She tucked her hair behind her ears and settled into her seat then opened her purse, withdrawing the slim, leather-bound Bible. The tissue-paper pages rustled as she turned them. Delighted to see the Psalms were included in the volume, she found her favorite and began to read silently.
“O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.”
The archaic language touched her heart, and the tightness in her chest eased. When would she learn to turn over her day to the Lord? Always rushing to get where she was going or worried about the next thing. She smiled. He was in control.
“I don’t remember anything funny in the Bible.”
Her gaze shot to the man beside her. “I beg your pardon?”
“You’re grinning as if you read something amusing. That’s not the Bible I know.”
“Then perhaps you haven’t read it in full, because I know of several stories that are quite droll. But I’m smiling with joy, not entertainment.” She cocked her head. “When was the last time you looked inside the Bible?”
A muscle in his jaw jumped, and he shrugged. “A while.”
She tucked a finger between the pages and closed the Bible. A touchy subject apparently. “Why are you headed to Washington? I’m going for new job.”
“How nice for you.”
“You must be traveling on business. With the war on, no one is taking vacations. The whole country seems to be working day and night. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Sure. Look, are you going to talk the whole time we’re in the air?”
Emily raised an eyebrow. “Not if you’d prefer silence, but I have one more question.”
“Yes?”
“Are you always this rude to people you’ve only just met?”
j
Gerard’s face heated. The woman had spunk; he’d give her that. And she was right. He’d allowed a poor start to the day to color his attitude, pouring disdain onto anyone close by. First, the cab he’d taken to the airport broke down, and the wait for a replacement was interminable. Then after finally arriving at the airport, a comedy of errors sent him to the wrong gate, not once, but twice. Sprinting the last hundred yards to the plane in dress shoes was an athletic feat Olympian Jim Thorpe would have been proud of. Now, he was being asked questions he couldn’t answer.
He held out his hand. “I apologize. My morning did not have an auspicious beginning, and I’ve taken it out on you. I’m Gerard Lucas.”
She flashed a smile and grasped his hand. “My name is Emily Strealer. Perhaps I’m at fault as well. I can be a chatterbox when nervous. This is my first time on an airplane.” Dimples bracketed her mouth, and her eyes sparkled. Porcelain skin shone even in the dim light of the aircraft.
“You’ll be fine. Technology has come a long way since the Wright Brothers.”
“Are you a pilot?”
“Yes. I did some crop dusting in my younger days, so the air force seemed to be the right place to enlist. I didn’t want to end up in the trenches. I’ve flown mostly Thunderbolts, but I managed to get my hands on a Mustang a couple of times. Now, that’s a fast plane.”
“I imagine being a fighter pilot is dangerous. You must be very brave.”
He narrowed his eyes. How many times had some simpering gal hung on his arm, batted her eyelashes, and given him that line? This girl’s tone seemed matter of fact. Maybe she didn’t chase flyboys. “No braver than the next guy. We’re all just doing what has to be done.”
“As are we all.”
“Do you have anyone in the service? Brother? A sweetheart?” Gerard held his breath. Had he offended her again? He had no right to ask about boyfriends.
She shook her head, and a shadow crossed her face. “I have two sisters. The eldest lost her husband at Pearl Harbor. And there’s no one special in my life.”
His thoughts tumbled. Why was he relieved she didn’t have a beau? “I’m sorry about your brother-in-law. The nation lost a lot of good people that day.”
A nod, then she nibbled her lower lip. His gaze shot to her mouth, small, tinted with light pink lipstick, and kissable. He almost reared back in the seat. Where had that idea come from? Yes, she was attractive, but he didn’t usually go for redheads. Leggy blondes were more his type. Betty Grable or Gloria Graham. Either of them was the ticket.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is your captain. We’re cleared for takeoff and will be in the air shortly. Sit back and enjoy the ride. We’ll try to avoid any bumps.”
“Bumps? What bumps?” Miss Strealer’s eyes bugged, and she gripped his arm.
Gerard patted her icy fingers. Where was the spirit he’d seen earlier? “He’s kidding. Well, kind of. There’s something called turbulence which happens when two masses of air moving at different speeds come together. The phenomena can cause the plane to rock a bit if we happen to fly through.”
“Will it cause us to crash?”
“No. We’ll be fine.” Great, they got a pilot with a sense of humor. Gerard rolled his eyes. Probably some old codger left over from the last war. He pried off her hand, and placed it in her lap. “There is no need to worry.”
The aircraft taxied down the tarmac and lifted to the sky. Gravity pushed him against his seat, and he closed his eyes. Takeoff was his favorite part of flying. Feeling the power then overcoming the pressure. Knowing he was in control. He’d miss being a pilot, but the new assignment promised greater challenges, more danger. Just what he needed.
The plane reached cruising altitude. He leaned toward his seat mate. “Now, that wasn’t too bad, was it?”
A smile was back on her face, and her eyes glowed. “Exciting and fun. I don’t understand the physics, but overcoming the pressure to get airborne was incredible. A sense of…I don’t know…victory.”
“My thoughts exactly. Now you know why I fly.”
She pointed to the cotton-ball clouds outside the window. “You get a whole other perspective up here, don’t you? By all appearances the clouds are cushioning us, but in reality, they are just masses of water. I don’t think I’ll look at them the same after this.”
“Seems like you’re getting bit by the flying bug.” He grinned. Not nearly as annoying now that the woman wasn’t quizzing him about God or war business; she was enjoyable to be around. Too bad a relationship wasn’t in the cards at the moment. He might change his mind about what type of girl he stepped out with.
Hours passed. Nearing their destination, the aircraft began its descent.
Seconds later, the plane bucked, and Gerard’s head whipped toward his lovely seat mate.
Miss Strealer gasped and gripped the arms of her chair, her face ashen.
The pair of stewardesses staggered in the aisle. Dishes rattled, and a woman in the back cried out.
Gerard rubbed his face. Apparently, the flight was not going to be a smooth one. “Are you okay?”