Page 78 of Plane Passion

“I went to the Postmaster General,” Millie answered.

Katherine nodded. “Then you’ll just have to go back.”

“He’s not going to listen to me after what just happened.” This was a ridiculous plan.

“That depends on who you bring with you. Do you think you could win over a few members of Congress?” asked Katherine. “Weren’t you going to do an air show for them or something? What if we did an air show with you? Three lady pilots together should be enough of a spectacle to draw their interest. And I know several prominent ladies from the suffrage movement—Rory Hawley and her aunt, Alva Belmont. I could invite them to join as special guests to help advocate for our cause.”

Oh, God. The last thing she wanted to do was court politicians and society ladies, but maybe Katherine had a point. Maybe together, they could save the airmail operation and get Ernie’s job back even if she wasn’t flying the mail herself.

“I agree,” said Beth. “Bring a few senators to your side. Mr. Burleson can’t ignore them.”

“And when have I ever been good at winning people over?”

“You’ll figure it out,” said Beth. “I have faith in you. And this time, you’ll have help.”

Was there anything more irritating than Beth’s smug smile when she was right? This was a ridiculous, brilliant plan, and her friends were the very best in the world. The whole idea made her want to hide in a cave and never come out, but she was going to have to go along with it, wasn’t she? She owed it to Ernie. It was the least she could do after how she’d hurt him.

“Fine, let’s do it,” Millie said at last. A knot in her stomach untied after she agreed. She didn’t want to do it, but at least it was action. It made her feel better to have something to do, even if she didn’t like it.

“Excellent, darling,” said Beth.

Katherine squeezed her hand, then clinked glasses with Gertie.

“Now, enough about men,” said Katherine. “Gertie, tell me about this new trick you’ve been doing.”

Millie settled back in her chair and listened blearily, a new sense of peace and determination growing within her.

27

Taking off his work boots and leaving them in the entryway, Ernie tiptoed upstairs in socked feet, careful not to touch anything. After a long day’s work at the construction site, he was filthy and stinky. And the last thing he wanted was to face the barrage of kindness his family had been throwing at him ever since he was fired. All he wanted was a shower and some quiet time with his sketch pad.

“Ernie, is that you?” Constance asked, poking her head out of the sitting room as he passed.

Caught.

He sighed. “Yes, it’s me.”

“You look exhausted.”

“I am. The new job is hard work. Not that I mind. I’m grateful to have a job at all.”

And it kept his mind off Millie. Mostly. It was hard to think of anything at all with all the heavy labor and banging. It had been a month since he’d last seen her, and she hadn’t reached out once. He was starting to wonder if their whole relationship was a dream, and he was only just now waking up.

“Are you still planning to go out with Jack tonight? He stopped by to ask.” Constance’s cheeks pinkened.

If something was up between her and Jack, he needed to nip that in the bud. Constance deserved someone stable and reliable—in other words, anyone but a pilot. And definitely not Jack, who had already broken her heart once without knowing it.

After a long day at work, he didn’t really want to go out, but maybe he needed to have a few words with his friend about keeping his distance. “I’m pretty beat, and, truth be told, I completely forgot we made plans. But maybe I should go.”

Constance narrowed her eyes at him. “Well, I think you should. It might cheer you up to go out. You used to do it all the time.” Her smile was a little too bright.

Oh, God. Was Constance worried about him? That was the last thing he wanted. He was trying so hard to make everyone around him worry less. “Since when are you in favor of my going out on the town?”

“Since you stopped doing anything you like and started holing up in your room for hours on end every night.”

Dammit. She was worried. “I’m fine. It’s just that construction is tiring work.”

She crossed her arms. “And hungry work, but you hardly touch your food.”