3

Turbulence didn’t bother Tim; he’d been on enough flights to have experienced worse than this, but by his side, White was gripping the armrest and cursing under his breath with each jolt. Tim patted White’s arm, grinning at Madeline as he spoke in a mock whisper. “You face O’Reilly without a second thought, but you’re scared of a little turbulence?”

“O’Reilly ain’t shaking me around a million miles over the ocean.” White ground his teeth and pressed his eyes shut tight. “Shitshitshit.”

“You fought with your friend for your pillow just a few minutes ago, Ian.” Madeline used White’s first name in a soft voice that carried, and for the first time, Tim noticed she had a sweet southern accent. Maybe Georgia? Either way, he found it soothing and noticed the tight muscles in White’s jaw loosened a bit with her every quiet word. “You’re in no more danger now than you were before. Less, actually, because you both could’ve been injured while out of your seats.”

White’s brow furrowed. He opened his eyes. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“The plane ain’t gonna flip over or nothin’? You told us how to use the air masks, but they aren’t out.”

It was very, very hard not to laugh at how ridiculous White was being. And yet Madeline shook her head, her expression serious. “The plane won’t flip. And the masks will come out if they’re needed, but that isn’t likely.” She leaned forward in her seat, her tone so quiet there was no way anyone beside Tim and White could hear her. “Are you always afraid when you fly, Ian?”

Scowling, White shook his head. “I’m not scared. Just don’t wanna die.”

Damn, the kid was tough, but Madeline was right. His skin was cold to the touch, and he was shaking harder than the plane. How had Tim not noticed this before? With how often the team flew, one of the players being this messed up every time they were up in the air shouldn’t have gone unnoticed. Not that there was any way to avoid putting White on a plane, but if Tim had known, he would have made sure to either sit with the kid or put him next to one of the players he could trust to keep White calm.

Like Madeline was doing right now. “I’ll let you in on a little secret, darlin’. I used to be scared to death of flying.”

Tim’s lips quirked at the rookie’s amazed, “Really?” The way White’s mouth hung open made him look so young. Poor kid’s like twelve. Not literally, obviously, but at his age, Mom had still called Tim her baby.

“Really. I was a dancer, did competitions all over the place so I traveled a lot in my teens. Never made it through a single flight without praying that the plane wouldn’t go down. But after I retired from dancing, I realized I missed being able to see the world. So I became a flight attendant.”

“And you weren’t scared no more?”

“Oh, I was terrified. I didn’t want anyone to know, but I wasn’t sure how long I could hide it. During training they went through every horrible scenario you can think of and taught us how to handle all the things that could go wrong.” At a beep, Madeline undid her belt and stood. She continued even as she went to fetch the beverage cart. “By the time I was hired and went up the first time, I was prepared for just about anything.”

“Just about? The plane didn’t go down, did it?” White clamped his mouth shut, lips twisted like he knew he’d said something stupid. He took a deep breath. “I mean, people live, right?”

“Sometimes, but no, the plane didn’t go down. Water?” She held up the large bottle, then scooped some ice into a clear plastic cup and filled it at White’s nod. “I messed up the flight number and stuttered half of my safety instructions. Tangled up the elastic on the mask. Public speaking is much scarier than flying!”

For some reason, White seemed to find that hilarious. He choked on the water he’d swigged, forcing Tim to pound on his back to get him to stop coughing. A loud click click click sobered White up fast.

Before Tim could assure White it was nothing, Madeline had it covered. She leaned over Tim, her body heat spreading over him, the delicate floral scent of her perfume surrounding him, as she pointed out the window and winked at White. “It’s just ice. You’re not scared of that, are you, honey?”

Looking sheepish, White shook his head.

Before Madeline could move away, Tim touched the back of her hand. He didn’t say a thing, not wanting to embarrass White, but it meant a lot to him that she’d taken the time to ease his fears. He tried to express his gratitude with his eyes and a slight curving of his lips.

Her cheeks grew nice and rosy red. He could feel the heat from her skin as she leaned close to whisper in his ear. “You’re very welcome, Tim.”