And Cal. He was magnificent. She could hear the strain, but she could also hear him keeping it under control. She’d told him to take over, and he’d done it without question. And he might get them down. He’d better—he was their only hope.
“You’re doing great, Cal.”
“Tell me that after we get out of this, Helitack.”
“Watch your airspeed, Hotshot.” It helped her ignore the pain if she kept up the tease.
“One-ten. Why one-ten?”
“Best rate of glide,” Connie answered for her. “At our current altitude, it provides about a half mile to find a safe place to land once we have engine failure.”
“Is that what’s happening?”
“Well—” Jeannie hesitated. She didn’t want to scare him. He was in so far past his comfort lev—
“It’s a race,” Connie informed him in a calm voice. “At this point it’s betwee
