FIRE ON HIGH
“Fire On High” is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental. All characters and settings © Tigermark 2003-2005 unless otherwise noted. Request permission before using them, please.
The characters of Anatol Altaisokova and Melinda Altaisokova are my names for characters © Max Blackrabbit. They appear in this story with his permission. The characters of Brandy, Maxwell, and Tonya are also © Max Blackrabbit and appear here with his permission. Events and information relating to Tonya, Anatol, and their family are presented here, but are not to be considered canon to those characters or any other story but this one. ZZ Studios © James Bruner. Matt Barstock and Intermountain Charter © Silver Coyote. See their story HERE. Capt. Jonathan “Jedi” Foertsch is © his player.
CHAPTER 21
Waiting Game
“Hello,” Anton said with a strong voice as he clicked the cordless pawset on. It was Friday and he was between chemo treatments, so he was feeling pretty good.
“Hi Dad, you sound well today.” Alex was sitting at his desk in his office at the 412th FS HQ. He’d arrived back from lunch to find the usual plethora of Friday afternoon fires needing the CO’s attention. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to go to his father’s that weekend, so he’d called the older tiger to let him know.
“Yeah, I feel pretty good today. You coming in this weekend?” Anton replied.
“I wish! I’m covered up in paperwork, and I have to get started on the officer evals that are due. Geez, these last two months before I retire seem like they’ll bury me in a mountain of paper. I will be up next weekend, though.”
“Good. Just as well, I have a few things to do around here this weekend, anyway. Want to go fishing when you come in?” the elder O’Whitt asked as he jotted down his grocery list. He was glad Alex had called. It simplified his shopping if it was going to be just him.
“Absolutely,” Alex replied as he smiled to himself. “I’ll take any chance I can get to go wet a line with you. Want to do some more family history?”
“Hmmm. Well, actually, I’d like to just relax. If I start prattling on about the family, I’ll scare away all the fish.”
“Okay, suit yourself. We’ll continue the history lesson before too long, though.” Alex grinned to himself again. “Prattling on” to his father was stringing more than two sentences together at once. After their initial session with the tape recorder a couple of months ago, Alex hadn’t been able to pin his father down to continue the recording.
“Oh, by the way,” Alex said to change the subject, “I got word they’re ready to put the paint on my aircraft out in California. Would you be interested and able to go out there and supervise?”
Anton thought a few seconds and then replied. “Thanks, but no, Son. That’s too long a trip, and if I know you, the furs doing the work are the best. I’d be in their way. Tell you what, have them send pictures of what they’re doing and I’ll look them over.”
“Are you sure? I could see if Billy or one of the Kentiger crews would fly you out.”
“No. Besides, I have another treatment Tuesday, and I imagine they’ll want to get to work on the paint job before I’d feel like going,” Anton said, the no delivered with just enough inflection to let Alex know not to argue.
“Okay, Dad.”
There was silence on the line for a second, and then Anton spoke.
“There is some good news. Dr. Gailton said I’ll be done with my chemo by the time you retire.”
“Wow, great! So you’ll be there?” Alex replied. He’d been wondering if his father would be able to make the trip.
“As it stands, yes. If nothing happens.”
“That’ll be great. Y’know, I think I’ll come and have a long visit with you after that,” Alex said as he prepared to end the call and get back to work.
“Ah! That would be wonderful,” Anton replied.
“It’s a plan, then. I need to get back to work, so I’ll talk to you later, Dad. Love you.”
“Love you too, Son. Take care.”
Alex hung up the phone and sighed. He had seriously considered Scatcat’s words about rescinding his retirement, but after careful thought and prayer, decided to go through with it. His brother and great uncle’s deaths and his father’s cancer had all weighed in his decision, but for the most part it was the strong feeling that it was time to move on. Something told him he’d never ease his restlessness, and never find a mate, unless he settled down a bit.
“It’s not like I’m giving up military flying,” he mused to himself for the hundredth time. “I’ll even be right back here at Langley to do my Reserve duty.”
He sighed again and opened the next folder in the inbox. This one caused him to sit up and grin. It was the promotion line number list, and he noted a familiar name on it.
“Well, made it on his first promotion cycle. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Heh, he may be in for a bit of teasing about it though.”
Alex thought a second, and then picked up the phone’s pawset.
“Sgt. Gangrey, pass the word. All pilots who are here, which should still be all of them since no one’s on pass or leave right now, meet in the squadron briefing room in thirty minutes. I want to have a short meeting, and then I’ll let everyone go for the weekend.”
“Yes sir, on it now,” the feline replied.
Alex hung up the phone and spent the next half-hour slogging along on his pilot evals. He then rose and strolled out of his office. He waved TSgt. Gangrey and his admin crew back to their seats and then walked down the hall to the squadron briefing room. He glanced at his watch, twitched his tail to settle the fur on it, and opened the door and stepped in.
“Room, TEN-shun!” called out Blackie as soon as he saw Alex. The banter and conversation ceased immediately as everyone stood to attention. Alex walked to the podium in the front of the room, turned, and looked over the assembled furs.
“At ease. No need for seats, we won’t be that long, I hope. First, I wish everyone a safe weekend. Next, I have a quick announcement.”
Alex paused a few seconds. No one spoke, but several had puzzled expressions on their faces.
“The list just hit my desk. Jedi is now Captain Promotable Jedi. With his line number, he’ll be Major Jedi within a couple of months. Congratulations, Jedi. That’s all. Dismissed.”
Alex grinned as he stepped away from the podium and walked up to shake Jedi’s paw. The spotted feline looked a bit stunned as he returned the pawshake. Alex then turned and walked out as the chorus of cheers and congratulations broke out.
As he headed back to his office, Alex was still grinning. It was a good way to end the week. He would miss this group, and he was glad to see younger officers like Jedi coming along to take his place.
Just then, Jedi himself came up the hall behind him.
“Ah, Ice? I need to see Bull Carruthers. Maintenance can’t seem to do a thing with that radar in my ride.”
Alex turned and looked at his wingfur, and motioned for him to follow. He checked in with TSgt. Gangrey, and then he and Jedi drove over to the supply shop. They walked in and Bull greeted them before they reached the counter.
“Stripey! And now Spotty, too? Wahl, bless mah ol’ eyes.”
“Hello Bull, this is Capt. Jon Foertsch, one of the Tigerkaht’s pilots. He’s having —.”
“Ah’ve heard about it. Ahlready got a whole new unit coming.”
“Thank the Lord,” Jedi exclaimed. “How did you manage that, Bull?”
“Uh, ah, well, y’see,” Bull said, uncharacteristically tongue-tied.
“Ah, uh, some things have to happen in secret. Don’t look a gift bulldog in the muzzle,” Alex stated when he saw Bull’s reaction.
Alex grinned as Jedi apologized a bit. “Thank you, Bull, for doing such a great job.” Jedi then turned to walk away.
“I’ll catch up to you in a minute, Jedi,” Alex said as he looked at Bull. The bulldog seemed to have more to say.
“What’s up, Bull. That wasn’t like you,” Alex said quietly once Jedi was out of earshot.
“Ah know Stripey, but that youngun’s a Christian, ah could tell. Ah didn’t want ta offend him.”
Alex looked taken aback for a second. “You didn’t steal it or something, did you?”
Bull drew himself up to his full height. “Stripey, ya know me better’n that. That radar is U. S. Air Force property, and it’ll be goin’ on a U.S. Air Force aircraft.”
“Then what’s the problem?” Alex asked, looking perplexed.
“Well, y’know how ta get stuff ya gotta trade around sometimes. Elsewise the supply folks won’t give ya squat. I didn’t want the young feller taking offense at what ah traded t’get his new radar.”
“Okay Bull, I understand. What in the world did you have to trade?”
“Ah, uh, traded a case o’ ZZ Studios tapes t’ the supply chief at Elmendorf.”
It was all Alex could do to keep from falling over laughing. He finally managed to speak. “W-why didn’t it bother you to tell me that, Bull? I’m a Christian, too.”
“Ah know that. Could tell pretty easily, but you been around a while, and know how things work. Ah didn’t want ta take the chance on the young feline. I’ll be ready t’ retire in a year or so.”
Alex nodded. “Jedi is all right, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have wiggled a whisker at how you got the radar. Speaking of, I gotta get going. See you later, Bull.”
“Take care, Stripey,” the bulldog said as he turned back toward his office.
Alex headed for the car, still grinning. A case of adult tapes for a new radar? That had to be the best trade he’d heard of. He’d have to tell Jedi later something about his new radar. Maybe something along the lines of how great it would work, except all the bogeys would look like busty naked femmes.
“Yep, have to do that,” he grinned to himself as he got to the car. Jedi just looked puzzled at his grin as they got in and headed back to the squadron.
# # #
Jenna sat at her computer terminal, trouble-shooting a router problem for the company’s DVD reproduction section. It was Friday afternoon, and Sari had said that Jeremy wanted the production unit to run all weekend. Jenna had been scheduled to leave an hour ago, but a persistent glitch kept shutting the system down. She was looking at the coding for the umpteenth time, when she suddenly spotted the problem. An extra character had somehow gotten into the program. She deleted that, checked the rest of the program again, and ran a test on it. The program passed, so she rebooted it into the production control machine, and the system came back up.
Grinning to herself, she picked up the telephone’s pawset and dialed for Sari’s office.
“Hello, Sari Idiri speaking,” the mongoose answered in his rapid-fire pattern.
“Hi Sari, it’s Jenna. The DVD Repro unit is back online.”
“Excellent! I’ll tell Jeremy. Thank you, Jenna. Are you leaving now?” Sari said enthusiastically.
“Yes, as soon as I shut everything down. Have a great weekend,” she answered.
“Ah, and you, too. Bye Jenna.”
“By Sari,” Jenna said as she hung up the phone. She shut down the computer and stretched broadly. She then relaxed for a moment, allowing the thoughts of work to drain away. She let her mind wander as she went through the motions of preparing for the drive home.
She had settled well into her job, and had so far maintained the line at no more than three days a week. The company, she’d found, was interesting and vibrant, with the tasks providing a good challenge for her skills. Jeremy would still ask her at least once a week, though, if she was ready to give acting a try. So far, she’d declined. Penny had asked her just the other day if she liked the job. Jenna had answered with an enthusiastic yes, and was very glad to do so. She doubted she would have found as good a fit anywhere else.
She then thought of church. She’d really been blessed there. The Winchester East Community Church had turned out to be a warm, friendly place to worship, with good youth programs and a lively community outreach that helped out the poorer families in the rural parts of the county.
Then she thought of Jack Lazarus, and her smile grew wider. They were still just friends, but she couldn’t deny a certain chemistry between them. It had been five months now since Jason’s crash, and Jenna realized the thought of dating again no longer sent her into a guilt trip. So far, though, anytime the chance to ask arose, Jack had gotten shy and tongue-tied.
She had found out through Tia that the wolf was a widower whose wife had died five years ago. Since then he’d apparently flung himself into his contracting business and his work with the youth at the church. Tia had hinted around that if Jenna wanted to go out with Jack, she should ask him. Jenna just shook her head. She’d been brought up with the idea that the male did the asking. She’d have to be a lot more desperate before she started asking males out.
Jenna stopped herself right there. Desperate? Did she really want to wait until she felt desperate? No, she decided, that would lead to making poor choices.
Just as she was musing over that, her phone rang.
“Hello?” she said as she picked up the pawset and put it to her ear. If it was Sari with another glitch, he’d have to handle it himself.
“Ah, hello, Jenna? This is Jack Lazarus from church. Uh, how are you today?”
Jenna blinked a second, and then remembered she had to speak. “Oh hello, Jack. I’m fine, just getting ready to leave for home. What’s up?”
“Well, the Sunday School class is having a get-together tomorrow afternoon out at Ray Bruining’s farm. The church youth is coming, too. It’s a kind of picnic and hayride, and I wanted to invite you. Oh, and Tia and Andrew, of course.” The wolf still sounded a bit nervous.
“Why Jack, are you asking me on a date?”
Jenna froze. The words had escaped her muzzle before she could stop them. She awaited laughter, or a questioning “huh?” What she got instead sent a thrill down her spine.
“Uh, well, uh, see, y’see, uh.” The wolf paused and took a deep breath, and then continued. “Jenna, I know your situation, that it hasn’t been that long since your husband died, but, if it’s not too soon for you, yes, I guess I am asking you on a date. I’d like to get to know you better.”
Jenna found herself silently punching the air and mouthing “Yes!” She quickly recovered her composure and said, “Jack, I’d like that. What time do you want to pick us up?”
“Oh! Ah, fantastic! I’ll pick you up at two o’clock, okay?” Jenna could hear a huge grin in the wolf’s reply.
“Fine, I’ll see you then. Oh, by the way, how did you get my work number?” she asked, slightly puzzled.
“Oh, I called your house first, and Tia gave me your work number. I hope that was all right?” Jack said, sounding slightly apprehensive.
“Yes, that’s fine. I’ll see you at two,” Jenna replied reassuringly.
“Great! See you at two then. Bye, Jenna,” Jack said enthusiastically.
“Bye.”
Jenna hung up the pawset. She sat there grinning from ear to ear for a few seconds, and then found herself giggling. She put a stop to that, and then stood to get ready to head for home.
“Tia my daughter, I should be mad at you for matchmaking, but I can’t seem to be. I guess you miss a dad in your life. Jack isn’t Jason, but if he is as he seems, I think he might meet those standards I thought would be so tough.’
Meanwhile, back at Jack’s apartment, Shadow the Newfoundland kali was looking strangely at her companion. The large wolf was shouting and cheering at the top of his lungs. She sighed and put her head back down on her paws, convinced she’d never understand him.
# # #
Saturday afternoon had rolled around to find Alex finally done with the week’s paperwork. He was considering calling Bull Carruthers and going fishing, but he and the canid had just done so the Tuesday before, and Alex remembered the old NCO had plans for the weekend.
With a sigh, he shut down his computer, grabbed his briefcase and hat, and locked his office behind him. He walked out to his truck and got in, but he didn’t feel like going to his quarters. It was a very warm, sunny afternoon, so he headed out to I-64 and then drove southeast through Norfolk. He went on down to the small spit of outer bank called Little Island Park, found a nice parking spot, and then discreetly changed from his uniform into swim trunks and a loose, unbuttoned shirt. Getting out, he put on his sunglasses and walked down toward the beach area to watch the ocean and the singles and families play. A little way out, he sat down on a bench where he could watch both the ocean and the beach.
The seagulls were calling loudly, and the waves rolled gently to the sand. He’d been here before when the waves were wild and crashing ashore, but today he saw several young mothers playing with their young in the gentle breakers. The beach was actually pretty crowded in the mid-summer heat, but the sea breeze made it quite tolerable.
As he watched the ocean’s restless movement, Alex let his mind drift. His first thought was how great this would be to share with someone. Then he reminded himself that it was better to be alone with yourself than to be with someone just for the sake of being with someone. Realizing where his current line of thought was taking him, he nudged his train of thought over to a different track. He would be retired soon, and he was looking forward to working with Billy and the business. The more Kentiger prospered, the more pilots and support they would have jobs for. Billy had done a fantastic job of building the business and the team that worked there, and Alex hoped to add to that success.
Billy Panelli. He remembered the first time he met his best friend. He was assigned to Ramstein AB,
Alex had been surprised, at the time, to find that his martial arts instructor and mentor Izzy Quai had moved to Lexington. He had to admit that was one of the reasons he’d convinced his partners to locate there. The thought of Izzy reminded him of how far he’d come. In high school, and in the first year of college, Alex had been defensive about his appearance, especially his tail, and any teasing had been greeted by an explosive temper. After getting into a fight with a couple of purist idiots, resulting in an ER visit for them and the threat of charges hanging over him for nearly a month, Alex had decided to take up martial arts as a way of reigning in his temper. Little did he know that Izzy Quai would also help him gain the calmness and self-discipline to be a very successful fighter pilot. With the pressures of the job, and the good-natured teasing that was stock-in-trade for the military pilot, Alex doubted he’d have even graduated flight school without having learned Izzy’s calming lessons.
As his mind wandered, he thought of Greg Baker. Greg had been his best friend during their assignment to Okinawa. They were both First Lieutenants then, and they’d toured the island, bar-hopped, and picked up femmes together. They had both gone to Ramstein at the same time, made Captain at the same time, and had been chosen together to fly two Eagles to Paris for static display at the Paris Airshow. They had gone into the city to pick up some souvenirs for Alex’s mother and Greg’s aunt. They had split up with plans to meet for lunch at the bistro at the far end of the street.
Knowing how that memory ended, Alex changed mental gears again. His tour with the Thunderbirds came to mind. It had been a high point among high points in his career, more so than any air-to-air victory. The flying was demanding, the travel extensive, and it had been a great stepping stone toward his goal of TPS. That was gone now, but the experience was still one he’d always cherish. He’d flown with Billy Panelli as Thunderbird Lead to his Solo Five in his first year with the team, and then as Thunderbird Two his second.. He’d even flown a show at Yeager, where his family got to see him fly.
The only dark spot was Paula, a beauty of a tigress he’d dated then. They’d had a grand time, and had even discussed marriage briefly. Then came the day the team had returned from a show a day early. He’d gone by her apartment, only to be met at the door by one of the pilots from the Aggressor Squadron that shared Nellis with them. The wolf had politely informed him that Paula had moved out, and that he’d taken the apartment and moved in the day before. It was a test of his control when the wolf had opened the door, but Alex had learned by then not to jump to conclusions. When he got home, a message on his answering machine informed him that Paula had taken a job in Seattle, and that she was sorry and she hoped he had a great life, it had been fun.
Alex sighed to himself again. That was so typical of how his love life had been. One day he’d connect with the right one, but until then he was content.
The sun had moved westward, and Alex had closed his eyes, relaxing. A sudden shout snapped them back open just in time for him to catch a wayward volleyball! As he looked around for the ball’s owner, a very shapely young rabbit doe in a very minimal bikini came running around a dune of sand and sawgrass next to him. When she saw Alex, she stopped short and looked sheepishly at him a second.
“Uh, sorry mister. The ball didn’t hit you, did it?”
“No, I heard the shout, so I didn’t get hit. Here you go,” Alex replied as he tossed the ball to her. She gave him a big smile as she caught it, and turned on her heel to go. She paused a second there and looked back over her shoulder at him. She winked through blonde locks and gave a wiggle of her tail.
“Thanks,” she said simply. Just then a shout came from the other side of the dune.
“Didja find it, Linda?”
“Yeah,” she called as she started running back around the dune. “Some guy caught it.”
Alex’s hearing was sharp enough to hear the rest of the conversation after she passed out of his sight.
“Who caught it?” another female voice asked.
“Some guy. Nice looking, but pretty old. At least twenty five.”
“Oh.”
Alex blinked, and then gave a hearty laugh. Old? Maybe, but still passing for twenty five? Besides, while his thoughts and heart may had been pure, his physical reaction to the sight of the young beach bunny reassured him he was far from old. It was things like this that reminded him again that he was alone. It was times like this, when he just relaxed and found himself not up to his ears in something to do, that the absence of a mate weighed in upon him.
The sun was beginning to set, so Alex shrugged to himself and stood up. It was time to go find some supper, and as he walked back toward his truck, Alex looked forward to retiring. Maybe then he’d finally have the chance to settle down and find a mate.
“One can only hope and pray,” he said as he got in and headed for supper.
# # #
“Mama, Mr. Duncan, I’m done. May I go watch television?” Dylan Rogers looked earnestly at Loni and Duncan across the table.
“Yes, you may. We’ll be in shortly,” Loni answered her son. Duncan just smiled around a mouthful of food..
“Thank you,” the five year-old lynx said as he scooted back from the table and headed for the living room. Loni had all the questionable channels blocked, so she didn’t mind letting Dylan loose with the remote.
She looked back at Duncan, and noticed his eyes had followed the cub out. He had a smile on his muzzle, and Loni silently said a thank you that the leopard she loved seemed to love her son as well as her. The cub’s father was involved in his life, but he wasn’t the greatest influence in the world. Loni had divorced him over his temper before it got to the point of abuse. He’d raised his paw to her once, but she’d pre-empted the blow by stepping around a table, and then had not stopped, gathering her then six month-old son and walking directly out the door. Eddie had settled down a great deal since then, and Loni didn’t fear for Dylan to go with his father when the older lynx came to pick him up for visitation. They both agreed that they were better off apart, and she’d met Duncan a little over two years ago. Duncan had been married for a little over a year earlier in his life, and both he and Loni had agreed at the time that marriage wasn’t for them, at least not right then.
Duncan looked back at her, a wistful, speculative look briefly passing over his face. Loni hadn’t said it, but marriage with Duncan had been crossing her mind more and more recently.
“Duncan,” she said tentatively, “Do you still think we have to keep our relationship under wraps at work?”
Duncan had a brief “caught-in-the-headlights” look, and then answered. “Ah, yes. I still think that. Anytime I made a decision that might involve you, there would be rumors of favoritism if they knew we were living together. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, just thinking. I thought that if there were a solid sign that I was in a relationship, there might be a few less innuendos and sly comments, especially from a certain skunk.”
“Maybe, but I bet there’d be an increase in the ‘dumb blonde’ comments and jokes. I know how much you’d enjoy that,” Duncan replied, feeling on a bit firmer footing.
Loni made a face. She detested the stereotype that the dumb blonde jokes played upon. She’d dealt with more furs in her life than she could count who thought immediately that she was only good to look at, that she couldn’t possibly be intelligent. One of the things that attracted her to Duncan was that he’d treated her as both intelligent and an equal from the first time they met.
“No, you know I don’t want that. I guess I’m just looking for a way to get Glenn Mustid off my back,” she replied.
Duncan nodded, accepting her reason, but in the back of his mind, the question had been planted. How committed was he, since he wouldn’t publicly acknowledge his relationship with the lovely lynx who now stood to begin clearing the dishes.
“Go ahead and spend some time with Dylan. I’ll take care of the dishes,” he said.
“Thanks!” she said enthusiastically. She bent and kissed him soundly on the lips, and then turned and walked out. She didn’t get to spend nearly as much time with her son as she’d like, so she really appreciated the chance.
Duncan stood and began to clear the table, glad for the time to think.
# # #
“Hello, Billy Panelli,” Billy said as he answered the phone. He and Penny were spending a quiet Saturday evening at home for a change. It had been a hectic week for them both, as Billy had been out doing sales work for Kentiger, and Penny had started several new projects at her job.
“Hey Dad! How are ya?” came the voice of Billy’s oldest son Rusty. The thirty year-old, dark orange tiger was as boisterous as his father.
“Great Rusty, how are you?” Billy replied. Penny glanced over at him inquiringly, and he nodded to her, confirming it was their son.
“Fantastic. Are you and Mom still coming west next month?”
“Yep. Why, what’s up?” Billy asked, puzzled. He and Penny always made a summer trip west to visit family, and always stopped in Ottumwa, Iowa to visit their eldest son and his family.
“Well, I wanted to give you a heads up. Y’know, just in case you wanted to bring anything extra,” Rusty said. Billy could almost see the glow of a grin in his son’s voice right through the phone.
“All right, Son, spill it. You have news and you’re doing a terrible job of hiding it,” Billy replied, but the mirth in his voice belayed any thought of scolding.
“Callie’s expecting again.”
Billy blinked. His daughter-in-law, Calista, was a green eyed calico feline. Their daughter, Felicity, now five, had taken after her mother, only more so. Her fur pattern was wild and jumbled, just like the energetic, precocious kitten who wore it. Rusty and Callie had been trying for another child for over a year now, so the news was very exciting, indeed. He must tell Penny!
“PENNY!” Billy yelled before he remembered she was sitting on the couch right next to him. She leapt off the couch and spun around to face him, her tail fluffed.
“Billy! I’m right here, what?”
“Uh, sorry Hon. Pick up the other phone,” He said sheepishly. Apparently Rusty could hear what she said over the line, because he was now laughing himself silly.
Shaking her tail out as she crossed the room, Penny retrieved the cordless pawset and clicked it on. “All right, I’m on, what?”
“Hi Mom, I just told Dad, Callie’s expecting again,” Rusty said as he recovered himself a bit.
“Oh! That’s wonderful! Let me talk to her!” Penny said excitedly.
“All right Mom, just a sec. dad, I’ll call again tomorrow. I have a feeling the phone will be tied up for a while.”
In the background, they could hear Felicity saying, “I wanna talk t’ Gramma n’ Grampa.”
“Okay,” They heard Callie say, “Say hello and then let Mommy talk.”
“Hi! Gramma, Grampa, I’m gonna have a lil’ brother or sister!”
“Hello Felicity. Yes, we heard,” Penny said.
“Hello Kitten. You sound excited about that,” Billy said.
“Yup, gonna help Mommy take care of ‘em,” Felicity said, trying to sound grown up and important.
“That’s great. You’re going to be a good big sister,” Penny said as she smiled at Billy. Felicity could be a pawful, but it looked like Rusty and Callie had approached the subject the right way with her.
“Uh Huh! Well, here’s Mommy. Bring a nice present for th’ baby when ya come visit. Love ya both! Buh-bye!” the sound of the pawset being passed on followed.
“Hello Billy, Penny, how are you both?” Callie asked as she put the pawset to her ear.
“Fine. Congratulations!” Billy said. “I think I’ll let Penny bend your ear before she explodes. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Okay Billy. Love you.”
“Love you too, Callie. Here’s Penny.”
Billy hung up the pawset and sat back as Penny began a long conversation with her daughter-in-law. He smiled to himself. Another grandchild. Now if they could get their younger offspring, Frank, to find a nice femme and settle down. A standard Bengal in appearance, the junior Panelli had just been made a junior partner in a law firm in Denver. Billy would call him after Penny and Callie finished their excited exchange of information and advice. For now, he was content to sit back and enjoy the good news.
# # #
Jenna sat in the wagon, her back to a hay bale with Jack beside her. Ray had taken the younger furs on a ride around the farm already, and then announced, “Okay, grown-ups only on this ride.”
There were only four pairs of furs on the wagon now, so Jenna and Jack had some relative privacy. Only thing was, neither of them seemed to know what to do next. Jenna started to speak at least twice as the wagon, pulled by a tractor with Ray Bruining driving, trundled along the farm road. Finally, Jack reached over and gently took her paw in his.
“Jenna, relax, I won’t bite. I’m pretty nervous, too.”
He looked earnestly into her eyes, and she nodded, smiling. She didn’t trust herself to speak yet.
“I know that it’s still pretty soon for you. It’s been five years for me and it still seems soon. I know you’re very busy being a great mother to your two cubs. But mostly, I know that I’m very attracted to you. Have been ever since we bumped carts at the supermarket.”
Jack looked away a few seconds, and then looked back to her and continued.
“I want to say, before I lose my nerve, that I’ll be here. I’ll wait as long as you need. I want to take it slow, to give you all the time you need, to be ready for a relationship.”
“Jack,” she finally managed to say, “I appreciate that. I want to take it slow, too. I’m glad the Lord seems to have brought us together. From all I’ve seen, you’re a wonderful male, and I’d like to see you more often.”
They looked at each other a while longer, the only sounds the creak of the wagon and the thrum of the tractor motor, and the thumping of Jack’s tail as it wagged enthusiastically. Neither of them was ready to declare what they felt as love yet, so they were content to hold paws and watch the beautiful rolling fields of the farm in their midsummer dusty green coat of crops.
All too soon for them, the ride was over. Jack helped Jenna down from the wagon, and they held paws as they walked toward the area under a large tent where several picnic tables had been set up. Brother Ronnie was working the grill, and as he looked up, he caught sight of the wolf and tigress. A smile split his muzzle, and he nudged his wife, who was beside him patting out hamburger patties. She looked up and smiled, too.
“Bout time,” the preacher said as he turned back to his cooking.
Tia was sitting in the shade, resting a bit after a volleyball game with the other youths from the church. The guys were over helping bring ice and drinks out while three other young femmes sat with Tia. When these three saw Jenna and Jack walking back from the wagon holding paws, they began to chatter excitedly.
“Wow! Do you see that?” exclaimed Krysta, a bobcat femme of fourteen years.
“Oh! I never thought I’d see Mr. Jack with someone,” commented Kelly, a fifteen year-old coyote’.
“Huh, what do you think about that, Tia?” asked Audrey, a fourteen year-old ferret.
Tia just smiled and said, “Finally. It’s about time.”
The other three looked at Tia for a few seconds, and then Kelly led off the round of questions.
“It doesn’t bother you to see your mom holding paws with someone other than your dad?”
Tia looked at her three fairly new friends and shrugged. “No, it doesn’t. Mom has had a real rough time of it since Dad’s crash. For a long time, she just kind of went through the motions. Then she got on this supermom kick and was trying to be both mom and dad to Andrew and me, but I could tell she was getting lonely.”
“But it hasn’t been that long since, well, you know.” Audrey looked a bit sheepish as she had her say.
“It’s been over five months. That’s a long time to be alone when you’re used to being with someone,” Tia stated flatly.
You miss your Dad a lot, I can tell. I guess your Mom does, too. D’ya think they’ll get married?” The other three looked askance at Krysta’s question.
“I don’t know,” Tia said after a moment. “They’re holding paws, not kissing all over each other. It’s a bit early to be thinking of that. I miss my Dad a lot. I’m glad my Mom has found someone, but I’m in no hurry for anyone to try to replace my dad. Hopefully, they both know that he wouldn’t be replacing Dad, but he could be a dad if he tried.”
The other three looked a bit askance at Tia now, but realized she hadn’t caught her unintended innuendo. Before they could comment, though, Brother Ronnie called out, “Foods ready! Gather round for Grace.”
As Jenna and Jack made their way on toward the tent, Jack looked over at her earnestly.
“School will be starting here in a couple of weeks, and I have to fly out of town for a week starting tomorrow. When do you think you and I might get together for a, uh, real date, just the two of us?”
Jenna stopped where she was, causing Jack to swing around to face her.
“Fly? Jack, I thought you were a contractor. What do you mean, fly?”
Jack looked confused as he answered. “Uh, I guess I never mentioned it. I’m a licensed pilot, rated for multi-engine commercial. I fly a Piper Aztec on business. I contract work here in Kentucky, and in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. Tia knows about that. She nearly talked my ears off about it, why?”
Jenna slowly shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s just that, well, Jason died flying. I’m not sure if I want to start off dating another pilot.”
“Oh Jenna, I’m sorry I didn’t mention it.” Jack looked downcast as he made to release her paw. She had been gazing off with a faraway expression, but as she felt Jack’s grip on her paw loosen, she looked at him sharply.
“No, don’t. I like holding paws. I, I-, I’m just going to need some time to think about this.”
Jack now smiled warmly. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
Jenna nodded as they reached the tent and got in line for the food. Around them, warm smiles and not a few sly winks were exchanged among the other folks. They were glad to see Jack taking an interest in someone. The fact it was someone who came to church with them was even better. Jenna stood holding Jack’s paw, lost in thought again. When Jack had mentioned flying out of town for a week, she’d instantly recognized the look on his face. It was the same look Jason had always had when he talked about flying. The same look Tia got, as well. They all loved flying, she realized. Asking them to give it up would be akin to asking them not to breathe.
So, Jack was a pilot, even though he didn’t do it for a living. Only question was, did she really want another male she’d have to share with the sky?
“Only time will tell,” she thought as she gazed over at the wolf whose paw she held.
END OF CHAPTER 21