Free Second Nature by Krista Ames

 
    Chapter One
    “Am I totally crazy?” Dana shook her head. “Certifiably insane! Good Lord, I’m now talking to myself.” She sat up and looked around to make sure no one was listening to her one-sided conversation. Various men were reading the news and women were chatting with their children.
    I’m on a freaking airplane for God’s sake and I hate to fly. I’ve always hated flying! Well, not always, since this is actually the first time, but who cares? What the hell was I thinking?
    She swallowed the last of her iced-down tomato juice and crumpled the bag of peanuts in her hand. She really needed to go to the bathroom, but no way was she leaving her seat. Just the thought of walking through a piece of metal, literally floating through the air at thirty thousand feet above ground, made her stomach turn. Instead, she popped ear-buds in her ears, closed her eyes, and turned her iPod up as high as the volume allowed without bothering the other passengers around her.
    Not that the guy in the window seat beside her would notice though. He was snoring a beat that could wake the dead. How anyone would possibly hear her music or jabbering over his nauseating snorts was a mystery to her. She prayed the rumbling noise at the back of his throat didn’t upset her stomach any more than it already was.
    The country music blaring in her ears would hopefully block out the insufferable snoring, and the flight attendant’s announcements of how high they were above whatever city and how long until they landed in Seattle.
    Dana Stevenson had never been a brave person. If there was risk involved she was out of the picture completely. There were very few people on Earth she would do something so drastic for. Unfortunately, this plane ride, one she saw as a major red-flag, was necessary. She was making an exception, for her friend who’d owe her big time. Dana would make sure.
    She had met Amy at their college orientation and they quickly became best friends. They were inseparable. By mere chance, they had selected the same major and were in the same classes. They had found an apartment within walking distance of the campus and were each other’s shadow until recently.
    During their senior year, Amy had met and fallen in love in with a Navy man. Dave was perfect for Amy, and during many long night telephone conversations, Amy assured Dana that Dave was one of the last original, great guys. When he was landlocked in Seattle, Amy had moved to Washington to be with him. She’d been gone for six months, but those six months were the longest and loneliest of Dana’s life.
    Amy and Dave were now getting married and Dana had been asked to be matron of honor—her reason for flying halfway across the country on a freaking airplane. Big mistake.
    Three weeks ago, Dana had resigned from her cushy office job as a column writer for a magazine to focus full time on her Internet cooking site and online kitchen gadget shop. She could manage her business from any place she could plug in her laptop. This luxury allowed her to take off as much time as she wanted, so she was flying to Washington a week early to help Amy with wedding preparations.
    Amy had bought a little boutique after settling in Seattle. She’d asked Dana if she would mind taking over while on her honeymoon. How could Dana say no? Amy would do the same for her, and Dana wasn’t in any hurry to rush back to a lonely apartment.
    She enlisted her younger stepsister, Mindy, to apartment-sit and to work at the gadget shop, giving Dana an extra two weeks in Seattle after the wedding. There were plenty of tourist sites she was determined to see. No doubt she’d stay busy. Amy had promised Dana a tour of the civilian areas of the Naval Base at Bremerton with Dave.
    Every time Amy talked about the Navy base and Dave, Dana’s heart ached from her own memories. She never forgot about that one incredible freshman year she had spent falling in love with a tall, dark, and handsome man. After