He grinned at her. “No worries. I’ve got keys. They know me well here. I’m allowed to do what I want. Because they’re closed, I’ll file a flight plan with the airport in Providence, and we’ll be all set.”

“I was sort of hoping you’d say we’re definitely not allowed to so we can go home and pretend like I never agreed to this.”

“Is that what you want to do?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I want to get to my parents as fast as I can. This is the fastest way. And I trust you.”

He brought her hand to his lips. “You can trust me with this and all things. I have to be honest, though. It’ll be a little bumpy leaving the island because it always is. There’s nothing at all to be afraid of, but you might not like it.”

“Maybe the Xanax will knock me out before we take off.”

“Either way, I’ll hold your hand the whole time.”

“No, you won’t! You need your hands to fly the plane.”

Laughing, he said, “I could fly the plane wearing a blindfold with one hand tied behind my back.”

“None of which will be happening on this flight.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, grinning at her saucy comeback. “Let’s get going.” He used a key on his ring to open the gates to the airfield, and after ushering Erin through, he closed and relocked the gate. Shouldering his backpack and her bag, he took her hand and led her to a white plane. In the murky darkness, she couldn’t make out the details, and that was probably for the best because she also couldn’t obsess about how small the plane was.

He opened the passenger-side door for her and helped her into the cockpit. “Get comfortable while I do a preflight check. I’m going to close the door so you won’t get cold, okay?”

Comfortable… Sure. Like that was going to happen. “Um, sure, that’s fine.”

The door closed, sealing her off from the cold and from him. Her gaze darted around the small cockpit, taking in the vast array of knobs and buttons and two sets of U-shaped controls. Was she really going to do this? Was she really going to sit here passively while he took them hurtling down a darkened runway and lifted off into the pitch-black sky?

As much as she wanted to get to her parents, she was no longer sure that flying was the best idea. She was about to open the door and say as much to Slim when he got in the left-side door and got busy continuing his preflight check, systematically going through a checklist that she could see after he turned on the interior lights.