Hunter didn’t succeed in covering up his laugh this time.
“Except Jack, of course,” she added hastily.
Dan was surprised at the informality. Clearly the pair knew each other. Perhaps some relation of Hunter’s wife.
Hunter chuckled at Miss Fox’s backtracking. “I’ll admit that there’s some truth to what you said. We are an overconfident lot.”
Mollified, she turned back to Dan. “Then, Wagner, if you’re not an instructor, you must be a student.” Her hazel eyes twinkled, as if enjoying some unknown joke. “Sorry, but the flight school doesn’t open until March.”
That sent Hunter into unbridled guffaws.
Miss Fox drew back. “What did I say? Why else would anyone be here in January?”
Since Hunter was laughing too hard to speak and Dan didn’t want to spoil the fun, Simmons ended up explaining, “Dan Wagner is interested in the cold-weather engine we’ve been testing.”
Her eyes widened. “Dan Wagner? The Dan Wagner?” She clapped her hands to her cheeks. “I thought you looked familiar.”
Dan groaned. From the impudent upstart, she’d turned into the dreaded ingenue. He sank back in his chair. “Afraid so.”
Her cheeks glowed red, but apparently not from embarrassment. “You should teach stunts. Shouldn’t he, Jack? Everyone wants to learn them. The loop-de-loop, the death drop—”
“No.” Dan cut her off. “I retired from stunt flying.”
“Retired?” Her shock mirrored that of his former manager.
The man had nearly wept when Dan delivered the news. Then he had pleaded, even offering to decrease the number of appearances or raise the fee they demanded from air-show sponsors, but Dan could not be swayed. As much as his manager had glossed over the accident by calling it a casualty of aviation, that single event had changed everything. His stunt flying days were over.
“But you’re famous,” she exclaimed.
“I’m alive,” he said dryly. Surely she’d read about the crash. The newspapers had seized the story and blown it into something even more horrific than it had actually been, if that was possible.
The office door opened again, ushering in a lovely brunette, clearly with child. Must be Hunter’s wife. Though more conventionally dressed in a wool dress and pretty by anyone’s assessment, she didn’t have Jen Fox’s spunk.
She smiled at her husband and then addressed Miss Fox, “Jen, let’s go to the classroom.”
“The classroom?” Disappointment briefly flashed across Miss Fox’s face before being replaced by trembling hope. “Did I pass?”
Mrs. Hunter smiled and pointed to the door. “To the classroom. We have to work out a schedule for flight training.”
“I passed! I passed!” Her whoops could have been heard clear to the train station. “You know what that means, Jack.”
Hunter squirmed in his seat. “Congratulations.”
She must have taken that as confirmation of whatever she expected from him, for her smile outshone the electrical lighting. When she next turned it on Dan, unexpected pleasure surged through him. “Pleased to meet you, Wagner. I hope you stay in Pearlman for a while.”
“That will depend on the test run of the new engine.” Yet as he said it, Dan found himself hoping that the winds stayed too strong for the test flight, at least for a day or two.
* * *
Jen could hardly rip her gaze from Dan. Just think. Dan Wagner. Daring Dan Wagner was right here in Pearlman at Jack and Darcy’s flight school. Sure, some aviators got bigger newspaper headlines, but in her estimation Daring Dan was the top flier in the country—if not the world.
It didn’t hurt that he was incredibly handsome. Wavy auburn hair. Brilliant blue eyes. A commanding jaw and that absolute confidence she’d spotted at once. Sure, a pale scar slashed across his chin, probably from the horrible crash he’d suffered in November, but it only added to the legend. She tried to recall the details of that accident. Somebody got hurt, she thought, but she’d been too distraught at the time over Daddy’s passing to concentrate on newspaper articles.
Dan Wagner!
Her knees wobbled as she left the office. She was glad to sit down in the classroom, but the cold wooden chair couldn’t diminish her excitement. Finally, for the first time in ages, something truly exciting was happening in Pearlman. In addition, it meshed with her dreams. A pilot the caliber of Dan Wagner could teach her stunts. Even if he wasn’t flying air shows anymore, he could talk the sponsors into hiring her. Maybe he could not only teach her, but he could also become her manager. The possibilities were endless.
“Thank you, God.” She’d never received a better answer to prayer.
“For what?” Darcy asked as she took the seat across the table. “That Dan Wagner is here?”
Jen hadn’t intended anyone to hear that. “I’m thankful that I passed the examination.”
“Of course.” Darcy grinned. “But you do seem taken by Mr. Wagner.”
“No more than I would be for any other star aviator.” Jen stared at the chalkboard, which was still covered with notes from last fall’s classroom sessions. “This is my dream. Why wouldn’t I get excited to see the best pilot in the world?”
“The best in the world?” Darcy chuckled. “Some might debate that, but he’s certainly accomplished.”
“He can do everything. Don’t you see? It’s the perfect opportunity to learn from the best.” Jen frowned. “But Jack said he’s not an instructor. And Mr. Simmons said he’s only here to look at the new engine. Do you really think someone like Daring Dan Wagner would come all the way to Pearlman just for a motor?”
“I have no idea, but there isn’t a lot for a pilot to do this time of year other than the exhibitions in Florida and California.”
“And he said he’s done with air shows.”
“He did?” Darcy seemed as surprised as Jen had been. “Interesting. The crash must have gotten to him. I can see why. Jack was pretty shaken up by our crash. It took a lot of nerve to get in a plane again.”
“But he did. And so did you. Wagner doesn’t seem like the type to run away.”
“Wagner?”
“That’s what he told me to call him.”
Darcy shook her head. “Oh, Jen.”
“What do you mean by that?” Though she knew perfectly well that Darcy thought her hopeless when it came to men. Many a time Jen’s friend had counseled her to give a man a chance, but Jen had yet to meet someone who made her pulse race.
Darcy smiled coyly. “You must admit that he is a handsome man.”
Jen’s stomach fluttered despite her attempt to appear aloof. “I suppose some might think so.”
Darcy laughed. “Your reaction reminds me of when I met Jack. I remember noticing how handsome he was—and how arrogant. The man annoyed me to no end. Did you know that at first he refused to teach me to fly?”
“He did?” Jen had never heard that part of the story.
“Oh, yes. I thought he considered women incapable of flying an airplane, but then I learned he was afraid I’d get hurt.”
“But he did teach you.”
“With a little persuasion.” This time