Christine Johnson - Love by Design

“Is that so?” Ruth’s smug smile was beginning to grate on Jen’s nerves. “What do you think, Minnie? Shall we?”

Minnie nodded.

“Shall you what?” Jen asked. Whatever they were up to, it wasn’t good.

Ruth pointed to Jen’s hands. “I do believe that’s the very pincushion we all touched when we vowed to help each other find husbands.”

“That’s right,” Minnie agreed. “You can’t duck out of that vow now, after helping Ruthie and me. Now it’s our turn to get you married.”

“Wait a minute!” Jen dropped the pincushion like a hot brick. “I’m not looking for a husband.”

Minnie smirked. “Sure you are. Didn’t you once say that everyone wants to get married?”

“I said no such thing.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Minnie wiggled her finger at her. “Nothing you can say will change our minds. We aren’t about to let you down, right, Ruthie?”

“Right. Who knows, maybe the Lord has a more interesting expedition in store for you.”

“Stop it!” Jen threw a wad of cotton at her sister. It fell harmlessly at Ruth’s feet and sent both sisters into spasms of laughter.

“Stop it this instant.” Jen stomped a foot for emphasis. “I am not looking for a husband. Understand? And even if I were, it wouldn’t be Dan Wagner. He’s arrogant and prideful and thinks he knows everything. He’s not interested in me, and I am definitely not interested in him.”

For some reason that made her sisters laugh harder.

Chapter Four

Jen wanted to talk to Jack Hunter right away, but she couldn’t find the expedition leader anywhere. The flight school was locked. No one answered her knock at their house. She even checked the aeromotor factory. The Hunters seemed to have vanished into thin air.

All that walking around did give her ample time to think. By the time she’d received the same negative response at Simmons Aeromotor, a brilliant idea came to mind. Her steps grew lighter along with her heart. If Jack agreed, she would get her flight lessons. Though she could not find him today, the proposed barter would still be good tomorrow or a week from tomorrow.

Since she’d promised Tillie she would attend her tea party, she headed back across town for her oldest sister’s house. Main Street was busy. Jen hunched against the knifing wind. As always, she looked at the window displays. Most stayed the same for weeks at a time, but the department store, mercantile and drugstore changed often. The brand-new cowboy hat in the mercantile window would look a lot nicer on Dan than that battered old thing he wore. On her, it would make her look like the sharpshooting Annie Oakley.

After a chuckle, she moved on. That’s when she spotted the Hunters in Lily’s Restaurant. Dan Wagner was with them. They huddled around a table, engaged in deep conversation. Jack was writing on a piece of paper and gesturing as he talked. Darcy watched her husband with a contented smile, but Dan Wagner looked as if he would hop off his chair at any moment. He leaned over the table, stabbing at the piece of paper with his index finger. Darcy nodded, but Jack clearly disagreed with whatever he’d just proposed.

Jen glanced at the clock on city hall. Twelve-thirty. Tillie was probably eating lunch. Tea could wait long enough for her to talk to Jack.

She pushed open the door to the diner and waved at Lily before pointing to Jack’s table. “I’m joining them.”

“Coffee?” the restaurant owner asked even as she picked up a cup.

Jen checked her jacket pockets. Empty except for a wadded-up handkerchief and a penny.

“No, thank you,” she said to Lily. “I won’t be staying long.”

“Sure, you won’t.” Lily plunked the steaming cup down at the empty spot on the square table.

“But I don’t have any money.”

“I’ll put it on your account,” said the proprietress with her gravelly voice. “Stop by and pay on it sometime. Do you want something to eat?”

“No, thanks. I’ll be by later to pay you back.”

“Sure you will, honey,” Lily said over her shoulder as she headed back to the kitchen. “I could use a dishwasher tonight.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jen shot back.

By now they had their parts down pat. Jen never had money on her. Lily always gave her food or drink, and Jen would pay when she got another paycheck, which wouldn’t be for a long time unless she worked off her debt by washing dishes.

“Jen,” Darcy and Jack said nearly at once.

It was amazing how often married people did that. She’d noticed Ruthie and Sam saying the same thing at the same time, too.

Dan Wagner looked less enthused, but he rose along with Jack. “Miss Fox.”

“Wagner.” She loved his expression when she called him by his last name. He always flinched and then turned up his nose as if he’d just sniffed a cow pie. “Sit down. I won’t take up much of your time. Jack, I have a proposition for you.”

His eyebrows rose in surprise while Dan’s tugged down to match his scowl.

She didn’t give either of them a chance to shoot her down. “I can help you with the expedition.”

That low growl of displeasure had definitely come from Dan.

Jack, on the other hand, took her offer in stride. “We can use all the volunteers we can get.”

She didn’t miss the stress he put on the word volunteer . Well, until Wagner, no one got paid. She sure wasn’t asking for money. “Good. I figure with my experience at the flight school and all the time I’ve spent learning about the engines, I can at least help out with the supply lists and ordering.”

“That’s true,” Darcy seconded, though her sly smile indicated she figured Jen had an ulterior motive that was centered on one arrogant stunt pilot.

Jen was just about to correct her assumption when Jack added, “But we can’t pay you.”

That was her opportunity. “Maybe you can. Not in cash but in flight time.”

“Flight time?” Jack looked lost.

“I need flight training to get my license. I’ll exchange work for training.” It made perfect sense to her, but Jack looked less than enthused.

“It costs us fuel and oil every time we take the planes up. You know that.”

Jen stuck to her plan. “It’s a fair exchange, and I’ll only use the minimum amount needed to get my license.”

Jack tugged a hand through his hair. “I don’t know.”

Darcy, however, backed Jen. “It’s a good trade-off. Jen understands all the terminology. She knows a plane inside and out. She’s familiar with our filing system and knows all the suppliers. Any other volunteer would take hours of training.”

Jack still looked concerned. He whispered something to his wife.

Jen couldn’t hear what he said.

Darcy countered her husband’s misgivings. “We won’t be able to start flight training for a couple months. By then, we’ll have student deposits.”

A couple months? Jen fidgeted. That was the traditional start of the flight school, but by then it would be too late to join the expedition. She would have to train for weeks and weeks. “Are you sure you couldn’t start sooner?”

Darcy looked sympathetic, but she didn’t give her approval. “You know that it depends on the weather and a whole host of other issues. The training planes are all laid up for the winter. Taking any of them out of storage means fitting them out and then laying them up again if the temperatures drop too low.”

“It’s January,” Jack pointed out. “Snow and ice make flying difficult for professionals. I’m not comfortable with the risk, especially since there’s no reason for it.”

But there was. Her whole chance at the polar attempt rested on getting her license now. She could be that backup aviator.