Flight to the Horizon Read online

  Airline captain Kerri Sullivan has a perfect life. Only one thing is missing—a woman to share it with. She's had plenty of women on the road to success, but she's never met “the one.” Flight attendant Janine Case is beautiful beyond measure, but comes across as aloof and untouchable. When Kerri and Janine are crewmembers on a flight to Hawaii, an unexpected kiss leads to smoldering attraction.

  After Kerri is forced to make an emergency water landing mid-flight and the two women survive a harrowing rescue mission, all Kerri wants to do is follow her heart into Janine’s arms. But Jeanine is hiding a dark secret from her past, one that makes falling in love impossible. She’s on the run from her abusive ex-husband, and she’ll stop at nothing to protect her daughter, even if the cost is her own happiness.

  Flight to the Horizon

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  eBooks from Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com

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  Flight to the Horizon

  © 2020 By Julie Tizard. All Rights Reserved.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-63555-332-1

  This Electronic Original Is Published By

  Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

  P.O. Box 249

  Valley Falls, NY 12185

  First Edition: January 2020

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

  Credits

  Editor: Shelley Thrasher

  Production Design: Stacia Seaman

  Top Cover Photo by Susan Renee

  Cover Design by Sheri ([email protected] )

  By the Author

  The Road to Wings

  Flight to the Horizon

  Acknowledgments

  I want to express my deep appreciation to everyone at Bold Strokes Books for your patience and support in the writing of this book. Thanks to my editor, Shelley Thrasher, for your excellent guidance. To one of my favorite authors, Justine Saracen, I appreciate your outstanding advice.

  To my friend and fellow crew member, Flight Attendant Lisa Carroll, thank you for your expert technical advice. And to all the flight attendants it has been my honor to fly with, thank you for taking care of all of us. Special thanks to Lieutenant Commander Jude Litzenberger, US Navy (ret.), for your guidance on all things nautical. To my readers who have given me such great encouragement, you have my deepest gratitude.

  Despite what you are about to read, flying really is the safest way to travel. Trust me.

  For Sue. Thank you for my Happily Ever After.

  Dedicated to my mother, Barbara Lou Tiffany Tizard.

  Your love of life, of laughter, and of adventure has inspired me.

  You have always been the wind beneath my wings.

  Prologue

  Monday, April 28

  “Trans Global 801, cleared for takeoff, runway two-five right.”

  “Roger, Trans Global 801, cleared for takeoff,” the first officer said.

  Captain Kerri Sullivan pushed both throttles forward slightly to turn the massive Boeing 767 onto the darkened runway. The centerline lights were hard to see with the thick fog and only a quarter mile of visibility. Before takeoff, as usual, Kerri mentally reviewed her abort procedures in case of an emergency. She took a deep breath to focus her mind and body and smoothly pushed both throttles up to takeoff power. “Check thrust.”

  “Thrust set,” the first officer said. Kerri pushed forward slightly on the yoke to keep the nose wheel on the centerline. She glanced at the two columns of engine instruments—all in the green. Excitement tingled through her as the giant engines increased to full power. No matter how many times she did this, the deep growl of the engines always thrilled her, as did the low vibration moving up from her feet through her chest as she accelerated down the runway.

  “One hundred knots.” I’m in the high-speed regime now. The nose wheel steering became more sensitive as the plane quickly accelerated. The air noise increased, and she glanced at the engine instruments one more time—all good.

  “V-one.” The first officer called out the go/no-go speed. Kerri moved her right hand from the throttles to the yoke, indicating she was now committed to the takeoff. Suddenly, the nose of the jet abruptly swerved to the right.

  “Engine fail!” the first officer shouted. Kerri instinctively stepped on the left rudder pedal to bring the airplane back to the centerline. She slammed both throttles forward against the stop. “Rotate,” he called out.

  No, not yet. Fly the jet, fly the jet. Stabilize it on the runway before you get into the air.

  Kerri kept her left leg fully extended on the rudder pedal to counteract the yaw from the failed engine. In the dark fog, the dim centerline lights changed colors from white to red. I have only two thousand feet of runway left. Gently pulling back on the big yoke, she coaxed the crippled jet into the air. Only grayness lay in front of her. She looked down to the electronic attitude indicator and pulled the nose up to ten degrees of pitch. The aircraft, at maximum takeoff weight of three hundred and twenty thousand pounds, barely crept up into the air. Come on, baby. Climb for me.

  After what felt like forever, she was finally one hundred feet above the ground. “Positive rate of climb. Gear up.” The first officer raised the wheel-shaped landing gear lever. Without the drag from the wheels, the jet climbed a tiny bit faster. Kerri looked at the altimeter—almost four hundred feet above the ground. “Pull for runway heading.” She would continue straight ahead over the shoreline into the dark night.

  Her left leg shook from holding the rudder pedal full against the stop. She was climbing at only two hundred feet per minute, with the jet somewhat stabilized. Kerri brought her right hand down to the center console and felt for the unique shape of the rudder trim knob. Turning the knob to the left, she held it until the pressure on her left leg decreased. The altimeter read eight hundred feet above the ground. “Set clean maneuver speed.” The first officer rotated the airspeed knob to two hundred thirty knots. “Autopilot one is coming on,” Kerri announced.

  With the autopilot helping her control the plane, she focused on analyzing what had happened. “What have we got?”

  “We lost all oil quantity from the right engine,” the first officer said.

  “Any indication of fire?”

  “No.”

  “Okay. No chance for a restart. Run the engine-shutdown checklist.” The airplane slowly accelerated. “Flaps up.”

  Kerri focused like a laser beam as she reviewed the multiple tasks before her. She had to fly the jet and keep it stabilized, monitor the copilot while he ran the checklist, and make a plan to get this jet safely on the ground with only one engine. The weather was crappy back at Los Angeles, but it was no better at any other airport for several hundred miles. She had to try to land back at LA. Continuously, she mentally reprioritized all these tasks. Adrenaline raced through her, but she stayed calm and in control. She didn’t have time for fear. Her life, and the lives of her passengers and crew, depended on her.

  “Tower, Trans Global 801 is declaring an emergency. We’ve lost an engine, and I need vectors back to LA for an instrument approach. Two hundred fifty-five souls on board.”

  “Trans Global 801, copy your emergency. Turn left heading one-six-zero. Contact SoCal Approach on one-three-five-point-one-five. Eme
rgency equipment will be standing by.”

  “Trans Global 801, heading one-six-zero.” Kerri picked up the flight interphone and rang the cabin call button. She briefed the flight attendants on what was going on, made an announcement to the passengers, then called the company dispatch.

  The fog in LA had improved slightly to one-half-mile visibility. Good enough to land, but just barely. “Bob, I’m going to fly the ILS precision approach to runway two-five left. This will be right to minimums, so I need you to back me up.” Kerri briefed the approach, set up the navigation equipment, and mentally reviewed the single-engine approach procedures. She’d informed everyone she needed to and completed all the checklists. Now she just had to land this beast. She took another deep breath. Landing the plane with only one engine in a dark, foggy night would be her last, and most difficult, task. She had absolutely no room for error.

  “Trans Global 801 emergency, turn left heading two-eight-zero, maintain two thousand feet until established on the localizer, cleared for the ILS approach runway two-five left.”

  “Trans Global 801 emergency, cleared for the approach,” the copilot said.

  Kerri slowly pulled back the throttle on her one remaining engine. “Speed one-ninety, flaps to ten.” She kept her eyes glued to her attitude indicator and the flight-director bars. “Localizer capture,” she called as she turned the jet onto the final approach course. “Glide slope is alive. Gear down, flaps to twenty, set final approach speed.”

  Kerri could no longer use the autopilot to help her fly the jet. As she descended into the darkness, she clicked the autopilot off. She would hand-fly this plane to a single-engine landing with only her skill and years of experience to count on. Small corrections, small corrections. Stay on the glide slope. Watch your airspeed.

  She kept the flight director bars centered on the attitude indicator. “Approaching minimums,” the first officer said. I’m three hundred feet above the ground. No runway lights yet.

  “Decision height.”

  Kerri looked up from the instruments and saw faint strobe lights leading her to the runway threshold. “I have it. Landing.” The computer voice said, “Fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, ten.” She smoothly retarded the single throttle to idle and pulled back on the yoke to flare the jet. As the main wheels gently touched the runway, she flew the nose wheel down, lifted up on the thrust reverser lever, and stepped on the wheel brakes to stop the jet.

  “Well, you both get to keep your jobs.” The check pilot who’d been sitting behind them for the last two days made it sound like he was giving them a present. “Good job on your crew coordination and your briefings. Excellent approach, Captain. See you both back here at the training center in nine months.” He turned the lights on in the cockpit, and the flight simulator settled back down onto the hydraulic actuators.

  Kerri shook her copilot’s hand as they left the sim. “Great job, Bob. Thanks for your help.”

  “Any time, Kerri. You fly a great airplane.”

  Riding the bus from the flight training center to the airport, Kerri had to make a conscious effort to breathe deeply and calm her heart rate. After two days of “dial-a-disaster” in the simulator, which tested her flying skills to the max, she’d cheated death multiple times and passed every emergency thrown at her.

  I hate playing “You bet your job.” I need a drink.

  Chapter One

  Thursday, May 1

  Captain Kerri Sullivan put on her round hat with the gold trim on the bill, then walked down the exterior Jetway stairs to complete the walk-around inspection of her Boeing 767. She wasn’t required to. Normally the first officer did it, but she liked to personally inspect her jet, as long as the weather was nice. When it rained or snowed, she exercised her “captain’s privilege” and let the copilot take over. She’d paid enough dues during her flying career as an air force pilot, a copilot, and a 737 captain to earn this right. She chose to do the exterior inspection today because it was a beautiful day in Los Angeles, she was on her way to Maui, Hawaii, and because she loved looking at the magnificent aircraft she commanded.

  Kerri loved everything about this jet. It was big, powerful, and fast. She had to admit that she was a bit of a size queen when it came to airplanes. The bigger it was, the more she enjoyed flying it. She waved to the aircraft mechanic, Smitty, as he did his own inspection.

  “Hey, Smitty. How’s she look today?” He’d been working on jets a lot longer than she’d been flying them.

  “She’s a beauty, Skipper.” He always called her “Skipper,” since he was a former navy aircraft mechanic. She appreciated the sacred bond between pilots and mechanics like Smitty. If he said her jet was safe to fly, she’d bet her life on his word.

  These jets were thoroughly scrutinized because she would be flying over two thousand miles of open ocean to reach Hawaii. Maintenance made sure everything was perfect, and she always double-checked everything on the plane as well.

  She knew every inch of this enormous aircraft and inspected each primary, secondary, and alternate pilot tube, static port, and angle of attack sensor. The flight control surfaces were the size of barn doors, and all ten of the big tires looked new and shiny. She paid special attention to the two massive engines. This aircraft was certified to fly on only one engine for up to three hours, but she’d never had to test that claim and wasn’t about to on this flight. The huge engine intakes, giant fan blades, and thrust reversers were all in excellent condition. She stepped carefully around the baggage belt loaders, cargo lifts, and the fuel truck. A small army of people worked simultaneously to get the flight ready—aircraft mechanics, baggage loaders, caterers, fuelers, gate agents, flight attendants, and pilots. It was an amazing orchestration of skill and detail to get a plane with two hundred and fifty-five people ready to fly across the ocean. Kerri never failed to be impressed with the whole airline operation and beamed with pride to fly as a captain for Trans Global Airlines.

  After she finished her inspection and returned to the Jetway stairs, the crew bus pulled up, and the six flight attendants got out with their black suitcases. She recognized Chief Purser George Cato and a few of the female flight attendants. A new woman in the group, a tall blonde, was strikingly beautiful. Butterflies fluttered in Kerri’s stomach as she watched the newcomer ascend the stairs in her slightly snug blue uniform dress and black high heels.

  When Kerri returned to the flight deck, her copilot, Joe Henderson, was already in the right seat doing his preflight setup. He was fairly new on the 767, and Kerri had flown with him before. He knew the standard operating procedures, was pleasant to work with, and his landings were coming along. Kerri had already decided that she would fly the leg to Maui and Joe would fly the return trip to LA. The airport in Maui, located in a valley between two mountains, had a short runway and wicked crosswinds. The difficult and dicey approach left no room for error, so she always did the landing in Maui. She let the copilots fly the approaches into Honolulu and Kona because they had long runways and no steep-terrain issues, but Maui was a different animal, so she took no chances there.

  Kerri picked up the public-address handset. “All flight attendants, please come forward for the flight briefing.” She took her flight plan and stood at the front of the jet waiting for them. “Hi, everyone. I’m Kerri, Joe is the first officer, and we have a beautiful day for flying. We will encounter some turbulence on the departure, so please stay in your jump seats, and I will call you when it’s safe to get up. Our flying time is five hours and fifty-five minutes today. It should be smooth once we get over the ocean, and everything mechanical on the jet is good. Oh, and I’m an FFDO.”

  “So you’re packing today, Captain?” George asked.

  Kerri looked at her chief purser and shook her head as he snickered.

  “Yes, I’m a federal flight deck officer, and I’m carrying a firearm today.”

  George amused Kerri every time he told the flight attendants she was “packing.”

  She continued. “If th
ere’s anything I can help you with, please let me know. Let’s all have a great flight today.”

  * * *

  Flight Attendant Janine Case returned to her station in the mid-cabin and continued her preflight duties. She checked all the emergency equipment on board, the oxygen bottles, the slide rafts in the cabin doors, and then she inspected the food and beverage carts in the galley. Most people thought of flight attendants as glorified waitresses, but she took her job very seriously. She was responsible for the safety of her passengers, and if they had to do an emergency evacuation, she was in charge of getting the people off the airplane.

  What was Captain Kerri Sullivan really like? She’d flown with women pilots before, but not many female captains. Even though women had been flying as airline pilots for several years, very few were 767 captains. She was certainly attractive—tall and athletic-looking, with short brown hair, a strong jaw, and expressive hands. Janine mainly noticed her warm brown eyes and ready smile. She oozed confidence, and many men probably found her intimidating. She hoped Kerri wasn’t like many of the cocky, arrogant male captains.

  Regardless of who the captain was, Janine was here to take care of her passengers and give them a nice flight experience to Hawaii. For many of them, a Hawaiian vacation was a lifetime dream come true. She hadn’t been flying to the islands for very long, and she missed being at home, but she did enjoy the nice, long layovers on Hawaii’s gorgeous beaches. She didn’t socialize with the other flight attendants much, mainly because they often asked too many personal questions, but she did like to explore on her own and was looking forward to discovering Maui.