Page 12 of Air Affair

Because he wasn’t thinking about her, damnit.

But despite his best intentions, the fantasy his mind had created slipped into the cockpit with him, straddling him and saying, “Take me higher, Hank. Take me soaring through the clouds.” She moved against him, her taut nipples brushing against his chest through her thin, silk blouse.

No. Absolutely not. Hank had a plane to fly.

Michigan. Think of your family back in Michigan.

That just brought him back to this week’s conversation with his sister. Another sore topic.

“Are you taking care of yourself, Hank?” Kate asked.

He wasn’t, but he couldn’t very well tell her that.

“Yes, Kate. You can tell Ma I’m taking good care of myself,” he said into the phone. “Early to bed, early to rise. Apple a day and all that, I promise. Is she taking care of herself?”

“She’s doing what she’s always done—up at dawn milking cows and feeding chickens and then puttering around the farm all day. Lately, she’s been canning up a storm. The house smelled like tomatoes for a week. And we had a bumper crop of zucchini. I can’t tell you when I last had a zucchini-free meal.”

Hank laughed. “What I wouldn’t give for some of Ma’s cooking, zucchini and all,” he said.

“You should come home for a visit. Ma misses you.”

“I will. I just don’t know when,” Hank sighed.

“It’s been a rough year for her, losing Pops…and Benny. It would mean so much to her if you would come.”

Hank winced at the catch in his sister’s voice as she said Benny’s name. “I will. I promise I’ll try to figure out a time. Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you again same time next week. Give my love to Ma.”

“Will do. Fly safe.”

“I always do.”

Another lie. He took unnecessary risks, and he knew it. Benny was the good son, the one who always did the right thing. If anyone was going to survive the war, it should have been him. Pneumonia took down Pops in the same year. It was just too much.

Hank adjusted his goggles and checked his navigation. Still on course, thank heavens.

But Michigan was still on his mind.

He was the man of the family now, even if he couldn’t think of anyone less suited. He’d never wanted to stay on the farm. With a healthy father and a big brother who was eager to take it on, he never thought he’d have to.

Now he was prolonging the inevitable, putting off his return again and again because he knew if he went back, he’d never escape. Seeing Ma and Kate all alone on that farm with just Jeremiah and the farm hands to help would break his heart. He couldn’t leave them to fend for themselves. But as long as he didn’t go back, he could pretend everything was fine. He could avoid thinking about the enormous holes Pops and Benny left in their lives. It wasn’t real. He didn’t have to face it. Every week, he told himself just one more week, but it had been over a year now since Pops’ funeral.

It was time to go. No more excuses. He should go buy those train tickets to Michigan right now. Except he couldn’t. Because he was in the air, halfway to Philadelphia. And there wouldn’t be time when he landed. He was supposed to change planes and fly to D.C. He wouldn’t be back in the city with free time until Thursday. Hell, he’d waited this long, he could wait a few more days, couldn’t he?

He checked his fuel levels and made a slight course adjustment.

As he looked up, a dark stripe appeared in the far distance, and he swore. The storm clouds moved fast, roiling where the coastal breeze hit the inland heat. He tried to find a nice field to land in to wait out the storm, but there were no good options. Before he knew it, he was flying into the storm. Thunder rumbled around him, and lightning flashed. The sky darkened, and rain began pouring down. The mail was safe beneath an oilcloth, but he was exposed, protected only by his goggles, leather jacket, and aviator cap.

Rain spattered his face and streamed down his neck, soaking his shirt and pants. I just need to get to the other side. A pocket of turbulence jolted him and made his heart skip a beat. Stay with me, Jenny. Stay with me.

These summer storms never lasted long. Fifteen, twenty minutes of violent drenching, then they disappeared.

He gripped the stick for dear life, praying this didn’t knock him too far off course. Thunder cracked, and lightning struck right in front of him. The sizzle echoed in his ears as he prayed as hard as he’d ever prayed in his life.

The plane seemed to be trying to buck him out. He fumbled for the safety strap he usually didn’t bother with and fastened it across his lap. Maybe today was the day he’d lose the fight. Who would miss him if he didn’t make it out? His family? A few friends in the Postal Service? Hank didn’t have much to show for himself aside from a few medals during the war. If only there was someone special, someone who loved him, a reason to return home.

Hank shook himself as the plane bucked again. This was the whole reason he’d avoided getting close. This right here. What right did he have to someone’s heart when he did this for a living?

No. If he made it out of this, and that was a big if, he was going to keep his promise to himself to remain a bachelor. Because it was only a matter of time before this job killed him. If he fell in love, he’d only end up breaking hearts. It wouldn’t be fair.