Former military pilot Blaine Darby carries a load of guilt and pain from the harm he may have caused in wartime. Now he seeks to earn some good karma by fighting wild land fires while holding on to his great love of flying. But reporters like young Daz Contreras scare him -- one of the few things that do -- because he shuns the public eye.<br><br>Freelance investigative journalist Daz Contreras is convinced terrorists are behind at least some of the wild land fires plaguing New Mexico. All he needs is enough proof to break the story. As he pursues leads, he begins to shadow pilot Blaine Darby and, in the process, develops a gigantic case of hero worship.<br><br>When Daz is allowed to ride with Blaine one time, he hopes the adventure will help him to uncover the proof he seeks. Yet when a near tragedy unexpectedly develops and Blaine puts his life on the line to save a trapped hotshot firefighting crew, Daz realizes he’s an eyewitness to what may be a bigger story than the one he planned. But will the reclusive Blaine actually allow Daz to report the news as he sees fit, even as they grow closer?

Red Tails in the Sunset

Romero glanced at the rangers. “You heard what’s going down?”


One of them nodded. “Yep. Risky business, though I ‘spose Darby knows what he’s doing. Man is one crazy airplane jockey. Still he’s fuckin’ good.”


Daz expected Romero to bristle. He didn’t. “Crazy like a fox,” he muttered, then in a normal voice said, “We’re gonna hang out here and listen to the traffic. We’ll stay out of the way, but that’s our folks and our birds out there.”


“Yeah. Sure. No problem. Just stay cool. There could be some white knuckle moments in the next few hours.”


Chapter 10