by Jodi Thomas
“Thanks, Wheeler,” Cody said with a wink. He made no attempt to rub off the dirt. “You’ve been doing that for a year and I’ve always come back alive.”
Katherine managed to say thank you to Wheeler, though she had to force herself not to brush the dirt off her shoulders. She wasn’t superstitious, but she had the feeling she might need all the luck she could get today.
Cody’s hands encircled Katherine’s waist, and he swung her up into the plane’s bench seat and settled her on the right side, squarely on top of the engine. “I’m going to tie you in with a rope.” He didn’t look at her as he continued, “Most aviators think it’s safer to be thrown from a crash if the plane goes down, but I’ll feel better knowing you can’t fall out when I’m banking. I figure when we land you’ll be safer inside the plane than rolling over the meadow. You’re in what we call the center balance seat. All you have to do is sit still and let me do the balancing, just the way you did last night.”
“What’s this?” Katherine touched the lever beside her.
“That’s the warping lever. I have to turn that in the right direction or we’ll crash. Whatever happens, don’t touch it.”
Katherine was too excited to speak. She nodded and watched as Cody and Wheeler started the engine. The airplane looked so flimsy. Somehow she’d thought it would look sturdy up close, but it was made mostly of wire and cloth. The motor’s rhythmic popping sounded much louder than it had the other morning when she’d been watching. Cody climbed in on her left side with the rudder-control and wing-warping levers between them. He yelled, “Hang on!” as Wheeler pushed the machine into motion.
They rolled down the field with the wind blowing against them and the noise of the plane blocking out every other sound.
Katherine nearly screamed with excitement as the plane moved faster and faster until suddenly it lifted off the earth and headed toward the horizon. She grabbed the rope around her waist and held on for her very life as they climbed above the treetops. Cody was busy moving levers while the plane rose toward a tiny cloud.
Intense fear and ecstatic joy surged through Katherine at the same time, making her feel as if she might explode. The engine roared with deafening force in her ears while cold wind turned her cheeks red and pushed her scarf away from her hair. She could taste the moisture in the wispy morning cloud around her and feel the early sun’s warmth on her face. Though her hands were frozen with fear around the rope that held her in her seat, tears of excitement welled up in her eyes and were swept away by the wind.
Katherine turned toward Cody and knew he felt it also—that once-in-a-lifetime feeling of knowing this moment in time would be the one you’d always remember, always dream about. These few minutes would be the gauge against which, when she grew old, she would measure all the rest of her life.
Katherine looked down at the world below. The cluster of trees looked like a lake of dark brown surrounded by the rust-colored land. The hill at the back of the test field looked like little more than a slight rise in the landscape. She could see the blue of Sarah’s dress beside Bart’s mustard-yellow car. Sarah waved frantically, but Katherine didn’t dare let go of the rope long enough to return the greeting.
She watched as the plane followed the road toward town. The narrow country road appeared smooth, without dips and holes. It was no longer bumpy and dusty, but had been transformed into a shiny ribbon sparkling in the early morning sun.
A few minutes later Katherine saw the two rectangular buildings where she lived and worked. The larger structure was the hospital with its manicured garden. The other building was the dormitory with a tiny walled garden for Miss Willingham.
Katherine leaned slightly to her right and looked down into Miss Willingham’s enclosed garden where no student was ever invited. She felt as though she were spying, but curiosity wouldn’t allow her to turn away. Winter-brown flowers surrounded an iron table and a solitary chair.
Cody circled the hospital and turned back toward the test site. Katherine craned her neck to look into the garden again. With this passing she saw a huge stone rock beside the table. She couldn’t tell if it was natural or a monument. Or a huge tombstone amid brittle flower beds.
She turned away, not wanting to see more and wishing she hadn’t looked so closely.
Everything looked so different from the air. The land seemed so well organized and peaceful beneath them—the woods, the rectangular fields, the square roofs. It was as though sure hands had taken a bag of earth-colored scraps and pieced them together. She thought of how grand it must be to be a bird and see this wonderful scene every day.
Glancing at Cody, she was disappointed to find him gazing straight ahead. She wanted to scream her delight above the deafening engine, but she was afraid of distracting him. She thought of reaching out her freezing hand to touch his fingers as they gripped the controls, but the memory of his angry eyes stopped her. For her, this was a miracle. If she looked at him and saw that flight for him was nothing special, it would pollute her happiness.
They circled the field once more and then headed down toward the earth. Katherine closed her eyes as the field rushed up at them. She quickly whispered every prayer she’d ever memorized.
As he maneuvered the plane into a landing, Cody made sure the tail touched the earth first. That first touch rattled every bone in Katherine’s body. They rolled to an easy stop, and she took her first deep breath. Her mind was whirling, and her body felt as if she’d been treading water for hours.
Cody cut the engine and jumped down. “Sorry we couldn’t stay up longer, but the wind was whipping us a little more than I like. An air current can slap you as hard as an elm branch if you’re not careful.” He untied the rope around her waist. “I hope you enjoyed your short ride.”
“Was it short?” Katherine couldn’t move. Her limbs seemed to be made of lead. “It seemed like forever.”
After pulling the rope free, Cody placed his hands around her waist. “I take it you like flying.”
Katherine looked down at his face, still red from the wind. His eyes danced with the excitement of a child sharing the wonder of a treasured toy. For a moment she saw only gentleness in his brown gaze, a gentleness found in those who are forever young, forever learning. She moved into his arms willingly and allowed him to lift her down from the plane. There was no need to answer his question, for their eyes spoke the pleasure they’d shared.
The ground felt wonderful beneath her feet. So solid. Cody slid his arm around her shoulders and they walked in silence toward the others.
Just before they reached the end of the field, Cody murmured, “Was it worth any price?” His eyes darkened slightly. Gone was the gentleness she’d seen moments before. But she had seen it, and she knew the truth about this man no matter what game he chose to play with her now. She would see that look again, she vowed silently, just as she would meet his stubborn, mischievous streak with one of her own.
She hated his reminder of how dearly she might have to pay for this joy he had allowed her to experience, a joy that every bird, even the tiniest sparrow, knew.
Before she could question what the payment might be, Sarah and Bart came running toward her. Wild rounds of hugging and laughter passed between them. Sarah asked a stream of questions while Bart and Cody discussed the new part Orville had invented that simplified turns.
In all too short a time, they had pushed the plane back into place and returned to the cars. Katherine pulled off the jacket and handed it back to Cody. The sun now warmed the air, making her cotton coat sufficient for the ride back to the dorm.
Cody accepted the jacket in silence as he stared into her eyes with a mixture of emotions. She thought she saw a touch of passion, but it seemed laced with disapproval. Why, if he disliked her so much, had he taken her for a ride in the heavens?
“Come along, Red. I’ll take you back to the dorm!” Bart shouted from his car.
When Katherine turned to move away, Cody caught her wrist and pulled her away
from the car. “I’ll see Katherine home, Bart!” he yelled as Bart started his engine.
Katherine glanced at Sarah, already sitting in Bart’s car. “I have some things to ask Cody on the way back.” She hoped her voice gave away none of the fear welling up inside her. Could she have been wrong about what she saw in Cody? Could he yet prove to have an evil core beneath his handsome face? This was her mess, and it wouldn’t be fair to get Sarah mixed up in it now. Whatever the price, she would have to pay it alone.
“Fine.” Bart nodded, even though Sarah frowned. “I’m going to take this little lady by the bakery and see if we can’t find some coffee and a few rolls.”
Sarah smiled at his suggestion, then turned to Katherine. “I’ll meet you back at the dorm in an hour.”
Katherine watched as they pulled away, leaving a whirl of dust in their wake. She knew Sarah had judged Cody an honorable man or she wouldn’t have left Kat alone with him. But perhaps Sarah’s usual keen assessment of people was beginning to fail her. After all, Sarah seemed to think Bart was wonderful. What if she was wrong about Cody as well?
Katherine suppressed the urge to call Sarah back. A riverboat gambler must have been one of her own ancestors, for she was risking a lot on one roll. But there were two things Katherine promised herself she would always do: never betray Sarah and always finish what she started. She’d started this, not Cody. She was the one who had set a course toward what might be the destruction of her reputation, at the least. Now it appeared he was going to see that she followed it to the end. The chance to know the man behind those burning brown eyes just might be worth the risk.
“Let’s go,” Cody said sharply between clenched teeth.
He opened the pickup door and waited for her to climb in.
Stepping past him, Katherine crawled into the truck with a knot in the pit of her stomach. She looked into his face bravely and saw once more the tightly held anger and dislike in his eyes. An anger she didn’t understand. A flash of disapproval she found both fascinating and frightening.
Six
KATHERINE WATCHED SILENTLY as Cody drove through the dusty streets. People moved about in their early morning rituals as the city came to life. She wanted to shout to all of them, “I flew across the sky today!” but she knew that even if some of them believed her, they wouldn’t understand the way she felt.
Turning toward Cody, she studied his profile. His sandy curls were windblown and unruly. His clean-shaven jawline was set as he concentrated on driving, but there was a hint of kindness in the curve of his lips, in the fluid movement of his hands on the steering wheel. Katherine found honor in his face and a love of life and maybe part of the little boy he would always be, but cruelty did not rule this man.
She broke the silence. “Thank you for letting me go with you this morning.” He didn’t take his eyes away from the road. “I think I understand why you’re angry. I know I’d be mad if I thought someone was trying to use me. But no matter what, I’ll always be grateful that once in my life I was able to fly.”
Cody slowed the truck in front of a two-story white frame house with a small sign in its tiny overgrown yard: Room for Rent. When he cut the engine, he looked at her for the first time since they had left the test field. His face was as hard as his words: “Don’t say a word. Don’t thank me. Don’t be grateful. Don’t talk at all.”
Katherine watched him open the cab door. He seemed angry with himself as well as with her. She climbed out of the pickup without accepting his offer of assistance. Fear overtook her. Fear and excitement. Silent, formless fear that was impossible to see, impossible to battle, impossible to kill. Faceless excitement that rang in her ears as the wind had when she was flying.
Cody motioned her toward the steps at the side of the house. “My room’s upstairs.”
Katherine hesitated at the first step, turning her face to the morning sun.
He didn’t attempt to make her follow, but walked alone halfway up the steps with his hands crammed deep in his jacket pockets. When he turned to look down at her, his voice was low. “Backing out of your bargain?”
Cold brown eyes watched her. Even in his anger he was giving her a chance to run. She could turn and walk away and he wouldn’t try to stop her. He’d already branded her a manipulator. What difference did it make if he also thought she was a liar?
Katherine took the first step. It didn’t matter what he thought of her, but it mattered what she thought of herself. “I’m not afraid of you, Cody Masters.” She tried to make her mind believe her words. “So name your fee and be done with it.” Her heart told her this man was honorable. If she was wrong? Well, there’d never been a scrape she couldn’t get out of.
Cody climbed the rest of the steps and she followed. He opened the outside door, and they entered a long hallway. He tried not to look at her, but she’d seen the surprise in his face when she fell into step behind him. He fumbled with his keys beside the first door they neared. Within seconds Katherine found herself standing in a man’s bedroom.
As Cody pulled off his jacket, she looked around. To her amazement the room was spotless. Even the bed had been neatly made. The furnishings were plain, and the rugs were worn from years of lodgers, but everything was in order. A large box-seat window looked out of place with its white lace curtains and dark blue pillowed seat. To the left, a row of books lined the desk top, and maps almost covered one wall.
Katherine watched Cody wash his hands and face in a basin. Whoever he was, whatever he was, this man was neat to a fault. Somehow this trait contrasted with her image of a birdman, and she suddenly found this new knowledge comforting. Any man who planned to ravish a woman would hardly take the time to make his bed before dawn. Fear cooled in her blood, and she relaxed slightly.
“I’m an honest person.” She pulled the scarf from around her head and moved to the window. “No matter what you may think of me. I’ve waited long enough, Mr. Masters, to hear the terms of our bargain. I have to go on duty soon. Name your price, be it laundry or cleaning”—she slowed her words as she fought to hide her fear—“or whatever.”
Cody folded the towel over the washstand and turned to face her. The hatred that had been in his eyes seemed to have lightened to a questioning hue. “Would you like a whiskey?”
Katherine shook her head. “It’s a little early, don’t you think?”
Cody poured a drink from a bottle on the dresser. He held it out toward her. “It’s a little early for a lot of things, but that won’t stop us…will it? My guess is you’ve never tried whiskey, so let me suggest you down it fast to fight off any chill you may have gotten this morning.”
The glass felt cold in Katherine’s fingers. His eyes dared her to drink. She lifted the glass and gulped down the whiskey.
Tears rolled from her eyes as the burning liquor traveled through her. She sucked in air, trying to breathe away the fire within her.
Cody took the glass from her hand and downed the rest of the drink, then turned to refill the tumbler with water from a pitcher before handing it back to her. “That was your first drink?” A smile touched his lips.
“And my last.” Katherine’s voice whistled slightly. She gulped the water and held the glass out. “More, please.”
Cody’s laughter cracked the hard shell he’d tried so resolutely to maintain. He refilled the glass and handed it back to her, his gaze never leaving her face. She could see the gentleness in his eyes once more and knew she’d been right to trust him.
Silently he brushed his thumb across her cheek to wipe away a tear. “I was angry when you tried to use me last night. I hate women who use their looks to twist men around their finger.” His hand balled into a fist, circling a strand of her hair. “I’d like to make you pay dearly. I’d like to teach you a lesson.”
He turned away from her and sat on the window bench, one leg tucked under him, the other stretched out in front of him. “But I can’t.” He sounded defeated. “I’ve never forced myself on a woman, and I won’t start
now—even if she does need to be taught to be careful about the bets she makes. I guess deep down I can’t blame you for feeling the way you do. I remember a time when I would have promised anything for a chance to go up in a plane.”
Unafraid of him, Katherine moved closer. She smiled to herself, knowing she’d guessed right when she’d picked her birdman. “What about the debt?”
Cody leaned his head against the curtains and closed his eyes. The sun was shining through the lace, brushing gold across his hair. “I’ll call it up someday.” He opened one eye. “But not in a physical way. Don’t misunderstand, I’m still very attracted to you, but I don’t believe in taking. Whatever may happen between us will have nothing to do with a debt. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
Katherine leaned against the other side of the window frame. There were still so many questions, and she had never been shy about asking. “Then, Mr. Masters, why did you bring me to your room?”
“I wanted to frighten you off.” Cody’s lopsided smile wrinkled half of his young face. “I didn’t figure you’d ride back with me, and I never thought you’d climb the stairs.” He laughed suddenly. “I should have known better. You proved your bravery in the plane. I guess I was testing your honesty.”
“And did I pass?”
Cody nodded. “You looked pretty frightened in the car. I knew I was wrong about you when you thanked me for taking you up and didn’t try to weasel out of the bargain.”
“But you brought me here anyway?”
“I was still mad and didn’t want to admit I was wrong about you.” He reached out and touched a strand of her golden-red hair. “But when I saw you almost choke on the whiskey, the anger went out of me.”
