn’t half bad—at least with her clothes on. At five feet six, her slender frame was well-proportioned. She was a little big on top, but not so much that it became a problem when strapping into a cockpit. Her almost waist-length hair framed her long, narrow face. She had a straight nose and lips that were not too full but not too thin.

Her biggest asset was her dark chocolate-brown eyes. They were so dark it was hard to see her pupils most of the time. Her dad still told her they weren’t brown for nothing whenever she would give him a hard time, she thought with a grin. Her eyes darkened as she realized she was long overdue for a visit with her dad. She should have gone last month, but she was running out of excuses to give him about why she still wasn’t dating anyone.

Sorry, Daddy, I can’t give you those grandkids you’ve been wanting, the doctors say it is too dangerous. No, I’m not seeing anyone. I’ve been too busy with work. No, I haven’t heard from Peter since the divorce—and your little private conversation with him. Yes, I know there are other men out there who… Trisha slammed her mind closed. Enough! She told herself fiercely. It’s been three friggin’ years. Get over it!

Trisha pictured a deep black hole and threw all those bad memories into it, sealing it up with a huge metal lid. As an afterthought, she opened it up just enough to toss Peter into it as well before resealing it. That’s much better. Trisha chuckled.

Picking up her bag, she looked around to see if there was anything she might have missed. As she headed out to her SUV, she glanced up at the dark skies. Yeah, it seemed to fit the mood she was in. She pulled out of the parking garage under her apartment building and grinned. At least she was flying today. The weather forecast said it was scheduled to clear later this afternoon. She and her best friends, Ariel Hamm and Cara Truman, were scheduled to take an artist back across the country in an experimental business jet that was just about ready for full-scale production.

She and Ariel had been test-flying it all over the world. It was a beauty, with state of the art navigation and instrumentation. The sleek design was built for speed, and so far, it had handled a diversity of environmental conditions beautifully.

Trisha’s cellphone rang as she was pulling onto the freeway heading toward the private airfield owned by Boswell. Trisha frowned and muttered under her breath when a car nearly clipped her left bumper. Bad weather seemed to bring out the worst drivers.

Trisha pressed a button on the steering wheel connecting the call. “Hello, Ariel.”

“Hey, Trish,” Ariel said. Trisha grinned as she heard the breathlessness in Ariel’s voice. She’d bashed another alarm clock from the sound of it.

“Miss your wake-up call?” Trisha asked with a grin. They’d both slept in due to their late night in the training simulator at Boswell’s research facility last night, and Trisha wouldn’t have been surprised if Ariel had gone straight from the research lab to the no-kill kennel where she volunteered. Ariel really should have been a vet, Trisha thought as she changed lanes.

“My damn clocks are always breaking. I don’t know why I even bother buying a new one. They don’t last more than a week before they stop working,” Ariel grumbled under her breath.

“Anyway, I was looking at the weather forecast, and it looks like a go for early to mid-afternoon. I know Abby was anxious to get back home. I haven’t heard from Cara, but she should be in. I know she was in either Detroit or Philadelphia, I can’t remember which one. Anyway, you know how she is on a flight. We’ll be lucky if she doesn’t try to dismantle the damn thing at thirty thousand feet for the hell of it. Oh, and Carmen is coming too,” Ariel added quickly at the end.

Trisha bit back a chuckle. She knew Ariel would not appreciate her humor right now. Carmen was a sore point with Ariel. If the truth was known, Trisha could relate to how Carmen was feeling. Carmen had lost her husband three years ago in a traumatic way. Trisha thought Carmen was doing pretty well considering what she went through. She refocused when she heard the pause on the other end of the line and knew Ariel was waiting for her to reply.

“That’s great! I haven’t seen Carmen in a couple of months. Do you think Cara has forgiven us yet for the blind date we set her up with last week?” Trisha asked. She grinned when she heard the relief in Ariel’s voice as she changed the subject to something less stressful.

“I hope so, or we may be flapping our arms all the way to California,” Ariel said with a laugh. They had learned a valuable lesson—never set up a blind date for someone who is not only ADHD but smarter than Einstein, especially when you are drunk. The poor guy ended up having an asthma attack in the middle of the restaurant. Neither Ariel nor Trisha, who were two sheets to the wind, realized it until he finally got enough breath to ask the maître d’ for an ambulance.

“Anyway, I’m on my way and should be there in about twenty or thirty minutes,” Ariel said.

“Sounds good, I’d like to check over the controls again. I know we’ve been in the simulator a lot this week making sure we are comfortable, but I want to recheck a few things,” Trisha said.

They talked for a few more minutes before hanging up. Trisha knew she needed to make one more phone call before she flew out. She wanted to set up a time to meet with her dad so she could finally explain what she was planning to do. Pressing the pre-programmed number, she waited for his deep voice.

“Hello, baby girl,” Paul Grove said softly. “How are you doing?”

Trisha felt the smile curving her lips. She loved her dad so much. “I’m doing good, Daddy. I’m missing you.”

Paul Grove laughed. “Okay, when are you coming so we can head up into the mountains for a few days?”

“How do you know me so well?” Trisha said with a sigh.

“We’re two of kind, baby girl. Give us the outdoors with room to roam and the peace and quiet of the world around us, and we can solve all the world’s problems,” Paul Grove responded with a chuckle. “So, with those words of wisdom said, when are you coming out?”

“I’m doing a test flight to California for Boswell International. I should be back sometime tomorrow. I put in for my vacation starting on Monday. I’ll be there sometime late Monday afternoon,” Trisha said. Trisha used the word “vacation” instead of “resignation” because she didn’t want her dad to worry and didn’t have time to explain her decision. Some things were better said in person.

“Sounds good. I don’t have any clients lined up until the end of the month. I’ll keep my schedule clear. How long are you planning on staying?” Paul asked gruffly. He didn’t want to admit to how much he missed Trisha. He knew she had her own life now, but it didn’t mean he didn’t miss her.

“I’m off until the end of the month. I was thinking we could talk when I get there. I wanted to run a few things by you,” Trisha replied softly.

“Of course, baby girl. I can’t wait to see you.”

“Thanks, Daddy, I’ll give you a call before I leave on Monday. I love you,” Trisha said.

“I love you too, Trisha,” Paul Grove said. “Be safe.”

“Always!” Trisha responded lightly. She was feeling better already.

Trisha disconnected the call and focused on the rest of the drive to the airport. There were a lot of things she needed to think about. She needed to talk to Ariel. Trisha decided it was time for a change. She had given her resignation to Boswell International and was going to join her dad back at Grove Wilderness Guides.

After her accident, she realized she would never make it into the space program. She would never be able to touch the stars. She hoped that staying active in a career devoted to flying would have been enough to satisfy her, but there was still something missing. She finally realized she missed her quiet nights with her dad and the freedom of exploring the woods and mountains. But what she missed the most was the sense of being a part of a family. It was time to go home.