The Best Wingman

By CHARLES COOK

On a small airfield in England, Woman's Air Force Service Pilot, Bernie Bennet runs into handsome fighter pilot, Jack Helmon in the base operations room. After a few minutes of conversation, Jack is sure he's never met a woman like Bernie. When the opportunity to fly a mission with the fighter pilot occurs, Bernie jumps at it. Soon, she's his wingman in a desperate effort to save him from a German fighter. Success leads to celebration and a night together for the new lovers. They are quickly separated by the war and Jack decides to track her down once he's released from active duty. It's a HEA ending in the post-war United States.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CHARLES COOK
• Release date: Mar 30, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224937721

CHARLES COOK

Charles Cook lives in Central Florida with his significant other of 25 years. This is the first novella for Charles. As a student of history, writing about World War II was an easy choice. His aunt was a WAC and served in France in 1944 and 45. Love at first sight is a writer's dream. It does happen.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 May 1929

Chapter 2 August 1943

Chapter 3 Bogies One O’clock Low

Chapter 4 Dinner

Chapter 5 Evening falls

Chapter 6 A single room in the pub

Chapter 7 The morning breaks

Chapter 8 Jack’s War

Chapter 9 The Final Assignment

Chapter 10 The Long Way Back

Chapter 11 Wellington, Kansas is nothing like Wellington, England

Chapter 12 A chat on the porch

Chapter 13 1948

Chapter 1 May 1929

Bernice, or Bernie to her family, was a farm girl. She’d been born on the farm and grew up in a farming family. No one had a job. They all did what they could for the welfare of all. It wasn’t an easy life but it was satisfying, even for 9-year-old Bernie.

There was a one-room schoolhouse that the kids walked to daily. Winters were cold when the north wind swept over the plains but the summers were balmy for the most part and Bernie loved them.

This Sunday morning in May was a beautiful day filled with sun and soft breezes. The family got dressed for church and piled into the old Model A. Pa drove the two miles to the little church. After the service, he announced a different Sunday afternoon for the family.

You kids get in the car. We’re going to the fairground. I saw the planes buzzing the town. There’s an air show. We’re gonna see them pilots show off for us.

Air Shows, or barnstorming, were very popular in the 1920s and 30s. To pique interest, the planes would swoop low over the small towns and communities to show the public what to expect at the show. For publicity, some flyers even flew under bridges when possible. It was a crowd-pleaser.

The car bumped across the rough turf of the fairground’s field and came to a rest beside the others parked in a line to the side of the pasture. There was no true airfield in Oxford, Kansas, so the plane’s crews hauled all the equipment from show to show. Flying Circuses, as they were called, eked out a living by selling rides to local people who had the courage and the money The big draw was the aerobatic maneuvers that the daring flyers performed for the crowd. Many had been World War I servicemen and had learned their skills while serving in France.

The show was already in progress and Bernie and her little brother perched on the hood and fenders of the old car and craned their necks to see the planes as they climbed, dived, twisted, and turned against the blue spring sky.

Bernie was amazed. To her knowledge, she’d never seen an airplane before. Now there were several lined up in a neat row only yards from where she sat. Flatbed trucks piled with barrels and boxes of tools and parts sat at the edge of the field. Drums of fuel with hand pumps stood ready to refuel the airships. Dark green tents which appeared to be army surplus, provided sleeping quarters for pilots and maintenance crews during the tour.

The star of the show was a bright red biplane. Unlike the other planes, this one sparkled in the sunlight. When it flew, every turn caused the sun to glint from the flat surfaces and throw beams of brilliant light across the grass.

The red plane taxied to the end of the field. There was a pause and the pilot opened the throttle. The unmuted eight cylinders roared. Even one hundred yards away, the sound was deafening. Bernie covered her ears with her hands in defense. A cloud of grass and dust billowed behind the vertical stabilizer and the wheels rolled across the uneven sod. Bernie held her breath as the tail of the plane