Love by Design Page 19

  Darcy stared before squeezing her eyes shut. “Of course not.”

  That was not good. They would have to get Darcy to the hospital at once. In this mood, she would put up a fight.

  Maybe Jen could convince her she might be in labor. “You mentioned pain earlier. Maybe it’s the start.”

  “I suppose we could call Doc Stevens.” Darcy was starting to sound more normal. “He has been here far too often, though. I hate to bring him here for nothing.”

  “I already talked to him on the telephone.”

  “You did? When? We’ve been talking the entire time.”

  “Well, no. You drifted off for a couple minutes.” That sounded innocuous enough.

  Darcy heaved an irritated sigh. “Then, he is on his way.”

  “Well, no. He’s out at the Buncton farm. Apparently there was an accident requiring surgery.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  Jen tried not to panic. What if Darcy had another convulsion? She hoped Cora reached Dan by telephone or sent someone right away. She hoped he was at the flight school. If not...

  Her stomach churned. “Lord, help us.”

  Darcy’s eyes flickered open. “What did you say?”

  Jen didn’t realize she’d said that prayer aloud. “Just praying for the Lord to watch over us.”

  “And the injured at the Buncton farm,” Darcy added.

  That was it. Prayer calmed the worst agitation. Jen knelt by Darcy’s side. “Let’s pray together.”

  The act of concentrating on prayer calmed Jen, and she could feel Darcy relax, too. After praying for the injured person that Doc Stevens was treating, they prayed for Jack’s travels and Ruth and Mother’s train trip and even the safety of the polar expedition crew. Naturally Darcy did not mention her own need.

  That fell to Jen. “Lord, bring this little one safely into this world. Give Darcy strength to see this birth through.”

  The front door burst open, cutting off their prayer.

  Dan charged into the room. “What happened?”

  Behind him came Blake Kensington, of all people. Jen briefly wondered why he was there, but there would be time to ask that question later.

  Jen stood. “Doc Stevens wants us to get Darcy to the hospital right away.”

  “What?” Darcy cried. “I don’t need to go to a hospital. I’m fine.”

  Jen wheeled about, the firmness of her few weeks of nurse training taking over. “No, you’re not. Doc Stevens confirmed it. You need to get to a hospital now. No debate.”

  “But Jack,” Darcy said. “I need Jack with me.”

  “I’ll get him,” Blake volunteered. “I know who they were meeting, and I have a pretty good idea where they would have met.” He looked to Jen. “Do I bring him here?”

  “No. That will take too long. Bring him to Memorial Southwest in Grand Rapids.” The hospital where she’d trained was closest and the care excellent.

  “Then, who is bringing Mrs. Hunter to the hospital?” Dan asked.

  “We are,” Jen answered. “Darcy, do you have a bag packed?”

  “Yes, it’s in the bedroom, but there’s no reason for this fuss.”

  “Yes, there is.” The nurses hadn’t taken any guff, and neither would Jen.

  “Wait a minute, Miss Fox,” Dan interjected. “You are forgetting something important. Neither one of us has an automobile.”

  She looked him square in the eye. “We have a plane.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “A what?” Dan must have heard wrong. She expected him to fly Mrs. Hunter to the hospital? Was she out of her mind? “Doesn’t this town have an ambulance?”

  “We don’t have a hospital. We surely don’t have an ambulance. Prepare the plane. Blake, I’ll need your assistance getting Darcy to the airfield. Do you have your car?”

  “I’ll be back before you’re ready to go.” Blake shot off at a run.

  Fortunate man. He wasn’t the one who had to fly an overconfident and underexperienced nurse-aviatrix and her patient to an airfield he had never seen.

  “Slow down, Jen. Let’s think this through.”

  Her glare could have frozen a steaming geyser. “Get the plane ready.”

  “It is ready. I’ve done a preflight check today, but is this the best method to get Mrs. Hunter to the hospital?”

  “I don’t need to go the hospital,” Darcy insisted, though she squeezed her eyes shut in evident pain and began taking short, shallow breaths. “Why is everyone insisting I go?”

  Jen grabbed Dan’s arm and hauled him into the kitchen. Standing painfully close, so her nose nearly touched his, she hissed, “Listen, Wagner. I am not overreacting. Darcy had a seizure. I called Doc Stevens, and he said she has to get to a hospital now or she will die. Understand? Now go get that plane.”

  Dan didn’t hesitate. He obeyed. In fact, he ran.

  As his feet pounded the dirt road, he vaguely noted how glorious Jen was in command. In a crisis, she had risen to take charge. The brokenness he’d observed the day he’d brought her back from the hospital was gone. This Jen was strong and firm and in control. This Jen knew exactly what to do and woe to anyone who questioned her. If he wasn’t so panicked, he would have enjoyed the moment. But the fact was that a woman depended on his aviation skills. Two women, if he knew Jen Fox. She would insist on joining her patient. Two women and a baby.

  It was three times worse than the day with Agnes.

  He went to the flight school first to find any notes Jack had made about the Grand Rapids airfield. He then placed a telephone call to Memorial Southwest hospital and requested an ambulance meet them at the airfield.

  Then he raced to the barn. He pulled open the doors and ran to the plane.

  The checklist. One more look to make sure he had everything. It would be a few minutes before Blake arrived with the women. He picked up the clipboard, but his hand was shaking so much that he couldn’t read the list.

  Frustrated, he set it down. Flaps, ailerons, elevator, pedals, fuel, oil, everything checked out. Except they would be using an untested left engine.

  He closed his eyes and took one deep breath. Two. Three. The doubts had started. Once an aviator lost confidence, his career was over. He’d seen it over and over. The polar expedition had been the perfect solution, because Jack Hunter took the lead. He would fly the plane. Dan was copilot and navigator. Simple. In an emergency, he could step in. In an emergency, he wouldn’t have time to think about the crash. Then why was he thinking of it now? This was surely an emergency.

  This flight risked three lives. No one could help him. He had no one to turn to except God, but he’d dismissed Him years ago. Dan was a man of science.

  He barked out a bitter laugh. Science failed. He only had to look at the engine troubles and his crash for evidence.

  God never fails.

  That assertion came from some deep recess in his mind, that part of him that had memorized scripture as a youth. King David had believed it with all his heart, and God had rewarded that faith with success. Could Dan put his trust in that which couldn’t be proved by scientific means? It came down to faith. Could Dan make that leap? Jen had. He’d heard their prayer, had seen the change in her. Maybe he could.

  What choice did he have?

  Lord, I don’t know how to pray. Years of neglect had left him clueless. Please help. Get us there safely. Only You can save Mrs. Hunter and her baby.

  He could not imagine what Jack would do if his wife perished.

  Dan pulled on the thick sweaters he wore under his leather jacket. He donned the leather helmet and grabbed a blanket from one of the expedition crates to make Mrs. Hunter more comfortable. Then he faced the airplane and the flight that would either kill him or make him strong.

  * * *

>   “I’ll need you to help me start the engines,” Jen told Blake as he drove them the short distance to the barn. “And get Darcy in the plane.”

  “I don’t need to go,” Darcy repeated, though her protests were getting weaker.

  Jen hoped the convulsions wouldn’t return. She didn’t know much about them except that the result was usually bad. Since Darcy didn’t appear to be in labor yet, maybe giving her a purpose would keep her mind occupied enough that she wouldn’t shut down.

  “We need you in the cockpit,” Jen said firmly. “You are the only person in Pearlman qualified to be copilot, and the expedition plane definitely needs a copilot.”

  As Jen had suspected, the prospect of flying gave Darcy a burst of energy. “The preflight needs to be done.”

  “Dan said he already did that.”

  “We did,” Blake concurred. “We had just finished when Luke Meeks came running in with the message that you needed help.”

  Blake had helped Dan perform the preflight check? Why? That had to have taken place before they knew she needed Dan to fly them to the closest hospital. It made no sense. She tucked that nugget away for later. She couldn’t dwell on it now when every moment was critical.

  Blake sped onto the pitted and rutted airfield. The Cadillac was better built than many automobiles, but the jolts still threw Jen into the air. Darcy moaned.

  “Slow down,” Jen demanded. “We don’t want her to have the baby in your car.” Though Doc Stevens had said that giving birth would remedy the situation, the thought of actually birthing a baby made her queasy.

  Blake must have felt the same way, because he braked the car to a more comfortable pace.

  Now that she could talk without her teeth slamming together over every bump, Jen tried to keep Darcy focused. “Which engine do we start first?”

  “The right.” Darcy’s voice sounded faint.

  Jen’s palms began sweating again. What if Darcy had another seizure? The copilot’s seat might not be the best place for her. The plane was large, with enough room between the seats for a person to slip into the back. That was so the navigator could access supplies in the cargo area and make drift calculations through a small trapdoor. Maybe she should have Darcy lie down in the cargo area.

  “Are you having any labor pangs?” she asked Darcy again.

  “No, just this pain on my right side.”

  That sounded familiar. The head nurse in maternity said that was one of the signs of progressing toxemia. Seizures came next. In the hospital, they injected magnesium something or other. That remedy was not in Jen’s grasp. Other than preventing Darcy from biting her tongue and ensuring she could breathe, Jen could offer little but prayer and a comforting, calm presence. The rest was in God’s hands.

  Preventing a seizure was the best option. That meant keeping Darcy calm and focused on something other than her condition. That meant the copilot’s seat. She would also rest easier once Jack was with her. He could get there sooner if Blake’s father drove him straight to the hospital.

  “Blake, can your father and Jack be reached by telephone?”

  “Not where I figure they went. I’ll try, though.”

  “Use the telephone in the flight school office.” If the school was open. “If it’s locked, Dan will have a key.”

  “Right.” He drove around a huge pothole and approached the barn, whose doors were wide-open. “Darcy, I’ll pick up your parents on the way.”

  “That’s thoughtful,” Jen said. Surprisingly thoughtful. She had always found Blake self-absorbed and still clinging to his days as a college football star. He had never seemed to consider anyone else before, yet today he’d thought of a source of comfort that Jen had forgotten.

  “I’ll get everyone to the hospital as soon as I can.” Blake pulled the car into the barn and as close to the plane as possible.

  Dan whipped open the passenger door, and the next minutes were consumed with getting Darcy out of the automobile and into the airplane. When Jen had come up with this plan, she’d forgotten that the cockpit was five feet above the ground. To get Darcy inside, she must climb a ladder. She was in no condition to climb one rung, least of all five feet. Then she would have to crawl into the copilot seat.

  “How?” Jen mouthed to Dan.

  He had it figured out. “Blake, you take Darcy’s left arm, and I’ll take the right. He had placed three ladders side by side leading up to the cockpit.

  Jen followed, carrying the wool blanket from the car and Darcy’s bag. She helped Darcy place each foot securely on a rung. The two men pretty much carried her up the ladder and then tucked her into the seat. To Jen’s surprise, the plane was equipped with seat belts. That was unusual except for stunt planes and trainers. Considering this plane was enclosed due to the arctic cold, she hadn’t expected to find seat belts. It must be Dan’s influence. Jack hadn’t had them originally. Unfortunately, even at its maximum extension, it wouldn’t fit around Darcy. She wrapped the car blanket around Darcy’s legs to shield them from the cold.

  “Pull the ladders into the plane,” Dan barked. “We don’t know what they’ll have at the airfield.”

  Blake and Jen followed orders. It was better than thinking about what might happen. The ladders took up most of the cargo space. Jen spread out one of the expedition blankets in the remaining area in case she had to get Darcy into a lying position.

  “Blake, Jen, I want you each on a propeller. Jen, show Blake what to do.”

  Blake crawled down onto the wing and then hopped off. Jen got out onto the wing.

  “Close the door,” Dan commanded.

  “I’ll need to get back in,” Jen pointed out.

  “I can do this without you.”

  “What? Are you a nurse? Do you have the slightest idea what to do if there’s an emergency? Darcy needs me, and I intend to stay with her the entire flight.”

  “I’m fine,” Darcy said again. “I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

  “You’re going,” Jen reiterated, “and I’m going with you.”

  Dan didn’t look pleased, but he had the sense not to argue. “All right, but hurry.”

  Jen bit back the retort that they would be a lot further along if he hadn’t asked her to leave. Now was no time to feud with Dan Wagner.

  “I’ll help you turn the props,” she shouted to Blake.

  “I can do it,” he shouted back. “I’ve done it before for Jack.”

  “Right one first.” After pointing to the correct propeller, Jen crawled back in the plane and closed the door.

  She’d forgotten cotton for Darcy’s ears and hers, but Dan handed a wad to her. While she helped Darcy with the cotton earplugs, Dan started the engines.

  Blake backed his car out of the garage, and then Dan inched the plane out of the barn.

  Darcy looked pale. Soon Jen wouldn’t be able to communicate with her. Already the drone of the engines was loud. When Dan brought them up to speed, it would be deafening.

  Jen leaned over her so she could see her patient’s face. “How do you feel?”

  Darcy smiled and squeezed Jen’s hand. Her normally strong grip was weak. Knowing Darcy, she was putting on a good front when she really felt awful. Jen pulled her watch from her trouser pocket and took Darcy’s pulse. Not good.

  Please let her make it to the hospital, Lord.

  Dan had reached the head of the runway. The ground was sloppy, and dark clouds lined the western horizon. Foggy haze had settled low over the fields. This combination signaled storms on the way. They had to complete the flight before the storm arrived.

  When the engines accelerated, Jen shoved the cotton into her ears. The roar and vibration sank clear to the roots of her teeth. The length of flight required for the polar attempt meant hours upon hours—twenty or more—in that din. She shook he
r head. By the time the pilots returned, they would be practically deaf.

  Dan brought the lumbering plane down the runway. Jen knelt on the blanket, which did little to ease the hardness of the floor. Thankfully, the flight shouldn’t take long, maybe a half hour or so in this powerful plane.

  They sped past the bare trees and familiar houses of Pearlman. The pitted runway jolted her side to side and pitched her forward. She braced herself against the seats so she wouldn’t get thrown onto the controls and instruments. The end of the runway loomed closer and closer. Then, when it seemed certain they would not get into the air, the plane rose. The jolting and bumping stopped, replaced by the glorious sight of her town far below.

  Pearlman. Jen squeezed Darcy’s hand. Her friend pulled it away and grabbed her abdomen. Her face was contorted with pain.

  Oh, no. Darcy was in labor.

  * * *

  Dan vaguely noticed that Jen was doing something with Mrs. Hunter. He hated to admit she’d been right. Again. If Mrs. Hunter went into labor, he sure didn’t want to birth the baby. Yes, he’d birthed his share of calves growing up, but a baby was different. Much different.

  Moreover, he had plenty of trouble in store just handling the airplane. They’d taken off in virtual calm, but that cloud bank to the west did not bode well. Neither did the soaring ground temperatures and thick haze. If he’d wanted to test the plane’s reliability under adverse conditions, he was about to get the chance.

  Only he didn’t want to test anything. He wanted a quick and easy flight to the Grand Rapids airfield. It wasn’t far. A direct shot. Definitely faster than by automobile. Jen had that right. They should touch down in thirty minutes, more or less.

  Then the left engine coughed.

  Dan clenched his jaw. That engine had better hold out for this short distance. The plane would be impossible to control with just one engine. He could probably land in a farmer’s field. There were plenty beneath him, but that wouldn’t get Mrs. Hunter to the hospital.

  It coughed again.