*Thank you for your kind reviews so far. I'm trying to continue this story, edit what I have. I've changed this a little from when I first wrote this part of the story. Things are still a little slow for the next chapter or so but I promise it will begin to pick up.

Chapter 4

A quick wash up, a chat with Rachelle and a change of clothes, found Red yawning. Rachelle pushed a bowl of warm soup in front of her and then ordered her to bed to nap for a few hours. She wanted to be up for a chance to look around before the event started.

This was her one evening when she'd get a chance to walk around and look at all the booths and such. It was the night before the 'party' that everyone pretty much opened their booths up and showed off their stuff to the other exhibitors there. Many times it was just a time to talk shop with those that shared similar interests and understood the issues of the industry.

When she woke, Rachelle was gone. After getting herself around, she left the trailer and walked along some of the rows as she nodded to people she'd met in the industry, not really stopping to talk to them. She knew that Lex and Rachelle would get more conversation than she ever would just by sitting at their tent.

The next morning brought windows that needed to be scraped off many of the cars. Rachelle found it hard to get Red up and moving. She complained about her joints and bones aching from the cold. Finally Rachelle bribed her with hot coffee and a hot shower to get her out of bed. The coffee got her more awake and the shower was able to get her body temperature back up to normal.

Rachelle then left and headed to the tent to start the day and get things opened up for the incoming crowds that were expected. After the shower, she got dressed in the outfit that would match the time period of the Steerman, including boots, pants, sweater, jacket, leather cap and goggles. When she looked at Lex who was waiting for her, he tried to not laugh but he couldn't help himself. He quickly left the camper, followed by a shoe that had been chucked his way.

They got to the field and got their call sheet for the day. They were third on the list to fly that morning and it would be around 10am that she needed to be ready to take off. With an hour to spare, they went over to the Steerman and began to strip the cover off of it. With a quick examination of everything to make sure nothing had been tampered with, they grabbed rags and buffing compound to give it a good cleaning and shine before they had to fuel her for her run.

The announcer was busy introducing the first flight to take off. Red took a few minutes to watch his routine and seemed impressed by the overall handling of the bomber that was being put through its paces. It landed by the time she and Lex got most of the exterior wiped down and buffed, bringing out the beautiful red glossy shine to it. They heard the next plane announced and who was piloting. She recognized most of the names on the list by discussions and reading up on the industry. She motioned to Lex to head over to the Huey. They had a call tomorrow for it with the rest of the more modern military display and she wanted to see how it was looking.

A quick check of the chopper showed it was still there and she nodded, "I like." She pointed to the numbers and information on the side of it, "Your info from Vietnam?" she asked.

He shook his head, "No. Your dad and your uncles." He stated. She stared at him for a long moment then looked back at the numbers again. She finally turned a little and gave him a big, one armed hug. "Thanks," she said as they knew they needed to head back to the Steerman. On the way back, they passed a GeeBee plane that had a 'For Sale' sign on it. Her eyes were immediately drawn to it and she looked it over quickly before Lex reminded her she had to get ready for her flight. She made a mental note of the information on the owner and asked Lex to track them down while she was up in the air. Once back at the Steerman, she climbed in and Lex pulled the chalks. He moved away and gave her the thumbs up that she was good to go.

She hit the switch and the motor turned once. With a slight sigh, she knew the Steerman was feeling the cold this morning like she was. She gave it a touch more gas and kicked the motor over. It gave a little cough and then roared to life. She let it sit and idle for a few minutes as Lex moved up to give it one last look over. When he gave her the all's clear signal, she revved the engine a bit and the plane pulled out of its spot and she checked her flaps before heading to the airfield.

She pulled on her gloves as she was directed by the site crew where she needed to be. She pulled smoothly into her spot and waited. Soon the jet that had taken off landed and after turning and being directed off the other end of the runway, Red looked over the crowd that was lined up along the runway. She was actually shocked at the number of people out 'this early' and she scanned the sea of faces.

Finally she was given the signal to head into the air to do her thing. She pulled down her goggles, sinched her gloves and gave the engine more gas before pulling back on the stick and letting the plane begin its taxi down the runway. Within moments, the plane was already jumping for the sky as she pulled back on the stick and the Steerman shot towards the great blue yonder.

This was her time to shine and she was going to play it up for every ounce it was worth…within reason and safety of course. She headed upward and then did a flip over. She dove for the airstrip and came about head level to the runway as she flew by the crowd at an amazing speed. She could even hear some of the cheers as she climbed skyward again. She zipped back and forth across the runway doing spins, upside down flight, turns and twists in mid-air. She finally saw the signal flag that it was time to land. She brought it in for a perfect landing and then swung the plane around easily to head toward the lineup. She could hear the people cheering over the noise of the engine and she gave them a salute before turning and being directed back to her spot.

She climbed out as Lex put the chalks back under the wheels and she got the out of the cockpit. Lex just shook his head at her. "Your lips are blue…," he stated evenly before breaking into a laugh.

With a snort, she said with chattering teeth, "No shit Sherlock," and headed back towards the crowd. She had to go do an audience meet and greet for the next hour and answer questions. As she reached the tent where she was supposed to sit, she found Michael Bridges standing next to the tent holding a ceramic mug of something hot and steaming. "Something hot to warm you up," he said, with a smile.

Red's hands reached towards the ceramic mug and they closed around the hot surface and she let out a little moan of pleasure. She held it up to her face to let the steam heat up her nose a little, "You are a god."

Michael chuckled. "I can't even imagine being in an open cockpit plane, much less during the time of the morning when it's still so cold," he said as he followed Red over to where she was to sit and answer questions or talk shop with others who had seen her performance. He watched as Red entered the tent and stopped short, looking shocked at the number of people standing in line to talk to her.

Red blinked a couple of times, her hands still wrapped around the mug. Michael swore that Red looked like she wanted to turn and flee. But she pushed her shoulders back a little and smiled gently to those waiting. "Hi. Sorry for the delay. I'm a bit of a human popsicle at the moment."

The onlookers laughed at her bit of a joke. Red looked at the long line of people and finally stood up on a chair, "Why don't all of you come in here if you can. I'll take questions from you and that way everyone can hear the answers. Afterwards, I'll be happy to answer any other questions individually." She smiled at those in the front who spread out in front of the table and when everyone seemed to have entered the tent, she blinked a little at the sheer number of people. She took a step up to the top of the table. "Wow...Either I was a hit or you guys are all in the wrong place."

She heard several people chuckle at that. She got on with it asking for questions. When the next pilot came in, she had answered at least twenty questions and she blushed a little, looking embarrassed at the other pilot. She got a round of applause and she quickly announced that she'd be doing other demonstration during the weekend and where their display tent could be found. Then she introduced the other pilot and turned things over to him.

She climbed down and left the tent, standing outside in the sun for a few minutes, she realized that Michael was nowhere to be found. Before she could think on it much, she had several young kids come up and ask for autographs. She smiled and signed whatever they had wanted her to sign. Several other people got her attention and asked a few more questions that she obliged by answering. Several people wanted to shake her hand and tell her how fun her part of the show was to watch.

By the time she made it to the display tent, she was about half crazy with dealing with the crowds. Over the course of the hour she'd been answering questions, the show really had taken off and it was almost impossible to get through the crowds that were packed into the isles between display tents. She had several people stop and ask her for her picture since she was still in her 'uniform' for the plane. Her cheeks were quite flushed with embarrassment by the time she got settled behind the table.

Rachelle could only laugh at her. She got a glare in return. "This is torture Rachelle. I'm still not thawed out from going up this morning. My throat's sore from talking so much. Never talked so much in my life," she stated and slouched in her chair.

Rachelle and Lex could only laugh. The crowd in the tent was flowing fairly well and they were constantly putting out more flyers and brochures. Rachelle looked over at Red when she grew quiet for a time and found her arms crossed over her chest, her feet planted on the ground and her head hanging down over her chest. She would have told her to go take a nap in the trailer but she didn't have the heart to wake her.