Chapter Three: Guess Who Came To Dinner
Even though Cait knew the man she didn't back down from her stance pointing the gun at his chest.
"Is that anyway to greet your future brother in-law?" St. John said grinning. Having a gun pointed at you was serious but he couldn't help but be amused by her. Everything about her captivated him. Normally he would be pissed off at being out maneuvered but since it was Cait he rather enjoyed the game.
Cait was still reluctant to lower her gun. "Why have you been stalking me?" Realizing they were still out in the open she motioned him all the way into the room and shut the door lowering her gun. "I asked you a question."
St. John laid his gun on the table. "Would you believe I missed you?"
Cait was not amused. String had been having a hard time dealing with the fact that Sinj had again run off and left him with no real explanation of why he had abandoned him in the first place. He was just now able to let it go. "Why wouldn't you let String know you were here? Why follow me?"
St. John was hoping she would hear him out. "I'm not ready to tell him just yet."
Cait was getting angry. "If you think I'm not going to tell him you don't know me well enough."
Pulling a beer from the small refrigerator under the counter Sinj laughed. "You won't tell him." His arrogance made her flustered. Just what he was going for.
"What makes you think I would keep this from him?"
"That's easy; if you tell him then he will also find out that you came after me not knowing who I was, on your own without back up. And if my info on you is correct this isn't the first time you went in without back up. I think you pulled the same thing in Pope County."
Cait was furious by now. He was smart and seemed to know how to push all the right buttons with her. "I won't lie to him no matter what the consequences are."
Taking a long drink of the beer he motioned to her asking if she would like one. She nodded no. "Let me see if I have this right. String was in love with you but didn't want to admit it. He always did have a problem letting people in. Anyway, you left to pursue a modeling career after you decided he wasn't going to return the feelings. He knew he made a mistake, you got yourself yet again into trouble, he came to rescue you and decided he couldn't live without you which brings us to the present."
Cait was afraid to see where he was taking this. He was right even though she didn't want to admit it, String would be furious with her for going after him on her own with no back up.
She let her guard down enough to sit on the end of the bed. St. John looked at the bed then to her and grinned. Cait quickly got up from the bed and took the chair that was sitting at a small round table. "You haven't answered my question. Why are you here?"
He pulled out the other chair and straddled it backwards facing her. "Let's see just how good an operative you are Cait. Why don't you tell me why I'm here?" He remembered how well she read him the last time he asked her for her assessment of the situation. She hit a bull's eye that time.
Cait jumped up to leave. She realized that he was in control of the situation and she needed to turn the tables on him. Turning to him as she opened the door "You're probably after Airwolf the same as everyone else."
St. John grabbed her arm. Cait countered with a punch to his stomach. It was enough for him to release her. "Don't underestimate me St. John. This isn't Saudi Arabia and you're not String."
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The flight to Cuba was a short one. Michael took the engineers seat in case he was needed. Not as if he could do anywhere near the things Dom and Cait did but if need be he could help take down a jet or two. The two men found the car that was waiting for them. String drove as Michael talked. "So how are things with you and Cait?"
String only managed a slight grin. "Were good."
Michael wasn't the kind that went in for gossip but his curiosity over the two pilots was getting the better of him. "Is Cait going to stay in modeling? She hasn't said anything to Marella about wanting to fly missions again?"
String was uncomfortable with the line of questioning but thought maybe Michael could offer some advice. Not something he was used to asking for unless it was from Dom. "She hasn't told me one way or the other."
"Oh" Michael said raising his one good eye. "Did you ask her about it?"
"Of course I did."
"And"
"And she didn't answer."
"What do you think she wants to do?"
String paused. "I don't know, I mean I think she found she was happy when she left. Maybe that was what she was looking for all the time and didn't know it."
Michael could see that String was really struggling with this. He felt privileged that he considered him enough of a friend to share it with him. He didn't want to let him down. "So if she was so happy then why would she come back and stay?" Michael was not expecting the answer he got.
"What else was she supposed to do? Dom asked her to come back and nurse me. She finds me in a mess and the only reason I bounced back is because she was there. What's she supposed to do, leave after that?"
This was a mess. Michael knew that the only way it was going to be sorted out was for the two of them to talk. "String you need to talk to her and soon. When two people aren't honest with their feelings usually what happens is they conjure up in their head what they think the other person is thinking. Most of the time they get it wrong. I say we get this meeting over with and you get home to Cait and straighten this whole thing out."
String eased the tension out in his shoulders. Michael was right. They had come a long way. He wasn't about to give up now.
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Cait was back at the cabin. She had decided to close the hangar. She was still shaken by what had happened. Dom was not due in until well after midnight and String had sent her word saying they would not be back until later tomorrow. She needed him there now. She didn't like keeping anything from him and wanted to tell him about Sinj but it needed to be done face to face. Sitting in front of the fire more guilt had crept in. This was not the only thing she needed to tell him. There was the matter over her modeling career. He had asked her about it and she didn't know how to answer. She reached up to the bookshelf pulling down the album String had stashed there. She opened it again going through the pictures he had placed there of her short modeling career. She had found it by accident. For some reason she didn't tell him she had. She couldn't place her finger on why until a few days ago when she got another job offer. She knew her logic was wrong but she couldn't help but feel it. He wasn't in love with her before she left. It wasn't until he saw the pictures of her that he changed his mind. She worried that he wasn't in love with the ex cop pilot from Texas but had fallen for someone that she didn't think existed. Looking at the pictures she felt this was not who she was. Modeling was exciting at first but she quickly became bored. Flying was all see ever wanted to do. If String loved the woman she became when she left then he may not stay in love with her if she decided she didn't want to model anymore. After all he always did fall for the beautiful glamorous types. Something she wasn't. Her thoughts were interrupted by Tet as he perked up his ears and went to the door. Something he only did when someone was out there.
Cait took her gun to the door and opened it slowly. Sitting on the steps was St. John. He spoke without turning around. "I forgot how peaceful it is up here."
Cait put the gun down and sat beside him. She didn't speak waiting for him to say why he was there. He must have hiked the six miles from the dirt road. The dirt road was another twenty to the closest main road. Only Dom and she knew about the road other than String and Sinj.
He opened his mouth to speak again. "Time gets away from you. One minute you're making a bad decision and six years later you're still trying to forget the people you hurt."
"Why did you do it?" Was all Cait could ask.
Sinj leaned back on his elbows still staring up at the full moon. "I've asked myself that a million times Cait and I still don't have an answer."
Cait turned to face him. "You had to know that String would suffer over your decision."
St. John roughly rubbed his face with his hands. "I did. It's just I had little time to decide. I wanted the life that being an operative brings and I took it. I'm afraid I don't have the big emotional explanation String is looking for."
Cait patted his knee. "You can't stay out here all night so you had better come in." Sinj stood up following her in. He stopped looking around.
"He kept it the same. I'm glad." He stood in front of the fire place. "Man, the nights String and I slept in front of this thing after we spent the day fishing."
Looking at his face she could see he was different somehow. He seemed as broken as String was when she returned after his accident.
"I lied to him before he left." Sinj paused before he continued as if he was chocking on his words. "I told him if I had it to do over I would have made the same decisions."
Cait stood to go to the kitchen. "I was just getting ready to make some pasta. Are you hungry?"
St. John wasn't sure how to respond. He hadn't exactly earned her compassion but yet she was offering it. "Yeah I guess after that long trip here I could use some food before I head back."
Cait turned cocking her head to the side. "Please, like I'm going to send you out into the cold tonight. String spends six years looking for you and I let you freeze to death? Not on my watch."
St. John began to relax as he laughed at her. His brother had made one hell of a decision when he chose her.
