Love by Design

by Christine Johnson

  Dan had not seen that coming. “That’s blackmail.”

  “That’s my price.”

  “You would jeopardize the polar attempt for selfish reasons?”

  She flinched. “No, but I would at least like to start before you leave for Europe.”

  “What about Jack Hunter? He promised to teach you.”

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t take him away from Darcy.” She tilted her head in that incredibly alluring manner. “All I’m asking is to do a little grass cutting. Show me the controls. Let me practice. Not dangerous at all.”

  Dan sighed. She had pegged his fears, but even grass cutting had its dangers. She might not brake sufficiently and plow into a tree or building. The wing could clip practically anything in a turn. He scrubbed his bristled jaw, trying to figure a way out of this.

  “Please?” She gave him such a dazzling smile that he nearly gave in.

  Then he remembered that Agnes had done the very same thing. She’d pleaded and promised him the world if only he would show her how a plane worked. He had caved in to her pressure, and look what happened. Her sudden movement, the loss of control, the tumbling plane, the fire. He’d carried her twisted body away. He’d known at once that she was dead, but still he carried her. He’d stumbled, and her limp body had dropped to the ground. He would never forget that waxen face, her eyes staring at nothing. In his mind, Jen’s face replaced Agnes’s. Those beautiful hazel eyes lifeless. He felt sick.

  “No,” he said. “I do not teach students. Period.”

  He walked away before she could change his mind.

  * * *

  “Dan Wagner is the most stubborn man alive,” Jen complained to Minnie as they packed dishes into a crate to bring over to the dress shop. “Why don’t we hold the sale here? It’s so much work carting everything over there only to bring half of it back. You know most of this won’t sell.”

  “I suppose we’re having the sale there so we don’t have to pack up the things we’re using. You wouldn’t want someone to buy the book on Shackleton that Daddy gave you for Christmas, would you? Or Ruthie’s elephants. Or Mother’s Bible. Or that precious mackinaw that you rescued out of the rag bin.”

  “I suppose not.” But ever since the unsuccessful talk with Dan yesterday, she’d been in a terrible mood. “I thought Wagner had changed.”

  “Don’t you mean Dan?” Minnie said coyly. “I thought he’d graduated in your esteem.”

  So Jen’s little sister was still playing matchmaker. She’d put an end to that. “No, I don’t mean Dan. I mean Wagner. He’s irritating, arrogant and stubborn as a mule.”

  Minnie laughed. “Sounds perfect for you.”

  Jen tossed a dishcloth at her sister.

  “Why would you think he had changed?” Minnie said more soberly.

  Jen recalled his tender consideration two days ago, when she’d broken down and begged him to take her home. He hadn’t refused her then. “If he would drive me home, why won’t he take me on a little training flight? Automobiles are at least as dangerous as airplanes, and you can’t tell me he’s more comfortable driving a car than a plane. He’s the best aviator on earth.”

  Minnie lifted an eyebrow. “The whole earth?”

  “Well, this half of it anyway. He’s famous. He’s done every stunt invented and added more of his own.”

  “Maybe he’s not comfortable teaching.”

  Jen brushed that idea aside. “Why not? If he can do it, surely he can teach it.”

  “Maybe he’s not comfortable teaching you.”

  Jen stared at her little sister. Could a girl who’d just turned twenty years old be right? “Why would it make any difference who he’s teaching?”

  Minnie barked out a laugh. “Because he likes you. Guys want to protect the gals they like.”

  Dan liked her? Was it possible? Jen felt the heat rise. How could she forget that kiss? It wasn’t stormy and filled with unquenchable passion like in the moving picture shows. It was more restrained, more of a promise, but she’d felt depth behind it. Was Minnie right? Was Dan afraid to teach her because he was falling for her?

  “And then there’s the accident,” Minnie added.

  “What accident?”

  “The one last November. The one where that woman died.”

  “What?” The air punched from Jen’s lungs. “A woman died?”

  “Uh-huh. I clipped out the article because I thought you might want it later, after you came out of mourning. I found it last night and read it again. Her name was Agnes Something-or-other. I think it started with an F. Fineman or something like that. Anyway, they were supposedly getting serious. At least that’s what the newspaper said. According to the article, the people closest to them figured they were going to marry within the year.”

  Jen sank onto a kitchen chair. Dan Wagner had been in love, had been ready to marry, and the woman he’d loved had died. “He was flying the plane?”

  Minnie nodded. “The article said she was learning, and he was showing her how to work the controls. The plane got off the ground fine. Then someone saw it tilt. A wing caught a tree branch. The plane flipped, crashed and caught on fire. There was a photograph of a smoking wreck. The article said he carried her from the wreckage and was found kneeling beside her lifeless body, distraught.”

  Jen had no trouble imagining every step of that terrible day. She had held a dying man’s hand. She had witnessed his last breath. It had affected her terribly, and she didn’t even know the man. She had found Daddy dead in his bed, had tried to wake him even though she knew he was gone. Even the memory of that day made her tremble.

  No wonder Dan had refused to teach her. His steadfast refusal to show her even the safest maneuver now made sense. It even explained why he’d made Jack promise to keep her from the expedition cockpit. It must mean he cared for her. Perhaps he was even falling for her. If she was just another gal, he wouldn’t be so adamant.

  “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  Minnie shrugged. “He’s a man. Why didn’t Peter tell me that his old friend was caught up in a bootlegging ring?”

  “Because he didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  Minnie nodded. “They’re so busy trying to protect us, that they don’t realize we can help them.”

  “Help them. Of course.” The light dawned. “You helped Peter.”

  “And we found our way forward together. Well, some things he had to do himself. That’s always the case, but a guy is stronger knowing that his gal is standing by his side.”

  That made perfect sense. Now Jen knew exactly what she had to do.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jen arrived at the Hunter home after the lunch hour the next day. Darcy looked weak, and her hands were so swollen that Jen barely recognized them. Her face was also puffy, especially around the eyes. Similar to Marie. Jen shoved the thought away. Darcy wasn’t Marie.

  “Are you feeling all right?” Jen settled on the chair next to Darcy’s sofa.

  Her friend smiled weakly. “Tired all the time. I think it’s the sedative Doc Stevens prescribed. It makes me sleepy, but he says I need to stay still and quiet until the baby is ready to be born.”

  “I heard that he also said you should go to a hospital.”

  “That’s right.” Jack stuck his head into the room. “Hello, Jen. Welcome back. Maybe you can talk some sense into my wife. She refuses to consider going to the hospital. Tell her to follow the doctor’s advice. Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

  Jen swallowed the growing flame of worry and gave Darcy what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “Maybe Jack is right. Maybe you should go to the hospital. They can monitor you and the baby day and night.”

  “See?” Jack said. “Even Jen agrees, and she should know. She’s been a nurse at a hospital.”
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br />   “Not quite a nurse yet,” Jen corrected. “Not even a nurse in training. Just a probationer, but I did spend time in the maternity ward. There were a goodly number of women lying in.”

  Darcy waved a hand. “I’m perfectly fine right here. Besides, you didn’t come here today to talk about me. What’s on your mind?”

  Jen struggled to surface from the flood of hospital memories.

  “Before you two get started,” Jack interjected, “would you mind staying with Darcy this afternoon? I need to go to Holland to meet with a subscriber.”

  “You didn’t mention that before,” Darcy said with a frown.

  “I didn’t want to worry you.” Jack kissed his wife. “You know what the doctor said. No excitement or agitation. It’ll only be for a few hours, and Mr. Kensington is going with me.”

  Darcy lifted an eyebrow. “I suppose that means you will be testing the golf course or shooting range.”

  Jack placed a hand over his heart. “It’s not my way to do business, but some subscribers insist. I’ll do my best to despise it.”

  Darcy laughed. “Go on, then. Jen and I will have a nice long visit and plan our arrival at Spitsbergen for the takeoff.”

  Jack didn’t even argue. He thanked Jen and left.

  She didn’t recall agreeing to stay, but if Darcy could help her come up with a way to break through Dan’s reserves, it would be worth the time. After all, what else did she have to do but pack dishes and linens? With Jack gone and the winds fresh, Dan wouldn’t take the plane on a test flight.

  “All right now,” Darcy said. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Dan Wagner.”

  Darcy laughed. “How did I know that’s what you would say? He is quite the looker, isn’t he? Reminds me a lot of Jack. Full of charm, yet underneath that winsome act is a whole lot of hurt.”

  “Do you really think so?” Until yesterday’s conversation with Minnie, Jen had never considered that Dan might be hurting. She figured he could brush off any problem, even that disastrous crash. “He always seems so sure of himself.”

  “So was Jack when I met him.” She sighed, lost in memory. “My, he was handsome. Took my breath away. And so confident.”

  “Just like Dan.”

  Darcy smiled. “Just like Dan.”

  “Do you think he’s hurting from November’s accident?”

  “Jack says he won’t discuss it.”

  “That was my experience, too,” Jen said. “When I brought it up, he changed the subject. Minnie told me a woman died.”

  Darcy nodded. “That’s the kind of thing a top-notch aviator takes to heart.”

  “Anyone would, especially if they were planning to marry.”

  Darcy peered at her. “Is that what’s got you concerned? You think that Dan is still in love with the woman who died?”

  When spoken aloud, it sounded rather foolish. “He might be, but I would never know because he doesn’t talk much about himself.”

  “Most men are like that. Women enjoy sharing their joys and hurts. Men keep them bottled up inside. Jack certainly did. I had no idea his sister had been crippled by polio. I didn’t even know he had a sister for the longest time. What a surprise.”

  Jen was a little relieved. She knew a bit more about her favorite aviator. “Dan has brothers, and his parents are still living out in Montana on a ranch.”

  “Well, it seems he has told you a great deal.”

  “Except about the accident.”

  Darcy nodded. “That might still be difficult, especially if he did love her. It’s only been a few months.”

  Jen heaved a sigh. “But I don’t see why it should make any difference in teaching me to fly.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “You obviously know the answer, so tell me.”

  “You know the answer, too, better than anyone else.” Darcy rubbed her temple.

  “Minnie said it’s because a guy wants to protect the gal he likes.”

  “True.”

  “That would mean Dan likes me, but how do I know?”

  “Has he given you any idea that he cares? A little extra consideration, for instance. A gift perhaps.” Darcy stopped rubbing her temple, but the frown didn’t leave.

  Jen pulled the medal from around her neck. “He did give me this to commemorate my part in the expedition.” She wasn’t about to mention the kiss.

  Darcy examined the medal. “Lovely. And crafted by hand. That’s not an insignificant gift. I would say he likes you very much.”

  Jen tried to take it in. He liked her. A lot. Even Darcy thought the evidence led to that conclusion. “He likes me.” Saying it aloud felt foolish. “But then why won’t he tell me that?”

  “It might be difficult, with the memory of the crash so recent.”

  Until Darcy said that, Jen could have floated out the door and danced down the street. She wouldn’t have even cared what people said. Dan Wagner liked her, but he hadn’t gotten over the death of the woman he’d loved. She clutched the medal, as if it would vanish into thin air.

  “I’m not sure.” Panic gripped Jen’s chest and squeezed hard. “What do I do now?”

  * * *

  Dan supposed a squeamish subscriber was reason enough for Hunter to leave town, but he had hoped to talk the man into giving Jen an initial lesson. Maybe then she would divulge her idea for testing the engine for carburetor icing.

  Since Hunter’s wife was a good friend of Jen’s, he also figured the man could answer the lingering question of her father’s death. Based on her reaction the day he brought her home, that event had devastated her. She’d held out her father as the reason she had to be part of the polar expedition, but it was her agonized confession that stuck in his head. For some reason, she blamed herself and that blame had somehow gotten wrapped up into the whole idea that she ought to become a nurse.

  When Blake Kensington appeared with the news that Hunter had gone to Holland with his father, Dan had to grit his teeth. Another day lost. True, the winds had been brisk early on, but they were dying down. By late afternoon, they would have no trouble flying. Unfortunately, Hunter wouldn’t be there.

  “So this is the bird,” Blake said as he walked around the expedition airplane. “It’s a lot bigger than the one Hunter built for the transatlantic attempt.”

  The night of the ball, Dan had found Blake Kensington bitter. Today, he wasn’t sure if the man was truly appreciative or for some reason measuring this plane against the one that had failed to cross the Atlantic.

  He decided to take the man at face value for now. “Were you involved with that flight?”

  Kensington grinned. “I was the top backer.”

  So that was it. The son measured himself against his father. “You could join us for the polar attempt. We welcome all supporters.”

  That bitter look reappeared for a moment. “Not this time, old sport. Just wanted to see what the old man has gotten himself into.” He stopped next to the ladder and looked up at the left engine. “Problems?”

  “Fixed.” At least Dan hoped they were. He’d checked the forecast for the next few days, and the springtime warmth was increasing. Chance of thunderstorms, starting today, but that wasn’t the weather problem he needed. Ice and snow were apparently a thing of the past.

  “That’s good.” Kensington made another circuit of the plane, as if looking for something.

  “Anything I can do for you?”

  Blake Kensington scanned from the fuselage to the wheels they’d installed in place of the skids. “Doesn’t look like it carries much gear.”

  “Only safety equipment, fuel and oil. The necessities.”

  “Then the trip will be nonstop.”

  “That’s the idea.”

  Kensington looked up at the cockpit.
“The expedition will last awhile, though.”

  Dan had no idea what he was getting at. “As much as a month or so, depending on the weather.”

  “Then you’ll need food and supplies for the ground crew.”

  “Yes.” Something tickled the edge of his memory. Kensington clearly had a vested interest, but what was it? Dan searched his memory. Blake was married to Jen’s oldest sister. Though Mayor Kensington’s only son, the two had had a falling-out over something. Yet Dan seemed to recall that Blake was still involved in the family’s businesses. The mercantile! That was it.

  “Of course we’ll be placing an order with you once we settle on the number of crew we’re bringing to Spitsbergen.” Dan hoped Jack wouldn’t be upset that he’d committed to use the mercantile, even though it was probably more expensive. Where was Jen when he needed her? She would have known instantly whether they should buy local, from large-scale suppliers or abroad.

  Blake looked pleased. “Be sure to give us enough lead time. Some of the suppliers can take their time.”

  “I’m sure the large quantity will spur them into action.”

  Blake stuck out his hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Wagner.”

  Against his better judgment, Dan shook on the deal. If he was going to commit the expedition to buying locally, he might at least pry a little information out of Kensington. “I wonder if you could enlighten me on the Fox family.”

  The wariness returned. “How?”

  “Could you tell me a little about their father?”

  Blake looked surprised. “What do you want to know? He passed away last October.”

  “Was Jen close to him?”

  Blake shrugged. “They all were. He had a weak heart since childhood, but he was a gentle man and a good listener.”

  “It sounds like you knew him well.”

  “It didn’t take long to figure out he was the opposite of my father. Good old Dad wasn’t too pleased when I married a Fox.”

  “Oh?” Dan thought he knew why, but Blake looked eager to tell him.

  “Wrong side of the tracks and all.” He grinned. “She’s a beauty, though. Still takes my breath away.” He shook his head. “Don’t know what she’s doing with someone like me, but then that’s what we all wonder.”