Chapter Ninety

For the majority of the flight, Trapper busied himself in discussions about experiences with the latest surgical techniques with several other doctors who he'd met in Washington and were traveling on the same flight. They all departed his company in St. Louis to catch their connecting flights home. Trapper and Leah didn't have to change planes. This flight would be flying directly to San Francisco.

When Trapper brought Leah's hand to his lips, she turned away from the window where she had been staring out for most of the leg to St. Louis. "You've been awfully quiet."

She giggled. "Your conversation with those other doctors wasn't exactly something I could keep up with." Turning back to the window, she sighed. "Do you ever wonder what Heaven is like when you're up in an airplane above the clouds?"

"You mean the idea of what it would be like to sleep on one of those light, fluffy clouds. Sorry, kiddo. You'd fall right through."

"You don't generally think in quixotic terms, do you?" she asked, feigning annoyance.

"I don't go chasing after windmills, if that's what you mean."

"Well, I do, especially when I'm up here…closer." She bowed her head. "It seems so, anyway." Looking back out the window, she added, "I wonder if it's true that when you die you see your loved ones, and nothing bad ever happens again."

"We'll probably never know the answer to that question until we die. Maybe we should swap seats."

She turned and found him gazing at her with a worrisome expression, then patted his leg. "That wouldn't be fair to whoever is going to occupy the seat across the aisle. You're much more interesting to talk to than I." When his look didn't change, she wrinkled her nose. "You worry too much. I'm fine right where I am."

"When we get home, I don't want to tell anyone we're there just yet. I want an evening all to ourselves before we dive back in."

Leaning into him, she bowed her head, but looked up into his eyes wearing a provocative smile. "And just what do you have in mind?"

Trapper moved his lips next to her ear, and before he began to tell her about their evening, he nibbled her earlobe and lightly touched her neck with a kiss. "Oh, dinner at L'Ardoise followed by slow dancing in front of the cinnabar lacquer screen after which we will go upstairs and imbibe a 1939 Warre port while we share dark Belgian chocolate, and then end with or, depending on how you look at it, begin an excess of erotic…nocturnal… delights."

Leah sat holding her breath. Her eyelids became heavy until they closed with an intense blush that reverberated through her body. Trapper watched expectantly until she finally let the breath out slowly through her open mouth, eliciting a satisfied smile from him. He leaned over her and pushed the recline button on the arm of her seat, then said slowly in a deep, low voice, "Now, why don't you just lay back, close your eyes , relax, and think about that for awhile."

Leah and Trapper lay in each other's arms, Trapper with his face buried at the side of her neck, both breathing deeply and evenly in the fading intensity of intimacy. Resting on his arms, he was careful to protect her from his weight. When he rose up to look into her eyes, they were closed.

Still, she felt his warm breath on her face and smiled. "You were on a plane most of the day, then dinner, dancing and now…how long have we been up here? Where do you find the energy?" Leah felt his amusement; a rumble rising from deep within his chest that stayed deep when it touched his lips.

"A man can do anything he desires given the right motivation." He kissed her forehead, moving down her nose to her cheeks, her chin, and finally, ingratiating himself at her lips.

"Are you going to let me up? Opening her eyes, she found his blissfully twinkling at her and giggled. "Or is there something else you want from me?"

He settled himself more comfortably, planning to stay right where he was as long as it took. "There is."

Placing her hands on his arms, feeling his biceps hard and defined beneath them, she slowly moved them up to his shoulders close to his neck and began kneading. "And what could you possibly want that warrants my captivity?"

"Your undivided attention first and foremost."

Her hands stopped kneading, and her eyes took on a cautiously curious squint. "Go on."

"I've been thinking lately about how nice it would be to come home every night with someone else who belonged here." He felt her take a breath and waited for her to let it out. She didn't. "I would like you to call this house your home…our home…as my wife."

Her eyes instantly moved away from his, and that breath she had been holding came out all at once through her mouth, but she managed a nervous giggle. "You said you'd never marry again…that it costs too much."

He laughed almost silently. "Somehow, I don't think that will ever be a consideration for us."

"How can you say that as much as we fight?" she asked, trying to push him off of her.

"You know you'll never be able to do that, don't you?" She sneered, and he dove into her neck, staying close to her ear. "We have an agreement. Discussions about work stay at the hospital. We don't fight about anything else."

With a look of desperation, she stared up at the ceiling as he continued plying his subterfuge at her earlobe. "Do you honestly believe that won't carry over?"

"I love you. Marry me," came his muffled reply from the side of her head.

"Trapper, this is…I need time."

"For what?"

"To think."

"Don't think. Listen to your heart." He rose up and looked from her eyes to her lips. "Just follow your heart," he whispered just before he kissed her lips, refusing to stop and letting the passion grow until she was breathless. With their lips still touching, he breathed the words, "Marry me." Reaching over to the nightstand, he pulled open the drawer and drew out the small black box he had been carrying around with him for weeks now. He removed the ring with two fingers as he held the box with the others and tossed the box to the floor. Taking her left hand, he moved it between their faces and slipped the ring on her finger.

With her chin quivering, she opened her mouth, and then closed it, folding her lips into a tight line. Never had she thought that getting married again was an option for her. She'd thought she'd found the love of her life in John, and when the children came, she was sure of it.

"You're thinking, aren't you? You're not supposed to be thinking."

She smiled absently. Was Angela right? Did she really have a second chance at that kind of love? "John, what if I…what if my heart…"

"You're heart is healthy. There's no reason to believe it won't stay that way. But if something does happen I'll take whatever time we have."

Moving her hand up into the air, she studied it and smiled at the single stone set on top of a thin band of gold. As a tear ran down the side of her face, she said softly, "It's beautiful."