Free Touch the Heavens by Lindsay McKenna

thought.
    Chris reached down and switched the dial to PVT. “Go ahead,” she said, holding the mask that held the communications device up to her mouth.
    “You looked pretty tired when you came in this morning.”
    She managed a low laugh. “Is that a statement or question?”
    Dan’s laughter floated back into her ears. She relaxed, loving the huskiness of his voice. “A statement. What did you do? Stay up all night studying the F-4 manual?”
    “Couldn’t sleep so I decided to read through it one last time,” she admitted cautiously.
    “It showed. I’m giving you a ninety-four percent on your overall grade. Congratulations.”
    The shock of his statement almost disrupted her concentration as she taxied the F-4 toward the ramp.
    “What’s the matter?” Dan drawled. “Did I finally surprise you?”
    She blinked and then choked on a laugh. “Sort of! A ninety-four?”
    “You earned it,” he said. “And just to celebrate all the hard work you’ve been putting in, I’m taking you out for dinner tonight. No argument.”
    Chris didn’t know what to do first: cry, laugh or yell with happiness. She had passed with flying colors! A new sense of pride overwhelmed her momentarily. It had been a long hard road back since that crash—she had fought her own fears every time she had sat in the cockpit of a jet. By passing the test for the F-4, she had reconfirmed so much about herself that Chris lapsed into silence, too emotional to trust her voice.
    “Hey, when I said ‘no argument’ I didn’t mean for you to completely ignore my invitation.”
    Chris willed back her tears and popped the canopy hatch, allowing fresh air into the cockpit. As she slowly brought the F-4 into parking position with the help of the ground crew, she said, “I’m in shock.”
    “Over the test score or my invitation to dinner?”
    Chris managed a smile, unbuckling the complicated harness and placing the safety pins back into the ejection seat. “Both, frankly. I’m going to unhook. See you down on the ramp.”
    Several other students and instructors were on the ramp, preparing to fly. Among them was Brodie who was climbing into the F-4 next to them. Chris ignored the glare Brodie leveled in her direction. She pulled the camouflaged helmet off her head, carefully tucking it back into the flight bag and released her chignon. Her ebony hair swung across her shoulders, framing her face once again. Dan sauntered around the wing and joined her. An irrepressible grin lurked at the corners of his mouth. Without the helmet, his hair was mussed, giving him a boyish look. Chris couldn’t help but return his smile. Suddenly her exhaustion disappeared. All the nights of sporadic sleep coupled with the replay of the crash now seemed far away.
    Dan shortened his stride in order to walk at Chris’s side. A glint of pride shone in his blue eyes as he looked down at her. “I’ll pick you up tonight at eight, Raven. Oh, and one more thing. Put your dancing shoes on. We’ve got some heavy celebrating to do.”
    She grinned. “Roger, roger, read you loud and clear.”
    It had been one long, exciting day. Written tests on calculus and aerodynamics were given that afternoon. They had to be graded, but Chris knew from long experience that her answers were correct. Begging off from joining Karen and Mark at the O’Club, Chris went directly to her room at the BOQ. She stripped off the flight suit, wrinkling her nose at the odor her nervousness had created during the demanding flight test. After taking a hot, invigorating shower, the tiredness that she had held at bay overwhelmed her. Slipping into her pale-pink robe, Chris lay down on the couch, intent upon a quick nap to refresh herself.
    Her nightmare began insidiously, interwoven with the exhausted sleep she desperately needed. First, there was the
    G-buildup as the T-38 jet aircraft suddenly nosed downward at a frightening angle, crushing her against the ejection seat. She felt as if a huge hand