The Happy Bottom Riding Club – Excerpt
Yes, she said.
“Now when is it you wanted to start learning?” he asked.
Pancho didn’t hesitate. “Well, right now is okay,” she said.
Caitlin reached into the front cockpit of one of the planes, grabbed a leather helmet and a pair of goggles and tossed it to her. Moments later, they were airborne, Pancho strapped in the front, Caitlin at the controls in back. She had been in an airplane once before, years ago. When her mother was still alive, the family had taken a scenic boat trip to Catalina Island. You could see the island from Grandmother Dobbins’ house up on the cliff above Laguna Beach. The water was rough that day, the crossing, uncomfortable, and Pancho, as seasick as she would ever be, refused to get back on the boat to go to the mainland. She spotted a tiny plane that had just landed with a passenger, ran over and chartered it for a quick, uneventful return flight.
Her first flight with Ben Caitlin that spring morning was uneventful, too. She liked the fast taxi down the dirt strip, dust flying everywhere, and she liked suddenly, effortlessly being lifted above it all, the engine loud in her ears, the wind whipping at her face. But before she had a chance to feel airborne, they were down again, and Ben was jumping out of the cockpit. They agreed to another, longer flight the next day.