The moment of domestic joy disappeared as quickly as it had come. The children. Darcy. A real home. None of it belonged to Jack, but for precious minutes it had felt real. Then she’d pulled away.
Alone in his room at the boardinghouse, Jack took off his grandmother’s ring, the one he wore on a chain around his neck, the one his mother had given him before she died. He’d never intended to give it to anyone, but that evening, watching Darcy rejoice with her family, he’d considered it.
He pressed the ring into his palm, where it left a hard imprint, slightly jagged from the three sapphires. Darcy had stated flat out that she didn’t want to marry. He had a transatlantic flight to make. What was he thinking? Maybe after the crossing. If he made enough to buy Sissy a real home. If Darcy gave up flying.
The next day, Jack returned to the cold barn and the first of what turned out to be many obstacles. Pohlman pushed back his arrival by two more weeks. Winds and rain kept delaying the test flights. They managed a medium-load flight in early April, and then the rains returned. A tumbling crate crushed the flares, and they had to be reordered. The engines required constant adjustment. This project was taking years off his life.
On yet another rainy day, he and Darcy loaded the plane for the full-load test. This flight would measure fuel usage at the heaviest load. After that, he would be able to calculate how much fuel and oil he’d need for the crossing.
All of the test flights until then had been important, but this one was critical. This one determined if they could take off successfully at St. John’s. It was also the most dangerous, with all that fuel onboard. He hoped Pohlman showed, because he did not want to take Darcy. Forget about it being her decision. He was the pilot.
He had made a point of inquiring about her family each day. “How’s your sister?” he asked during a rest between hefting fuel cans into the plane.
She beamed, the same as she did every time he asked. “Back to normal, and the baby is so beautiful. You must go see him.”
Jack wasn’t ready to see babies. He climbed up to the cockpit. “Hand me the next can.”
Darcy hefted it up the ladder, panting a bit from the exertion. “How many more test flights?”
“This full-load test and one distance flight.” He surveyed the nearly full plane and considered holding back a couple of hundred pounds to ensure they’d clear the trees. In Newfoundland, he’d take off from the cliffs, allowing for an initial drop and using the updraft to advantage. But here he had to rise a hundred feet in a relatively short distance.
“If only the rain would stop.” Then she abruptly changed subjects. “What’s your sister’s name again?”
“Cecelia Marie.” Jack slid the last fuel can into the space behind his cockpit. “Everything’s secured. What’s the total load?”
She picked up the clipboard. “Twenty-seven pounds over.”
“How can that be? Let me see.” Jack took the clipboard and reviewed her calculations. No error. They were overloaded. He tossed out the raft. He needed five more pounds. He crouched and reached along the inside wall of the fuselage toward the tail of the plane.
“Do you have a middle name?”
“Lindsey.” His fingers brushed the hatchet. Totally unnecessary, but she wanted it. “Mine’s Opal.”
“Like the stone?” His hand landed on the radio transmitter and dry cells. They wouldn’t need it for the full load test, just the distance test. He’d pull the equipment now and put it back after this flight.
“The stone? Of course the stone. Do you know another meaning for opal?” She laughed, clear and pure. “Darcy Opal Shea. Darcy O. Shea.” She laughed again, like it was somehow the funniest thing she’d ever heard. “Aunt Perpetua said Mum chose the name just because it started with an O. You see, Papa’s last name used to be O’Shea, but he thought it sounded too Irish, so he dropped the O. Mum put it right back.”
A wave of jealousy swept over him. How wonderful if the most embarrassing thing was a name that sounded too ethnic. Darcy didn’t realize how blessed she was to have a father and a mother and a sister and a whole family that all loved each other. “What does your father do?” She hovered at his shoulder.
“Nothing.” He shuddered to think what her family would say if they knew the truth.
“How can a man do nothing?”
“Believe me, it’s possible. Enough chatter. We have more important things to do.” He cleared his throat. “Did you check the weather forecast this morning?”
“High pressure, clear skies, light southwest winds. Perfect.”
Promising. He couldn’t afford any more delays. He’d have to go, Pohlman or no Pohlman. He’d just lighten the load with Darcy. “If the weather holds tomorrow, we’ll make the test run. Be here at eight.”
“Yes, sir.” She offered a mock salute and laughed.