Isabella’s Airman Read Online Free Page B

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    Nausea rose and burned my throat when I swallowed it down. The WAAFs had dispersed, the men too, and there was only myself and Juliet left. For once, she didn’t have much to say.
    •●•
    I slept badly again, waking at every slight noise. I’d listen, accept it wasn’t the bombers returning, and then try to doze some more. Eventually a familiar noise permeated into my tired brain. An engine. I opened heavy eyelids and forced myself out of bed, grabbing a dressing gown to cover my pajamas. I didn’t bother with shoes. Behind me, I heard Juliet stumbling down the stairs.
    We made it to the grass mound just as the first Wellington was landing on the runway, and I waited until all ten had returned. It took close to an hour before they were all safely on the ground, long minutes filled with flashing signal lights, trucks, and voices in the distance. Juliet slumped against me, half asleep, and I wrapped my arms around her to keep us both warm. It was too dark to tell which plane was Davy’s, but I knew he was back. Safe . The anxious knot in my chest loosened a fraction, and I staggered back to bed, half dragging my friend with me.
    •●•
    I yawned all through the morning chores and fretted when Juliet told me neither Teddy nor Davy had appeared at breakfast. Common sense reminded me the crews would all be sleeping late.
    I was really thinking far too much about Davy Porteous. There were a dozen reasons I should distance myself from him, but the minute he appeared at the kitchen door, I forgot all of them.
    It wasn’t three o’clock yet. Was he canceling? I wiped my damp palms on the baggy overall I wore and went to speak to him. Standing there, his hands shoved in his pockets and a curving smile on his face, he looked pleased to see me. “Hullo, Isabella. I wanted to see if you were still coming out this afternoon?”
    Relief coursed through me. “Hullo, Davy.” My voice came out scratchy. “And yes.”
    “If you don’t mind a little walk, there’s a nice tea shop in Beck Row.” He shrugged, his eyes never leaving my face. “If it’s too far, we could just stay here.”
    What did he see when he looked at me? I knew my hair was escaping down the back of my neck, my cheeks were blushing a dark red, and my overalls made me look shapeless. I didn’t have Juliet’s quick laugh or her ready chatter. He waited for my answer, and I managed a smile. “The tea shop sounds nice.”
    “All right.” He stared at me some more. “Meet you by the gate at three?”
    •●•
    I watched Juliet setting off with Teddy to ride on his motorbike and wondered how she was so confident, while I walked in her shadow. Like everything she did, I’d no doubt she’d be a successful historian. If she put her mind to it, she could probably live in any time period and adapt perfectly—while I struggled to cope with the fundamentals. My stocking clasps refused to fasten. Again.
    Battling with my clothing made me late, and I had to run across the grass to the main gate, arriving flushed and out of breath. Davy stood waiting for me, hands in his pockets as usual. How would he look out of uniform? And why was I even asking myself that question?
    We set off at a gentle pace, and Davy asked how my day had been. There wasn’t much I could say to make kitchen work sound interesting, and I hesitated. “It’s been busy,” I muttered. “How was it last night?”
    His lips curved upward. “Busy.” Was he laughing at me? I felt the familiar heat rise to my cheeks and spread down my throat. “I should apologize for teasing, but you’re very pretty when you blush.”
    Oh . I covered my cheeks with my hands.
    “But in answer to your question, last night was uneventful.” He quirked his brows. “A lot of doing nothing.”
    Come on, Isabella, talk to him. I fell back on a question. “How long have you been here?”
    “At Mildenhall?” I nodded. “Since January. I’ve flown twenty-six ops so far.”
    I felt more at ease