by Jodi Thomas
He turned her slowly in his arms. “I will always remember every moment, just like now.” He kissed her forehead lightly. “You are so beautiful.” Brushing her lips with his own, he whispered, “I don’t think I’ve ever been so attracted to a woman. When I turned and saw you in the crowd I almost forgot what I was doing. It was as though lightning had struck only a few feet from me. When I saw you standing in the field the other morning I was too far away to truly appreciate your beauty.”
Cody lowered his lips to hers, and Katherine gave no resistance. Tossing Miss Willingham’s teachings aside, she allowed herself to follow her natural instincts. His lips were gentle at first, then grew more demanding. Katherine loved the feel of his arms encircling her. Running her fingers into his sandy hair, she touched his windblown curls—the same curls that had touched the clouds.
A warmth soared silently from deep inside her, spreading outward, heating every part of her body. His strong hands moved in wide circles over her back, pulling her not only into the kiss but into his very soul.
When she inched closer, pressing against him, she felt his low moan against her mouth and loved the way it tickled her lips. He was all she’d ever dreamed her pilot would be and more, far more. Even as she thought his kiss had reached perfection, it took her higher into the pure air of passion.
When finally Cody broke the kiss he was short of breath. Slowly he moved his lips to just below her ear. She could feel his words warm and low as he whispered, “Come with me, lovely lady, and I’ll show you another way to feel totally alive.”
The light touch of his lips along her throat sent a shiver of molten fire through her, but his words cooled her first taste of passion. Katherine pushed away, wanting to see his face when he answered her question. “What are you asking?”
Cupping her chin with his palm, he kissed her eyes. “I’m asking the same question these green eyes of yours have been answering since we met: Will you spend the night with me and feel totally alive?”
Surprise shot through her as though her body were a whip that had suddenly been violently cracked. She’d been kissed a few times by boys and asked to dine with them once or twice, but never, never had a man been so bold.
“How dare you!” Katherine pushed away from him, too angry to say more. Cody looked surprised as she threw his jacket at him and stormed back toward the dance hall.
Tears burned Katherine’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall. This wasn’t going at all as she had planned. She couldn’t believe a man would say such a thing so soon after meeting her. What must he think of her to talk that way? Katherine pushed a hint of guilt from her thoughts. Had she led him in the wrong direction? No, he’d started this. Still furious, she marched toward the lights, wishing she’d slapped him.
A strong hand grabbed her arm suddenly and swung her around violently. “How dare I?” Cody shouted. “How dare I?”
Even in the shadows she could see that his anger matched her own, and for an instant she was afraid.
“Excuse me, Miss Katherine High-and-Mighty, but I thought you were flirting with me back there. I saw no hesitation when I touched you. I heard no protest when I kissed you. So just what kind of game are you playing with me?”
“None,” Katherine lied.
“Oh, do you stare so boldly at every man you meet in a crowd?” Cody’s fingers were bruising her arm. “Do you go walking out by the creek with every man so soon after meeting? Do you mold yourself so easily to any other? Do you melt with enough softness in his arms to drive him mad?”
“No, not every man. Not any man…just you,” Katherine answered as she tried to pull away.
“And why was I the lucky one you chose to torture? Was it the money we won or did you just pick me at random to tease and then discard as if I had insulted you when I suggested what was on both our minds?”
“Bedding you was not on my mind!” Katherine resented his accusation and denied the truth that was beginning to throb at her temples and eat at her principles.
“And what was on your mind, my lovely lady?” Cody lowered his voice but did not slacken his grip.
Katherine spoke the words before she could stop. “I want to go flying.”
The anger in Cody seemed to mount with her confession, but he held himself in tight control. “So it was not me you were attracted to. If I hadn’t suggested the walk, you would have picked another pilot. Bart, Cal, or even young Taylor, it would have made no difference.” He dropped his hand from her arm as if her flesh had burned him. “Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? You were planning on using me to fly, weren’t you? Just pick one of the dumb boys and play with his emotions until you get what you want, right?”
“No…well, yes.” Katherine hated hearing her thoughts coming from him. It sounded so awful. “I would have done anything to get to fly in an airplane.”
“Anything?” Cody’s voice was emotionless.
“Anything,” Katherine answered, wishing she’d taken Sarah’s advice and stayed home.
Cody stepped into the shadows so she could no longer see his face. “Meet me tomorrow morning at the same field I saw you watching me from the other day. Wear trousers, and tie a scarf over all that hair.” His voice was colder than an icy breeze before a winter storm. “Be there at eight sharp, and be willing to pay anything for your ride or don’t show up.”
She heard disdain in his tone. The same voice that had whispered words of love so easily only minutes before. Had she hurt him so deeply? The echo of his footsteps left her with a feeling of bitter aloneness, and Katherine felt the darkness closing in around her as it had when she was a child. She wanted to call Cody back, but she couldn’t face his anger again. She hated the darkness because even in the open air she could almost feel creatures moving toward her in the dancing shadows of night, as they had when the Wards used to lock her in the cannery for punishment. Any minute she would feel the animals of the night biting at her flesh, trying to devour her even while she was still breathing.
She had to find Sarah. Sarah could always chase the nightmare away. Lifting her skirt, she ran as fast as she could back toward the lights. When she reached the dance hall her hair was windblown and her skin felt clammy with fear. She searched the room for Sarah, but her friend was nowhere to be seen.
“Looking for your little dark-haired friend?” a voice asked from behind her.
Katherine turned to face the man who’d been the timekeeper. He had an honest face and a polite manner that seemed to say his wife was watching. “Have you seen her?”
“She left a little while ago with one of them pilots. Said to say, if I saw you, that it was a real nice night.”
Katherine smiled, remembering their code. Sarah had found someone she liked. The evening wasn’t a complete disaster, after all. “She must have left with that nice Taylor boy who asked her to dance,” Katherine said, thinking how quiet and earnest Taylor had seemed. Just Sarah’s type.
“No, miss,” Cal answered. “It was Bart Rome at her side. You remember him—big guy with a mustache. The one who called you Red.”
Katherine shook her head in disbelief. Sarah couldn’t have left with Bart. He was loud, and his eyes were hard with indifference. He hadn’t seemed to care when he hurt Katherine’s feelings at all. How could Sarah have left with such a man?
“It’s not a nice night,” Katherine said to herself. “Not a nice night at all.”
Three
BART ROME GUIDED his sleek Palmer-Singer automobile through the sleeping streets of Dayton as Sarah sat quietly beside him. She’d never ridden in a roadster before, even though they’d been in use for several years. The noisy open-air automobile was almost as thrilling as the man at her side. The moonlight outlined his strong masculine hands as they gripped the steering wheel in a continuing battle for control.
The car was traveling as fast as a horse could run. But it wasn’t just the speed that excited Sarah and made her blood race. Never in her life had she dared to do such an outrageo
us thing. Leaving a public place with a man! But Bart was different from any other man she’d ever known. He had a way about him that told everyone he always did as he pleased. Sarah, who’d spent her life as a follower, admired his spirit and dreamed of having such a character trait. She knew his independence wouldn’t rub off on her any more than Katherine’s outgoing manner had. But secretly she hoped it might.
Bart pulled a scarf from under his seat. “Better put this around those beautiful black curls of yours. Traveling this fast can make your ears cold even on a nice night.”
“Thank you.” Sarah wrapped the colorful woolen scarf around her hair after pushing her own blue silk scarf down around her neck. She shoved her ebony curls into the new warmth. The wool smelled of pipe tobacco and campfires. For a moment she wished the scarf were a blanket she could curl up in and spend hours remembering this night and the man beside her. He was so intriguing, with his dark hair and mustache. The strong set of his square jaw and Roman nose might have seemed hard to most people, but Sarah saw a depth of caring hidden behind his smoky gray eyes. Once he loved someone, she decided he would care deeply and forever.
The car hit a rut in the road, jostling them like marbles in a matchbox. Bart slowed his speed and regained control of the wheel. “You all right, little lady?” he asked. His large hand reached over and patted Sarah’s fingers, now gripping the edge of her seat.
“Yes,” she answered, very much aware of his touch. She remembered Kat’s disapproving glare at the big pilot. How could a man with hands like Bart’s be anything but honest? How could he not be worth knowing?
“We’re almost to the test sight.” Bart drew his hand away slowly. “This is a good field, with a hill and trees blocking the wind from the north, and open fields on three sides for takeoffs and landings. We’re coming in on the north side. It’ll mean climbing down the hill, but it will be shorter than driving around.”
Sarah didn’t mention that she and Katherine had climbed the hill two mornings ago. She smiled, thinking of how shocked Katherine would be when she found out Sarah was with Bart. The few times they’d gone to parties or church socials, Katherine had always been the one to come back with exciting stories. Well, tonight Sarah would have an adventure of her own to tell.
Bart was the first man she’d ever met who interested her enough to allow her to overcome her shyness. The fact that he was a pilot had nothing to do with her interest. The moment she’d first looked into his eyes she had seen the sadness behind his rough exterior, and she couldn’t look away. He was like the silent patients who watched her care for them. Though they said nothing, their stares were always a cry for relief from pain. Bart’s unspoken pain was deep inside, and Sarah felt both fascinated and helpless. She sensed that trying to comfort him would somehow only deepen the wound, unless she was very careful, but she felt compelled to try.
Bart stopped the car at the top of the small hill overlooking the test field. “I’d hate to think of these rocks ruining that lovely dress of yours. Would you like me to carry you down?”
Sarah nodded, lifting her arms with the open trust of a child. Bart swept her up in his powerful arms as if she were weightless. His chest was rock-hard against her, but his grip was gentle as if he held a treasure. She wrapped one arm around his neck and spread her fingers over his shoulder, trying to memorize his touch, the fresh smell of smoking tobacco and leather that surrounded him, and the pounding of his heart next to her side.
“You’re not much bigger than a half minute. You sure you’re old enough to stay out this late?”
“I was eighteen last month,” Sarah answered and blushed as she realized her breast was pressed against his chest. She looked into his face and knew from the sudden darkening of his gray eyes that he was very much aware of her as a woman.
When they reached the bottom of the rocky hill, Bart didn’t lower her to the ground. The stars glittered behind his head, and the moon provided all the light she needed to see the longing in his face.
“What are you thinking?” she asked.
“I’m thinking you may be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” His words came slowly, for compliments seemed rusty on his tongue. “If I were halfway good-looking and ten years younger, I’d give every buck in this county a race for your time.”
Sarah smiled at him. In truth, he was not what even a mother could call handsome. His forehead was a bit too high and his nose a fraction too long. His hair was a muddy mix of black and brown. His most characteristic expression was a frown, as if he were warning people not to get too close. He could have been anywhere from twenty-five to thirty-five years old, but Sarah guessed he was younger than the wrinkled sun lines around his eyes might suggest.
“I’m afraid there’s no one racing for my time.” Sarah bit back her words, wishing she could have said something cute or funny instead of the plain truth.
“Then the men in this part of the world must all be blind.” Bart tried to keep his voice light, but the truth of his words showed in his eyes. He lowered her to the ground, allowing his hands to remain at her waist just a moment longer than necessary. “You look like an angel dropped from heaven to break a man’s heart.” He gently pushed the scarf from her hair. “A lovely little woman-child.”
Sarah studied him as he looked down at her, and she saw the first sign of happiness in his eyes. The sorrow seemed to be pushed away for a moment as he pulled one of her long curls free.
“Lord, woman, stop looking at me like that. I’m afraid I’ll start telling you my life story.”
“And why, Bartholomew Rome, are you afraid to do that? You fly up in one of those planes every day, and yet you seem afraid of me.”
“A plane might break my bones, but those blue eyes of yours could break my heart.”
“A heart you keep well protected?”
“Locked safe away from tiny angels who might shatter it with a touch. You see, little lady, I’m as married to the sky as any man will ever be to a woman.”
“And is the sky so jealous she won’t share you for even a few hours?”
Bart chuckled and nodded his head. “When I fly, every time I fly, it’s like being part of a miracle. Here I am a huge toad, but with the help of a little canvas, wood, and wire I turn into an eagle. From the first time I saw a plane take off, I knew I was born to fly. Being a pilot is in my blood worse’n gold ever fevered a prospector. An editor once called us ‘prophets of dreams, men who erase the word impossible from mankind’s vocabulary.’”
Sarah loved the way his face lit up when he talked about flying. Flight was his mistress and would probably be his death.
He took her small hand in his huge fist, and they walked among the airplanes now sleeping quietly beneath tarpaulins. The fragile machines looked harmless in hibernation. Bart let go of her hand and patted a wing gently. “The danger is part of the fascination, you know.” He talked more to himself than her, organizing his thoughts into words as he spoke. “Before planes, I raced motorcycles, then cars, like several other pilots. But with flying, the flirtation with death becomes intoxicating. I’m up there all by myself as near heaven as I’ll probably ever get, and it all becomes a game. Each time I want to push myself just as far as I can go, to laugh in danger’s face. Until one day I’ll flirt too close and…well, I won’t have long for regrets.”
A shudder ran through Sarah that had nothing to do with the evening breeze. “I guess I always thought men flew for the money.”
“Some folks might say that’s the reason. But I don’t see how that can be. The exhibition fee is five thousand dollars per plane, but the pilot draws only fifty dollars a day. Once you’re up there, it’s not the money you think of, or even the competition to see who can outdo the others; it’s just you outdoing yourself.” He looked down at her, and Sarah saw the hint of a smile brush his lips.
“Some guys want to fly the mail or run errands for someone with enough money to pay a pilot, but not me. There was a rich man just this afternoon looking for
a sucker to make a trip from Washington to a farm a hundred miles down the coast. He’ll find a daredevil like Cody to make the run if the money’s good enough.”
Sarah leaned nearer, wishing he’d touch her again, but not knowing how to tell him to do so. “Are the few of you I saw tonight the only pilots around?” If she kept questioning him, maybe she’d find a way to get closer to this man who touched a plane so tenderly but didn’t seem to know how to touch her.
“Hell, n-no,” Bart stammered, as if the words had come out before he could stop them. “Sorry, ma’am, about the language. I don’t spend much time talking to ladies.” He leaned against the plane and crossed his legs at the ankles. “Curtiss has some men not more than thirty miles from here getting ready for a race coming up. He and the Wrights have been competing for quite a spell. They’re fighting in courts over patents, but when they meet to fly, everyone seems friendly enough. Some think Curtiss has the better plane. Guess the truth will be in the testing.”
“What do you think?” Sarah asked, wishing they could talk like this forever.
“Oh, I like Curtiss well enough. To be honest, a friend of mine taught me to fly using one of his planes two years ago. Back in those days there was room for only one man in the plane. So my buddy just told me how to operate everything and started the engine.” Bart rubbed his right leg. “It took me almost six months to recover from that first lesson.”
Sarah laughed at how lightly he talked of his injury. She wondered how many others he’d suffered without being able to laugh them off. “Does your friend still fly for Curtiss?”
Bart looked away from her toward the open field. “My friend was killed last year. He’d started flying when a pilot had to lie down and half break his neck in order to guide the plane. He was careful, too, always checking and rechecking the wind and the engine.”