said the proprietress with her gravelly voice. “Stop by and pay on it sometime. Do you want something to eat?”
“No, thanks. I’ll be by later to pay you back.”
“Sure you will, honey,” Lily said over her shoulder as she headed back to the kitchen. “I could use a dishwasher tonight.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Jen shot back.
By now they had their parts down pat. Jen never had money on her. Lily always gave her food or drink, and Jen would pay when she got another paycheck, which wouldn’t be for a long time unless she worked off her debt by washing dishes.
“Jen,” Darcy and Jack said nearly at once.
It was amazing how often married people did that. She’d noticed Ruthie and Sam saying the same thing at the same time, too.
Dan Wagner looked less enthused, but he rose along with Jack. “Miss Fox.”
“Wagner.” She loved his expression when she called him by his last name. He always flinched and then turned up his nose as if he’d just sniffed a cow pie. “Sit down. I won’t take up much of your time. Jack, I have a proposition for you.”
His eyebrows rose in surprise while Dan’s tugged down to match his scowl.
She didn’t give either of them a chance to shoot her down. “I can help you with the expedition.”
That low growl of displeasure had definitely come from Dan.
Jack, on the other hand, took her offer in stride. “We can use all the volunteers we can get.”
She didn’t miss the stress he put on the word volunteer. Well, until Wagner, no one got paid. She sure wasn’t asking for money. “Good. I figure with my experience at the flight school and all the time I’ve spent learning about the engines, I can at least help out with the supply lists and ordering.”
“That’s true,” Darcy seconded, though her sly smile indicated she figured Jen had an ulterior motive that was centered on one arrogant stunt pilot.
Jen was just about to correct her assumption when Jack added, “But we can’t pay you.”
That was her opportunity. “Maybe you can. Not in cash but in flight time.”
“Flight time?” Jack looked lost.
“I need flight training to get my license. I’ll exchange work for training.” It made perfect sense to her, but Jack looked less than enthused.
“It costs us fuel and oil every time we take the planes up. You know that.”
Jen stuck to her plan. “It’s a fair exchange, and I’ll only use the minimum amount needed to get my license.”
Jack tugged a hand through his hair. “I don’t know.”
Darcy, however, backed Jen. “It’s a good trade-off. Jen understands all the terminology. She knows a plane inside and out. She’s familiar with our filing system and knows all the suppliers. Any other volunteer would take hours of training.”
Jack still looked concerned. He whispered something to his wife.
Jen couldn’t hear what he said.
Darcy countered her husband’s misgivings. “We won’t be able to start flight training for a couple months. By then, we’ll have student deposits.”
A couple months? Jen fidgeted. That was the traditional start of the flight school, but by then it would be too late to join the expedition. She would have to train for weeks and weeks. “Are you sure you couldn’t start sooner?”
Darcy looked sympathetic, but she didn’t give her approval. “You know that it depends on the weather and a whole host of other issues. The training planes are all laid up for the winter. Taking any of them out of storage means fitting them out and then laying them up again if the temperatures drop too low.”
“It’s January,” Jack pointed out. “Snow and ice make flying difficult for professionals. I’m not comfortable with the risk, especially since there’s no reason for it.”
But there was. Her whole chance at the polar attempt rested on getting her license now. She could be that backup aviator.
“But there are occasional days perfect for flying. Calm. No precipitation,” Jen pointed out. “Couldn’t we start then? After all, I’m here. The school is here.”
“You wouldn’t build up any continuity,” Jack insisted. “That’s no way to learn to fly. I’d never send a student out in the worst weather.” He cast a tender look at his wife. “Darcy might disagree, but without a good reason, the risk just isn’t worth it. I promise we’ll start as soon as the conditions warrant.”
Jen heaved a sigh. “Then there’s no hope.”
Jack looked perplexed, but Darcy understood.
“Jen wants to learn the basics in case she’s needed at any point leading up to the expedition.”
“The expedition?” Dan Wagner blurted out. “You can’t seriously expect an inexperienced student to take part in a risky flight into bitter cold conditions.”
“That’s why it’s important to learn now, in the winter,” Jen pointed out.
Dan shook his head. “You can’t possibly get enough experience in that short a time. Any flight instructor with an ounce of self-respect would never risk a student’s life.”
“I expect a flight instructor to use proper caution,” Darcy countered, “but Jen has a point. If the weather is fair, why not take advantage of the situation?”
“Because I will be testing the expedition airplane,” Jack answered bluntly and turned to his wife. “And you are grounded. That means no lessons until the weather is good on a consistent basis.”
Under those criteria, Jen wouldn’t be flying until May. By then, they’d all be gone to Spitsbergen.
Darcy must have noticed her consternation. “Perhaps Mr. Wagner would be willing to train Jen. From what I’ve heard, he is quite the cold-weather aviator.”
“What?” His face darkened along with his scowl. “You can’t be serious. I was hired on to a polar expedition, not to fulfill some starry-eyed woman’s daydreams. No. Never. Impossible.” He stood and tossed some money on the table. “It’s not going to happen. If I have to teach, the deal is off.”
Instead of looking threatened, Jack grinned. “All right, but I do need you to work with Jen on the supply lists.”
Dan looked as if he might refuse that, too. Instead, he turned and stomped out of the restaurant without another word.
* * *
Teach Miss Fox to fly. In the winter, no less. Dan fumed all the way back to the boardinghouse. He had his bag packed when the proprietress, Mrs. Terchie, knocked on the door to his room.
“Mr.
