Space in His Heart Read Online Free Page A

face. “Central Casting couldn’t have sent a
better guy for the job.”
    “Jessica, I’m afraid you don’t know Deke
Stockard. I do, quite well. He’s a pretty strong force around
here.”
    She remembered the towering figure descending
on her like a trapped jaguar. “I don’t doubt that.”
    “He has the Colonel’s ear and his opinions
count. He was brought over from the Navy not just for his legendary
piloting skills but for his management and engineering capabilities
as well. He’s got a central role in the safety of every shuttle
launch—a position very few astronauts enjoy—and NASA has him on the
fast track.”
    She tilted her head and winked at him. “I
have him on a faster track.”
    Before Stuart could respond, the Colonel’s
office door flew open and six feet of royal blue burst through it.
At the sight of her, Deke Stockard stopped cold, none of the
animosity gone yet from his blazing eyes. His gaze stabbed her and
he opened his mouth to say something, but a stocky man came up
behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
    “Let me talk to her, Deke. We’ll work out
some kind of compromise.”
    Jessica didn’t like the sound of compromise , but it was better than backup plan . She
held Deke’s gaze, then stepped out of his path as he strode past
her with an expression so stony she almost smiled.
    No wonder Bill Dugan was so anxious to pass
this assignment off to someone else. Who’d want to spend three
months trying to turn that beast into America’s sweetheart?
    “Miss Marlowe, it’s a pleasure.” Jim Price
offered a warm handshake and a gestured invitation into his
office.
    Greeting him, she noticed that his thick
black brows contrasted with a shock of white hair, as though they
somehow hadn’t gotten the message that this man had passed fifty
years of age. His wide shoulders must have looked commanding in an
Air Force uniform, although his charcoal business suit still
offered an aura of power and control. Jessica had been informed
that he used that control, and few words, to his advantage.
    “You caused quite a stir around here this
afternoon,” he commented as he took a seat behind his immaculate
oak desk.
    “I believe that was my assignment,
Colonel.”
    “Your ideas are not universally popular.” He
straightened the one pen on his desk. “At least not with certain
members of the staff.”
    Jessica leaned forward, ignoring the
increased thumping of her heart as she faced the man who could make
or break her game plan. “Colonel Price, I understood that Commander
Stockard had been briefed and agreed to this assignment.”
    She distinctly remembered the conversation
with Bill when he’d promised to handle the background work with the
client. He’d briefed NASA and told Jessica they were one hundred
percent behind the unorthodox plan.
    The Colonel nodded. “I discussed it at length
with Washington and it was decided that he should hear the plan
directly from your agency to fully understand the rationale.”
    “Perhaps I could talk to him personally,
Colonel,” she suggested. “I can explain how little will be expected
of him. I’ll do all the logistical work on the campaign. That’s why
I’m here.”
    That and the fact that Carla Drake had
somehow convinced Tony Palermo that since Jessica had thought of
the brilliant plan, it was only right that she go to Florida to see
it through to success. Leaving all of Jessica’s accounts and staff
in Carla’s hands for three months.
    Jessica forced herself back to the
conversation with Colonel Price and away from the office politics
that nagged her.
    “I happen to like the idea, and I think I
understand why you’ve selected Commander Stockard,” the Colonel
said. “However, our situation has changed slightly. We’ve made a
commitment to get the next shuttle, Endeavour , up on time.
There are several folks floating around on the International Space
Station who are a touch anxious to get home. One of the Russians,
in