She drove home alone late that afternoon, thinking of him, and it started to snow just after she got back. She went into the house and helped her mother cook dinner for the four of them, but her father was late. And an hour later, he still hadn't come home. Oona finally sent Chris out with the truck to find Pat at the airport.
Chris came back twenty minutes later to grab something to eat for him and Pat. There was a train wreck two hundred miles southwest of them, with hundreds of injuries, and they were asking for rescue teams from everywhere. Pat was organizing rescue teams at the airport, and he wanted Chris to help him. Nick was there too, and they were calling all their pilots in to fly. But three were home sick, and too ill to come in, and they hadn't been able to reach some of the others. They were still waiting for a few more to come in. Pat had told Chris to tell his mother they wouldn't be back all night. Oona nodded, used to this, and packed some food for them to eat at the airport.
“Wait!” Cassie said, as Chris started to go back to him. “I'll come with you.”
“You shouldn't…” Oona started to object, but at the look on her daughter's face, she shrugged. There was no harm in it. All she could do was sit at the airport. “All right. I'll pack something for you to eat too.”
She gave them a basket filled with food, and Cassie and Chris drove off, skidding on and off the old road on the property to the airport. It was an icy night, and the snow had been falling for two hours. She wondered if they'd even be able to take off. Conditions did not look good, and her father looked worried when she and Chris walked into his office at the airport.
“Hi, kids.” He pushed aside the food. He and Nick were talking anxiously about the planes they could use, and the men they needed. They were trying to send four planes with supplies and rescue teams. Everything and everyone were assembled, except for the pilots. And so far, they were still two men short, and they were trying to reach them. Pat was going to fly the new Vega himself with Chris. Although, if he'd had to, Pat could have flown solo. Another of their best men had come in, with his co-pilot, and they had each been assigned planes. But they needed two more men to fly the old Handley. It was tricky to fly and because of its age and size, it was wiser to have two men flying it in this kind of weather. Nick could have flown it alone but it wouldn't have been a wise decision. And he wanted someone good to fly it with him. Silently, he looked over at Cassie, but he said nothing.
They heard from two more men shortly after that. One was bone-tired after a sixteen-hour flight around the country, delivering mail in terrible weather, and the other was quick to admit that he'd been drinking.
“That leaves one,” Nick said unhappily. One man left they needed to hear from. He called in finally around ten, with a ferocious earache. “End of the line, O'Malley,” Nick said pointedly. They were one man short for their mission. Pat read his mind easily, and began shaking his head, but this time Nick wouldn't listen.
“I'm taking Cassie with me,” he said quietly, as Pat started to sputter. “Don't waste your time, Ace, There are hundreds of injured people waiting for help and supplies, and I'm not going to argue with you. I know what I'm doing, and she's coming with me.” The only other choice would have been to let her co-pilot the Vega with her father, and Nick knew he wouldn't let her do it. Nick grabbed his jacket and started moving toward the door, and he held his breath as Pat stared at him angrily, but made no objection.
“You're a damn fool, Nick,” Pat growled at him, but he said nothing more as they gathered their things, and he called Oona and asked her to wait for them at the airport.
Cassie followed Nick quietly out to the familiar plane, feeling something deep inside her tremble, and for just an instant she saw her father look hard at her with eyes full of anger and betrayal. She wanted to say something to him then, but she didn't know what to say, and a moment later, he was gone, with Chris, in the Vega.
“He'll be all right,” Nick said as he helped her to her seat, but she only nodded. Nick had stuck up for her, as usual; he believed in her, and he hadn't been afraid to say so. He was an amazing man, and she just hoped she wouldn't let him down as they flew the old plane in bad weather all the way to Missouri.
They did the usual check on the ground, and then checked inside carefully. She knew the plane well, thanks to Nick, and as she strapped herself in, she was suddenly excited at what they were doing and she forgot all about her father. They were carrying emergency supplies that had been brought to them at the airport. The other planes were also carrying supplies, and two doctors and three nurses. Help was coming from four states. There were nearly a thousand people injured.
Nick took off cautiously but smoothly. There had been no ice on the wings, and the snow had thinned. It had almost stopped as they reached their final altitude of eight thousand feet and flew southwest toward Kansas City. It was a two-and-a-half-hour flight for them, although her father and Chris would make it in a little over an hour in the Vega. It was turbulent most of the time, but it didn't bother Cassie or Nick. Cassie was stunned by the beauty of the night, and how peaceful it was to be at the controls in a night sky full of stars now. It was like being on the edge of the world, in an endless universe. She had never felt so small or so free or so alive as at that moment.
Nick let her fly the plane much of the time, and when they reached a good-sized field near the train wreck, he brought it in for a landing.
There were wounded everywhere when they got to the train, supplies being brought in, medical personnel trying to help people lying on the ground, children crying. Nick and Cassie and the others stayed to help until dawn, and by then the state police seemed to have everything under control. Ambulances and medical personnel had come from all over the state. People had driven, flown, they had come as soon as they could. And in the morning, Nick and Cass flew home with the others. She had scarcely seen her father all night, as they did everything they could to help the rescue workers.
The sun came up just as they took off, and on the way back Nick let her fly it herself, and she brought it in for a textbook landing in spite of heavy winds and slippery conditions on the runway. Nick shook hands with her as she turned the engines off, and congratulated her for a job well done. She was grinning broadly as she stepped off the plane, and she was surprised to almost collide with her father. He was standing right next to the plane, and he looked at Nick with tired eyes, as he barked a question.
“Who landed this plane?” It was his plane, and Cassie instantly sensed trouble.
“I did,” Cassie said quietly, ready to take the blame for any mistake she'd made. She took her flying seriously and calmly.
“You did a damn fine job,” he said awkwardly, and then turned and walked away. She had proven everything Nick had said, and they both wondered what Pat would do about her now. It was hard to say. There was no predicting Fat O'Malley. But as she watched him walk away, there were tears in her eyes. It was the only praise he had ever given her that had meant anything. And she wanted to shout she was so excited. Instead, she just grinned at Nick, and saw that he was smiling broadly. And they walked arm in arm back to the office.
Her mother had brought in coffee and rolls for all the men, and Cassie sat quietly drinking her coffee and talking to Nick about what they'd seen at the train wreck. It had been a long, rough night, but at least they'd been useful.
“So, you think you're a hotshot.” She heard her father's words as he stood next to her, and she looked up at him, but he didn't look angry anymore when their eyes met.
“No, Dad, I don't. I just want to fly,” she said softly.
“It's unnatural is what it is. Look at what happened to that poor fool Earhart.” Cassie had heard it all before and she was prepared for it, but she was in no way prepared for what he said next, and her jaw dropped as she glanced at Nick to make sure she'd heard him correctly. “I'll give you some work out here, after school. Nothing big. Just the little jobs. I can't have Nick flying around all the time, wasting fuel and time, giving you le
ssons.” She grinned as she looked at him, and Nick let out a whoop as the other men glanced over at them in confusion.
She threw her arms around her father's neck, and Nick pumped his hand, as Chris walked over to his sister and hugged her. She had never been happier in her life. He was going to let her fly… her father was going to let her fly, and give her flying jobs to do at the airport…
“Just wait till the air show in July!” she whispered to Nick as she hugged him tight, and he laughed. Her father was in for a big surprise. But this was certainly a good beginning.
8
For the next six months, Cassie's days seemed to fly by. She drove to Bradley every day, worked at the restaurant three afternoons a week to pay (or fuel when she flew with Nick. And she tried to get to the airport as soon as she could before nightfall. She did whatever she could to help there, but most of her work for her father, and flying, was done on weekends. And those were her happiest days. Nick even took her on some cargo runs to Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.
Her life had never before seemed as perfect. She missed her secret flying lessons with Nick sometimes, and the time they'd shared alone. But he taught her openly now, when they both had time, taking off from her father's airport. And although Pat never said anything to her, it was obvious that he approved of her style, and secretly he admitted to Nick once that she was a damn fine little flier. All of his obvious praise went to Chris, who tried hard, but really didn't deserve it. But it didn't bother Cassie anymore. She had everything she wanted.
The only problem she had was with her fiancé, who was aghast that her father had relented. But since he had, there was little Bobby could say, except to remind her constantly of his disapproval. Her own mother thought it was only a passing phase, something she would lose interest in once she and Bobby were married and had children.
The biggest news that spring was when Hitler took over Austria in March. For the first time, there was serious concern about war, although most people still believed Roosevelt. He said there would be no war, and America would never step in again if there was. Once had been enough. America had learned her lesson.
But Nick didn't think it was quite that simple. He had read about Hitler and didn't trust him. He also had friends who had volunteered to fly in the Spanish Civil War two years before, and he believed that soon all of Europe would once again be in terrible trouble. Nick could easily envision America getting involved again despite Roosevelt's promises and protests.
“I can't believe we'd get into it again. Can you, Nick?” Cassie asked seriously after they'd practiced for the air show.
“I can,” he answered honestly. “I think we will too, eventually. I think Hitler is going to go too far, and we'll have to step in to support our allies.”
“That's hard to believe,” Cassie said. It was harder still to believe that her father was actually going to let her fly in the air show. Nick had talked him into it, and more than anything, Pat was afraid of being embarrassed. He had already seen that she was safe, had good hands, and had been well taught, but what if she did very badly? What if she did so badly he couldn't hold his head up?
“Chris won't let you down,” Nick had encouraged him, and Pat had naively bought it. Nick was a lot surer of Cass, but he wouldn't have dared to say so to her father. Pat still wanted to believe that Chris had a great future in the air, and he refused to see how little Chris cared about flying. In all fairness, Chris didn't let him see his true feelings. He was afraid to.
And when at last the big day came, all of Nick's beliefs and predictions proved to be prophetic. Chris won the prize for altitude again, but Cassie took second for speed, on a straightaway, and first for a race on a closed-circuit course. As they announced the winners in the afternoon, Pat couldn't believe his ears, and neither could Cassie. She and Nick were dancing around like two children, hugging and kissing, and letting out whoops and screams. The local paper took a picture of her, first alone, and then standing next to her father. And Chris didn't begrudge her any of it. He knew how much it meant to her. It was her whole life. Pat couldn't believe what she'd done. But Nick could. He had always known it. And he wasn't surprised either when one of the turn judges said he'd never seen a pilot as good at high-speed pylon turns as Cassie.
“Well, you did it, kid.” Nick smiled at her, as he drove her home at the end of the day, after they had flown all her father's planes back to the airport.
“I still can't believe it,” she said, staring at him, and then looking into the distance out the window.
“Neither can your dad.” He smiled.
“I owe it all to you,” she said seriously, but he only shook his head. He knew better.
“You owe it to yourself. That's the one you owe it to. I didn't give you the gift, Cass. God did that. I only helped you.”
“You did everything.” She turned to look at him, feeling suddenly sad. What if he stopped teaching her now? What if they no longer spent time together? “Will you still take me up sometimes?”
“Sure. If you promise not to scare me.” He told her what the turn judge had said then, with real pride in her.
She guffawed, and then she almost groaned when she saw Bobby Strong waiting on their front porch. He had been so afraid of what might happen to her, he had refused to come to the air show. There were things she had to reckon with there, but she never had the courage, and he never wanted to hear it. He didn't want to believe how much flying meant to her, how badly she wanted other things than being his wife and having babies. What she really wanted right now was to relive every moment of the air show with Nick and have him assure her that their time together wasn't over. But instead now she'd have to deal with Bobby.
“There's your friend,” Nick said quietly. “You gonna marry him one of these days?” It was something he always wondered.
“I don't know,” she said honestly with a sigh. She was always honest with him. But her honest answers were not what Bobby wanted. She was nineteen years old and she didn't feel ready to tie herself to anyone, and yet it was what they all wanted for her. “Everyone keeps telling me I'll change, that being married and having kids changes everything. I guess that's what I'm scared of. My mom says it's what all women want. So how come all I want is what I had today and a hangar full of airplanes?”
“I can't say I've ever felt any different,” he grinned, and then grew thoughtful. “No, that's not true. I did feel differently when I was about your age. I tried like hell, but it didn't work. And I've been scared to death ever since. There's no room for both a family and planes in my life. But, Cassie, maybe you're different.” In a way he wanted her to be, but not for Bobby.
“My dad seemed to do okay at it,” she grinned back at him. “Maybe we're both weird, you and I. Maybe we're both just cowards. Sometimes it's easier to love airplanes than people.” Except that she knew she loved him. He was the dearest friend she had, and she knew he had loved her since she was a child. The trouble was, she wasn't a child now.
“You know,” he nodded thoughtfully then, responding to her calling herself a coward, “that's exactly what I said to myself today when I watched you do that triple loop followed by the inverted spin before you flipped into the barrel roll in the aerobatics race. I said to myself, gee, I never realized Cassie is a coward.” She burst into laughter at the expression on his face, and pushed him where he sat behind the wheel in his old truck.
“You know what I mean. Maybe we're cowards about people,” she said cautiously.
“Maybe we're just not stupid. I think being married to the wrong person is about as bad as it gets. Believe me, I tried it.”
“Are you telling me he's the wrong person for me?” Cassie asked him in an undertone as Bobby waited for her patiently on the porch. He had already heard that she'd been a two-time winner at the air show.
“I can't tell you that, Cass. Only you know that. But don't let anyone else tell you he's the right one either. You figure it out. If you don't, you'll be awfully sorry later.
” She nodded at the unexpected wisdom of his words, and then hugged him again for all he'd done for her.
“I'll see you at work tomorrow.” She was going to be working at the airport all summer. Her father was going to let her quit her job at the restaurant and work for him, for a pittance. She wondered if her father would let her do cargo runs alone. She wondered if her performance in the air show was going to change things.
She hopped lightly out of the truck, with a last look at Nick, and then went to talk to Bobby. He had waited a long time for her, and he was pleased that she had won, but he looked annoyed as she hurried over. He had been worried sick all afternoon, working in his father's store, and terrified he would hear of a disaster at the air show. And now she looked as breezy as could be, as though she'd gone into town to go shopping with her sisters.
“It's not fair to me, Cass,” he said quietly. “I was worried about you all afternoon. You don't know what it's like, thinking of all the horrible things that could happen.”
“I'm sorry, Bobby,” she said quietly, “but it was a special day for me.”
“I know,” he nodded, but he didn't look pleased. None of her sisters flew, what was she trying to prove? He really didn't want her to keep on flying, and he said so. But now was not the time, and Cassie suddenly looked as angry as he did.
“How can you say that to me?” She had come too far now, the air show, her father, all those years of lessons with Nick. She wasn't coming down ever again now. She was up there. And she was staying, whether Bobby liked it or not. He figured that eventually he'd change her. But by the end of the summer he had come to understand that he had allied himself with a family of fliers, and blood ran thicker than engagements. For the moment, all he could do was ask her to be careful. And she was, of course, but not because of Bobby. She was just good at what she did. And she flew constantly. By fall, when Jackie Cochran won the Bendix Trophy race from Burbank to Cleveland, Cassie was starting to fly mail runs for her father. He was sure of her flying by then, and had had her fly him all over the state herself. He had finally admitted to Nick that he was right. It was a coincidence of course, and you couldn't really trust a female the way you could a male, but she was a damn good pilot. Of course, Pat never said as much to Cassie.
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