“I just don’t know if I can.”

“You’re interested in a wonderful man who happens to be a pilot, and you have a very real and very understandable fear of flying that’s going to cause a problem in your new relationship if you don’t try to address it somehow.”

“Jeez, when you put it that way, I sound like I need to be committed.”

“Shut up,” Jenny said, sputtering with laughter. “You do not!”

“What if…”

“What? Just say it.”

“What if I can’t get past it? What if I decide it’s better for me to never fly again? How do I manage whatever this is with Slim when flying is his life?”

“First of all, flying is his livelihood, not his life. And you’ll find a way to work around it if you and he are meant to be. If he cares about you as much as I suspect he already does, he’d probably tell you that he’d never want you to be afraid or uncomfortable, even if it means making some changes in his own life.”

“You’re awfully certain of that.”

“I have a good feeling about you two, and so do Alex and Paul. They both said so this morning after you were here.”

“You guys are talking about me behind my back?” she asked, amused by the island gossip machine.

“Nah, nothing like that. We’re happy for you.”

“I know.”

“Still coming tonight?”

“I told you I wouldn’t miss it.”

“You’re allowed to miss it if you get a better offer for more of the stuff that got interrupted earlier.”

“I think I can control myself long enough to attend your party.”

Laughing, Jenny said, “See you soon. And think about trying the flying thing once to get that first time out of the way. You know Slim would be great about it.”

As she ended the call with Jenny, Erin wondered how she would think about anything other than the dilemma that threatened to derail the promising relationship with Slim before it even got started.

Owen Lawry pulled the crumpled letter out of his back pocket and looked at it again. Although one sentence could hardly be called a “letter.” It was blackmail. Emotional blackmail. The page he’d wanted to rip to shreds the minute he opened it said only, Take my call and I’ll give your mother a divorce.