Page 53 of Soaring Sweethearts

“But then what?” If Constance felt that way about him during the war, his engagement to Myrtle must have been such a blow.

“Remember how Constance got sick right around the time you got engaged to Myrtle and she lost so much weight that her doctor put her on bed rest for a month?”

“I remember.” Ernie told him Constance had some kind of wasting sickness. “The doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.”

“That’s because she wasn’t sick. She was heartbroken. I’m the only one who knew, and I couldn’t tell anyone. Jack, she could hardly eat. All she did was sleep all day. It was like her light went out, and I was worried it might not ever come back. I don’t ever want to see her like that again.”

Jack didn’t know what to say. He had no idea at the time. If he’d known, he never would have wasted his time with Myrtle. He would have flown to Constance’s side and sworn his eternal love to her then and there. No wonder Ernie was so protective of her. “And you’re worried about what will happen if things don’t work out between us or if something happens to me at work.”

Ernie nodded. “She’s not like most women. If you break her heart, she won’t shrug it off and move on with her life. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and I’ve trusted you with my life more times than I can count. If you say this is real and that you’re all in, I won’t stand in your way, though I hope you’ll consider a safer profession for her sake. But if you have any doubts whatsoever, I’m begging you to walk away before you do irreparable damage.”

Closing his eye, Jack nodded. “I’m all in. I swear to you that I won’t hurt her. If I could propose to her today without causing a scandal, I would.” Opening his eyes, he looked his friend in the face. “I love her, and I swear to you I’m going to do this right. I’m going to talk to your father about courting her at dinner tomorrow night, and I’ll take things as slowly as I can manage, though we might need to arrange for a chaperone when we go out to keep us both on our best behavior.”

Ernie’s eyes narrowed to slits. “What exactly happened between you that makes you think you need a chaperone?”

Jack cleared his throat, searching for words that wouldn’t come.

Ernie put up his hands. “You know what? I don’t want to know. It’s none of my business. But I’ll ask Millie about being a chaperone when you take Constance out. I expect you to be on your very best behavior from here on out. This is my sister we’re talking about.”

With a sigh of relief, Jack nodded, even though he had his doubts about Millie as a chaperone. After all, she’d been the one who came up with the scheme to give them time alone together. But he wasn’t about to argue with Ernie. “That would be wonderful.”

With a smile and a shake of his head, Ernie asked, “Now that that’s settled, can I eat my sandwich now?”

“Be my guest.” Jack couldn’t help grinning as he picked up his fork and dug into his pie. Somehow, he’d gotten through this conversation and kept his best friend. Now all he had to do was find an investor to help him get his flight school up and running so that he could quit this crazy job. And survive at least three months of courtship without giving into his baser instincts. Easy peasy, right?

He was going to make sure that Constance never suffered for his sake again, no matter what it took. Her heart was safe with him. He’d make sure of it.

Glancing at the window, he paused mid-bite. Fog was rolling in. Even on the sunniest day, the weather could change, and nothing was certain as long as he was flying the mail. Fate had a funny way of ruining the best-laid plans. He could only hope he could keep the promises he wanted to make.

21

Constance shifted in her chair and bit her lip. It was half past five, and neither Ernie nor Jack had landed yet. They were supposed to have arrived an hour ago. Word from Bellefonte was that fog had settled in. They’d both taken off on time, but it was easy to get disoriented in the fog. She wasn’t going to think about them running out of fuel or crashing into a mountain. They weren’t lying dead in a fiery pyre of wood, fabric, and gasoline from a broken-down engine.

They were fine. Just fine. Any minute now, they would come in for a landing, and everything would be right with the world again.

Mr. Dickson came striding out of his office and did a double take when he saw her sitting at her desk. “What are you still doing here, Miss Pritchard? I thought you left half an hour ago.”

She forced a professional smile. “My brother is my ride home. I can’t leave until he arrives.”

With a slow nod, Mr. Dickson gave her the first sympathetic look of her entire career with the airmail. “If you would like, you can go out and wait by the runway. You’re off duty, and there’s no need to wait by the phone if you don’t want to.”

Should she stay by the phone or go watch for them? The only reason to stay at her station was the possibility that someone would call with news, and she was aching to go out and look for them, even though she knew it wouldn’t do any good. “Thank you, Mr. Dickson. I think I’ll wait outside.”

He gave her a brisk nod. “He’ll be home soon. He’s an excellent pilot.”

“He is.” Though whether she was talking about Ernie or Jack, she couldn’t say. “Goodnight, Mr. Dickson.”

“Goodnight, Miss Pritchard.”

She made her way down the corridor and out to the hangar where she joined a group of mechanics and pilots who were avidly watching the sky. A dot appeared on the horizon, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Is that a plane?” asked one of the men, pointing.

A man in overalls put a pair of binoculars to his eyes. “Sure looks like it. It should be here in about five minutes.”

One of them was safe. Thank God! But what about the other one? She couldn’t bear to lose Jack or Ernie.

All she could do was watch as the dot grew wings, and a couple of minutes later, the outline of a pilot appeared in the cockpit, and the low hum of the engine reached her ears. The plane circled the airfield to come in for a landing. She recognized the distinctive outline of a Curtiss R-4.