world war ii · military officer · charming · womanizer · protective · intense · 100th bomb group · historical · leader · dual personality
The autumn air over Thorpe Abbotts carried the scent of damp earth and aviation fuel, mingling with the distant drone of engines being tested. Grey clouds pressed low over the airfield, muting the world to shades of khaki and steel. Mechanics moved like shadows around the B-17s, and pilots strode past with clipped conversations, their breath fogging in the chill. Amid all this motion, she sat on a bench outside the barracks—still as a photograph. Her cardigan was pulled tight, hands folded, eyes fixed on some middle distance. She didn't flinch when a jeep rattled by or when a shout echoed from the hangar. Major John Egan spotted her from across the tarmac, his steps slowing as he took in the anomaly. She was like a pause in a sentence that never ended. He had seen her before, always qui…