Daniel looked at the older man in the middle seat. He had spent years imagining a reunion in which he delivered a perfect speech about the damage his father had caused. Now the speech seemed unnecessary. Richard's face showed someone who had finally been forced to look directly at the cost of winning every argument in his own house.
"You had twelve years to call," Daniel said. "Grandma kept writing to me. She knew how."
Richard nodded once, his eyes fixed on the watch. "I know."
A movement in the galley caught Daniel's attention. Sloan Mercer had emerged from behind the curtain and was standing uncertainly near the row. Her earlier professional confidence had vanished, and the color had drained from her face. She looked toward Richard as though he might still be able to protect her from what had happened.
"Mr. Ashford," she said, "I'm terribly sorry. I had no idea these children were related to you. I was only trying to make your flight comfortable. If I'd known whose grandchildren they were, I never would have—"
"Stop," Daniel said, but Richard spoke at the same time.
"I never instructed you to move children," Richard said sharply. "Don't put your decision on me."
Celeste turned to her husband. "Richard, no," she said. "You praised her. You said she'd done the right thing. You told her you wouldn't forget it, and I called her an angel."
"We enjoyed the seats. We don't get to pretend we didn't."
Sloan looked at Celeste and seemed to understand, perhaps for the first time, how easily the authority she had tried to impress could withdraw its approval. She had bent rules for a man who now needed distance from her actions to protect his own reputation. Whatever Richard had contributed, she had been the person responsible for the girls' care. She could not give that responsibility to him now.
"I'm sorry," Sloan said to Ruby and Pearl, turning toward them instead. Her voice was quiet. "I should have checked. I should have asked your family, and I should have listened when you said the seats were yours."
Ruby studied her for several seconds. She remembered the smile that had vanished when Richard arrived, the way Sloan had said sweetheart as if it were an insult, and the feeling of walking through a crowded airplane while everyone watched. "You should have," she replied.
Sloan nodded. She did not ask the children to forgive her, and for once that restraint was the right thing to do. She returned to the galley to finish the flight under Derek Hale's supervision. The captain would decide what belonged in the report, and the airline would decide what came afterward.
The seat belt sign came on with a soft chime as the aircraft began its descent. Derek's announcement asked everyone to return to their assigned seats, and Daniel touched each girl's shoulder. Ruby held Pearl's hand once before they separated from Celeste and Richard. Both children were tired now, their birthday morning beginning to feel like something that had happened days ago.