The Complete Firebirds

Chapter 2

2

Curt was glad for the dark glasses, so that he could take a moment and really look at the woman. His big sister had sent Stacy his way. Jana was a former heli-pilot for the 101st Airborne and was the logistics arm of their new business, the Oregon Firebirds. She may have lost a hand during a stupid accident while serving in Okinawa, but it didn’t diminish her flying smarts a bit.

She’d kicked him a text, “I hired you a pilot. Stacy Richardson is an even better flyer than you.”

Women were still rare in the helicopter world, so he’d assumed Stacy was a guy. He wouldn’t put it past his sister knowing that for a second. He’d ignore the last part of the message as mere sibling harassment.

Stacy was definitely way better looking than he was though. Half a head shorter, trim of waist, but the ranting Donald Duck on her Oregon State University Ducks t-shirt was definitely nicely stretched. She had long dark hair that fell past her shoulders in soft waves tangled by the wind of driving with her window down. The sun caught red highlights and made her shine. Her aviator shades hid her eyes but not her thoughts.

“Huskies. Oh, my, God! I can’t believe that I signed on to work for a Washington Husky fan.”

“Beats the Ducks any day.”

“And which football team had a twelve-year winning streak over the Huskies? Oh wait, it was the Ducks.”

“Which was ended. By the Huskies.”

“For the moment. I don’t know why you guys even bother showing up. Ducks are gonna wipe the field with you something fierce come fall.” And Curt hoped that the second part of Jana’s message was just exaggeration. Being humbled by a Duck in the air would be a sad state of affairs. Searching for another topic, he looked down at her battered little pickup. The backseat appeared to be crammed with a hodgepodge of belongings. The truck bed had a low cap on it, the same height as the cab. For a moment, it seemed that her whole life was parked right here in front of him just waiting to be discovered.

“You do get that you’re going to be flying for the Firebirds.” He needed something else to think about because the more he looked at her, the more he saw to like. Good muscle tone, hard-worn running shoes, and an open stance that didn’t include the least bit of cowed.

“And your point is?”

With perfect timing, Jasper and a line of the three other pilots who’d be flying with him and Stacy raced into the parking lot. They swooped off the Redwood Highway at high speed, each unleashing a spray of gravel as they slid to a halt: a standard Firebird, a Camaro, and a pair of GTOs. All painted either red, or black with red flames—though none as cool as the Firebird painted on his own black hood.

“What’s with the pickup?” Jasper asked as he climbed out of the lead car. “Got us another hot chick mechanic? Way to go, Curt.”

“That’s my point,” Curt told Stacy pointing at the line of cars.

“What? That you hire assholes like you?” But she backed it up with a grin that said she understood he was talking about the cars and was game to take them all on. He could get to like that in the woman.

“Naw,” he turned to Jasper and the other guys. “Sis says she’s gonna fly the pants off us.” He could feel the eyeroll from Stacy at his word choice.

“Sounds like a good contest to me,” Jasper tugged on a white cowboy hat.

“Only if you like walking around in just your tighty-whities and a cowboy hat,” Stacy shot back at him. She might be a slim-and-trim cutie, but she clearly didn’t take s**t from anybody and Curt definitely liked that.

“Let’s find out,” he nodded up the road toward the line of pickups that had followed his crew at a barely more sedate pace.