13

Beth and Gina sat quietly, listening intently as Harm and Catherine took turns in outlining the situation with Mattie, Grace Aviation, the Grace house and the upcoming guardianship case.

Beth sat, deep in thought for a while, and finally nodded, "It's an attractive proposition, Harm, but there are one or two drawbacks."

"H'mm?"

"Well, for a start, I'm only two years off my twenty… that is if you take navy and the Company together."

"Yeah… good point," he agreed.

"But… on the other hand, the way things are going, whether I reach the twenty is becoming…" she hesitated, looking at Gina, "problematical."

Gina took hold of Beth's hand, "I don't want you to give up flying," she said, with the air of someone repeating themselves, "but I was scared when you were flying for the Navy, and now… I'm plain terrified. It was bad enough when I knew you were flying with a good co-pilot, but even with a good one," she nodded in Harm's direction, "I saw how near you came to skidding off the deck of that aircraft carrier. I saw you nearly die, Beth. Now every time you fly for that… organization, I have nightmares until you're safely home again. This job sounds almost perfect for us. You still get to fly, but you'll be home almost every night, and people won't be trying to kill you or throw you in jail. And I can work anywhere with a computer and a DSL connection. OK the pay isn't great, and you'll have to make your own pension arrangements, but what good is a government pension in two years if you're not here to collect it?"

"Well… the pay was another sticking point…" Beth objected.

"But… if you didn't have to pay for accommodation? No rent, just the bills?" Catherine chipped in.

Beth looked askance at the couple opposite, "How?"

"Well," Harm said, "Like we said, the business is based at Charlottesville. And I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't want to commute from the DC area on a daily basis. The Grace house is no more than a couple of miles from the field, and as part of the employment contract you would have the right to live there, rent free, for as long as you are in the company employ. It's a family home - an old farmhouse - with a barn that could convert to a studio, if you wanted it to," he nodded at Gina. "What's more, the low pay is only the starting position. With you running the place, and maybe even starting up the air-taxi business with the Cessna, there's no reason that Grace Aviation shouldn't be in profit within the year, and that would allow for an increase in pay. Catherine and I would be the company's legal representatives, so that wouldn't be a worry, and of course it would be pro-bono. As far as pension goes, I see no reason why you shouldn't have a 401(k) scheme, and after one year the company would match your payments."

Beth chewed her bottom lip for a moment or two longer, and then in response from squeeze from Gina who was still holding her hand, she turned to her and saw the plea in the blonde's green eyes. Beth heaved a sigh, "Draw up the contract," she conceded, "and I'll sign it."

Before she could say more she was crushed almost breathless as Gina drew her into a fierce hug, "Oh, thank you, Beth, thank you!" And then she turned to Harm and Catherine, and wiping the tears away from her eyes smiled, "And thank you both too!"

Beth's smile was also somewhat watery, "When do I start?" she asked.

"We'll go down to Charlottesville on Saturday," Harm said, "All of us, so you can see what you're getting into and," he grinned, "you can meet the boss!"

"OK, I'll tell Blaisdell tomorrow that I quit…"

"Before you do that and get escorted off the premises," Catherine grinned, "drop by legal services, and I'll have a contract of employment ready for your signature, by ten o'clock, "I believe that's ten-hundred hours to you military types?" she added innocently, but with a sidelong look at Harm.

Beth blinked and then grinned, "So, It doesn't look like you're wasting any time. I start when?"

Catherine and Harm exchanged a look before turning back to her and saying in chorus, "Monday!"

xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii

Harm kissed Catherine goodbye in the Yorktown Parking Lot and watched as she made the turn to take her to Langley before he climbed into his Lexus and headed for Charlottesville. Today he reflected wryly was his last day as a crop duster, and apart from flying two sorties for Mattie he had a whole load of other stuff to deal with.

And not the least of those was preparing Mattie to meet Beth, and Gina too, he supposed. It should, he told himself wryly, prove to be an interesting day.

It was nearly two hours later that he pulled off the road, turning into the airfield gate and parking the SUV alongside the Hangar. He debussed and strolled into the hangar only to be confronted by the diminutive and furious figure of Mattie. "You're late!" she spat at him.

"Yeah, sorry about that, bad traffic on the Fredericksburg Pike, an eighteen wheeler overturned and blocked off the road."

She eyed him, not all appeased by his explanation, "And would you accept that excuse from one of your sailors?" she demanded, her chin jutting aggressively.

Harm was about to reply that he didn't have any sailors to report to him, when he remembered that from Monday, he would have. A huge grin split his face and he looked her straight in the eye, "Damn straight!" he confirmed.

"Like hell!" she shot back at him still glaring furiously.

Harm took a second to study her, he'd been this late before, mostly due to bad traffic, and Mattie had made a sarcastic comment or two, but always with a hint of a grin behind her scolds... but this was different. Harm propped himself against a workbench and said softly, "Hey, squirt, what's this all about?"

Mattie huffed, shrugged and thrust her fists into her jeans' pockets, "Like I said, you're late! And you've got two dusts to do today!"

"Nope, not working. Now c'mon, give, what's really got your..." Harm paused for a second, "goat?" he finished almost without break the flow of his question. Halfway through his sentence he'd realised that 'panties' and 'wad' were not words he ought to include while talking to a fourteen-year-old girl.

Smooth as he thought he had been, his slight hesitation had not gone entirely unnoticed and Mattie had a pretty good idea of what he'd been about to say and the sight and sound of his self-censoring was too much for her to resist a giggle. Quickly recovering however, she scowled "Beef and bean casserole."

"Casserole?" Harm repeated blankly.

"Yeah, Mrs Pearson and her damned beef and bean casserole!"

He winced, "Uh... was it that bad... honestly?"

Mattie shrugged "Well... no... not really," she admitted in a somewhat off-hand manner, "but... it's not the sort of thing I eat... and Mrs Pearson, well... it took damn' near an hour and a half to get rid of her!"

"Oh... I'm sorry Mats, it's just that if I'm not going to be down here every day..." then the realisation struck him..."Hey! Mattie, Beth O'Neill accepted the job, and the offer to live in the house, so until we get sorted in the new house - just three weeks away, now, you won't be alone... uh... is there something wrong there Mattie?"

Mattie's face settled in to a mask of discontent, "Harm, you don't expect me to be happy sharing my mom's house with anyone, do you?"

"No... I hadn't thought of it that way. No... uh... and there's something else that I just remembered..."

"What?"

"Ummm... uh... Nothing... I think I'm going to... Mattie, we need to postpone this discussion for the time being. But I promise you we'll pick it up again, either later today or tomorrow, once I've had a chance to talk to Catherine."

Mattie glowered at him, "Don't jerk me around, Harm," she warned him.

"I'm not, I promise," he stretched his hand out and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We will pick this up again later, but now, I'm late for work and I've got this really tough boss..."

"Yeah," Mattie tried to grin at his attempt at humour, "You'd best get up there!"

xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii

Harm pulled into the alley outside the converted warehouse north of Union Station and waited for Catherine to park her Malibu Max behind the Lexus before opening the building door and pressing the call button for the elevator, praying as he did every time now that the evil spirit that haunted the ancient equipment wouldn't force Catherine to try and climb the three flights of stairs up to the loft. Thankfully, to the benefit of Catherine's legs and temper, the elevator made its slow, jerky way up to the loft with no more ill-effects than a slight wince from Catherine at one particularly vicious jerk. Nevertheless a sigh of relief from Catherine accompanied the opening of the apartment door and she almost immediately waddled across to the couch where her nest of cushions was now almost permanently in place.

Harm assisted her to settle down and placed another cushion on the coffee table to rest her feet on, as she kicked her moccasins off her aching feet and then with a half smile he turned towards the kitchen where he lit the burner under the kettle to boil the water for tea.

Catherine watched him with a faint frown on her face, he had seemed distant, pre-occupied since they had met outside her mom's room at Kresge hospital, oh, he had borne his part of the conversation, and had even managed to make her mom smile a couple of times, but when he wasn't involved in the conversation, he seemed to withdraw into himself and at one stage it had taken a double repetition of his name to bring him back from wherever he had gone. She waited until he had brewed the tea and brought it across to the couch; taking her mug from him she allowed him to sit before she half-turned towards him and said, "OK, spit it out."

"Oh... it's nothing much really. Just that I screwed up. Again."

"Can we fix it?" she asked.

"We? Why should you get involved, it's my screw up, not yours," he protested.

Catherine swatted him gently on the upper arm, "Hey, remember, there is no 'you' and 'I' here, there is only 'us'!" she reminded him.

Harm smiled at her thinking just how different her 'only us' was from the 'there is no us' that had torn such hole in his heart, a hole that was slowly being filled by the trust and patience of the caring, lovely woman sitting beside him.

Bringing himself back to the current situation his smile became troubled and he confessed, "I let my mouth run ahead of my brain - as usual. I said to Beth that she could start work on Monday..."

"Umm... no... actually we both said she could start work on Monday..."

Harm made an impatient gesture with his hand, "That's not really important. The thing is when I mentioned it to Mattie this morning she wasn't exactly... thrilled... at the idea of sharing her mom's house with somebody. Particularly when that somebody is someone she hasn't even met."

"Ouch!"

"Yeah, and an even bigger ouch when I remembered about Gina."

"What about Gina?" a puzzled Catherine asked.

"She's Beth's partner. Her lover," Harm answered uncomfortable at having to state the obvious.

"So what, I thought you were cool with Beth being gay?" Catherine interposed in a surprised tone.

"Oh, I am, I am," Harm assured her, "But I'm not so sure that CPS would be so cool.

"Ah..." Catherine breathed.

"Yeah."

"Would they necessarily find out? I mean, it's only a temporary arrangement until we close on the house..."

"Well... we still have to be interviewed by a Guardian ad Litem, and then there's an interview with Welfare Services and a home visit, and we can't lie to either of them, that would torpedo our chances before we even get in front of the judge, and I'm not sure that leaving Mattie with a gay couple for three weeks will do our chances any good either."

"No, probably not," Catherine agreed, "But..."

"But what?"

"Well, Mattie could move in with me for those couple of weeks. I've got the room, and it would provide her with some stability as well as giving us the chance of getting to know each other."

"I can't ask you to do that!" Harm protested.

"You didn't; I'm offering," Catherine pointed out, "Besides, as I keep telling you, we're in this together!"

Harm looked at her considering her offer and its possible repercussions. "I don't know... we'd be removing her from her own home... I don't know how CPS and the courts would view that..."

"Umm... how about, we took her to a place where she's warm, safe, under responsible adult supervision gets proper meals and has a female companion to help her through any possible development problems?" Catherine challenged him.

"Developmental problems?" Harm asked, alarmed.

"Yes," Catherine told him looking at him steadily, "Developmental problems." And then when he still didn't react she sighed, "Female developmental problems. Or did you want to handle those?"

Catherine giggled as an expression of blind panic swept over his face, "Good God, No!" he exclaimed in a horrified voice, "No, that sort of ball is definitely in your court!"

"Yes, I rather thought it might be," she murmured as she took a sip of her tea. Then putting the cup down on the table she smiled at him, a warm, friendly teasing smile. "Now that we've sorted out that problem, there's another one, but this time it's for you to fix, all by yourself!"

"Oh, what's that?" Harm demanded, his voice rising half an octave, suspicious of the gleam in her eye.

"Well, I seem to recall when we left the hospital, that somebody offered me dinner..." she let her voice trail off lazily.

"Ah. Yes. Dinner; coming right up ma'am!" Harm grinned, although at least half the grin was sheer relief and gathering up the empty cups he stood and headed for the kitchen island. Catherine shook her head gently at his turned back and delving into her purse retrieved her cell 'phone, quickly dialling a number...

"Hi, Mattie, it's Catherine. How was your day?"

"Crap. Harm wants to move some damn woman I don't even know to share the house with me until the new house is ready or something! Or at least that's what he says! I reckon he's just putting someone in to spy on me!"

"Wow, Mattie, that's really, really, sneaky!"

"Yeah, it sucks, big time!"

"Yeah... Hey! I've got an idea!"

"What?" Catherine could plainly hear the suspicious discontent in the teen's voice.

"Well... you know that Harm and I are coming down tomorrow..."

"Yeah?"

"H'mm.. and we're bringing Beth and her friend down so they can have a look at the business and the house. You did agree that the manager could live in the house didn't you? And keep it habitable for you."

"Yeah, I s'pose."

"Beth is really a very nice person... but if you don't want to share with her, I can understand that, but I could do with some help, so... how would you like to share with me? Just until the house is ready?"

"What, you want to move down to Charlottesville?" Mattie asked in astonishment.

"No... I meant that perhaps you'd like to come and stay with me at my place until we move. It's not going to be a free ride though, so it's no charity. I'm going to need help, a lot of help, to get the place packed up if we're going to move in a few weeks. So, what do you say, Mattie? Can you come and help me for a while?"

"What, come and live in the city?"

"Yeah, do you have a problem with that?"

"No... no problem... it sounds great! Thank you Catherine! Thank you!"

"OK, then Mattie, start packing your bags this evening, and we'll give you a hand tomorrow and then when we're done at Charlottesville, you can come home with me. How does that sound?"

"Way cool!"

"OK, then sweetheart, we'll see you tomorrow! 'Bye!"

"Yeah, 'bye, and thanks!"

Harm had been listening, at least to Catherine's side of the conversation, and raised an admiring eyebrow in her direction, "Sneaky," he complimented her.

"Yeah I thought so too," Catherine said complacently as she tilted her head back and swivelled it to grin across at Harm.

This time he laughed, an honestly amused laugh, and walking back to her he bent and dropped a gentle kiss on her forehead, and then offering her his hands, he helped her to her feet and guided her across to the dining table, "E per la bella signora stasera la pasta con tutti i frutti del mare in una salsa leggera. Per essere seguita la favoloso piede strofinare di Harmon Rabb!" he said in an exaggerated Italian accent as he seated her with a flourish.

Catherine shot him a half-laughing, half suspicious glance. "I didn't know you spoke Italian?"

"Oh, only kitchen Italian," he half apologised. "I picked up a few words when we had shore leave in Naples. Just enough to order a meal and a jug of the local vino."

Catherine took a forkful of the pasta as he poured them both a glass of sparkling cider, "M'mm..." she smiled appreciatively, "a man of many hidden talents."

Switching to a B Movie Chicago gangster accent Harm leered at her, "Oh, baby, you ain't seen nothing yet!"

"Promises, promises," giggled Catherine.

xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii

Catherine awoke to the feeling of pressure on her bladder, and groaning at the necessity she rolled out of bed on to her feet, shivering in the pre-dawn chill and waddled through to the bathroom. Returning in as near to a scurry as she could manage she almost hurled herself back under the covers and wrapped herself around Harm, revelling in his body heat, which by comparison to the room temperature felt almost like a furnace.

"You have got to do something about the heating in this place," she snarled at Harm, hoping almost against hope that she'd woken him up.

"Wassamarrarwifit?" he mumbled, through about fourteen levels of unconsciousness.

Catherine huffed, "Hopeless, freaking hopeless!" she told herself and then pummelled his shoulder and upper arm. "Harm! Wake up dammit! Wake up and turn the damn heating on!" she demanded.

"Wha?" he demanded blearily.

"Turn the damn heating on, or I'm going home!" Catherine threatened.

Harm struggled awake and switched on the bedside lamp, "What's up? Is it the baby?" he demanded anxiously as he squinted bleary-eyed at Catherine.

"No, it's not the baby!" she retorted, "It's you and this damn loft. It's freezing in here! Will you please turn the heating on? Please?"

"Oh..." understanding seeped into his sleep befuddled brain, "If you're cold, why didn't you say so?" he mumbled as he slid out from under the covers and disappeared through the doorway into the living room. Returning to bed, he climbed back under the covers and pulled Catherine closer to him so that her head was nestled into the hollow of his shoulder, "OK, heating's up," he told her, reaching back to switch off the lamp, "but until it kicks in, why don't you just snuggle up a bit closer."

"H'mmm... Thank you," a drowsy Catherine replied, but then her eyes opened to their widest, "but we are going to talk about this in the morning!"

xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii

Harm gently kissed Catherine awake and was rewarded by her warm smile and the glow of pleasure in her eyes that lasted for long moments before she propped herself on her elbow and said, "That was a very nice way to wake up, but it does not get you off the hook - well, not entirely," she amended her own words. "What is it with you and keeping this apartment so damned cold?"

Harm sat up, leaning back against the headboard as Catherine rolled out of bed and appropriated his terry bath robe, tying the belt loosely over her bump, before sitting down on the side of the bed and turning to face him

Harm grinned weakly, "It's just that once I'm under the covers, I'm plenty warm enough."

"But... but don't you get cold if you have to get up during the night?"

"Umm... no... If I have to get up, it's generally only for a few seconds and then I can dive back under the covers, or if I know I'm going to have to be up for a while I pull on a sweat shirt and some joggers..."

Catherine regarded him severely, "Well, that won't work for me now. If I get up in the night its for more than a few seconds; I can't move as fast as you, and I certainly can't 'dive' anywhere. What's more when our daughter arrives, she's going need somewhere to sleep that's slightly warmer than the North Pole!"

Harm melted on the spot, and leaning in to Catherine he kissed her warmly, gently pressing her shoulders back until she was once more lying on her side facing him. "Wow, what was that for?" she asked with a pleased but puzzled expression on her face when they broke off the kiss.

"That is because you are totally adorable when you say that," he smiled at her.

"When I say what?" she asked, a happy smile now on her face.

"'Our daughter'," he quoted her words back at her.

"Well, now... look at you," she teased him gently, "the big bad fighter pilot is just a big softy at heart!"

"Ah," he said suddenly raising himself over her and gently pinning her by her wrists, "I'm only this way with you!"

Catherine's lighter blue eyes seemed to become darker and she visibly swallowed twice before she found her voice, "We need to get going Harm, we're meeting Beth and Gina at Charlottesville, and then we've got to pick up Mattie and get her moved back to my place." She said throatily, and swallowed once more, "but... we will continue this discussion at a later time..."

Harm leaned in to kiss her gently once more, "That we will, Catherine, that we we will!"

Reluctantly the two unpeeled themselves from the sheets and while Catherine claimed first use of the shower, Harm busied himself with fixing a breakfast of French toast, grain cereal, OJ and coffee.

As they policed the kitchen after breakfast Catherine turned to Harm and said, "Don't forget to load your bag into the car."

"Well, I've always got a bag packed in the car, just in case I have to leave quickly for a... Oh, I don't need to do that anymore, do I?" he finished lamely.

Catherine smiled, "Force of habit?"

"Yeah, I guess. But why do I need a bag today?"

"Have you forgotten that we're bringing Mattie up to DC today?"

"No.. but..."

"Harm, I'm not going to take the trouble of installing Mattie in my apartment, just to abandon her overnight. That would be great parenting wouldn't it? Uprooting her from her home and then leaving on her own her first night away."

"Well, no, but I figured that you and she would stay at your place and that I..."

"Oh, no, Mister! That ain't going to happen! I'm just getting used to sleeping with you... and..." she suddenly felt her face get heated, "and... I... I kind of like it..."

Harm turned to her and placed his hands on her hips, "Yeah, I kind of like it too," he told her softly, and then lifted her chin with a forefinger and kissed her again.

xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii

Harm knocked the gear lever into the 'P' position and applied the parking brake on the Lexus, an expression of discontent on his face. Catherine looked across at him and asked, "What's up, you look like you lost a dollar and found a dime?"

"Mattie." He said succinctly, as if that one word was sufficient explanation.

"What's she done?" Catherine asked, a puzzled frown furrowing her forehead.

"The pick-up's not here. I know she's been driving a while, but I wish she wouldn't! She's probably already at the airfield, and I wanted to be there to introduce Beth to her. I only hope we don't arrive in the middle of a fight!" he said as he released the parking brake and re-engaged the drive.

A few minutes' drive were sufficient to bring Harm and Catherine to the Grace Aviation Hangar, where to Harm's relief the only other vehicle parked up was Mattie's battered and rusting pick-up truck, the condition of which was enough to raise Catherine's eyebrows high on her forehead.

"Mattie drives this?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Harm grumpily confirmed, "and before you say anything else, yes, she's too young to drive, but apparently the local sheriff cuts her some slack. From what she carefully hasn't told me, the sheriff and her mom go way back."

Catherine picked up the edge in his voice, and linking her arm in his she turned towards the hangar taking him willy-nilly with her, "You know, that might not be a totally bad thing. Oh, I'm not saying that she should be allowed to break the law at will," she added as she saw the beginning of a frown on his face, "but she's learning to handle a vehicle out here on very quiet roads, while with even the best driver-ed programme in DC schools, the roads and traffic in and around DC are lethal for novice drivers."

Harm merely huffed in reply as he stretched out a hand to open the side door to the hangar and disengaging his arm from Catherine's, he placed his hand in the small of her back as he ushered her through into the office.

Mattie was sitting at the desk, a pile of file folders on her knee as she arranged different stacks of files on the desk. The side table was already covered in stacks of files. "Morning Mats," Catherine greeted her cheerfully, making a pre-emptive strike on Harm's grumpiness, "Somebody's been busy."

Mattie looked up from her work and tried to smile back at Catherine, but her grin lacked the sunny edge it normally wore as she shrugged and replied, "Hi. Yeah, well even though Grace Aviation is struggling, there's no need to make life any more difficult for the new boss-lady!"

Harm drew a deep breath and resolved to put his negative attitude away for the day, "Hey squirt, there is no new 'Boss Lady', it's still you. This is still your company; Beth is just going to be the manager for you for a while, until you decide what you want to do with your life and with Grace Aviation." Then his ears picking up the sound of a vehicle engine, he added, "And this just might be her..." and helping Catherine into a chair, he smiled and headed for the door to meet the new arrivals.

He was in time to intercept Beth and Gina, both dressed in jeans and sweaters, as they entered through the same door that he and Catherine had used so very few minutes earlier, and although he frowned slightly when he saw that Gina had come with Beth, he knew that there was realistically no way he could have insisted that Beth arrive on her own, or indeed that he would have been able, in the long term, to hide from Mattie the nature of the relationship between the two women.

Swallowing his misgivings, he crossed the hangar floor towards them as they waited for their eyes to adjust to the comparative gloom of the hangar after the unexpectedly warm brightness of the sunny fall day. "Hey, Beth, Gina, how are you?"

"Hi Harm, we're good..." Beth answered in a somewhat distracted voice as she took stock of the hangar and its contents, "Uh... how many of these 'planes belong to Grace Aviation?" she asked as she continued to look around.

"I'm not quite sure... the three Ag-Cats definitely do, so does the Cessna 310. The Stearman definitely doesn't - that's mine!"

Beth looked at the Stearman critically, taking in its wartime navy livery and then turned back towards Harm, her warm grin spreading across her face and crinkling her eyes, "The Stearman's yours? Well... I would never have guessed!"

"Yeah, right!" he responded, Beth's good humour dispelling the last of his former mood.

"What about the others?" Beth indicated the three machines at the back of the hangar.

"I honestly don't know. But Mattie does. She's in the office getting ready to hand over to you." He stepped to one side and waved a hand in the direction of the office door, "but before you meet her..." he stopped, suddenly unsure how to say what he wanted.

"Go on," Gina said encouragingly.

"Umm.. Look... I haven't said anything to her about... well... about the two of you being..."

"Lovers?" Beth asked, and then without waiting for a reply continued, "While I was in the navy it was don't ask, don't tell. And I told you that one of the reasons for my leaving the navy was that I was tired of living a lie. The company didn't care, so it was never an issue there. Here... well, I'm not going to publish it from the roof tops, but if I'm asked then I'm... then we're not going to hide any more, we're going to tell the truth. Right Gina?"

"Damn' straight!" the blonde agreed emphatically.

Harm nodded, feeling somewhat relieved. He wasn't at all sure how open-minded Mattie might be, and to be under no pressure to disclose the nature of Beth and Gina's relationship was, as far as he was concerned, a bonus on the day.

Mattie and Catherine were talking quietly when Harm led Beth and Gina into the office. Mattie immediately stood and drew a deep breath, but as Catherine made as if to get up both Harm and Beth waved her off. The second or so their attention was centred on Catherine was enough for Mattie to step forward and extend a hand, "Hi, I'm Mattie Grace," she said in a carefully neutral voice.

"Hello Mattie, I'm Beth O'Neill, and this is my friend Gina Mitchell," Beth replied, again with her warm smile on her face, "And I understand you're my new boss?"

Mattie had been quite prepared to be hostile and stand-offish if she had detected a hint of patronage in Beth's introduction, but the open approach, the warmth of the smile and the easy acknowledgement that Grace Aviation was hers did much to soothe hackles that had been ready to rise. Beth's smile brought Mattie's grin to full life as she replied, "Damn straight I am! And I guess you're my new manager?"

"Yep, that would be me," Beth admitted.

"Right, drag a chair up to the desk and let's get this show on the road!" Mattie exclaimed. "Harm tells me that you're a pilot, so I guess you want to know what hardware we've got?"

"It'll do for starters," Beth acknowledged.

"OK, we've got the three Ag-Cats for spraying, the Cessna 310 was going to be an air taxi, and mom was going to be the pilot, but then..."

"Yeah, I heard," Beth said sympathetically, "what else we got?"

"There's the Cessna 172; it's pretty long in the tooth. We were using it as a primary trainer, mom and dad were both FAA CFIs, but dad lost his license through a DUI, and then..."

Again Beth nodded sympathetically. "What about the other 'planes out there?" she wanted to know.

"Well the Stearman is Harm's - but you knew that, right? Uh-huh, the Auster belongs to Harry Cooper, he's a businessman in Charlottesville - runs some sort of hardware wholesale business, but uses the 'plane for recreational purposes, and the Piper Arrow belongs to Dick Harding, his daddy's a big shot financial wizard in Fredericksburg."

"OK, that's pretty straightforward. Any of them behind with their hangarage fees?"

Mattie nodded to the side table, "The debtors and creditors files are over there, if it's OK with you we can get to them later?"

"Sure thing. What else we got here?"

"OK, these blue files are the airplane maintenance records and airworthiness certificates..."

Harm leant against the wall alongside Catherine's chair and rested a hand on her shoulder as he listened with interest while Mattie ran down the various stacks of files: personnel records, insurances, bank statements, FAA Notices to Aviators, and the rest of the paperwork that surrounded, and at times threatened to swamp, any small aviation business.

He saw that Gina was trying to be interested in the minutiae of Grace Aviation but could see that she was fighting a losing battle, and then as he heard Catherine's stomach growl, he grinned. "Hey, squirt, I know you're a real mean hard-head boss, but were you thinking of taking a lunch break anytime soon?"

Both Mattie and Beth looked up from the file they were reading through, but it was Mattie who made the eloquent and elegant reply "Huh?"

"Oh, OK. Well, if you two don't, then I do, and I know that Catherine does, and I'm pretty sure that Gina does too. Gina?"

"Oh! Yes, thank you! I'm starving!"

"OK, there's a bar and grill a couple of miles down the road," Harm had turned his attention to the two blondes leaving Beth and Mattie gazing in consternation at him, and it wasn't until Harm had helped Catherine to her feet that Mattie found her voice.

"Hey! You can't go to the bar for lunch! I'm not allowed in there!"

"But I thought you weren't interested?" Harm asked with a perfectly straight face.

"Harm, damn straight I'm interested! Hungry teenager here, remember?"

"H'mm..." Harm rubbed his chin. "It looks like a change of plan ladies, I'm sorry, but it looks like it's going to have to be pizza."

Mattie's grin grew even broader, "Yes! A result!" she crowed triumphantly.

"Come on then ladies," Harm submitted with extravagant good grace. "We can all fit in the Lexus!"

xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii-xiii

What Harm had planned to be a quick working lunch turned out to be a long working lunch as Beth and Mattie chewed over the details of the handover of the business while Catherine produced a spiral bound notebook and pen from the depths of her purse and noted the salient points of the discussion, and despite himself Harm found the discussion fascinating. As a result it wasn't until Gina pointedly said, "Catherine, it's getting a little stuffy in here, how about catching a breath of fresh air?" That he realised that the diversionary break he'd intended hadn't actually taken place.

"Gina, you're absolutely right. And in case you two had forgotten, there's more than just the hangar to care of today."

Beth and Mattie frowned at each other, until Mattie's face cleared, "Oh, crap! We forgot about the house!" And then whether because she realised what she had just said, or because she was embarrassed to have forgotten about the house, she blushed fire-engine red and uttered a stifled, "Sorry!"

Fortunately Harm was in a forgiving mood and he merely chuckled at her gaff before he called for the check.

Settling everyone into the Lexus took no more than a minute, and Harm now aware of the passage of time turned in his seat, "Apart from picking up Beth - or Gina's - car, does anyone need to get into the hangar?"

Mattie shrugged, "I don't think so, we're good, aren't we Beth?"

"Yep, I can't recall a clearer handover - believe me Harm, it was a damn sight easier and smoother than signing for an airplane from the navy!"

Harm winced as he recalled the number of pieces of paper that had to be read, checked and signed on the handover of a single F-14, but then he reflected, the whole of Grace Aviation was worth less, in dollars, than a single Tomcat.

The only other thing, Harm," Mattie interrupted his train of thought, "is that my bags are in the pick-up."

"OK, not a problem, we swing by the hangar cross-deck the bags and then head on out to the house."

Beth smiled at Gina, "At least that will be more your speed than all this talk of airplanes."

"H'mm... you're not going to become tiresome about this are you, Beth?"

"Nope, once I'm home for the day, the hangar door stays shut!" Beth's remark drew a crack of laughter from Harm, the only other occupant in the vehicle who knew exactly to what she was referring, but the answer did, nevertheless, seem to mollify Gina.

It took Harm, Beth and Mattie less than a minute to transfer her bags from the pick-up to Harm's SUV, but it also took Harm's warning cough and raised eyebrows to induce Mattie to hand over the keys to the battered Grace Aviation truck as well as the keys to the hangar.

Once again it was only a minute or two before the Lexus and Beth's Chrysler Sebring drew up outside the Grace house. Mattie unlocked the door and stood back to let Beth and Gina enter. Harm followed them in but Catherine stopped by the door and looked closely at Mattie. "Are you alright, Mattie?" she asked in a voice of concern, the normally lively teen had suddenly seemed to droop and her face and body language indicated unhappiness.

"Yeah... I think so, Catherine... thanks... it's just that seeing..." she gulped and waved in the general direction of the interior, "Seeing Beth and Gina here... it just makes it seem all so real, all of a sudden..."

Catherine draped a comforting arm around Mattie's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "I know, it's hard moving on, especially when the place you're moving from means so much. But look on the bright side, you're fourteen, right?"

"Fifteen," Mattie corrected her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought Harm said you were fourteen?"

"Yeah I was, until yesterday."

"Mattie!" Catherine was shocked, "Your birthday was yesterday? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't want any fuss made, besides..." her voice faded into silence

"Besides what, Mattie?" Catherine persisted.

"Well, what if you did make a fuss, and had a party... and nobody came..."

Catherine saw the unshed tears in Mattie's eyes and felt her own eyes prickling in response, "Oh, Mattie Grace, what are we going to do with you!" she exclaimed.

Mattie shrugged and sighed, "Dunno, but I'd best head on in and show Beth and Gina where everything is..."

Catherine nodded and smiled sympathetically, but delayed Mattie by laying a hand on her sleeve, "Remember, now that you're fifteen - you've only got to wait a maximum of three years to reclaim all this, if that's what you want. And if you do, you come to me, and we'll get it all sorted for you. But that's three years away. Mattie you've done a brilliant job as a young adult, now it's time you allowed yourself to be a teenage girl!"

Catherine then let Mattie go and followed the youngster into the house, where Mattie said, "There's no point in you traipsing all over the house when there's no need. The living room is through there, why don't you go and sit down and put your feet up? We won't be too long!"

Catherine smiled gratefully and did as Mattie had suggested, but with nothing in the room to distract her she let her eyes wander around and saw that the hearth was spotless and obviously hadn't been used this year, and although Charlottesville was a hundred or so miles from Washington she didn't think that there could have been any great difference in the average temperature and weather patterns, besides, she reflected, the air temperature in Washington - in any city - would have been higher than out here in the boondocks, and as she had realised last night at Harm's apartment, the overnight temperature even in DC was chilly enough to make anyone glad of a fire.

Once she had reached that conclusion she actually felt cold, and levering herself out of the chair in which she had sat, she waddled through the door to explore the rest of the downstairs. Checking that the front door was shut she stood for a moment to absorb the atmosphere of the house, and she came to the conclusion that apart from any incidental heat coming from the kitchen stove that Mattie had been living in an unheated house, and the cold water that ran over her hand when she turned on the hot water faucet only confirmed her belief. For a moment or two she thought about confronting Mattie, but reluctantly abandoned that idea, not wishing to appear to criticise the young girl, nor indeed to patronise her, but she resolved to mention her concerns to Harm at the first opportunity, and that, she nodded decisively would be tonight!

Taking a seat at the kitchen table Catherine didn't have to wait long before the rest of the party joined her.

Almost on the stride with which she entered the kitchen Mattie threw open the door to the fridge and turning to Beth said, "It's not much, but there's about a pint of milk here that you can use, and in the pantry," she indicated a door in the corner of the kitchen, there's some coffee and sugar. Again, it's not much, but you're welcome to it.

Gina nodded her thanks, while Beth said, "So, we're agreed, then. The furniture we don't want to use we wrap in tarps and take across to the barn - except for your mom's bed, which we leave where it is until you've all moved into your new house, and then Harm and I will arrange to move it up to Vienna. In the meantime, we have our own soft furnishing we are happy to use, but we are also allowed to buy paint and brushes on the company dime and freshen the old homestead up a bit, agreed?"

Mattie stuck out her hand and said, "Agreed!" and then placed the house keys on the table in front of Beth.

Catherine who had been keeping an eye on the time said, "I really think we need to be going. We need to get Mattie settled in and I know Harm's got a lot of work to do before he reports for duty on Monday. Beth, here's my card, with my home and cell numbers on the back, if you have any queries for Mattie you can reach her through me until we get her a 'phone sorted out."

Harm helped Catherine to her feet and a confused round of goodbyes gave Beth the opportunity to hug Harm and whisper in his ear, "You've taken on a heck of job there, my friend!"

He stood back and gave her a full throttle smile, "And you haven't?" he asked cryptically.

Beth and Gina watched the Lexus pull out of the yard and both women heaved a sigh. Beth slipped her arm around Gina's waist while the blonde laid her head against Beth's shoulder and rubbed her cheek against the soft wool of Beth's sweater, "Oh, Beth, what have you got us into this time?"

Beth looked down at her lovingly and said, "Hey, it was all your fault!"

"My fault?" Gina straightened up and looked Beth square in the eyes.

"Damn straight! You were the one who told me to take the offer!"

"I did?" Gina protested laughingly, "Oh, yeah, I did, didn't I? But what does it matter if this place is falling down around our ears, and it'll take months to set it straight."

"Doesn't matter at all," teased Beth, "It'll give you something to do while I'm at work!"

Gina laughed again, "Yeah, riiiight!"

"Come on you. Let's lock up and get home. We've got to get enough packed so we can start living here from Monday!"