Capri's Fate by Daryl Devore Page A

onto her seat. "Yes. Sorry. Knees are wobbly. Guess I'm a bit more shaken than I thought."
    He tapped the couch next to him. "Come sit here. More comfortable." He held out his hand offering her assistance.
    When she gripped his hand, Thall sensed the fear she was trying to control. He shifted left and let her sit in his spot. "Now put your feet up on the table. And relax." He knelt between the table and couch. "Let me get these shoes off you." Holding one up, he gazed at it. "How do you females walk in these things?"
    "Obviously not well, as I just planted my face on your chest."
    Thall grinned. "You may do so whenever you feel the need." He removed the other shoe and tucked them beside the couch. "Glass of wine? To calm those shattered nerves."
    "Please."
    Thall rustled through the galley looking for glasses and a bottle opener. When he returned to the cabin, he discovered Capri leaning back, with her eyes closed and releasing a large sigh. He waved the glass under her nose.
    Her eyelids fluttered open.
    "Wasn't sure if you'd fainted or passed out or something."
    Capri accepted the glass with a smile. "No, just trying to sort things out."
    He sat next to her and placed a small silver tray covered with bags of pretzels and peanuts on the table beside two bottles of wine. He raised his glass. "Any landing you can walk away from is a good one."
    She clinked her glass against his and sipped her wine. "Thank you for getting the plane down safely."
    He tossed a salute at her and propped his feet up on the table. "So what needs sorting out?"
    She raised an eyebrow.
    "You said you were sitting there sorting things. Sorting out what?"
    "We've landed who knows where. There's a horrific storm blowing outside, and I'm going to miss my meeting tomorrow." Her voice raised an octave. "And you want to know what I'm trying to sort out?"
    Swallowing a mouthful of wine, he nodded.
    She grabbed a bag of pretzels, bit the corner with her teeth and ripped it open. A dozen pieces of salty snack flew out of the package. Two landed in Thall's wine. The rest fell on her blouse. Capri leaned her head back and heaved a sigh.
    Thall dug the two out his wine, popped them into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. "Mmm. Interesting. Wine covered pretzels." He picked one off her blouse and popped it into his mouth. "One for me." He picked up another one and held his hand by her lips. "And one for you."
    She glanced sideways at him.
    "Come on. Open up." He waved his hand in small circles. "Open up the plane hangar. The pretty, little jet wants to land. Come on. You can do it."
    Capri separated her lips, and Thall tucked the pretzel into her mouth. She snapped her teeth shut.
    He curled in his fingers and pulled his hand to his chest. "I'll let you clean off the rest of the pretzels. I need all my fingers to fly the plane."
    She swiped her hand down her blouse, collected the pretzels and placed them back onto the tray. "Sorry. I'm just out of sorts. I dislike not being in control of my life."
    "So you decided to fly to Indonesia during cyclone season and try to get to some little island for a meeting, and you call that being in control?"
    "Yes. No." She sipped her wine. "I plan things. Lay my life out before me. So I know where I'm going." She lowered her gaze to her lap as she gulped another mouthful.
    Thall's brow wrinkled. What just went through her head to make her so sad?
    Capri held up her empty glass waiting until Thall refilled it. "Picture this. My time line. Get on plane. Fly to Jakarta. Get on another plane. Fly to Flores. Go to meeting. Dazzle people with my business acumen. Fly home. Be promoted to president of the company. Live happily ever after." She held up her glass.
    He tapped his glass against hers. "To happily ever after."
    She frowned and rubbed her nose. "Oh, and at some point in time, actually register at the hotel and get some sleep."
    He waved his hand in the air. "Welcome to the T. Hall Charterways Suites. I can recommend a lovely couch