Mattie gave a grin she didn’t feel. “I would’ve worn her down.”
Her father’s eyes twinkled in the dim light, but he didn’t laugh. “That is probably true.”
“Pa, all I have ever wanted to do is fly. This ismychance. My brothers have had so many. This is my only one. And I’ll make good money.”
Walt studied the dirt floor for a moment. When he glanced up, he looked solemn. “Your mama’s sister wanted to take you in. Said I had no business raising a little girl on my own. Maybe she was right. Maybe if I had listened to her, you’d be living in a nice house with a good man and a passel of babies and not worrying about my money problems.”
Mattie snorted. If her brothers or Leo had said something like this, she would have been livid. But she understood her father spoke from guilt. He’d always supported her dreams of flying, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t occasionally expressed a worry that he’d denied her a normal girlhood by treating her as one of the boys.
“I have no desire or need for any of that domestic poppycock. Not when I can own the sky and help out the family.”
A true smile curved her father’s lips, his mustache drawing up too. “You have my ability to dream combined with your mother’s passion.”
“Then you understand why I’m leaving?” Mattie asked hurriedly.
“You weren’t meant for just helping out at the flight school. I saw your raw talent the moment you took the controls, Swift. There’s a reason I nicknamed you after a wild bird and not a domestic one. You’re meant to fly freely.”
Mattie threw her arms around him. When he folded her into an embrace, she knew he supported her decision just as he had her brothers’ to find work elsewhere.
When they stepped back from each other, her father cleared his throat as he returned to the workbench. “Is Leo trying to wrangle his way into joining this female circus?”
Mattie blinked in surprise. Why had her father thought to ask aboutthat?
“He will be joining as well.”
Her father gave a nod, as if he’d expected her answer. “How did he manage to convince Vera Jones to hire him if she’s looking for female pilots?”
Mattie sighed as she perched on the worktable next to her father. “Vera plans on hiring male performers, too, and she has this grand idea of Leo and I engaging in a semimock flight duel during each show.”
Her father raised both his silver-brown eyebrows. “Flight duel?”
Mattie tapped her fingers against the rough wood. Although her father let her do more tricks than her brothers, he didn’t like the more dangerous ones. But he’d also yelled at Alfred for doing the same.
“I am supposed to be Miss Modernity, and Leo will be Mr.Yesteryear. We stage an argument about whether a woman can fly better than a man. Then we have a competition where we each try to outdo the other’s stunts,” Mattie said.
Her father’s eyebrows rose even farther until they were almost obscured by his cap. “Leoagreed to challenge you?”
Mattie shook her head. “Not exactly. Vera sort of cornered him. She said if Leo didn’t, she’d find another, more willing male pilot. When I agreed to join her circus, Leo quickly said he would too.”
Her father let out a knowinghuh, as if he’d again predicted something of that nature. Mattie pushed off her makeshift seat to pace.
“I hope he won’t fuss over me like a mother hen,” Mattie said. “Leo has all the opportunities in the world to fly the way he wants. Like I said before, this is my only one.”
“I wouldn’t be so hard on him.” Her father spoke slowly, as if first considering his words.
“Hard onhim? He’s the one who’s hard onme! I swear he’s getting worse than the boys.”
“Leo has his reasons for protecting you, Swift.”
Mattie snorted. “He’s just being a typical man. He can risk his neck, but heaven forbid if a silly female tries to do the same.”
Her father leaned even farther back, an odd expression on his face. “Leo’s more complicated than he lets on, Mattie.”
“That I highly doubt.” Mattie emphatically crossed her arms to punctuate her skepticism.
Her father’s knowing grin deepened for a moment before his expression flattened into seriousness. He stood, then stepped toward her.
“I’ll miss the both of you, but I’m glad you’re pursuing your dreams and that Leo’s going with you.”
