Death Benefits. Hannah Alexander

      Lucy blinked at him. “Why are you telling me about it?”

      Again, her response startled him. “So you won’t be so afraid.”

      The blanket she’d worn over her head slid to her shoulders. “I’m not afraid of flying.”

      He leaned a little closer. “I can tell you’re afraid of something, though.”

      She pulled the blanket back over her head.

      “I saw how frightened you were back at the airport,” Ray said a moment later. “You haven’t relaxed since I first saw you in Springfield. Are you afraid to fly over the ocean?”

      Lucy shook her head.

      “I saw how tightly you held Brittany’s hand as we boarded the plane.”

      “Jet. It’s a jet.”

      “Oh, excuse me. You’re right, of course.”

      “I know why you’re trying to be nice to me,” she said.

      He raised his eyebrows.

      “You’re talking to me because you like Aunt Ginger, and you want her to like you.”

      Ray laughed, hoping his laughter didn’t offend Lucy.

      She smiled, as if pleased that she’d caused this kind of reaction.

      “Something funny?” came Ginger’s sleep-riddled voice.

      “Sorry,” he whispered.

      Lucy intrigued Ray. She reminded him of one of the kids at the children’s home he helped support in Columbia—the child with the abusive father. Ray knew Lucy had endured some hardships in her short childhood, as had Brittany.

      More reason to do everything in his power to see to it that this experience was a good one for her.

      Lucy wasn’t the only one who appeared unable to relax. Graham, Willow, Ginger, Preston, and this unexpected wild card in the mix, Larry Bager, all seemed hyperwatchful of the children, and of the crowds around them at the airport.

      Ray studied the reflection of Lucy’s face as she gazed out the window. What was she thinking right now? Was she simply looking at the clouds, enjoying her first chance to observe them from above instead of below?

      Or was something darker weighing on her mind?

      “Lucy?” he said softly, unwilling to leave well enough alone.

      A moment later, her head appeared over the top of the seat. She looked wary of him still. “How do you know our names? You said Brittany’s name, too, when you talked to me awhile ago.”

      “Graham is one of my best friends, and he talks about you girls all the time.”

      “He does?”

      “He sure does. He’s very much looking forward to the adoption.”

      Her eyes filled with sudden, surprised interest, and he could tell she was trying not to smile. “If Graham is one of your best friends, then why doesn’t Aunt Ginger like you, too?”

      “Oh, well, that’s another story entirely.”

      She tilted her head to one side and waited, as if ready to hear the story.

      “I’ve got a lot of extra room back here,” he said. “It’s going to be a long flight. Want to spread out a little? I’ll let you have my window seat. That way Ginger and Brittany will have more room to relax and—”