Blue Skies

Nikki saw little of Carlisle and Dixie, and she hadn’t seen them together since the day they’d helped her sort through Drake’s things. Neither of them would admit they weren’t speaking, but they hadn’t spoken.

Meanwhile, life at Buck’s was crowded and complicated. There was a definite difference between having the kids there two to four days a week and having them all the time. While no one was given to anal-retentive housekeeping in their family, even Nikki was starting to get edgy because of the constant clutter. She knew it was time to start thinking about finding a place of her own for her and the kids. A place her father could visit. Although Buck didn’t complain too loudly, he was sixty-six and set in his ways. The only real advantage to living with him was that Opal didn’t visit.

She had just begun to tumble around ideas in her mind about what kind of fresh start they needed when a name floated up in front of her. “Do you remember Joe Riordan?” Dixie asked her.

“Yeah, of course. I know him real well. Why?”

“One of the captains I flew with a month or so ago said he’s starting a new airline, in Las Vegas of all places. Danny Adams is thinking of leaving Aries to join Joe.”

“Really?” Nikki asked. “Why would he do that? He’s got a lot of seniority here.”

“I know, but he says he hates all them bellyachin’ pilots, whining about money all the time and threatenin’ to go on strike. It’s makin’ him think fondly of those good old days when everyone was having a good time. Workin’ hard but having some fun. Like back when Joe Riordan was runnin’ it.”

“That’s when I was hired,” Nikki reflected. “They brought him in to expand the company. He’s a deal-maker, a closer. Aries was about six aircraft strong and losing money. Riordan came in and tripled the size of the company in a year, then did it again and again. I was hired in that first big expansion. Under him I got a chance to work in management, first in training and then in flight standards. Hmm. I agree with Danny. That’s when it was fun. But starting an airline now? He must be crazy.”