Excerpt Two from Airborne
by DiAnn Mills
(To read excerpt
one of chapter one of Airborne by DiAnn Mills, please visit The Adventures of
a Travelers Wife.)
A female passenger, sporting red spiked
hair and chin-length hooped earrings, stopped beside her. The woman carried a
Venti Starbucks. “Excuse me.” Her German accent a reminder of the destination.
“Would you mind holding my coffee while I store my carry-on?”
“Of course.” Heather held the cup while
the woman shoved her small suitcase into the overhead bin.
“Sorry for the inconvenience. I wasn’t
thinking when I bought the coffee.”
“It smells heavenly.” Heather stood to let
the woman pass and then handed her the cup.
“Thank you.” The woman blew on the lid and
took a sip. “I’m Mia.”
“I’m Heather.”
“Long flight ahead but soon I’ll be home.”
She pointed to Heather’s brochure. “Salzburg?”
“Yes. For a much-needed vacation.”
“I’m from Frankfurt. Really missing my
daughter and husband.”
“You’ll see them soon.”
Mia broke into a wide smile. “We’ve done
FaceTime and texted, but I want to touch their faces and hug them.”
Heather continued to read the Salzburg
brochure to avoid any personal comments from Mia, like whether she was taking a
vacation solo. An elderly man wearing a straw fedora and a white mustache sat
in the aisle seat across from Heather. He pulled his phone from his pant pocket
and used his thumbs on the keyboard like a kid.
Mia placed her coffee on the tray and made
a phone call. “Wie
geht es meinem kleinen Mädchen?”
Heather translated the German. How is my little girl?
The woman’s excitement resonated through every word. Love. Laughter. Priceless
commodities that Heather didn’t possess. Yet this trip offered an opportunity
to rekindle her faith in God and chart a course for the future.
While the attendants made their way
through business class with drink orders, Heather longed to have confirmation
she’d made the right decision to take this trip. No one knew of her vacation
plans except her parents and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Wade Mitchell in
Houston. No one needed to know the why of her trip until she made a few
decisions.
Stuffing the Salzburg brochure into her
bag, she snatched the aircraft’s information and confirmed the layout for 267
passengers, restrooms, exit doors, in-seat power, on-demand entertainment, and
three galleys. She always noted the details of her surroundings, another habit
of working so many FBI cases. Always be prepared for the unexpected.
If the trip had been FBI sanctioned, her
present circumstances might not hurt so much. How ironic she worked the
critical incident response group as a behavior analyst, and she wrestled to
understand her own life.
Right on time, the flight attendants took
their assigned posts while miniature screens throughout the plane shared the
aircraft’s amenities and explained the passenger safety instructions. The
captain welcomed them moments before the plane lifted into the clouds.
On her way. No turning back. She prayed
for a safe journey and much-needed answers.
Food smells from business class caught her
attention, a mix of roasted chicken and beef. Too often of late, she forgot to
eat or nothing appealed to her. To shake off the growing negativity, she paid
for Wi-Fi and grabbed her phone from her bag. Time to concentrate on something
other than herself.
She glanced at the incoming notifications.
No texts. Her emails were an anticipated list of senders when she longed for a
change of heart from Chad. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Between her job, Chad,
and stress, too often she fought for enough pillow time.
Two hours later, she woke from a deep
sleep to the sound of a woman’s scream.
Read the first two chapters of Airborne by DiAnn Mills at www.diannmills.com.
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8/18/20
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Book Trailer
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8/18/20
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Review
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8/19/20
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Author Video
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8/19/20
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BONUS Post
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8/20/20
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Guest Post
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8/20/20
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Review
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8/21/20
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Review
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8/22/20
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Excerpt
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8/23/20
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Excerpt
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8/24/20
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Scrapbook
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8/24/20
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Review
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8/25/20
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Character Interview
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8/26/20
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Review
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8/26/20
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Author Video
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8/27/20
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Review
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8/27/20
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Review
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