KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench, where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site, so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
~~~
TURBULENCE
Flight for Life Series Book 1
BY ELAINE MEECE
Blurb
The past haunts her, but the future may kill her.
Cynthia Reynolds, CEO of Zurtel, has one love in her life—her career. At a young age, she learned the pain of romance.
Now her father has hired Tristen Conners as a pilot, the very man who taught her that painful lesson.
A sinister plot of industrial espionage to steal MX7, a new product that will revolutionize the aerospace industry, throws Cynthia and Tristen together in a deadly adventure.
~~~
TURBULENCEFlight for Life Series Book 1
BY ELAINE MEECE
Excerpt
Tristen arrived early for his first flight with Zurtel and submitted his flight plan. It’d be a straight flight to Jacksonville. His father had made a career with the company and had probably done some serious begging to convince Owen Reynolds to hire him.
At the hangar, Dwayne Black met him. “She requested your old man.”
“Dad’s grounded all week with the flu.” Tristen tossed his leather pouch to the other shoulder. “What about the other pilot?”
“Mike’s flying Randall tonight.”
“Looks like she’ll have to settle for me.”
“You might not even see her.”
“If I’m lucky.”
“Trust me. She considers pilots no more than overpaid chauffeurs. We’re all beneath Miss High and Mighty Cynthia Reynolds.”
Tristen grinned thinking how much his uniform could pass for a chauffeur’s uniform.
He didn’t mention he knew Cynthia. After the summer he’d spent at the Reynolds’ estate, all he could think about was a way he could spend his life with her. But at the airport, his dad handed him a letter from Cynthia. Bottom line—he wasn’t good enough for her. She wrote whatever they’d shared was over. Despite the note, he tried calling to no avail. His number had been blocked.
Now he debated how to approach her. Should he casually greet her like old friends?
Cythnia, great seeing you. You’re looking good, Cynthia.
An image of her firing him his first night ran through his mind, making him rethink it. Nope, this had to be business. Nothing else. If unemployed, he could lose his daughter, Mallory, to his wife’s parents. She was all they had left of Danielle.
At the larger airlines, a maintenance crew handled the outer preflight check. Here, each pilot or copilot conducted a preflight test both inside and out.
He walked the length of the jet, checking for fuel or oil leaks and making sure the jet had been gassed up. He didn’t find any damage done to the outer skin or loose fasteners or bolts. The tires and landing gears looked good, and everything secured down.
Inside, he had to familiarize himself with the Beechjet 400. It was smaller than the 747 he’d flown. First thing, he built his nest, adjusting his seat, so he’d have some space between him and the instrument panel. Then he set the rudder to suit him. Using an iPad, he reviewed the maintenance log from the previous flight based on the Hobbs reading. Then he checked the weather report for the areas he’d be flying. Their route didn’t show any problems. He conducted a standard safety check in the cockpit.
The corporation also owned and operated several Piaggio 180 II jets. From what he had heard, Randall had been eyeing a Gulf Stream G450.
The outer steps vibrated as someone walked up them.
“Welcome aboard, Miss Reynolds,” Annie said. The thin female attendant wore brown glasses with her hair twisted up. She had the potential to be pretty.
“How long before departure?” Cynthia asked, her voice bristling with frustration and impatience.
She didn’t sound like the seventeen-year-old girl who had so willingly loved him.
He crossed through the galley that separated the cockpit from the cabin. In the passenger area sat four leather love seats with tables before each one. “We’re waiting for the copilot. He’s stuck in traffic.”
When she turned around, her green eyes shot ice crystals at him. “I wasn’t speaking to you.”
Even her Arctic greeting didn’t stop him from staring at her. She still wore her black hair long. He couldn’t help but think of how many times he’d kissed her gorgeous lips. It seemed like eons ago. He couldn’t deny seeing her stirred memories. But this wasn’t the girl he’d fallen in love with. Though still elegant and beautiful, this woman came across as cold and hard.
He glanced past her and smiled at the flight attendant. “Please inform Miss Reynolds, our copilot is held up in traffic due to an accident.”
Though appearing uncomfortable, the attendant repeated his message.
“I’m going to be late,” Cynthia complained.
Tristen glanced at the attendant. “Let her know the bird doesn’t fly without a copilot. It’s her father’s rule. I can make up the time once we’re in the sky.”
Cynthia huffed. “Never mind, I heard him. I requested your father.”
“Dad’s got the flu.” Tristen grinned. “You could take a commercial flight.”
She narrowed her large green eyes into slits and glared. “As soon as you have your court date, you’re out of here. Got it?”
“Loud and clear.”
Annie’s flabbergasted expression revealed she’d probably figured out he already knew Cynthia.
He returned to the cockpit and took his seat. Just maybe he could land another job with one of the other airlines. Mallory’s tuition came due in February. He couldn’t afford to walk out on this job. He had to cool his attitude. He didn’t like working for the ice queen. Obviously, the typed letter she’d written after that summer reflected her true feelings.
Once Evan joined him in the cockpit, Tristen slipped on his headphones and finished the interior preflight check, making sure all systems worked properly. He then taxied onto the private runway and checked the engines.
Unlike a class C or D airport, it didn’t have a ground or tower controller to instruct him. He contacted UNICOM and made his intention to take-off known so any aircrafts in the area would be aware of him.
Tristen sped down the runway. Once he reached a speed of 120, he pulled back on the control yoke, then increased the power, lifting into the air. Once he leveled out, he found a radio frequency and identified himself with a tower controller at ATL as he flew under their radar. He’d never get tired of the rush taking off gave him.
♦♦♦
Cynthia closed her eyes. His voice still sent shivers over her. She didn’t want to feel any of her old yearnings. He had walked out on her and never looked back. The typed letter his father had given her proved Tristen had only used her.
He wasn’t the scrawny seventeen-year-old. He’d filled out nicely, and his voice had deepened. Why’d he have to be so damn handsome?
They’d become best friends and then lovers. She had willingly given her virginity to him. It wasn’t until he had returned to Florida that she realized she was pregnant.
Each night, she read his crude letter, reminding herself what a fool she’d been.
Right when she planned to tell Tristen’s father about the baby, her stepmother tricked her into going to the unwed mother’s home. Friends and family believed she was studying abroad. Dumb, but everyone bought it. Giving up her daughter had left her hollow and cold inside. It had shaped her into a savvy business woman.
Through the years, she thought about her daughter often, especially on her birthday, April seventeenth. The memories always cause intense heartache.
“Annie, bring me a diet soda,” Cynthia requested. She’d prefer something stronger but had to keep her mind sharp to deal with Davis and Simmons.
“Here’s your soda,” Annie said. “Anything else, Miss Reynolds?”
“No, thank you.”
Cynthia recalled her father saying Tristen had a daughter. She couldn’t resist the temptation to snoop. She took her phone out and looked him up on social media, then checked out his photo albums. His daughter had dark hair, brown eyes, and big dimples like her dad. Cute kid. Some pictures included his wife, Danielle.
She read his last post describing the snowflake he was making for Mallory’s Christmas program at St. Mary’s. It was an affluent school and had to be expensive.
“We’re approaching Jacksonville, Florida. The temperature is sixty-five, and skies are clear,” Tristen’s dreamy voice said over the speaker.
Cynthia prepared for landing. While waiting, she tried to keep her thoughts off of Tristen both past and present. The old yearning swelled inside her.
You are so not over him
Oh, yes, I am. I’m not the teenage girl he swept off her feet. In fairness to him, he’d never known they had a daughter. A daughter, she planned to find.
About Author Elaine Meece…
Elaine Meece was a previous PAN member of Romance Writers of America. Now she belongs to Writing in the Bluff and Malice of Memphis. a crime writer/mystery group. She has 19 titles. Fifteen are romantic suspense. She has a three book comedy series, Love Shack, Sugar Shack, and Let’s Shack Up. She co-authored In the Shadow of the Sun, a historical based on a true story, with her husband.
She has been a finalist and won RWA chapter contests for best romantic suspense including Launching a Star contest. Also for Love Shack, she was a finalist in the Launching a Star contest.
Elaine is married to Geoffrey Meece, who is also a writer.
In their free time, they love to go inner tubing or white water rafting.
~~~
Links to Elaine’s websites, blogs, books, #ad etc.:
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/4eR85ll
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Elaine-Meece/author/B008C38P86?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true
~~~
Special Giveaway: Elaine will gift a print copy (US Only) of TURBULENCE to one lucky reader who comments on her Karen’s Killer Book Bench blog. Good luck!
~~~
Thanks, Elaine, for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
This book is just like how I like them suspenseful, interesting, romantic, thrilling, unpredictable and keeps you guessing not to mention that I also like a good book that’s a page turner too.
So good to meet you, Elaine….
Flying and all things air industry reign high in our family… Pilots, A&P, buying and selling from small aircraft to jets…
Great excerpt, very curious now re daughters
Thanks, Elaine and Karen
I found general aviation fascinating when I took aerospace at the University of Memphis.
This story sounds exciting and suspenseful. Thank you for sharing!
Diana, it is. It’s one of my best books. It would still have five stars if a troll hadn’t trashed it for no good reason. It has two plots going that of Tristen and Cynthia and her daughter’s struggle.
I consider it one of my best books. It broke my heart when a troll trash it in a review and gave it the lowest rating. It is suspenseful and action packed. It has the daughter’s plot going as well.
I love romantic suspense, and this sounds like it’s right up my alley. Thank you for sharing with us, and for the chance to win a copy of our own.
I love writing them. I found sweet romances boring to write. The suspense makes it more interesting. I’ve had some intense moments in my life which is why I may always lean towards suspense. Ha. It’s also the reason I took karate and learned to shoot.
I love writing them. I found sweet romances boring to write. The suspense makes it more interesting. I’ve had some intense moments in my life which is why I may always lean towards suspense. Ha. It’s also the reason I took karate and learned to shoot.
New author for me and one of my favorite genres to read!
I have nineteen titles all together. One is a true story historical of nurses from TN in WWII, and a comedy series, but it also has some suspense in it. Check out all my books. One of my favorites is Eye of the Abductor.
Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench, Elaine. I loved your excerpt. I’m intrigued by both the story and the set up. My husband is a retire A&P mechanic, so I love stories with pilots and plane mechanics. Your book is going on my TBR pile. Thanks for sharing it with us today!
Sounds exciting and intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
Hope you check out all my books. Even my comedy series has suspense going on.
nice excerpt
I love that first moment when the hero and heroine meet. These two have a past together and have a lot of overcome. The first time I wrote it, I didn’t like it, trashed it, and started over. I did use a few things from the first version. It made it a lot better book. I had to do that to one of the comedies as well. But in the long run, you come out with a better book.
Great excerpt, I am excited to read this.
I hope you enjoy reading it as I did writing it. I first wrote it and tossed it, then started over. It has another subplot of the daughter. It will keep you turning pages.