Battle Hymns (27 page)

Will’s tragedies made him vulnerable. They also made
him compassionate and understanding. Will supported Charlotte no
matter what, whether she wanted to join the Cadet Nurse Corps, work
in a factory, or stay at home. He valued her opinion, and she, in
turn, valued his. He was what she always wanted. Though she never
would’ve admitted it until now, Will was always her expectation,
even when compared to Nick.

Thirty-Four

C
harlotte crossed her legs
and stared out the nearest window, bopping her foot to an imaginary
beat. The weather hadn’t improved overnight. Rain streamed down the
glass pane, blurring the gray streetscape beyond. She scanned the
morning paper to bide her time, but she couldn’t focus. She tossed
it aside and glanced at the clock. Seven minutes passed since the
clock struck ten o’clock, and Will had yet to call.

Finally, the telephone rang. She answered before the
second ring. “Hello?”

“Charlotte? It’s Will.”

She smiled. “Hi. How are you feeling?”

“Fine. Are you still free today?”

“Yes.” A horn sounded on the line. “Where are
you?”

“I’m at Union Station,” Will said more loudly. “Can
you join me? I’d like to catch the train within the hour, if
possible.”

“Where are we going?”

“I’ll explain later.”

Charlotte didn’t press him. She trusted Will and
would join him anywhere. “I’ll be there. See you soon.”

She hung up the receiver and hurried out the door.
Because she was in a rush, she hailed a cab instead of waiting for
the bus. Just over ten minutes later, the cab pulled in front of
Union Station.

When she entered the depot, Will approached her right
away. He was dressed in casual trousers, a red shirt, and a brown
leather jacket. His appearance was disheveled. He hadn’t shaved,
and his dark hair was mussed. The dark circles from last night had
deepened. However, there was a look of determination in his eyes
she hadn’t seen in months.

He kissed the corner of her mouth. “Thanks for
coming. I already purchased your ticket.” He led her to the
platforms.

She held onto his arm. “Where are we going?”

“Stamford.”

Will was in such a hurry she didn’t ask questions
until they found seats on the next train. She settled in next to
the window, while he fidgeted with the buckle on his wristwatch.
His knee bounced up and down.

She placed her hand on his forearm. “Relax.”

Will’s knee stilled. He crossed his arms and leaned
back in the seat. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. Now tell me. Why are we
going to Stamford?”

He gulped. “I’m going to fly my plane.”

Charlotte pursed her lips. Nearly a year had passed
since Will’s last flight that nearly resulted in his death. How
would his fear—which she didn’t blame him for having—affect his
aviation skills? She didn’t want him in any danger.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

He nodded curtly. “It needs to be done.”

The train crawled away from the platform. Soon,
raindrops pelted against the roof of their passenger car. Will
raised his hand to cover a yawn and rubbed his eyes. The skin
reddened and swelled, further emphasizing the bags beneath his
eyes.

Charlotte sighed. “Did you sleep at all last
night?”

“Only until two o’clock.”

She shook her head. How long had it been since he’d
had a full night’s sleep? His fatigue was yet another reason she
didn’t want him in the air today.

“You should close your eyes and try to sleep now. You
need the rest if you’re going to fly.”

“Thank you.” Will interlaced his fingers with hers
and kissed the back of her hand. He rested his head against the
seatback and closed his eyes. His thumb caressed her finger until
he fell asleep.

***

W
ill didn’t rouse until the
train entered Stamford Station. “I can’t believe I was out for the
entire ride.” He blinked rapidly and looked past her to the window.
“Is it raining?”

“No. The rain stopped somewhere in New Jersey, I
think.”

Will stood and stretched his arms above his head. His
fingertips reached the ceiling. “What’d you do while I was
asleep?”

Charlotte gathered her belongings. “I read the
newspaper cover to cover. After that, I was just thinking.”

“Penny for your thoughts?”

She flashed a sly smile. “I can’t tell you.”

“So, they were about me?” He leaned into her, his
warm breath caressing her ear. “Were they inappropriate thoughts,
Miss Donahue?”

She swatted his arm. “You’d like that, wouldn’t
you?”

Will returned her grin.

She reveled in the moment. The much-needed sleep
appeared to have erased all his anxieties. However, as soon as they
stepped off the train, Will’s eyes dulled, and his foot tapped
incessantly as they waited in line for a cab.

The cab stopped at the entry gate to the airfield. As
Charlotte exited the taxi, a gust of wind lifted her hat, nearly
blowing it away. She held onto it and turned to the southern
horizon. The storm that pounded Washington, D.C. for the past two
days had moved up the Eastern Seaboard. Towering clouds, dark as
charcoal, loomed in the distance.

Charlotte didn’t like it one bit.

“Will, I don’t want you to do this. Not today. We can
return next weekend.”

Will shook his head. “We traveled four hours to get
here, and I’m not returning to D.C. without conquering this.” He
gestured to the sky and shrugged. “We have plenty of time before
the storm arrives. I bet it hasn’t crossed Long Island yet.”

Charlotte scrutinized the line of storms. Will was
here to overcome his fear of flying. Even though risk was involved,
she had to admit the feat was necessary. Success today would
bolster his confidence. He’d stop thinking himself a coward, as he
so put it last night. Maybe his nightmares would cease. It was the
only solution.

She squared her shoulders. “All right, then. Let’s
get this over with.” Remembering the location of his plane from
their previous visit, she strode forward. There was no time to
waste, not if they were going to beat the storm.

Will caught up and led her along until they stopped
in front of a closed sliding door. He withdrew a key from his
pocket and inserted into the lock. Pushing the door to the side, he
spotted the aircraft within. With a shaky breath, he stared at his
yellow biplane. Then he took a confident step forward.

He pulled off the sheeting and jumped into the
cockpit.

“Let me know if you need any help,” said
Charlotte.

He tinkered with the instruments. “Thanks. I think
I’ve got it for now.”

She wandered the hangar as he prepared for flight.
She studied the workbenches and toolkits in the back. She also kept
an eye on the approaching storm. Will was right; the line of clouds
was slow-moving and hadn’t progressed much further north in the
past ten minutes.

“Can you give me a hand?”

She turned from the doorway. Will had removed the
blocks from the tires and stood behind the set of wings nearest to
her. She set her pocketbook on the ground and joined him. “Sure.
What do you need?”

“We’re going to push the plane from the hangar. It’s
not too heavy. We just have to make sure we guide it straight.”
Will took her hands and placed them on one of the metal bars that
supported the upper wing. “I’ll tell you when to stop.” He jogged
to the other side and told her to start pushing. Without much
exertion on her part, the plane rolled forward. They steered it
from the hangar and halted once the tail cleared the doorway.

Will climbed into one of the cockpits and talked
himself through the steps. “Fuel . . .
brakes . . .”

Charlotte’s eyes widened. “You aren’t leaving yet,
are you?”

“Almost. I have to prop it first.” Will jumped back
to the ground. He stood in front of her and touched her shoulders.
His hands trembled. “Darling, I won’t be long.” He gestured to the
airstrip behind him. “Listen, I don’t think any other planes will
be out in this weather. But just in case, stay off the runway.”

She nodded.

“Now, I’m going to start the engine, so you should
take a few steps back.” He curled a lock of her hair between his
fingers. “I’ll be fine.”

Despite the knot of fear in her stomach, she smiled.
“I know you will. You’re a brilliant pilot. Be safe.” She stood on
her toes, planted a kiss on his cheek, and stepped farther away
from the airplane.

Will walked to the nose of the plane. He slowly
rotated the propeller until it was parallel to the ground. Then, in
one fluid motion, he pulled down on the blade and quickly stepped
away. The propeller spun only a quarter of its rotation before
stopping.

He marched forward and repeated the movement.

Still nothing.

He tried again. This time, the engine coughed and
purred, and the blades whirled. He dashed around the wings, giving
the propeller a wide berth. He swung into the cockpit, put on the
leather helmet and flying goggles, and gave her a thumbs-up. A
moment later, the biplane glided forward.

Charlotte followed behind him and stood in the grass
beside the airstrip.

Will steered the plane onto the pavement and
braked.

“Kendrick’s finally flying, huh?” Leon Chambers
strolled toward Charlotte. He wore the same blue coveralls from her
last visit.

“He’s trying.” She greeted him with a tight smile.
“It’s nice to see you again, Mr. Chambers.”

She refocused her attention on Will. The biplane
rolled forward, gaining speed as it advanced down the runway.
Seconds later, the wheels lifted off the ground. The plane climbed
briskly, growing smaller in the cloudy sky. She kept her eyes
trained on the aircraft, afraid it might disappear like Amelia
Earhart’s if she looked away.

“You’re worried,” Leon said. It was neither a
question nor an accusation.

“I am. If Will were confident, I’d happily cheer him
on. But he’s only doing this to prove something to himself.”

“Sounds like a good enough reason to me.”

Will’s plane leveled off and continued heading
east.

Several minutes passed before Leon spoke again. “If
you don’t mind my asking, what happened to him over there that
brought him back so soon?”

Charlotte finally looked away from Will’s airplane.
Leon’s hands were shoved into the pockets of his coveralls, and the
wrinkles in his forehead deepened with his frown. The elderly man
certainly seemed to care about Will, and she was grateful. Will
needed the additional support.

“His plane was shot down over Germany. When he was
admitted to my hospital, he had fractures in his right leg, both
arms, and his clavicle, as well as internal injuries.”

Leon rocked back onto his heels and looked to the
sky. “And yet here he is.”

She nodded. “He’s had a miraculous recovery, at least
physically.”

“Are you a nurse?”

Her lips curled upward. “Not yet.”

Leon cocked his chin toward the sky. “He should be
landing soon. Wind’s picked up.”

Charlotte followed his line of sight. The storm had
advanced further northward. Thunder rumbled in the distance. She
blanched. “What if he doesn’t?”

“He’ll be fine. The Army would’ve trained him for
these conditions.”

His reassurances didn’t comfort her. Army training
hadn’t helped Nick.

After what seemed like an eternity, Leon pointed to
the sky. “He’s descending.”

Charlotte released a sigh. “Thank goodness.”

The yellow biplane grew closer, coming in from the
west. She chewed her bottom lip as the wind jostled the plane in
its descent. Only a couple more minutes, and Will would be safely
on the ground. She counted the seconds under her breath.

At thirty seconds, the plane’s approach was
straight.

At sixty seconds, the approach was horribly skewed.
The nose was misaligned with the airstrip, angled instead toward
the fence across from them. To make matters worse, Will was coming
in at a steep pitch, the left wing hanging much lower than the
right. Charlotte’s heart launched into a frantic pace as she
anticipated a crash landing.

The left wheel touched down.

Metal screeched against the concrete.

Charlotte ran after the plane.

The right wheel met the ground, and the biplane
safely decelerated. Will turned off the runway and stopped the
plane. He shut down the engine, and the propeller stalled.

By the time she reached him, he’d hopped out of the
cockpit. He removed his goggles and helmet, and dropped them to the
ground. He grinned, his green eyes alight with triumph.

Charlotte halted a few feet in front of him, relieved
and out of breath. “You scared the bejesus out of me! What kind of
landing was that?”

Will took two strides forward and wrapped her in his
arms. She buried her nose in his jacket, smelling the pungent odor
of leather, and felt his lips on the top of her head.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It
was a normal crosswind landing, though the wing shouldn’t have
struck the ground. That was my miscalculation. Seems I’m a bit
rusty.”

The warmth of his embrace relaxed Charlotte’s nerves
and slowed her heart rate. She smiled up at him, cupping his
stubbly jaw in her palm. “You look happy, though.”

Will’s grin widened. “I did it.”

Leon sauntered toward them. “What kind of plane did
you think you were flying, doing a sideslip like that? I taught you
better.”

Will released Charlotte and joined Leon at the dented
wing of the aircraft. “I’m used to flying the Warhawk.” He bent to
inspect the damage. “I don’t think it’s too bad. The structure
seems stable, though the skin needs replacing.”

Leon nodded. “Not going to be cheap.”