The Gauntlet (9 page)

At their cars, Cam turned and threw her a mock salute. “I’ll see you Monday, Molly.”

She smiled. “Monday.”

* * *

Cam was in the coffee room at 0600, getting his first cup for the day, when someone entered the room. It was Monday, and most students and instructors didn’t start arriving until 0700. He turned.

Molly stood hesitantly at the door. “I didn’t know you were here.”

Cam managed a crooked grin and took a sip of the coffee. “I work here, too.”

Molly rolled her eyes. “Sorry. I just didn’t expect you.”

She looked like hell, he thought. Her eyes were dark, with shadows in their lovely depths. Although her hair was neatly brushed and her uniform as unwrinkled as a flight suit could be, Cam sensed a terrible trauma in Molly.

“Come on over and get some coffee. Did you think about what I said to you Friday night?” He stepped aside, giving her plenty of space.

Molly nodded and looked for her cup among the others. It was pale pink with flowers painted on its side. “Yes, I did.”

Cam leaned against the wall. “So, what’s your game plan?” What the hell was eating her? He saw her hand shake as she poured coffee into the mug.

“I—I got sidetracked over the weekend, Captain—”

“Cam. We’re alone.”

Taking a shaky breath, Molly turned toward him, the mug gripped in both hands. “Okay.”

“You look unhappy. What happened?”

Molly refused to say anything.

“Your father?” Cam guessed grimly, moving to one of the many chairs placed around the small room and sitting down.

“Yes.”

“Get a royal chewing-out?”

Molly stared at him. “How did you know?” Cam looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. And if her eyes weren’t deceiving her, his face was softer, less hard-looking. Maybe it was her overactive imagination. Since the blistering call from her father on Saturday, all she’d wanted to do was to call Cam and talk about it. Molly didn’t want to abuse his kindness, though, and their conversation had kept her sleepless most of the weekend.

“Lucky guess.” Cam shrugged. Molly was nothing but lines of tension. “Want to talk about it?”

“You don’t want to hear any more of my sordid family affairs, Cam.”

“Try me.”

Exhaling sharply, Molly began to pace the length of the room. “Why are you doing this for me?”

“Because I happen to think you’re worth the time and trouble to develop as a flight engineer,” Cam said quietly. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the total truth. He wondered if dark shadows showed under his eyes as they did under Molly’s. Sleep had eluded him all weekend, and Cam felt like a wild man inside. Only in Molly’s presence did that edgy, hungry feeling chafing at him disappear. She brought him a sense of serenity he’d never experienced before.

Molly stopped, considering his explanation. “I wish…I wish…”

“What?” Cam asked softly.

“Never mind.”

“No, what is it?”

She managed a wry laugh. “Don’t mind me. I’m finding I’m such an idealist and a romantic about life.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, Molly.”

She looked down. “I wish you were my friend instead of an instructor interested in helping a wayward student, that’s all,” she admitted, her voice barely audible.

Cam sat very still. “I’ve never had a woman as a friend.”

“I gathered as much.”

“Now you’re insulting me.”

She smiled sadly. “No. Just wishful thinking, that’s all.”

“You’d be more comfortable talking about your problems if I were your friend, is that it?”

“Honestly, yes.”

“Okay. Can I be your friend?” Cam watched her eyes widen beautifully, hope coming back to them. It made him feel good and clean inside where nothing but a vacuum had existed before.

“You aren’t just saying that to make me feel better about telling you my personal problems?”

“No.” He thrust out his hand. “Let’s shake on it.”

“This is crazy.”

“No, it’s not.”

“It won’t work, Cam.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m a student and you’re an instructor. That’s a conflict of interest.”

“It would be if you were a test-pilot student, but you aren’t. We’re on safe ground. Don’t worry.” Cam held her uncertain gaze and groaned to himself when she tucked her lower lip between her teeth, thinking about his offer. Molly had the most beautiful mouth he’d ever seen. What would it be like to touch it with his? What would she taste like? Sunlight? Laughter? Those things and more, he was sure.

Reaching out, Molly slid her hand into his. “Okay. Friends.”

“Deal.” He grinned broadly, holding her hand firmly. “Don’t look like I just slit your throat.”

“I’ve never had a friend who was a man, either.”

“So, we’re both doing something new—together.” Trying to control his rampant feelings, Cam released her hand. “Sit down. Let’s talk about your Saturday phone call.”

Grimacing she said, “I’d rather not.”

Cam spread out his long legs before him, actually enjoying her company in ways he’d never fathomed. “Want me to take an educated guess?”

“No. It boils down to Father being upset with my seventy-percent grade.”

“And?”

Molly set the cup on her thigh. She really didn’t feel like a cup of coffee. “He…uh…he started yelling at me. Father’s been upset before, but he’s always controlled himself. This time—” Molly shrugged painfully “—I told him everything.”

“Why?” Cam asked gently.

“Because I believe in being honest.”

“Withholding certain information isn’t being dishonest, Molly. Why give your father fuel to fry you with?”

“I don’t know.”

There was such hopelessness in Molly’s voice and in her eyes. Cam throttled his anger toward her unfeeling, selfish father. It wouldn’t do any good at this stage of their burgeoning friendship to tell Molly that her father was wrong and she should be strong enough to run her own life, instead of letting him run it for her.

“Next time, omit certain details. Just try it.”

Rolling her eyes, Molly whispered, “I’ve just got to get a better grade this Friday, Cam. I’ve got to!”

Reacting strongly to her desperation, he nodded. “So, what kind of game plan have you come up with to guarantee it?”

Molly sat there a long time, thinking. Somehow, with Cam around, it was easier to separate her chaotic and injured emotions from her work at TPS. “I thought—well, I thought I might ask Lieutenant Norton if I could use the same flight program that Martin knocked on another pilot. The pilot wouldn’t know it, though. Only Norton—and you—would.”

Cam raised his brows. “You’re a pretty sharp cookie,” he congratulated her. “By using the identical test with another pilot, you can prove to Norton that it was pilot error.”

“Yes, I hope to. That is, if the pilot I’m assigned doesn’t blow it, too. I know I haven’t pushed the F-14 out of its envelope, Cam. I know the test can be flown. I think these guys figure that because we’re just learning how to do this, we aren’t as demanding or sure of ourselves. I’ve got a degree in aeronautical engineering, and I know airplanes as well as they do, from another direction. I might have gotten kicked out of flight school, but that doesn’t take away my expertise.”

“I like your thinking. And you’re right—no one can take away what you know.” Cam grinned, liking the way she was applying her knowledge to support her argument for her program.

Molly colored fiercely beneath his praise. “Do you think Lieutenant Norton will go along with my idea?”

Cam shrugged and sipped his coffee. “I don’t know. Give him a gung-ho presentation. We’ll just have to see.” Chuckling to himself, Cam thought how much he would enjoy seeing Martin’s face when that same test program was flown to perfection by another pilot. There were a lot of ifs in Molly’s plan, but it was feasible. A good feeling threaded through him at the feisty quality he saw in Molly’s green eyes. He hadn’t seen it there before, and it pleased him to think maybe he’d had something to do with putting it there. For the first time in a long time, Cam felt happy. Truly happy.

Chapter Six

“C
am, you got a minute?”

“Yeah, what is it, Vic?” Cam stopped at the instructor’s office.

“Come in and shut the door.”

Doing as he was asked, he saw the troubled expression on his friend’s triangular face. “Problems?” It was only 1000 on Monday morning. Cam wondered if Molly had seen Vic about her plan.

“Look at this request from Ensign Rutledge.”

Cam feigned no prior knowledge and read the neatly typed flight-report suggestion. “Looks fine to me.”

“It’s the same one she used last week.”

Cam handed it back to him. “So?”

“It was blown last Friday.”

“By her or Martin?”

Vic scowled. “What do you mean?”

“Are you so sure Martin followed the parameters of her flight test?”

“Well…no. But Rutledge just sat like a bump on a log in debrief. What was I to think? Martin’s a veteran pilot. She’s fresh out of the academy. He’s got more air experience, and I believed him.”

“But she’s got a degree in aeronautical engineering.”

“I suppose…” He tapped the desk with his long fingers. “This is really an unusual request, Cam.”

“But not an illegal one. Look at it this way, Vic. If Dalton, who’s assigned to Rutledge this Friday, flies this test well, then it turns the heat on to Martin, not her. Right?”

“Yes, it would.” Vic got up, shaking his head. “What’s she trying to prove, then? If her test was good, why the hell didn’t she stand up for it in debrief? She acted as if she didn’t care one way or another if I viewed the video. And Martin was hotter than a Fourth-of-July firecracker.”

Cam sat down. “Maybe we’re just too used to a man’s way of doing things, Vic.”

“Say that again.”

“Women, at least in my experience, aren’t hard-nosed and challenging, like men. They’re more tactful and diplomatic. Maybe this is Rutledge’s way of trying to set the record straight. What would it hurt? If Dalton flies that test perfectly, then you have some reassessing of her capabilities to do, that’s all. And it would also shed some light on Martin and his tactics, which would become my responsibility to contend with.”

Rubbing his jaw, Vic nodded. “I like her, Cam, but she’s too soft. Too laid-back. Martin took her head off in there last Friday.”

Cam said nothing. If Molly had been his student, he’d have handled the scenario differently, but that was water under the bridge. Besides, he had no business trying to tell Vic how to instruct. “Well, I say give the lady a second chance. Won’t hurt anything, will it?”

“No,” Vic groused. “Except she won’t be learning anything new this week.”

“Have her work on another test flight, then, for the coming week,” Cam suggested.

Brightening, Vic smiled. “Thanks for the input. It’s hell being an instructor here. I’m glad you’ve got a couple of years of experience or I’d be lost sometimes.”

Easing out of the chair, Cam nodded. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with Rutledge. She’s adjusting to a lot of variables.”

“I’ve got the patience, Cam, but there’s no time for anyone here. It’s a pressure cooker from day one.”

“Amen to that,” he muttered. “Well, I’ve got a flight with a student. See you later, Vic.”

“Yeah. And thanks.”

* * *

Molly’s hands were damp. She kept them hidden beneath the debrief table, clutching her flight-program file. Next to her sat Phillip Dalton. Barely able to sit still, she shifted her gaze to Cam, who sat at the other end with her instructor, Vic Norton. Next to Cam was Chuck Martin, looking smug and confident as usual. The expression on Cam’s face didn’t change, but Molly could detect a glint in his eyes. It made her feel a little calmer.

Vic nodded in Molly’s direction. “Well, how’d the flight go today?”

Molly deferred to Phil Dalton.

“Piece of cake,” Dalton assured them in his Missouri twang. “We executed two barrel rolls precisely on the money called for by the test, and two chandelles.”

Martin scowled. “Wait a minute, that was the same test I flew last Friday.” He swung his gaze to Vic Norton. “What gives here, sir?”

Vic ignored Martin and focused all his attention on Dalton. “Did you have any trouble with the requirements of the test?”

“No, sir.” Dalton grinned affably. “We was happy as a hog in a mud wallow up there. Matter of fact, I did so well, I went and did it twice.”

“No problems?” Vic pressed.

“Nope.” Phil looked over at Molly and winked. “The lady knows how to call ’em.”

“Bull!” Martin exploded.

“Sit down, Mr. Martin,” Cam growled, nailing him with a lethal glare.

“But, that’s not fair! Dalton flew the same test I did! Since when does a flight-engineer student get to repeat a test? If they screw up the first time, you mean they get a second chance?”

Vic’s mouth tightened.

“Martin,” Phil drawled, “if brains was dynamite, you wouldn’t have ’nuf to blow through your nose. Read between the lines, buddy. Molly’s test was a good one. Of course, she had the best damn test-pilot student here to fly it with her.”

Cam sat back, hiding a smile. Martin was flushed and angry. Molly was looking at Dalton as if he’d said the most beautiful words she’d ever heard spoken. He shifted his glance back to Vic, who was grim.

“This isn’t fair!” Martin protested violently, remaining seated.

“That’s enough, Lieutenant,” Vic ordered tightly.

“I was set up.”

Phil laughed outright. “Come on, Martin! You’d complain if you was hanged with a new rope, wouldn’t you? From the way I see it, you got a good grade flying this exact test last Friday. What are you bellyachin’ about?”

Molly tried hard not to smile. Phil Dalton, in her opinion, was a knight in shining armor in the debrief room. His soft Missouri drawl effectively shattered the tension every time Martin tried to escalate the situation. She risked a glance at Cam. His eyes were shining with laughter. Bowing her head because she was afraid she was going to laugh outright, Molly busily took the test out of the folder, placed it on the table and read it out loud.

When the debrief was completed, Molly got a chance to look at her score. Norton had awarded her an eighty percent. She grinned broadly, passing the board to Phil, who had been given a ninety-eight percent. The good-looking pilot gave her a loose grin and then winked.