A Single Dad in Amish Country by Patricia Johns

Author:Patricia Johns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2023-03-30T18:22:39+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

HAZEL LOOKED UP at the retreating clouds as they drove down the narrow highway. She always felt this once she came back down to the ground—a longing to be flying again already. In the back seat, Lottie was pretending that she was piloting a plane, narrating everything she did in a soft little voice that made it clear this story was for herself, not them.

“That was pretty amazing to see you in action,” Joe said.

“Yeah?” She smiled. “Do you like flying?”

“I hate it.” He chuckled. “Well, let me clarify that. I liked this trip with you, but getting on a plane, juggling my luggage, sitting pinned next to a stranger with no ability to stretch my legs out—not my favorite way to travel.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “I get that. Like I told Lottie, being the pilot is different.”

He slowed as they came up behind a buggy, then signaled as he pulled around it, giving the horse and buggy lots of space.

“You’re really something else up there,” Joe said.

“You mean, I’m in charge.”

“Maybe.” His gaze flickered toward her, and he smiled sheepishly. “I hope that didn’t come across wrong. I’m just... I guess I’m really impressed.”

“You can’t offend me with that,” she said.

“Good.” He pulled back in front of the buggy again after signaling longer than usual and shoulder-checking twice. “You love it up there. I could see it.”

“It’s like I come alive in an airplane,” she agreed. “When I started my proper flight lessons for my private license, I was nineteen and a new mom. My parents wanted me to have something just for me. Now, I get how privileged that sounds—and it is. A lot of single moms struggled more than I did financially, and I had parents who were determined to see me thrive, even with a baby girl on my hip. But having a baby, having Todd leave me, having all of my friendships change because I was a mom, and they were still teenagers having fun... Getting into a cockpit let me do something that was truly mine. And flying let me grow in a way I wouldn’t have been able to on the ground.”

She could still remember the things that used to hurt the most. One friend had seemed obsessed with Hazel’s changed figure. After a pregnancy and a baby, she never would look like the lithe teen she used to be. There were friends who simply disappeared. Some of her aunts and uncles had voiced nasty opinions about her having a baby out of wedlock. It had been an incredibly difficult time. Add to that the heartbreak of Todd moving on with his life and leaving her behind...

“So when you said you just let your worries go up there...” Joe said, pulling her back from her thoughts.

“It started then,” she agreed. “I used to care what people thought of me. There was a lot of pity. I loathed the pity. There were the questions about why I couldn’t hold on to Todd...that kind of thing.

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