Cherish the Dream

by Jodi Thomas

  “Cody?” Sarah’s eyes widened at the despair in Katherine’s eyes.

  “He’s fine.” She didn’t seem very sure. “He’s been up to see us twice since you’ve been ill, but he could only stay a few hours each time. The fighting in the air grows more deadly each day.” Katherine didn’t want to talk about Cody, and Sarah recognized the worry lines along her brow. He was alive today; that was all they could hope for.

  Katherine picked up a stack of papers. “You’ve got tons of mail to read. Miss Willingham sent you some of Matthew’s drawings. They look like scribbles to me, but she insists they are designs for airplanes. Can you believe that? I’d bet my pay that Miss Willingham didn’t encourage him in the least, but he’s got flying in his blood just like his father.”

  Sarah rested back against her pillow. “He’ll never fly. I’ll see to that with my last breath.”

  “Maybe that sense of adventure is born into a man and he can’t help it.” Kat wondered if any mother could keep her son from following his dream.

  Sarah shook her head. “No! He’s going to be a doctor. Miss Willingham and I agreed.”

  Katherine wanted to laugh, but she feared Sarah might be serious. “People can’t be talked into being what you want them to be.”

  “I talked you into being a nurse. Are you sorry?”

  “No,” Kat said. “But Matthew Rome may have his own dreams. He may want to fly.”

  “I couldn’t bear it if he died like Bart.”

  Katherine turned her back and Sarah realized she’d been thoughtless. Katherine was also in love with a pilot. That would explain why Kat never mentioned Bart even though it had been years since his death. She must fear every day that what happened to Bart might happen to Cody.

  As if their thoughts had caused the sound, both women looked up at the tent ceiling as a plane flew low overhead. “Cody!” Katherine cried and ran to the entrance of the tent. She looked back, debating leaving Sarah alone.

  “Go.” Sarah fought back the tears in her eyes. “Thank God he’s safe.” Sarah leaned back on her pillow and fell asleep as though she’d been up all night instead of a few minutes.

  It was dark when she woke again. The shadows in the tent overlapped one another making gray and black triangles inside the small space.

  Something moved in the shadows.

  “Who’s there?” Sarah asked, hoping it was Katherine.

  “Don’t be afraid, mademoiselle.” The shadow moved closer until she could almost see his face. “Katherine said you were better, but I thought I’d come by and check on you just in case you needed anything.”

  “No. Thank you. I don’t think I need a thing except sleep.” Sarah had a feeling her shadow man had been by every day to check on her. He’d probably driven Katherine crazy. “Unless you’d like to keep me company for a while. You could sit in the chair there by the lamp and tell me all that I’ve missed.”

  The shadow man backed away slightly. “I have to go,” he said. “I have to have Cody’s plane ready to fly at dawn.”

  Sarah didn’t want to be alone again so soon. She wanted to talk to her friend if only for a few minutes. “Where is Cody?”

  The shadow man seemed in no hurry to leave her. “Dr. Wells gave Katherine the night off. He told them to take one of the extra tents for the night. Cody has a new assignment, and he needs to talk to Katherine in private before he leaves. They have to have time to say good-bye.”

  “It’s nice that they can be alone.”

  The shadow looked nervous. “They only have until dawn.”

  Sarah could sense he knew more than he was telling her. “What is it?”

  The shadow man debated leaving without telling her, then hesitated a long moment. “Katherine may need you when Cody leaves at daylight. It’s no secret: Cody drew a mission no other pilot would volunteer for. He’s going to fly straight over no-man’s-land. Our generals believe there’s a new big buildup several miles behind enemy lines. If Cody can find it and drop one flare, we’ll know where the next assault is coming from.”

  Sarah relaxed. The assignment didn’t sound that difficult. “He should be back in a few hours.”

  The shadow’s low groan told of his disbelief. “They have to know the location by tomorrow or it may be too late for thousands of troops on the ground to move. His orders are to fly until he finds out where the buildup is or until he runs out of gas.”

  Moving from the bed, Sarah was almost to the door before he caught her. “Let me go!” she cried, too weak to fight to free herself. “I have to stop him from going up.”

  Iron fingers held her tiny frame. “There’s nothing you can do. Get back into bed. You’re still very weak.”

  Her eyes brimmed with tears when she looked up into the shadow man’s dark face. “You don’t understand. I have to do something. I can’t let Cody die. I can’t let Katherine feel the pain I felt when Bart died. You don’t understand.”

  His words were tight with emotion. “There’s nothing we can do. Cody drew the assignment. What would you have him do, refuse the assignment and have another pilot take the death flight?”

  Sarah wanted to say yes. Men were dying every day in this war. The average pilot only lasted three or four weeks. But Cody couldn’t die. She and Kat couldn’t both lose the men in their lives. “I don’t care. We have to stop Cody from making that flight. Let someone else be a hero; Katherine deserves to have someone love her.”

  The shadow never slackened his grip. After several minutes, Sarah saw his logic. She didn’t have the right to send another man to his death just because Katherine loved Cody so much.

  Suddenly Sarah felt very old, as if all the emotion within her had been used up and there was no way to replenish it. She leaned into her shadow man and allowed his strong arms to support her weight.

  “I’ll do something,” he whispered as he rocked her to sleep in his arms.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Please help him.”

  “I promise.” His words were an oath.

  After a long while the shadow lifted a sleeping Sarah into his arms and carried her back to bed. He tucked her beneath the covers and straightened her beautiful ebony hair.

  “Good night, my darling,” he whispered as he pressed his lips to her cheek. “Good-bye, my lovely woman-child.”

  Thirty

  KATHERINE COULD HARDLY wait to get out of the dining hall and have Cody all to herself. Every officer within five miles wanted to talk to a real flying ace from the newly named Lafayette Escadrille.

  “Come on,” she said as she pulled Cody out of the mess tent.

  He laughed at her eagerness. “I thought I’d just have a few more words with—”

  She punched him playfully in the ribs. “I’ve been waiting all day to get you alone for a few hours. How dare you think of talking war when you have to leave in the morning?”

  One rakish eyebrow lifted on Cody’s handsome face. “Are your intentions honorable, Mrs. Masters?”

  Katherine fought to keep from hitting him again. “Of course not. I’ve been trying to get you in bed since the moment I laid eyes on you.”

  Cody hugged her wildly. “That’s what I’ve always suspected.” He laughed as they ran to their tent.

  He closed the flap and tied it securely while Katherine caught her breath. She stared at him through the shadows, wondering how such a perfect man could be real. She could hardly wait to mess up his hair and turn his eyes wild with passion.

  Neither one thought of lighting a lamp as they faced each other. Cody straightened and reached for her, but she stepped away from his grip.

  In the twilight Kat raised her hand, palm forward. He did the same, lightly touching her fingers with his own. As his hand brushed hers, Kat closed her eyes with pleasure, telling him that his slightest touch moved her deeply. As their fingers locked, she moved toward him, coming into his embrace gracefully.

  He held her against him, wishing he could pull her right into his body until their flesh and b
lood blended into one. “I love you, Kat,” he whispered.

  She pulled his mouth to hers and bit at his bottom lip, loving the way he always held her as if he felt afraid that something might pull them apart at any moment.

  He crushed her against him and kissed her with a passion that surely had taken more than one lifetime to build. His mouth pressed hard and demandingly against hers as his hands moved up and down her sides, pulling at her uniform.

  As the kiss softened, his hands slowed to loving magic. Each stroke was a fraction closer to her breast, an inch lower on her hips.

  When he released her, he smiled, satisfied at his effect on her breathing. Love darkened her gaze. Cody stood his ground as she dug her nails into his back as though she were trying to claw the cotton from his flesh. “Tell me you love me, Kat,” he said without moving. “I need to hear the words.”

  She stopped teasing as quickly as she’d started. She’d never really thought of Cody needing anything from her, but now she saw a longing deep in his eyes. “I love you,” she said as she planted little kisses across his face. “I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything or anyone in my life. I’ll love you a moment longer than I breathe.” She ran her fingers into his hair and pulled slightly. “I love you for a hundred reasons and for no reason at all.”

  He felt his muscles relaxing. This was all the heaven he had ever asked for. All he’d ever wanted. To have one woman love him. He’d never heard his parents say loving words to each other or to him, and he needed right now to know that Kat cared deeply for him.

  Katherine’s body pressed against him, begging him for attention as he stood so controlled before her. She moved her hands over his hips and pulled him close telling him of her need without words.

  Cody lifted her into his arms and moved to the small bed that stood in one corner of the vacant tent. “We have to talk.” He sat down and tried to pull her with him.

  “Later,” she answered as she knelt beside him. She smiled as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Her fingers slipped inside, and she smiled as his chest hair tickled her palm. When he reached for her, she leaned away but smiled up at him with a look that asked only a small amount of time.

  Cody gripped his legs to keep from touching her as he watched her remove the pins from her hair. Suddenly her mass of curls tumbled over her shoulders as she shook her head. When he would have touched her, she leaned back again and smiled as she began opening her uniform button by button. He watched her undress as his hold on his legs whitened his knuckles.

  She stood and let her uniform fall to the floor, then knelt once more in front of him to push his shirt from his shoulders. A moment later when her warm lips touched his chest, he was consumed by the passion that he felt only for Katherine. He pulled her against him and kissed her wildly, proving that she’d driven him to the point of madness with her teasing. He rolled onto the bed, taking her with him.

  Her body moved beside him setting fire to a need for her that never died. His tongue parted her lips as his hands roamed over the silk of her body, loving each part of her flesh. His fingers moved over her, warming her skin with his gentle touch.

  Katherine loved his caress, light with love at first, then strong and demanding with desire. His touch reminded her of a warm rain. Light and soft at first, then building into a great storm that made her mind whirl until there were no thoughts left but of Cody and his love. When his hands cupped her breasts, she whispered her pleasure in his ear.

  As he pressed her into the mattress his body replaced his hands. His lips moved lightly against her mouth as his chest pressed against her own, making her heart explode with passion.

  Kat raked her fingernails across his back as he lowered his head between her breasts. He leaned into her soft flesh and heard her heart beating. The pounding was a music he would never tire of hearing. He pressed his body against her, needing to feel all there was to know of his Katherine.

  They made love wildly and without bounds until they were both so tired they could only hold each other close and marvel at what they’d done. Cody wouldn’t allow himself to sleep because he didn’t want to miss one moment of time he had left with Katherine.

  They lay awake listening to the sounds of the camp coming alive an hour before dawn. Cody pulled her close and knew he could delay no longer. “We have to talk now.”

  “No.” Katherine kissed his cheek. “I don’t want to hear it.” She knew it would be bad news. She’d known it when she saw Cody climb from his plane. Something about the way he walked toward her had told her he’d come to say good-bye once more.

  “Not putting it into words won’t make it go away, Kat.”

  “I know.” She buried her face in the hollow of his neck.

  “I have to fly a mission at first light” He wanted to lie to her and tell her he’d be back in a few hours, but he knew the words would ring false. “Two planes will go up. One will fly on this side of the line; the other will fly parallel but on the other side of the enemy line. As soon as the pilot on the enemy side sees any sign of a troop buildup, he will fire a flare, then try to make it back across the line.”

  “Sounds like a simple plan.” She played with the light patch of hair in the center of his chest as though what they were saying wasn’t already pounding against her heart. He stopped her hand, spreading her fingers flat.

  “You’ll be back in a few hours.” She could hear the ring of her lie even in her own ears. How good she’d become at believing lies. This one should be just as easy…shouldn’t it?

  Cody was silent for a minute before continuing, “Our orders are to stay in the air until we spot the buildup or run out of gas.” He tried to ignore Katherine’s gasp. “Once the pilot who flies over enemy lines spots the buildup, his signal will tell his partner where the troops are, but it will also tell every German for miles where he is.”

  Katherine rose up to look him directly in the face. “So you’re saying the one on the other side doesn’t have a very good chance of making it back.”

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  She didn’t want to ask, but the words slipped out. “Which plane will you fly?”

  Cody stared into her face, trying to remember every line so that when he went down he could put her face before him. “I’ll fly the plane that crosses the enemy line.”

  Katherine wished she could have cried, but her sorrow was too deep for tears. A hundred thoughts came to mind. They could run for the coast. Cody could desert from this war his country wasn’t even fighting. He could refuse to fly. Among all the thoughts, she could find no reason. They both knew he had to go no matter how much he loved her and life. It was his duty, his honor. Somewhere he’d made the choices of this day a long time ago, and now he had to complete the ride. She had to be ten times braver to let him go.

  She rose and picked up her clothes, knowing he had to fly this mission. “We’d better get dressed. I’ll walk you to the field.” There was nothing more she could say.

  Cody could almost see her pain, yet she didn’t cry or beg Mm to stay. In one shattering flash he realized how much stronger she was than he’d thought. Maybe stronger than he.

  They dressed in silence, afraid to look at each other for fear they might shatter the thin sliver of control they were managing to maintain.

  “Ready, Mrs. Masters?” Cody finally turned.

  Katherine lifted the hood of her cape over her hair. “Ready, Captain Masters,” she answered.

  As they walked toward the field, he knew he was holding her hand too tight, but he couldn’t seem to loosen his grip. He’d never loved her as much as he did right now. If he had a thousand years, he couldn’t tell her how much she meant to him.

  When they neared the other tents, Sarah joined them.

  Katherine frowned. “Sarah, you shouldn’t be out of bed.”

  Sarah looked as if a sudden wind might blow her across the trench line. “I had to come to say good-bye to Cody.” She moved to the other side of Cody and locked h
er hands around his arm.

  When they reached the field, light was just blending with darkness on the horizon. The world looked almost peaceful with gentle breezes and low rain clouds to the south. Two planes were lined up, ready to take to the air. The other pilot already waited next to his plane. He had no great good-byes to say, for with any luck at all, he’d be back in a few hours.

  Cody turned to Sarah and opened his arms. “Take care of that nephew of mine.”

  Sarah stood on her toes and hugged him. “Come back safe,” she said as if she believed that was a possibility. “Go with God.”

  Cody held her in a brotherly hug, then opened his other arm to Katherine. “Take care of each other,” he ordered,

  wanting to add, because the men in your lives haven’t done such a great job, but he only said, “because I love you both.”

  An engine sputtered several yards away. Cody spun around, knowing the whine of his own plane the way a mother knew her child’s cry.

  A tall, powerful man dressed in a pilot’s uniform limped out of the shadows toward the craft. At first Cody watched him without reacting, thinking he was only the mechanic who worked on the planes. The overalls had been replaced by brown slacks and knee-high boots. His shirt collar shone white beneath the well-worn leather jacket of a seasoned pilot. The man circled the plane, patting the Indian chief symbol of the Escadrille as only one preparing to mount for flight would do.

  Cody started running, realizing what was about to happen, and knowing he’d never make it in time to stop the man from taking off in his plane.

  The first rays of the sun touched the mechanic’s blue scarf as it billowed above him. Cody watched in horror as the man slid into the cockpit. One end of midnight blue silk was tossed high in the wind like a flag of victory as the plane began to roll down the runway.

  Blue, the color Sarah always wore. The same blue Bart had worn the day he’d crashed and burned years ago. Cody pieced the clues together in his mind.

  Sarah’s scream rang out in the dawn air as the engine roared. Cody fought hard to believe the man he saw was real and not a ghost who was taking his flight to certain death. Bart had been so close, and Cody had not recognized him. And now Bart would fly his mission.