Beneath the diamond sky (dedikált példány) [antikvár]

PROLOGUENo turning back.The wing tip bounced as Kate's instructor slammed the cockpit door. But his hand was steady, pressed against the window. Pink palm, white fingertips, spread across the glass. The hand left a print, which faded slowly.'Have fun.'He retreated to the clubhouse, framed in the side window. The space he'd left in the cockpit yawned wider with each step.She checked her watch. This wasn't scheduled. The lesson had finished. One minute they were taxiing along the gravel strip to park up, a heaviness already setting into her arms and legs, the next he had told her to stop short.'You're too dangerous to fly with, so I'm getting out. Practise on your own.' He smiled and squeezed her shoulder. T haven't touched the controls all morning. You're ready.'For a second, two, three, Kate hesitated. But he'd spelt it out: no turning back. With the engine idling, the propeller was still running. The longer she sat stationary on the gravel, the greater the risk a stone might fly up and chip the blade. She eased the plane forward, up onto the holding apron.Once there, the routine took over. It was reassuring to run through the series of instrument checks and test the controls.