A Flying Affair by Carla Stewart Read Free Book Online Page B

outstretched toe and said, “Is it proper for girls to cut in or does it always have to be the boys who do the asking?”
    “Oh, I think you’d be safe if you didn’t make it a habit.” She took Ames’ hand and put it in Caroline’s. “Your next dance partner. I’m off to get some punch.”
    The song was a lively number that drew a host of young couples to the floor, and after finding a waiter with a tray of drinks, Mittie grabbed a punch for herself and another for Ames, then stood and watched Ames and Caroline. Caroline swung her arms and kicked back her heels, then burst out laughing when Ames twirled her around and around.
    When Ames returned to Mittie’s side with his young partner, Caroline said, “Mr. Dewberry, you are the cat’s pajamas.”
    “And you, my dear, are full of malarkey, but you’re a swell dancer.”
    Mittie shook her head and smiled.
    Ames asked if they might get some fresh air, so they carried punch cups into an alcove where filmy curtains fluttered in the breeze of an open window.
    Mittie spoke first. “So what were you really doing that you couldn’t get here on time?”
    Ames ran a weathered finger along her cheek. “Our first date, and you’re already grilling me.”
    “Sorry, I usually speak my mind. I thought perhaps you were flying.”
    “I did take a short hop into Indiana today. An investor is interested in my idea.”
    “Is that what you meant by design and development? You get an idea and then sell it?”
    “Not exactly. I’m mechanically inclined, so I try my ideas out first. Trixie has been the guinea pig for quite a few of them. Some pan out; some don’t. The one I’m working on now shows great promise.”
    “I like the hands-on approach. It’s Daddy’s philosophy with the horses, too.”
    Ames asked about the farm and Mittie’s involvement. Words flowed like warm honey between them, and Mittie wondered if she was flipping over Ames. The notion was ridiculous, of course. She barely knew him, but the way he trapped her gaze with his, laughed in all the right places, and made her feel what she had to say was worthwhile made her think that possibly this was a relationship worth pursuing.
    When his full, moist lips grazed hers and the sweet taste of punch lingered, she closed her eyes, hungry for more. Instead, Ames gave her a peck on the cheek. “We should go back. I don’t want you to chance your mother’s disapproval, and something tells me she may be less than enthralled with me.”
    Her mother certainly had strong opinions, but when a chill danced down her spine, Mittie couldn’t tell if it was because she herself was enthralled with Ames. Or terrified.

Chapter 5
    Mittie’s parents were too bushed to attend services in their village church on Sunday, so after checking on the horses and consulting with Ogilvie, Mittie changed and drove the three miles to Rigby.
    She sat down next to Grandmother and inhaled the aroma of the newly waxed wooden pews, the scent of time and a warm embrace. Even after the exhausting wedding day, her grandmother looked fresh as she wrapped her gloved hand in Mittie’s. While they sang the first hymn, sharing a songbook, Mittie smiled. Grandmother would’ve liked Ames. She was sorry her grandmother had begged off from the dancing and had Moses drive her home early.
    When the service was over, Mittie declined her grandmother’s invitation to lunch and said she’d see her at dinner that evening—the dinner to which her dad had invited a stranger that was to be Mittie’s ticket to adventure. More like a consolation prize for not being the one who got married. She hoped it wasn’t some balding, paunchy guy with wads of money. She shivered. Her mother might attempt such a coup, but not her dad.
    Mittie retrieved two baskets from her car that held arrangements she’d rescued from the reception tables, compact clusters of roses in gold urns. The summer sun warmed her as she pushed open the iron gate to the churchyard and went