Whispers of a New Dawn (20 page)

“Scared of what?”

“Scared of liking you. Scared of getting close to you. Scared I’m making a mistake. Sure I can act bold. Even brazen. But all kinds of things are in my closet, Thunderbird. If you break free I’ll believe in what’s been dropped on us out of the clear blue. I’ll believe it’s happening. And I won’t run.” She paused. “
If
you break free.”

They took off. Once they were a few thousand feet in the air she waggled the stick and jabbed her thumb at him. He took over the controls. There was a tightness in his chest and a coldness in his mind. His little brother’s face came and went. He could feel sweat slipping out from under his helmet and moving across his forehead. It got under his goggles and into his eyes. With his free hand he pulled back the goggles and wiped it away. Then he closed his eyes, put the goggles back in place, prayed a fast and hard prayer—
God, this has to be one of your immediate responses—I don’t have weeks and years—it has to happen now—or I’ll stay locked up forever
—and threw the Piper into a dive as steep and sharp as the Hawaiian cliffs. He waited until they were almost in the ocean before pulling up sharply. Becky did not react. As they gained height he put the plane into tight spirals. When he had the air he wanted under him he leveled out a moment before
suddenly throwing the Piper to the left as hard as he could. He kept it up, going left again and again, strong and smooth and tight, over and over. Finally he straightened out over Diamond Head, other trainers ahead of them and above them, blinked, and let the aircraft slide to the right. It soon went into a spin. They hurtled downward, everything blurring and colors flashing. He fought out of the spin and put the Piper on its back, flying upside down for several minutes, and flipped it upright as they roared low over Waikiki, people waving their arms as the yellow Piper buzzed the beach. Zooming over the rooftops of hotels, Raven headed inland for the airfield. The gas needle was trembling at zero. They landed in a rush and skidded to a stop.

The prop still churning, Becky threw back the canopy and jumped to the ground.

“Get down here, Christian Scott Raven!” she shouted above the prop noise.

He sprang down and she threw her arms around him. “You crazy fool! No wonder Uncle Sam wanted you! You fly like a hurricane!”

Raven felt drained and empty but not too drained to take in the warm sensation of Becky Whetstone’s arms being around him or the scent of her hair or skin or the sweet leather of her flight jacket. His arms brought her in close. Her face with its small freckles and full lips was inches away.

“Becky—” he began.

Her eyes rippled with green and gold. “Go ahead, Thunderbird. I’m trying to live again too. And the only way I know how to do it is to plunge in with both feet and both arms and all of my body and soul.”

“It’s happening fast, Beck.”

“After all the weeks we’ve wasted I don’t think it’s happening fast enough.” She smiled and her lips parted. “Go ahead, Thunderbird. You’re cleared for takeoff.”

“Hey! What was that?” Flapjack leaped out of his jeep, Peachtree at the wheel. “What was all that?”

Raven pulled away from Becky. “Barnstorming.”

Flapjack looked at Becky. “Were you at the controls?”

She shook her head. “From two minutes after takeoff it was all him.”

“You’re kidding me.”

“No, sir.”

“I’m getting phone calls from hotels up and down Waikiki Beach saying you buzzed them. The Royal Hawaiian claims you stripped a flag off its roof and the manager’s howling mad.”

Raven shrugged. “No one got hurt, did they?”

“Not so far as I know.”

“It couldn’t be helped, Flapjack. I was breaking out of jail and I had to keep running.”

Flapjack stared at him. “What?”

“And there was this girl I was trying to impress.”

“A girl? A
pretty
girl?”

“Pretty’s not a strong enough word, sir.”

“No?” Flapjack looked back and forth between Raven and Becky. “What word would you use?”

“I don’t think there is one word. But
dazzling
comes to mind. Spectacular. Striking. Fabulous. Superb. Magnificent. Gorgeous. Stunning.”

Becky’s face reddened. “Will you stop it?”

“If I did it for anyone, I did it for her, sir.”

“You hardly know her.”

“I’d like to change that flight status, sir.”

Flapjack snorted and put his hands on his hips. “You remind me of her old man. We called him Lover Boy.” He shook Raven’s hand. “Well, shoot. If she can pull that kind of flying out of you I’m all for the relationship. You can even fraternize on duty.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Flapjack got back into his jeep. “Some of the stunts I saw were still a little rough around the edges.”

“I’m sure my flight trainer can rub those off.”

“I’m sure she can.” He threw them a salute. “I’ll leave you alone. Your next student’s here in twenty minutes, Whetstone.”

“I’ll be ready, Mr. Peterson.”

“I have a phone call to make to Billy Skipp.”

The jeep drove off.

They looked at each other. Becky reached out and played with the chain that held Raven’s dog tags. “That was pretty impressive, hotshot.”

“It was hard coming back from the hole I dug for myself.”

“I’ll bet. I know a little something about trying to get out of holes.”

His fingers stroked her blond hair gently.

She put her hand on his. “Airfields don’t work for us.”

“I guess not.”

“Do you have any other ideas?”

“When are you off?”

“My last student’s at three. I’ll be ready at four.”

Raven nodded. “I have a maintenance check on my Hawk. And some other chores. But I’ll be waiting here with a jeep at four.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

“You want to go ahead with this?”

“That’s affirmative.” Raven twined a strand of her hair around his finger. “You?”

“It’s not easy. I loved the man who was killed in Pennsylvania.”

“I know.”

She shook her head. “No. No, you don’t know. He was my world. My gift from God. I didn’t want anyone else. After he died I still didn’t want anyone else. I swore I’d never touch another man. I vowed it.”

“What changed that?”

“You did. No matter how hard I fought it I started getting feelings for you. And people close to me reminded me Moses was in heaven and was no longer connected to me the way I wanted to stay connected to him. I wasn’t his bride. I wasn’t even a date. Or a woman. He was like an angel and had moved on to other things. So it was up to me to have a life down here. Or not.” Her fingers returned to his dog-tag chain. “I closed both eyes and jumped.” She looked into his eyes. “I wanted you to come to me last night on the beach.”

“I…I wasn’t ready…not with Batman and Wizard and Juggler as an audience—”

“Are you ready now?”

He untwined her strand of blond hair. “Yeah.”

“Four o’clock?”

“Four o’clock.”

She tugged on his dog tags and smiled. “Promise?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“No. Not that, please. Just come in one piece.”

Throughout the day she felt a mixture of euphoria and guilt.

At four o’clock when he showed up, she was leaning against the side of Flapjack’s hut. Not sure if she was doing the right thing, she got into the jeep without a smile or a greeting. Clenching her hands in her lap she said nothing while Raven drove.

“It’s okay,” he finally said. “We don’t have to do this. I can take you home.”

She glanced at him. “Is that what you want?”

“No. It’s not what I want. But what I want is for you to be here with me, not somewhere else. Things have moved too quickly for both of us. I’ll take you home.”

He took the turnoff toward her neighborhood.

Her lips were tight. “Turn around.”

“Beck—”

“Turn around.”

“You don’t have to jump into the deep end your first time back in the water after a drowning.”

“You did.”

“I did?”

“What happened this morning, Christian? Spins, dives, barrel rolls, treetop flying. All the things you’ve been afraid of doing since your brother died. You didn’t ease into it. You dove in head first.”

“Because I knew I might not do it if I didn’t throw everything into it.”

“It’s the same for me. I know it is. I’ll die a slow death if I don’t love again. Turn around.”

“What about Juggler and Wizard and Batman? And Lockjaw and Whistler will want to get in on it once they find out.”

She smiled her small smile. “They’ll get their dates.”

“And me?”

“You’re in a different category. Stop and turn around, Thunderbird, or I’ll take back the controls.”

He did a U-turn and got back on the main road.

She leaned her head against the seat. “Where are you taking me?”

“Nanakuli.”

She looked over at him. “Are you serious?”

“I like it there.”

“So we’re going to walk the beach, is that it?”

“Well, if it’s not taking it faster than it already is, I’d kind of hoped I could get you swimming.”

“Really? Wouldn’t I need a swimsuit for that?”

“Sure, but—”

“I don’t normally pack one along with my flight jacket.”

“I didn’t think you would.”

She raised her golden eyebrows. “So? Are you planning to have a beach wedding and then take me into the water as is?”

“Not yet.” He patted the seat. “The PX carries swimsuits for women. So guys can buy them for their sweethearts. Or the brass for their wives. Look under your seat.”

She kept her eyes on him. “You bought me a swimsuit? How would you know my size?”

“I guessed.”

“You guessed?” Her eyes flared. “Did Wizard and Lockjaw lend you a hand?”

“Take it easy, Becky—”

“I am taking it easy. Just answer the question.”

“No one lent me a hand. Not even the nice lady at the counter. I really did guess.”

“
I really did guess
. How could you do that when you’ve only seen me in a flight jacket four sizes too big?”

“I’ve—” He stopped while he turned off the main road. “I’ve watched you walk out to the Piper for weeks. Walk right at me.”

Blood rushed into Becky’s face. “I thought you didn’t notice.”

“All part of my tough-guy act. Didn’t you feel it?”

She slapped his arm. “Shut up, Thunderbird.” She put on her Ray-Bans and stared straight ahead. “I felt it all right.”

When they reached Nanakuli she stood up in the jeep before Raven brought it to a stop. “I like what I see.”

“Those are seven-foot waves.”

“I’ve been an island girl since I was sixteen. I can handle it.”

Once Raven parked she took the paper bag from under her seat and darted into the bushes. “Stay in the jeep until I call you.”

When she did call it was not from the bushes. “Thunderbird! Come on in! The water’s great!”

He came down to the beach. She was in the surf up to her neck, letting the waves break over her and cover her in foam.

“How do you like the swimsuit?” he asked.

“It’s a little snug but I love it. You have good taste.”

“I can’t see it. Come out of the water.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m too shy, that’s why not. You have to come in.”

Raven had his trunks on under his uniform. He removed the uniform quickly, folded it, and put a stone on top. Then he ran up to the edge of the waves and dove in as a large one crashed onto the sand, hurling spray. When he came up he could not see her but suddenly a hand grabbed his and she surfaced beside him, grinning and blinking the saltwater out of her eyes.

“I want to see the swimsuit,” he said.

“Is that all you have on your mind?”

“I’ve never bought one for a woman before.”

“Go stand on the shore then. I’ll come to you.”

Raven waded out to the surf line and turned to face her. At first she remained in the white boil of the waves with the water as high as her throat. Then she began to walk out, water and foam sliding off her arms and chest and stomach. The swimsuit was a black two-piece with a white
pikake
flower embroidered on the bottom piece and another on the top. She walked like she walked on the airfield, with a soft roll
to her shoulders and her hips. He watched fascinated as she emerged, her skin glistening as the sun struck her, her long legs breaking free of the surf. She tossed her head when she reached him so that the spray scattered over his face and eyes. Then she put her arms around his neck.

“Hey. Thunderbird.”