Page 34 of Plane Passion

Not marriage. Why would she want it? The only reason she’d agreed to it with Barney was that he promised her a life of adventure. He wanted to travel all over the world with her, or so he said. And he was fun in bed. If only he didn’t have a wandering eye.

Bastard.

Well, she would show him and all the other men too. A woman could support herself and push boundaries every bit as well as a man, given the chance. She didn’t need a man in her life. She could fly the mail and stand on her own two feet. And when she’d mastered distance flying, she’d go about setting some records, just like Katherine Stinson. The world of aviation was brand new, and the possibilities were endless. Anyone with the right skills and enough gumption could set a new distance record. There were so many places that airplanes hadn’t even been yet.

A fierce jolt brought her back from her reverie. Storm clouds roiled before her. A bolt of lightning lit the sky. A light powder of snow began to fall. Her hands were glued to the stick as she tried to ride out the turbulence as best she could. She knew the more she fought it, the worse her airplane would handle. She had to let the airplane be tossed like a leaf in the wind, as long as she maintained her direction and speed.

Ernie was faring no better. His plane bucked and plunged in front of her, keeping as steady of a course as possible toward their destination. They had to be close by now. She checked her fuel levels. They were low but still adequate to put down, provided they could find the runway in this weather.

The landscape blurred as the snow flurries grew stronger. She could still see Ernie’s plane just ahead, but it was growing fuzzier by the minute. They had to set down.

Please let Bellefonte be close. Please, please, please.

Following Ernie down as low as she dared, she spotted a blessed strip of road. Careful to stay high enough not to clip any power or telephone lines, she and Ernie followed that road until Thank God! The town came into view.

She circled as she watched him come in for a landing. It wasn’t pretty. The wind and turbulence had him wobbling until his wheels touched down, but he made it in one piece.

As soon as he was safely in the hangar, she made her own approach. A thin dusting of snow carpeted the runway. It blew in swirls and eddies as she made her final approach. The wind buffeted and tried to knock her off course, but she fought to keep the plane level. The ground approached. The moment of truth. One wheel touched down and then the other. Then a gust lifted her back up a few feet. Her hands like claws on the controls, she touched down again, and this time she stayed and rolled to a bumpy halt.

She was safe.

Prying her frozen fingers from the controls, she flexed them to regain movement before taxiing over to the hangar.

Ernie was there to meet her as she stepped down from the plane. She hoped he didn’t notice the way her knees were wobbling.

“A bit of a bumpy ride there, eh?”

That was an understatement. She gave him a “go away” glare.

“Of course, you had it well in hand the whole way, didn’t you, Aldrich?”

“Of course.” She stripped off her gloves and rubbed her hands together to return circulation. Then she slid her wet goggles up onto her head. Snow filled each crevice in her attire and stuck to her scarf, making it wet.

“Let’s head to the Brockerhoff Hotel and warm up, shall we?”

Her nostrils flared. “I am not spending my evening with you.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have much choice. This is a small town. The Brockerhoff is the only place to go.”

Ugh. This was why she hated small towns. There was no privacy whatsoever. She much preferred the anonymity of a big city.

“Fine.” She grabbed her ditty bag and followed him through the snow, which only seemed to be getting heavier.

“Isn’t it early in the year for a snowstorm?” she asked.

Ernie shrugged. “I’ve seen October storms before. It happens. Might make things dicey tomorrow, though. I don’t like the thought of flying Hell’s Stretch in this weather.”

She was grateful that her scarf hid her gulp. Flying terrain like that in the current weather sounded like suicide. Surely, they would be grounded if the storm continued. They couldn’t be expected to fly during a snowstorm, could they? But she stayed silent.

After shedding their leather suits in the locker room, they shuffled over to the warm and welcoming Brockerhoff Hotel. It was larger than she expected—four stories tall with an imposing slate mansard roof. As they walked through the lobby, delicious smells wafted from the restaurant. Good. She was starving.

The surroundings were a touch more elegant than she was expecting, and she suddenly felt embarrassed about how rumpled and ridiculous she must look. The man at the front desk didn’t blink an eye, though.

“Two rooms, please, Mr. Dunston.” Clearly, Ernie had been here enough to know the staff by name.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Pritchard. The hotel is booked up because of the harvest festival this weekend. We only have one room available. It has two twin beds. Surely, you and your colleague can share.”

Oh, no. Mr. Dunston must think I’m a man. After all, she was wrapped up head to toe and was wearing trousers.