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She turned to look at him with those questioning blue eyes, which were still shimmering with the delight that had sprung out of them back at the resort when he’d asked her to go flying with him. Laughing, he lightly chucked her beneath the chin. “Trust me.”
“Do I have a choice?” she asked.
That was Twyla, and he’d missed her. Missed the adventures they used to have. The fun and excitement and the companionship. Though Josie had been the tomboy, interested in frogs, worms, bugs and animals, Twyla had been the most adventurous. There’d been little she wouldn’t do for a dare, and even less if there was a reward included. She’d fight tooth and nail for a promised dime out of his pocket, or the last cookie out of one of the tins his mother always sent with him when he went to visit the Nightingales.
Forrest climbed out of the driver’s door and walked around to open her door before going to the back of the car. There he opened the trunk and pulled out his flight jacket and goggles. He always kept them in the roadster, just in case. He also had his boots and heavy canvas pants. Pulling those out, he glanced at Twyla’s legs.
With her sheer stockings glistening in the sun, her long legs were a feast for any man’s eyes. His mouth almost went dry. “I should have had you change,” he said. “It’s cold up there.”
She pointed to the sky. “Up there? How can that be? It’s closer to the sun.”
He shook his head at her logic. “It’s cold, trust me, and windy. I have an extra flight jacket in the hangar, and goggles and a hat. I’m sure they’ll fit you, but these are the only extra pants. They’ll be big, but it’ll be better than getting cold.”
She took the pants. “They’ll be fine.”
Stepping out of her shoes, she stuck one leg in the pants and then the other. When she started to pull them up, Forrest forced his gaze to turn back to the trunk. He gathered up his boots and switched his shoes for them, tucking his pant legs into the boots to keep them out of the way. After gathering his jacket, hat and goggles, he closed the trunk lid.
By then, Twyla had pulled the canvas pants up and the lower half of her polka-dot dress was tucked into the waistband. She looked as fetching as she had before, perhaps even more so.
“I look like I’m pregnant,” she said, tucking her dress in deeper to flatten the area surrounding her stomach.
“No, you don’t,” he said. “You look good. I never looked that good in those pants, I’ll tell you that.”
She laughed. “Don’t bet on it.”
The undercurrent running between them was heating up his bloodstream. Although he was enjoying the sensation and wouldn’t mind exploring it a bit deeper, he understood that he couldn’t. That had been something he’d never been able to do. Forrest gestured toward the building. “Come on. I’ll find you a piece of rope to hold those pants up.”
“That’s all right,” she said, hooking the suspenders over her shoulders. “The suspenders will hold them up. It’s not like I’ll be walking around.”
She was right, and once again he was glad he’d asked her to go flying. Spending the number of hours he had in the cockpit, his mind had often wandered. He’d imagined this very moment more than once. She was going to love flying, and he was going to love watching her experience it. At the hangar, he handed her his jacket, hat and goggles, so he could pull open the two large doors.
“It’s huge!” she said as his plane came into view. “I’d never have imagined an entire plane could fit in this little shed.”
“It takes up every inch,” he said, a bit in awe himself. His plane never failed to do that to him. It always filled him with pride, too.
Twyla had already walked inside and was running a hand over the shiny yellow frame. “It’s the color of a goldfinch.”
“Yes, it is,” he answered, chuckling at how she’d chosen the bird he’d named the plane after. “That’s what I call her,” he said. “The Goldfinch.”
“That’s fitting.”
Her gaze was still on the plane, and she appeared completely mesmerized. “Haven’t you ever seen a plane before?”
“Not up close,” she said quietly.
“Not even at a fair?”
The blue eyes she turned at him had grown dim. “Father doesn’t allow us to go to fairs anymore.” Sighing heavily, she added, “A lot of things changed after you left.”
He knew that very well, yet for Twyla’s sake he chose to see the positive side. “Well, it’s time for another change, then, isn’t it?”
