Love by Design

by Christine Johnson

  “You were in a crash, weren’t you? I remember something about it.” Her brow scrunched as she thought back. “I didn’t follow the newspaper stories, but one of my sisters mentioned it.”

  He breathed a silent sigh of relief. If she didn’t know much about the crash, she wouldn’t ask questions. To divert even the possibility, he took the conversation in a different direction. “Sisters? You have more than one?”

  “Three. Two of them are older. They’re married. And my younger sister is getting married in May. That leaves me.”

  If that was a hint, he wasn’t going to bite. “You have other plans.”

  For the first time since Hunter left, she smiled, and it was as if a cloud had drifted away. Jen Fox had a dazzling, engaging smile. Breathtaking. As if he was the one-and-only person in the entire world that she wanted to see.

  “...then I’m going to set a record,” she was saying.

  Dan had missed most of it, but he suspected she was talking about flying. “Noble goal.”

  She beamed. “Especially since it will fulfill our dream.”

  Our? She’d lost him.

  “We talked about it all the time,” she continued. “He found every aviation story in the newspaper and saved them especially for me.” The emotion returned, and she blinked furiously. “It’s important. That’s all. Now you know why I have to get on the polar flight.” She beamed at him again. “I knew you’d understand once I explained everything. You can talk Jack into it.”

  “W-What?” Dan spluttered. How had a pleasant conversation turned into an assumption that he would help her? Though he’d missed the bulk of what she’d said, he had no doubt she wanted him to talk Hunter into teaching her to fly so she’d be ready for the polar attempt. He would not, could not, put any inexperienced pilot on a dangerous flight no matter how many tears she shed.

  She restated her case without the slightest degree of shame. “You can talk Jack into giving me flight training right away so I can be your backup for the polar flight.”

  Dan set his jaw. “That is not my call. It’s Jack Hunter’s expedition. He makes the assignments.”

  “I thought you understood.” She hardened, but at least she didn’t pout or resort to tears.

  He raked a hand through his hair. Somehow he had to get out of this without spurring her anger. “Whether or not I understand doesn’t change things. I’m just a hired hand, so to speak.”

  “You’re Daring Dan.”

  “I was Daring Dan,” he corrected.

  Her anger eased into curiosity. “Don’t you miss it?”

  “No. A man has to know when to move on.”

  “Because of the crash?”

  “That’s part of it.” He hadn’t admitted that even to himself. “It got hollow.”

  “Hollow?”

  He had a tough time putting this thought into words. “What good does an air show do in the grand scheme of things?”

  “What do you mean? Air shows thrill the crowds. They show people what airplanes can do. They made you famous.”

  That was the kind of response he should have expected from a woman who saw aviation as a romantic adventure filled with glamour and daring.

  He tried again. “Why do people go to air shows?”

  “To see amazing stunts.”

  “To see crashes.”

  Her eyes widened. “That can’t be true.”

  “It is.” Better she know the bitter truth now. “Promoters want more and more dangerous stunts. Crazy things. Stunts that get men and women killed. Why?” That’s what stuck in him like a thorn. “If a man’s going to die young, it should be for a good reason, not just to entertain folks.”

  Her brow had pinched into a frown. “I never thought of it that way.”

  “That’s why I wanted to run an airmail route.”

  She looked up, interested again. “So you could bring mail to people who might have to wait weeks or months otherwise.”

  “Mail, food, supplies. That could make a difference in folks’ lives.”

  “Then why join the polar attempt?”

  She had a point, but it was one he’d thought through. “To learn how to fly in the worst conditions. Maybe we can discover a way to keep planes in the air in frigid cold or excessive wind or even snowstorms.”

  “So you can bring the needed supplies no matter what the weather is,” she finished for him. “Like the diphtheria outbreak in Alaska. I told my sisters that they should use planes to bring the antitoxin to the village.”

  “They can’t.” Dan had read the same newspaper article, and he knew a little about the obstacles they faced. “First of all, there’s the distance that needs to be traveled. Nome is hundreds of miles from the closest airplanes. Secondly, the weather is too bad. Too cold. Too windy. A storm is headed in. Even if the airplane engines started and they had a way to refuel along the route, they would have trouble running into that weather. If they crashed, the antitoxin would be lost.”

  Jen considered it carefully. “It would be faster.”

  “If airplanes could battle the elements or if the weather relented. I’m hoping Simmons’ new engines will solve at least part of the problem. That’s why I want to test them under the worst conditions before beginning airmail service.” He had explained this need to accomplish something worthwhile to fellow pilots and even Agnes. None of them understood why he would give up the fame and money of air shows to “cart mail into the wilderness.” Dan waited for Jen to express similar sentiments.

  Instead, that expressive mouth of hers curved skyward. “That’s a flight worth risking your life to complete.”

  She understood.

  Chapter Six

  Dan Wagner might be arrogant and pigheaded, but he apparently had a heart. Jen mused over his dream of flying mail into remote areas while they reviewed the old supply lists from the transatlantic attempt.

  The tedious work spanned several days. First of all they discussed if the item would be useful for the polar expedition. If so, then they had to track down if the item had been used in the past six years or if it was in one of the crates in the barn. If it was in a crate, was it still in good condition? Jen wished she’d kept exacting records, even though she hadn’t worked with the Hunters until a couple years later. No one had. When Jack or Darcy needed something, they used it. No note. No crossing it off the original supply list. That meant extra work now.

  She groaned as she and Dan lifted one crate off another.

  He gave her that overprotective look she was beginning to recognize. “I can get Jack to help me.”

  “Did I say it was too heavy? I’m just thinking about how much work we would have saved if we’d kept track of everything through the years.”

  “You have a point there.” He removed that ragged old Stetson and mopped his forehead, a gesture that must be habit since it wasn’t at all warm in the barn. “But aviators aren’t known as the best record-keepers.” He plopped the hat back on.

  “Why do you wear that old hat? It looks like it’s going to fall apart at any moment.”

  He grinned and ran a hand over the worn crown. “I’ve had this baby since my first cattle drive.”

  “Then you really are a cowboy. I thought it was all show.”

  He shook his head, but that grin never faltered. “My folks have a ranch out in Montana. That’s home. Big, open spaces. Sky so wide and blue that the possibilities seem endless.”

  “Mariah says there are mountains in Montana.”

  “Mariah?”

  “You met Hendrick Simmons, the owner of the aeromotor plant. Mariah is his wife. She traveled out there with him a few years back. She said the same thing as you, except for the mountains.” Jen thought back to the stories that had enthralled her. “She said you can see for miles.”
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br />   “That’s true. The ranch is a long distance from the mountains, but you can see them hanging on the horizon like a cloud.”

  “I’d like to see that one day.”

  “Maybe you will.”

  The way he said that sent a flutter of excitement through her. “You could take me.”

  He stared at her, clearly shocked.

  Oh, dear. She’d gone and blurted out what she was thinking again. “Forget I said that.” She stuck the crowbar under the lip of the crate’s lid. “I’ll get there on my own.”

  He had the audacity to laugh. “You probably will.”

  She wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or not. “Do you miss it?” She leaned on the crowbar, and the lid popped up.

  “Sometimes, but not this time of year. The cold and wind bites into you so deep that all you want to do is sit by the fire.” He removed the lid.

  Jen stared at the jumble of gear inside. Some things she couldn’t identify. Others might work for the expedition, like an inflatable rubber raft, radio and dry cell batteries. She tugged out a corner of the raft. “Oh, no, the mice ate it.”

  “Or some other critter.” He shook his head. “We can cross this off the list.”

  “You don’t think it can be fixed?”

  “Do you want a patched raft if you have to ditch the plane?”

  Jen thought a second. “If I have to ditch the plane at the North Pole, a raft won’t do me much good. Isn’t it all ice and snow?”

  “That depends where you go down. In some places, there’s open sea.”

  “Then it might be useful.” Another thought occurred. “And on snow, it could be used as a sled for food and gear.”

  Dan’s eyes widened with appreciation. “You’re right.”

  That had to be the first time he’d ever said she was right. It felt good. The fact that he smiled at her didn’t hurt, either. Maybe Dan Wagner wasn’t such an arrogant, unfeeling man after all.

  “Thanks,” she murmured.

  He laughed. “Hey, I’m willing to admit when I’ve been bested.”

  She doubted that, but for the first time she noticed the twinkle in those blue eyes. He was teasing her. The thought made her nervous and excited all at the same time. Minnie would jump right in, but then she’d gotten hurt by her rash decisions. Jen was cautious. Men were friends and nothing more. She didn’t dare cross that line with Dan.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked. “Dirt on my face?” He rubbed his cheek.

  “No.” She gulped and looked away. Those eyes of his weren’t twinkling anymore. They’d softened along with the hard lines of his face. Jen had never been in love, but she’d seen the way a man looked at a woman. She’d also seen how a man could hurt a woman, and Dan Wagner was notorious for both. Why did she react this way to him? She knew better.

  “Something is bothering you.”

  “No. Not at all. Just a stray thought.” And a feeling that had best disappear if she wanted to join this expedition. Most men thought women had no place on an expedition team. Too many accommodations had to be made. It was too risky. Too dangerous. The reasons went on and on. Jen knew one thing for certain. Romance would crush any hope of convincing Jack she should be included.

  “Not sure I like that stray thought, since it took your smile away.”

  The sweet sentiment only made her insides churn more. If Ruth and Minnie knew what had just happened, they would pull out all stops to match the two of them. She couldn’t let them know. They could ruin everything.

  Dan touched her shoulder, and she jumped.

  He looked at her with real concern. “Something is wrong. Did you hurt yourself?”

  She shook her head. No one had ever affected her like this. Dan Wagner made her giddy and angry. He brought her to the point of tears. Jen Fox did not cry. Ever. She squeezed her hands until the fingernails stabbed into her palms. Pain always conquered weakness.

  “Help me spread out that raft,” she barked, slipping away from his comforting touch.

  The conversation had gotten too personal. From now on, she would keep strictly to business.

  * * *

  Dan had no idea what had just happened. One minute Jen had been talking and laughing. She had seemed genuinely interested in Montana, the ranch and his dreams of airmail service. The next, that wall went up again. It couldn’t have been that he instinctively reached out to comfort her.

  Sweet stars, it had to be.

  Most women liked a man to hold them. Jen Fox was definitely not like most women.

  For the umpteenth time that week, he wished he was doing this project alone or with another man. A man wouldn’t insist on patching an old rubber life raft. A man wouldn’t question his assessment—well, maybe a man would do that. Maybe that’s what irritated him most about Miss Fox. She didn’t act like a woman, at least most of the time. She did get misty-eyed for a second but throttled that back in a hurry. He was used to women weeping and falling into his arms. Not her. That gal was prickly as a porcupine.

  “The mice only chewed through the rubber in two spots.” She pointed to the obvious holes.

  “That doesn’t mean the raft isn’t compromised in other places. The rubber is old. It might be brittle.”

  “It doesn’t feel brittle.”

  He was getting tired of having every statement contradicted. “Fine. Fix it.” He threw up his hands in defeat.

  Her gaze narrowed. “Now you’re mad at me.”

  Why did any discussion with a woman end up at an emotional impasse? “We have a job to do,” he snapped. “Let’s stick to business.”

  Her delicate jaw jutted out. “My thoughts exactly.”

  Something about that pixie face and wild mop of hair was endearing. He suspected she used the dismal attire and woeful hairstyle as a barricade, just like her pointed barbs and ceaseless questioning. Underneath that hard exterior was a sensitive woman who didn’t want to get hurt. That meant she’d been hurt in the past, so much so that she couldn’t bear going through it again. If Dan hoped to break through that exterior, he couldn’t do so through argument. That just fed her fire. He’d have to charm her, tease her and put her at ease. In short, he’d have to treat her like the little sister he’d never had.

  He tipped the brim of his hat up so he could catch every nuance of her expression and leaned casually against the barn wall. “All right, Madame Foreman, now that we have that straight, what is the first order of business?”

  She looked suspicious but answered. “Find the rubber repair materials. We have rubber and cement for repairing tire tubes in the flight school hangar. It should work.”

  “You want me to get that now?” It made no sense to interrupt their inventory for a futile repair unless she was just trying to get rid of him.

  She considered a moment and then shook her head. “Let’s get through the rest of this crate in case we find something else that needs repair.”

  Dan grinned. That gal had a head on her shoulders.

  She squinted up at him. “What was that for?”

  “For surprising me, which you seem to do on a regular basis.”

  That made her laugh, and he was surprised how good it made him feel. What was wrong with him? First he’d relinquished command and now he wanted to please her. Dan shook his head. He was getting soft. No doubt about it.

  * * *

  After that momentary vulnerability, Jen got along with Wagner much better. She made sure not to look into his eyes. The cut of his strong jaw, the rugged high cheekbones and the wavy auburn hair were a fine sight. The broad shoulders and trim waist weren’t too bad, either. He wasn’t a tall man, but he did top her by a couple inches. If they were ever to dance, which was not going to happen, they would be well matched. She had to keep her distance.

  For the nex
t few working days, things went smoothly. They finished the inventory of old expedition supplies, and he even repaired the raft and a few other items. When the raft held air overnight, she didn’t crow over the victory. When it gradually deflated in the next two days, he didn’t point out that he’d been right. She stayed away from asking personal questions, and he did the same. They stuck to business.

  The first week of February brought a thaw that set her to thinking about flight training again. If the snow and ice melted off the runway, Jack wouldn’t have any excuses. He’d have to take her up. After all, she had fulfilled her part of the bargain.

  She whistled as she reworked the list of items they would need to purchase. Jack had given her a budget, which fell a couple hundred dollars short of the amount needed. Wagner hadn’t shown up today, meaning something else had come up, maybe another test flight. She’d waited for the drone of engines but heard nothing.

  When he pushed open the office door at a little before noon, she looked up with surprise. “I figured you must have done a test flight.”

  “No.”

  She didn’t miss his scowl. “What happened? Are the motors not running?”

  “It has nothing to do with the engines.” He tossed his hat on the table, sending a couple papers flying. He bent to retrieve them. “Sorry. I’m just irritated by what’s going on back home.”

  She took the papers from him. “Does that mean you’ll have to leave?”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  “No.” She looked down, shocked she’d said that and hoping he didn’t hear her.

  “No?” He leaned his elbows on the table until his face drew close to hers. “Are you saying you’d miss me?”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “Oh, darling. You sure know how to wound a man.” He thumped his chest in mock agony.

  She couldn’t help laughing. He had a way of bringing out the craziest emotions in her. One minute laughing and the next fighting tears. “I try.”