Broken Wings

by Terri Blackstock, New York Times Bestselling Author

• ISBN13: 9780310207085
• ISBN10: 0310207088
• Copyright: 1998-01-01
• Publisher: Zondervan

Summary

Among the 151 people who died in the crash of Flight 94 was Mick Hammon, the plane's captain and Erin Russell's close friend. A pilot herself, Erin now struggles with the shattering losses both of her friend and of her own confidence in the cockpit. With pilot error speculated as the cause of the accident, Erin fights to save Mick's reputation for the sake of the family he left behind. But that fight pits her against Addison Lowe, the crash investigator. Like Erin, he is determined to get at the truth of the disaster. But his conclusions could ruin Mick's good name and the future of Mick's family. Clashing over the details of the disaster, Erin and Addison discover an unexpected, mutual attraction for each other. But it could go down in flames as the investigation spins out of control. Broken Wings is part of the Second Chances series by award-winning suspense novelist Terri Blackstock. Combining fast-paced reading with realistic characters and situations, Second Chances takes readers to where the conflict between good and evil becomes the proving grounds of faith.

Excerpts

Broken Wings
Copyright © 1998 by Terri Blackstock
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Blackstock, Terri, 1957–
Broken wings / Terri Blackstock.
p. cm. — (Second chances)
ISBN-10: 0-310-20708-8 (softcover)
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-20708-5 (softcover)
I. Title. II. Series: Blackstock, Terri, 1957– Second chances.
PS3552.L34285B76 1997
813'.54—dc21 97–36086
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New
International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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Interior design by Amy E. Langeler
Printed in the United States of America
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She was about to snap. Addison Lowe knew all the signs,
for not so long ago he had been on the verge of a breakdown
himself. From the descending stairwell that led to the
rainy airport runway, Addison had watched her, the shadows
rendering him inconspicuous. He’d seen it all: the plane
taxiing into the hangar for an unnecessary inspection of its
wing, the petite first officer debarking as fast as the crew
would allow her to, the long wait until a replacement pilot
could be found. And then he had followed her through the
rain until she was back inside Shreveport Regional Airport,
and observed her as she stood, wet and pensive, staring with
haunted eyes out at the congested runway.
Flipping back the page on his clipboard, he jotted down a
few notes about her behavior, shifted against the rail at his
side, and focused on her again. A look of controlled misery
settled over her features, but her posture straightened, as
though she might allay that misery with sheer physical
effort. Hugging her rain-damp arms, as if to comfort herself,
she stepped closer to the rain-splattered window and followed
the upward progress of a 747. She shivered noticeably
as the plane became nothing more than a light against the
opaque darkness, then turned from the window.
Chapter One
Across the corridor at the Southeast counter, a young
ground clerk gave her a compassionate look. “It’s okay,
Erin.”
Erin, he thought. That’s what they call her. He took a few
steps up the stairs and saw the expression of defeat flit away
as if she had chased it. He could see that she didn’t want pity
or gentle pats on the back. And she didn’t want to be afraid.
He knew. He had been there.
Brushing her damp, ruffled bangs away from her forehead,
she looked past the ground clerk to the door that led to the
office of Frank Redlo, the assistant chief pilot. And with all
the determination of a woman about to turn a major corner
in her life, she started toward the door.
Addison waited a beat after she’d gone in before he followed
her. He shouldn’t trail her like some spy waiting for
a glimpse of impropriety, he told himself, but some instinctual
compulsion drove him on. Instincts were a major part
of his job, after all, and if one of Southeast’s pilots was showing
symptoms of instability, he, above all people, had the
right to know. It wasn’t just idle curiosity or a need to follow
the pull of whatever it was in her eyes that had moved
him. He was simply doing his job.
Besides, he had an appointment with Redlo, anyway.
She was already in her boss’s office when he stepped into
the waiting area outside it. Through the open door he could
hear the sound of Redlo’s low, angry mumbling, and then
her voice rising above his, her tone defensive, desperate.
“You don’t have to give me the third degree, Frank,
because it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“What do you mean it doesn’t matter? You’re one of our
pilots! You’re on our payroll, aren’t you?”
“Not anymore,” she said without hesitation. “I came in
here to resign.”
The words came too easily, shaking Erin up. Had she
really said it? Had she meant it? Bleakly, she realized
she had.
Frank’s face mottled into various unsettling shades of
crimson. “Resign! Are you nuts? You can’t resign!”
“Why not?” Erin argued. “I can’t fly. You said yourself
that a pilot who can’t fly is of no use to an airline.”
“Don’t twist my words!” Frank said, one hand flailing in
the air as he shook his index finger at her. “I said there’s no
room for a pilot who won’t fly. You can and will!”
“No, I can’t!” she shouted. “I froze, Frank. I was cleared
for takeoff, and I froze!”
Frank clutched his head with both hands, as though to
keep it from splitting right down the middle of his bald spot.
“You can’t do this,” he said, lowering his voice to a reasonable
level. “You’re tougher than this. You’ve flown dangerous
missions for the FBI and the Justice Department, for
heaven’s sake. You’ve had bullets flying at you, and you
didn’t bat an eye. Erin, you’ve got to get a grip. This is not
the end of the world. You’re just depressed, but you’ll get
over it.” He slammed his elbows on the desk and raked back
what remained of his hair. “You were up for a promotion
soon. You were ready, Erin. I was gonna recommend you be
moved up to captain.” He dropped his hands and leaned
across his desk, his silver eyes punctuating each word.
“You’re a good pilot, and I won’t allow you to throw a career
away because of a senseless crash that had nothing to do
with you. For pete’s sake, you weren’t even on that plane.”
Tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them back, determined
not to let this conversation turn into a wearisome
summation of the crash. It was over, behind them, and she
didn’t want to talk about it. “You can’t stop me, Frank. I
quit. That’s all there is to it.” The words held only harsh
finality. Stiffly, she stood before him, waiting for acceptance.
“Okay,” Frank said. He slouched back in his chair and
rubbed his forehead. His face looked as fatigued and wrinkled
as old bedsheets. He swiveled to the window at his
back and peered out of it, shaking his head. “Okay. Let’s say
that I accepted your resignation and you walked out of here,

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Excerpted from Broken Wings by Terri Blackstock
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.