"A pleasure to meet you, future Mrs Knox, I am Jasper, Caden's best friend." Jasper said as he helped Nova out of the car when they got to the hangar.
He kissed her knuckles and stared at her face with an appreciative smile. Caden was a lucky man, not that he would know what to do with a fiery beauty like this.
Caden noisily cleared his throat and eyeballed his friend who smirked and reluctantly released Nova's hand.
"Worried that she will make the better choice of choosing me? I do believe this is the first time I am seeing you jealous." Jasper teased while Caden frowned and said gruffly.
"Is the plane ready? Can we leave?"
"Your chariot awaits." Jasper said and pointed at a small plane which stood open.
"Nice to meet you." Nova greeted and was ushered away by Caden.
Jasper smothered the laugh he wanted to let out and watched as his friend went towards the plane, he wanted so desperately to see how Caden would react throughout the flight.
Caden let Nova walk ahead of him and as she climbed up the stairs and he followed behind her he felt his skin become clammy with sweat and he wondered if this was really worth it, he even considered turning back.
The only thing that kept him from doing that was the fact that he had given his word to Nova, she was the perfect choice for him. She did not like him and he did not really care, they were doing a trade by barter to help each other.
He just hated that it had to be done this way, he disliked sneaking around and fighting with his mother. They barely ever disagreed and her refusal to let him make his own choice surprised him but it also made him want to dig his heels in and insist on making his own choice.
But despite all that, he did not want to fly. The sight of an airplane alone conjured images of mangled and twisted iron and bloody limbs burned out of recognition. It was like traveling in a metal coffin then he would have to arrive in an alien new town with strange weather and strange structures and strange people.
When they got into the plane the fairly spacious interior did very little to ease his anxiety about being in the vehicle, he sat stiffly opposite Nova and did not hear a word of the hostess's pre flight instructions.
As the plane began to lift off Caden shut his eyes tightly and tried to do the exercises that his therapist had gone through with him to ease him but nothing made him calm while his anxiety began to escalate and he slowly began to rock back and forth in his seat while his eyes remained shut.
Nova who had been looking out of the window did not notice Caden's discomfort but when she reached for the headphones which had been provided so she could look through the inflight entertainment she looked up and saw Caden looking white and distressed.
She quickly ran to his side and when she touched him he flinched and started to groan softy. She looked at him with uncertainty and wondered what to do, she could see that he was having a panic attack but they were in the air and she did not know what to do.
She pulled his head down to her thighs and began to run her fingers through his lush hair and massage his scalp while leaning close and softly singing a lullaby in his ear.
At first he remained stiff and was still groaning then after a while of her singing and rubbing his head he stopped muttering first then he relaxed and Nova felt his head feel heavy on her lap, a closer examination showed his breathing was even and she realized that he had fallen asleep.
With a smile she straightened up and kept running her finger through his head, glad that she had been able to calm him down and avert a crisis. She told herself that she had soothed him because she needed to get married and secure her family not because seeing him with his eyes clenched in pain had twisted something inside her.
**********
Back at home Callie sat in a chair looking visibly stressed while Faye sat on a different chair with disbelief written all over her face.
"You are saying that this woman said Caden went on a trip but she does not know where he has gone?" Faye asked looking incredulous but Callie did not say a word in reply.
"Mom do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? I find it hard to believe and I think that this woman has an ulterior motive, maybe she is trying to protect her family by leading us in a wrong direction. You know as well as I do that Caden would never travel." She continued.
"I know that but i can't help thinking of the fact that even stronger than his fear of flying is his stubbornness. What if he did indeed decide to travel, I learnt that he has gone around trying to find someone who would marry him and that girl." Callie burst out abruptly near tears.
"So what do we do now?" Faye asked.
They were interrupted by the appearance of the butler who stepped into the room and gave a curt bow.
"Sorry to bother you ma'am but he is here."
"Show him in." Callie said and sat tensely while the butler left and a minute later Jasper came into the room.
He had on a charming smile and a glance around the room informed him all that he needed to know.
"Mrs Knox, it is good to see you. Faye, have you decided to marry me at last." He teased and the scowl on her face deepened while Callie smiled but he could see that the smile did not get to her eyes.
"Jasper, there is a sensitive issue that I have to discuss with you.." Callie said after Jasper had taken his seat and he sat up and listened intently.
"… Caden has disappeared and I have cause to believe that he has gone on a trip."
"Gone on a trip?" A shocked Jasper asked as he looked from Faye's face to Callie's.
"But Caden does not travel." He continued with a perplexed look.
Callie studied his face and nodded as if satisfied.
"I said the same exact thing, thank you for your help. You may go now and I am sorry that I bothered you." She said with a gentle smile and he got up and left.
When he was gone Faye turned to her.
"I told you didn't it? that woman has lied and I am certain that they have done something to Caden." She said viciously.
"She did not lie." Callie said bluntly and Faye looked at her as she typed out on her phone and put it against her ear.
"Hello, I need you to check the flight plans for the Jets belonging to the Flynn family, I want that along with the flight manifestos also. Get it to me immediately." She said then ended the call.
"Why did you do that? Do you think Jasper helped him?" Faye asked hesitantly.
"Oh I know. Did you notice that he did not seem concerned about his friend's safety? If he did not know the whereabouts of Caden he would have been panicking and trying to find him but he was calm." Callie explained.
Callie could not believe that Caden had chosen to defy her so blatantly, it did not bode well for her that he was willing to go to such lengths just to get married to that no good girl.
Now she wished that she had done as Faye had suggested and just gotten a bride of her own choosing instead of showing him the prospective brides, how was she to know that the investigator would bring such an unsatisfactory candidate as a wife for Caden and that would be the one he picked.
As soon as she found where Caden had gone she would go and bring him back here herself, she just hoped that she was not too late.