Читать книгу Two Dauntless Hearts онлайн | страница 16

Marly stared across the grassy plains, the color still high in her cheeks. “Shouldn’t be too long. The ATC would have called someone close to our location. We never know what we’re going to get.” She entered the plane and walked from front to rear.

“Well, we might as well enjoy being this up close and personal with the African natives.” Diesel walked past the tip of a wing and stared out over the savanna. “I don’t think I’ve actually seen a water buffalo or zebra from this close.”

“You’re not as close as you’ll be on the safari.” Marly pulled a rag out of her back pocket and wiped the grease off her fingers.

“May I?” Pitbull held out his hand for the rag.

Marly’s brows drew together, and she ran her gaze over him as she handed him the towel.

His lips quirked upward. “Don’t be so suspicious.” He leaned toward her and wiped a smudge of grease from her jaw. “You missed a spot.”

Her cheeks blossomed with color. “Thank you.” She swiped the rag from his hands and stuffed it back into her pocket before turning to the others. “We’re not too far from the resort. If we’re lucky, we won’t have to wait more than an hour before someone shows up to take us there.”

“An hour?” Buck asked.

Marly shrugged. “You never know who or how they will arrive. I’m assuming in a ground vehicle.”

“I’d give my left nut for a whirly bird,” Pitbull muttered. “We wouldn’t be in this situation if we’d started out in a helicopter.”

Marly rounded on Pitbull, eyes blazing, and jabbed her finger into Pitbull’s chest. “If we’d been in a helicopter and the fuel pump went out, those vultures would be picking our bones clean.” She redirected her pointer finger to a flock of vultures riding the air currents several hundred yards away.

Pitbull held up his hands. “Okay, okay. You made your point.”

“Damn right I did. I’d like to see your helicopter pilots land as smoothly without an engine.”

Buck draped an arm over Marly’s shoulders. “You were awesome.” He shot a glare at Pitbull. “We’re alive, aren’t we?”

Pitbull returned his buddy’s glare and then nodded, letting the tension seep out of his body. “You’re right.” He held out his hand to Marly. “You did great landing the plane.”