The White Knight (24 page)

“God doesn't sponsor any failures, girls. Of course it will fly. Now, let's do a Jericho march.”

Joelle laughed and said, “Follow me, girls.” She started marching around the airplane, and the girls fell in line behind her, with Luke at the end. When they had marched around seven times, Luke said, “Now, let's all give a holler for God.” They all cried out aloud, and Joelle said, “Good luck, Luke.”

“Wish yourself good luck. You're going with me!”

“What!”

“Yes. You're going to have the first ride in the Silver Eagle here. That's what I've decided to call it. The Silver Eagle. Eagles are mentioned in the Bible and this one's silver, and I'm convinced this is how God plans to save the Haven.”

When she didn't respond immediately, he said, “Don't you believe it, Joelle?”

Suddenly she smiled brilliantly. “Yes. I do believe it, but I was just thinking back to the last ride I had in this plane with my brother. He would be thrilled if he knew somebody had gotten it back into shape.”

Luke handed her a helmet and they both climbed into the plane, with the girls calling encouraging words as they did.

The engine roared, and soon the plane begin to move, bumping over the uneven ground. They picked up speed, and before she knew it, they were off the ground. The earth seemed to fall away beneath her, and she felt the same thrill she had always felt when she had flown with Roscoe.

Luke banked the plane and did a complete circle around the farm. “There's the Haven,” he said. “See. The girls are looking at us. You want me to do a loop?”

“No, I don't!” she yelled back over the noisy engine.

Luke laughed and then began to test the plane. He flew low over a field, keeping the plane steady as he went the length of
it, and then pulled up just before encountering a group of tall walnut trees at the end. Luke was a great pilot, Joelle could see, for he timed it exactly right. He made a loop and came back over the same field, again pulling up just in time to avoid the trees. It was exciting and she enjoyed every second of it.

Finally Luke brought the plane in for a landing and got out. He looked the other way as Joelle struggled to keep her skirt tight against her legs, and then he reached up and lifted her to the ground. All the girls came rushing up, demanding a ride.

“I've got a job to do this morning, but I'll give every one of you a ride sometime this week. That is, if you're keeping up with your chores and your schoolwork . . . and if you bring me coffee whenever I want it and—”

“Okay, okay, we get the point,” Sunny said.

“I'm just teasing,” Luke said. “I'll see that you all get a ride, but right now I've got to be sure this spray works.”

Joelle and the girls watched as Luke filled up the tanks and checked them to see that they fed, and all the time she was thinking about how much he had changed. Luke had already managed to get three crop-dusting jobs lined up. When he had made the deal on the third one, he had told Joelle,
“If I do a good job on these, we'll soon have more work than I can handle. We're closer to these fields than anybody else, and besides, it's tough flying here in these hills. A lot of pilots wouldn't want to tackle it.”

Now she asked, “Aren't you worried about the danger, Luke?”

He put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “Don't you worry about me. God sent me. Like I said, He doesn't sponsor any failures.” He suddenly pulled her into an embrace. “Don't worry,” he whispered in her ear. “It'll be fine.” He laughed then and walked away.

She watched him climb into the plane and take off. As he banked the plane and she watched it disappear, Joelle wondered,
He never says anything about what he feels for me, but he's kissed me and he's hugged me. I wonder why he
never tells me how he feels?
She was mildly disappointed, for she had grown quite fond of him. He was a hard worker, he always acted like a gentleman, and now he was growing into a man who loved his Lord. Deep down inside, Joelle's deepest desire was to have a godly husband and a house full of children.

****

Luke had put in a long day in the cockpit, and when he landed early in the evening a month later, Joelle came running out to meet him. “Look at this, Luke.” He stopped, pulled his helmet off, and ran his hand through his hair. “What is it?”

“It's our account book. Look!”

He peered over her shoulder. “What about it?”

“All the bills are paid, Luke!” Her eyes were dancing with joy. “Everything's paid and Mr. McCollum called. He wants you to work all of his fields from now on.”

“Why, that's great, Joelle. That means a steady income.”

“It's so wonderful, Luke. It really is.”

Luke started to put his arms around her and then something stopped him. Joelle looked up at him and finally spoke her heart. “Luke, I thought you were beginning to care for me.” Words would not come to Luke—at least not the words he wanted to say. He looked down at the ground and then shook his head. “You deserve a better man than I am, Joelle.” He turned and walked away before she could answer.

He doesn't love me,
she thought.
He's made it more than obvious.

As Luke walked toward the barn, he felt as bad as he had felt in a long time. It had been so exciting getting the plane ready to fly and finding crop-dusting jobs and then actually flying again, but none of these accomplishments were as important to him as was the woman he had come to care for so deeply. His deepest desire was that Joelle would love him in return . . . but that would never happen if she knew the truth about who he was.

If she knew that I was responsible for her brother's death, she'd hate me.
With that thought came the temptation to have a drink, but he shook his head and said, “No. That's not the answer. I don't think I'll ever have Joelle as a wife, but at least I can help her keep her head above water financially.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Melosa . . . Joelle

“Oh, Luke, it's so exciting!” Joelle had come out to the plane where Luke was replenishing the supply of insecticides. When he rose to face her, her eyes were dancing with excitement, and without even knowing she did so, she pulled on his shirt sleeve. “You've done so well, Luke. You ought to be very proud of yourself.”

“It's a little soon to be claiming any victories,” Luke remarked. He studied her clean-running physical lines and noted again, as he had many times before, that her face was a mirror that changed often. She was a beautiful and robust woman with soft depths and a woman's spirit, and despite the curtain of reserve she kept at times, at this moment she had a provocative challenge in her eyes.

“Why, Luke, I don't know why you're not jumping up and down. You've done a wonderful job of pulling us out of the hole we were in.”

“We're not out of it yet,” Luke warned. “Most of the dusting is over for the season now. In this business you have to make your money for a few months and then wait for the next season.”

“But we have done that. It was a stroke of genius buying that old plane and hiring another pilot to help you.”

Indeed, it had taken luck and hard work to expand the operation. Luke had located another old biplane that had no engine and had managed to find an engine that had no body. He had bought the two for practically nothing and put them
together. Now he glanced up at the western sky, wondering if Glenn Frasier would bring the plane back in one piece.

“Glenn's not the most reliable pilot in the world,” he murmured.

“But he's been doing a good job, hasn't he?”

“Well, he's a hard worker and he's not afraid of anything—which can be bad.” He suddenly smiled at her. “Men should be afraid of some things—like snakes and bad women and electrical wires.”

Joelle laughed. “You class snakes and electrical wires in the same category with women? You must have had a bad experience.”

“I'm just careful around all three of them,” Luke said with a grin. He and Joelle had reached the point where they felt comfortable with each other, and it was a good feeling for Luke Winslow. He glanced again at the sky and said, “Watch out for Glenn. He thinks he's quite the ladies' man.”

“Oh, he's already tried to woo me.”

“What'd you do?”

“I pulled out a Bible and started preaching at him. He ran like a scared rabbit.”

Luke laughed.

“Tell me some more about the women on your list,” Joelle said.

“Too many to talk about.”

“If you don't want to talk about that, maybe we can talk about this idea that I've had. You may think I'm crazy, but I've had this thought that I haven't been able to get rid of.”

“What thought's that?”

“We've done so well with the Haven as a home for girls, I've started to wonder if we should think about establishing a home for boys.”

Luke stared at Joelle with amazement. “We're just barely making it with the girls and you want to start a home for boys?”

“I knew you'd think I was crazy, but the thought comes to
me when I'm reading the Scriptures and when I'm praying and sometimes at night after I go to bed. So I have to wonder if this idea might be coming from God.”

“Of course it's something you should pray about, but you know as well as I do how difficult it would be. Like I said before, the crop-dusting season is about over for the year. Once everyone has paid up for this month's services, there'll be no more income until next year. I don't see how it can be done.”

Joelle reached up and ran her hand over her hair, a habit she had when she was thinking hard. “There was a great man of God named Hudson Taylor. Have you ever heard of him?”

“No. That name doesn't ring a bell.”

“He was an Englishman who started a mission organization called the China Inland Mission. He didn't have any money. He didn't have anything really. He just got on a boat and went to China. Couldn't speak the language. Didn't have a dime. But he knew God had sent him there. I always liked one thing he said very much. He said, ‘God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him.' Well, at times I feel as weak and feeble as anybody.”

Luke laughed.

“And another missionary,” she continued, “William Carey, said, ‘Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.' That's what I want to do, Luke.”

Luke squeezed her shoulder. “If this is something God wants you to do, I know He'll confirm it for you in your heart.” They both looked up when they heard a plane coming in low. “There's Glenn,” Luke said. “That engine doesn't sound good. I'm going to have to check it.”

They watched as Frasier made a rough landing then taxied to a stop. He shut the engine off and scrambled out. Coming over to them, he winked at Joelle.

“Couldn't stay away from me, huh? I knew you'd come around.” Frasier was a short burly man with coarse brown hair. His face bore signs of battle—mostly from brawls in
bars. “I got the Thomason field done. Didn't wreck the plane. That oughta make you happy.”

“It does.”

“Tell you what,” Frasier said. “Let's all three go into town tonight. We'll find some women for us, Luke, and we'll find a guy for you, Joelle.”

She laughed. “I can imagine the kind of guy you'd pick for me. No thanks.”

Joelle went into the house and Glenn turned his attention to Luke. “What about you? You need a little recreation.”

“Never mind about that. I got a report you were coming in too low over the fields and nearly clipped a wire. Scared the farmer to death.”

“Aw, he's an old lady.”

“Just try not to crash and kill yourself, will you, Glenn?”

“Don't plan on it. I got too much living to do.”

“We've got two more fields to do today. You take the Jennings place, and remember there's a radio tower just over a hill there. When you come up off of the field, you can barely see it.”

“I could handle it better if I had a little drink first. Steady my nerves, you know. I fly better when I drink a little.”

“No you don't. You just think you do. Remember our deal, Glenn. I catch you drinking on the job, no second warning. You're out.”

“You're a hard man, Luke.” He glanced slyly over at the house. “You getting anywhere with Her Majesty?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I'm an expert in these matters, Luke. You think I haven't seen the way you look at her when you don't think she's watching you?”

Luke frowned. “Don't be silly. I just work for her.”

“That's what you say. I think otherwise.”

“You're wrong, Glenn.”

“Have it your way, then. Let's get this job done, and then you can go out with me. If you don't, I'm liable to get drunk
and wind up in jail. You'd lose the best pilot on your extensive staff.”