Gathering the equipment, Colton let both moments replay in his head. The excitement on Maceo’s face mirrored the emotion he’d felt having Pecca in his arms, whispering words of gratitude that fed his soul in a way that reminded him just how empty it had become since his diagnosis.
The sound of laughter pulled his eyes to the sidelines, where Pecca, her smile vibrant, was talking with Lane and a few other parents. His heart sank. David was there, his hand on Maceo’s shoulder.
“What’s up, brother?”
Colton spun around to find Charlie walking over with orange cones in his arms. “Nothing.”
“I have an eight-year-old boy. I know what pouting looks like.”
“I’m not pouting.” Colton grabbed the net bag and started stuffing footballs into it. He looked over at Pecca. “I’m thinking.”
“About how you’re going to win her heart?”
“How I’m going to get mine back.”
Charlie gave him a curious look. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Because it makes things complicated. I’m only here for a few more weeks, and my focus—our focus—needs to be on keeping her and Maceo safe.” Colton’s arm twitched. “I don’t want to get distracted.”
“I’m still not seeing the problem.”
“The problem”—Colton sighed—“is that Chaplain Kelly asked me to imagine a future when I leave here. Where I’m going to go. What I’m going to do. Do I even have a future with this disorder? And honestly, since he asked, the only thing I’ve been able to imagine these last couple of days is a future with Pecca and Maceo in it, but . . .”
“But . . .”
He blew out a breath. “But I have no idea where I’m going to go or what I’m going to do. And without any purpose, what do I have to offer them?”
Charlie paused and looked Colton up and down, his eyes stopping on Colton’s right arm. “You know, I stopped seeing your movement disorder about two weeks ago. When you brought up the idea of creating this flag football team, I had my concerns about why you were doing it.” Charlie shrugged. “I mean, we do crazy things for the women we have feelings for. I tried brussels sprouts for Lane.”
Colton chuckled and shook his head.
“My point is that you told Maceo he has to be on this field working twice as hard as everyone else, and I thought it was because you wanted him to prove his prosthetic wasn’t going to hold him back, but what happened today, on this field, took place because Maceo stopped seeing his prosthetic. He stopped playing like he had a handicap and started playing like a kid with nothing to lose.”
Colton looked down at his arm. It twitched and jerked and trembled. He had everything to lose and had lost so much already. He glanced over to see David still talking to Pecca. A flare of jealousy lit up inside him. “I don’t want to get in the way of her finding someone she deserves.”
“I won’t pretend to know what you’ve been through this last year or what you’ve lost, but I will tell you that at some point you’re going to have to stop seeing that arm as a handicap and start playing the game of life before it passes you by.”
“I’m only going to say this once”—a gruff voice spoke up behind them—“but the Marine is right.”
They turned to find Sarge, his Vietnam cap tipped up slightly to reveal blue eyes, rolling down the pathway in his wheelchair. “She doesn’t like him, but she’s just too nice.”
“Maybe she’s just being nice to me.”
Sarge pierced Colton with a look that made him stand at attention. “Quit your pity party, soldier, and tell the girl how you feel.” He shook his head. “I never thought I’d appreciate the draft, but at least it forced a man to put on his big-boy pants and grab life by the horns. You kids think life goes on forever.” Sarge’s age-spotted hands gripped the wheels on his chair. He pushed forward in the direction of the Mansion. “Life has an expiration date, Cap.”
Colton’s shoulders didn’t relax until Sarge had rolled a good twenty paces away. He pivoted and let out a breath, noticing Charlie do the same.
“Think we’ll ever stop doing that?”
Charlie scratched the top of his head. “Not if we don’t want to get sent to the brig.”
“That’s why I chose the Army. No way I was getting on a ship.”
“We all can’t be heroes, now can we?”
Colton laughed, enjoying the camaraderie. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it—the brotherhood. What was he going to do when he left? Even if he was the brunt of D-Wing’s jokes, he enjoyed listening to the men banter and revel in the stories of their service. Cracking jokes with Charlie and forming this football team . . . Colton didn’t want to imagine a future without them either.
“So now what?”
“What?”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Are you going to tell her how you feel?”
“Right now?” Colton’s heart raced. A few parents were still hanging around, but happily, David wasn’t among them. “I was kind of thinking I’d take her on a date.”
“Then go ask her out.” Charlie took the net of footballs from Colton’s hand. “Go, soldier. Make the Army proud.”
Colton swallowed and then started across the lawn. I’d like to take you out. Would you go out with me? He flexed his fingers nervously. How was he going to take her out? He couldn’t even drive. He turned around and saw Charlie urge him forward with a look that said it would be worse if he turned around.
A whistling noise drifted on a breeze from the porch, and Colton saw Sarge watching. The whistling was coming from him, and it wasn’t noise—it was . . . the “Army Song.”
Fighting till the battle’s won, and the Army Goes Rolling Along.
The rest of the song played in the back of his mind, his steps matching the cadence as if he were marching, and suddenly a plan came together in his mind. Pecca turned and smiled as he approached.
“Hey, Colton.”
“Pecca, I was wondering if you were free for dinner this evening?”
Several seconds passed, and Colton wasn’t sure if he had said the words aloud or just in his head. She blinked up at him beneath long lashes, her lips wavering.
“You just going to stand there all lovestruck, Hot Tamale?” Gunny shouted from the porch. “Or you going to answer the boy?”
Colton frowned at the Marine’s antics. Maybe he should’ve waited and—
“Yes.” Laughter bubbled around her answer. “Yes. I would love to.”
“Atta boy, Cap!” The shout of encouragement sounded suspiciously like it had come from Sarge, while the rest of D-Wing began hooting and whistling.
His chest expanded, and he didn’t care that the peanut gallery was watching. “I’ll see you tonight.”
“I can’t wait.”
Neither could he. Hooah.
TWENTY
PECCA CHECKED HER MAKEUP in the rearview mirror for the hundredth time. Mush. Her insides had turned to mush the second Colton marched up to her and asked her on their first date. An hour ago, she had received a message to meet him at the Mansion. The flame from the gaslight lanterns lighting the porch danced in an exciting rhythm that matched the beat of her heart. Inside, Colton was waiting for her.
It felt like her heart craved him. Her nerves buzzed with an electricity that urged her to rush up the stairs, but her head was telling her to slow down. Biting her lip, she settled back into the driver’s seat. How was it possible to feel something so deeply for a man she barely knew?
That was her way, according to her family. “Pecca loves people fast—and hard.” “It’s like she was born with a mission to love as many people as possible,” her brothers used to tease. Her mother and father had both assured her there were worse things to do than love, but Claudia never let an opportunity pass to warn her of the risks—to guard herself so she wouldn’t get hurt.
When Javier was arrested, Claudia had the decency not to say, “I told you so,” but Pecca could see it in her sister’s eyes—the disappointment.
Especially after Maceo was born. Part of Pecca wondered if Claudia blamed her for what happened to Maceo, that maybe under different circumstances Maceo would’ve been born healthy. Different circumstances might’ve meant a different man and better prenatal care, but it also meant Pecca wouldn’t have Maceo.
Tap-tap-tap.
Pecca jumped, her heart thudding against her ribs as she turned to see Deputy Wilson standing outside her car. With her pulse pounding in her ears, she opened the door.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, but I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
She was okay, but now she was close to having a heart attack. It wasn’t Deputy Wilson’s fault. Poor guy probably didn’t join the police force thinking he’d be tasked to follow women on dates.
“Ah, yes. I was just, um, gathering my things.” She reached for her purse with shaky fingers. “I’m about to head inside.”
Deputy Wilson stood back and helped her with her door. “Would you like me to walk you up?”
“That’s okay.” Pecca smiled. “It’s a quick walk.”
“Have a nice evening, Pecca.” Deputy Wilson tipped his hat and waited for her to head up the gravel path before he returned to his squad car.
A nice evening. Right. That’s all this was. A simple date for her to get to know Colton better. It wasn’t rushing. It was exactly how dating was supposed to go—or at least she thought it was. Javier was her first boyfriend, and after she had Maceo the last thing she wanted to do was date.
Pecca blew out a breath once she reached the front entrance. She caught a faint reflection of herself in the sidelight windows next to the door. Colton had told her to meet him there for their date and that she should dress comfortably.
Boys.
They had no clue that identifying “comfortably” was like picking out the correct shade of blue to describe the sky. So she chose her favorite boyfriend jeans that hugged her hips cutely but were loose enough that she could move around in them and a slouchy T-shirt she tucked in at the front. Her burgundy cardigan matched the shade of eyeshadow she was wearing, and leopard-print flats pulled the whole comfy, chic outfit together. At least that’s what Lane said when Pecca dropped Maceo off at the café for the night.
In a last-minute decision, she’d decided to keep her hair down, but because of Georgia’s inconsistent weather, the temperature was now in the balmy sixties, and after Deputy Wilson’s scare, Pecca’s armpits were sweating. Maybe just a quick twist up. She opened her purse to look for a hair tie when the door to the Mansion swung open.
Sticks stood there with a grin on his face. “Are you going to keep the man waiting forever or what, Hot Tamale?”
“I was just— Are you wearing a tie?”
“I am, thank you for noticing.” Sticks released his cane and used both hands to straighten the tie. “Now, if you’ll please come in, your date is waiting for you in the library.”
Her date. Pecca pressed her lips together, trying to control the smile tugging at her cheeks. She stepped inside and waited for Sticks to close the door before he held his arm out to escort her down the hall and to the library.
Heart thrumming, she gasped when Sticks slid open the pocket doors. The entire library was lit up with twinkling lights strung along the windows and over the bookcases. The leather couch and club chairs normally centered at the middle of the room had been repositioned to the sides to make room for the blanket covering the rug.
“I hope you don’t mind a picnic.”
Pecca turned her head to see that Colton had come up beside her. His eyes sparked with something that made her knees weak. His hair had been cut, and his face no longer held the stubble from that morning. He smiled, and every warning she had given herself in the car seemed to evaporate.
“I love picnics.”
Sticks cleared his throat, and Colton jumped like he was coming out of a trance. He looked at Sticks and then down.
“Oh, these are for you.” Colton held up a small bouquet of red, peach, and yellow flowers. “The guys told me giving flowers on a date was still okay.”
“We told him that if he didn’t, we’d have him in the front-leaning rest position until he knew how to properly court a young woman,” Sticks whispered over her shoulder. “That’s push-ups, in case you didn’t know.”
She laughed and eyed Sticks. “I know what it is.” Then she faced Colton. “Thank you. They’re beautiful.”
“Shall we?” Colton pivoted and gestured into the library. He took her purse and the flowers and set them on a table where a long board had been set up with cheese, grapes, crackers, and rolled slices of meat.
“It’s a”—Colton scratched the back of his neck—“charcoal . . . charkuh—”
“Charcuterie board?”
“Yes, that’s it. Shirley said it’s all over Pinterest and perfect for picnics.”
“Do you know what Pinterest is?”
“No idea,” Colton said as he shook his head. “But I can eat these foods with one hand, so . . .”
Sadness pinched her heart as she began to understand how much Colton was having to make adjustments to his life just like Maceo did. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed. “It’s perfect.”
“I have a special treat for you.”
“Ahem,” a throat cleared from the doorway. Colton started to roll his eyes but stopped.
“We have a special treat for you.”
Pecca hadn’t noticed before, but two folding chairs were positioned near the back wall. Sarge rolled in with a trumpet on his lap, and Gunny followed behind. The two men went to the chairs where Sticks stood, holding two guitars.
“What are they doing?”
“Just wait.”
A moment later, Sarge brought the trumpet to his lips as Gunny and Sticks strummed, adding to the tender harmony. It took only a few notes for Pecca to recognize the song—Louis Armstrong’s soulful tune, What a Wonderful World—bringing tears to the edges of her lashes.
Colton used her hand to turn her. “May I have this dance?”
She nodded, afraid of the emotion balling in her throat, and let Colton draw her close. He placed his hand on the small of her back, and her body quivered in delight. Glancing up, she met his eyes. A touch of a smile played on his lips as their bodies swayed to the music.
She loved too fast and too hard, but Pecca didn’t care. This was the kind of moment producers orchestrated on television for ratings, not because they had some inner desire to see two people fall in love. She pressed her cheek to his chest, feeling the thump-thump-thump of his heart beating.
Three war veterans, a vibrant receptionist, and Lane and Charlie, who had become family, had made sure this night could happen for no other reason than to give her and Colton a chance to discover love.
The song ended, and Pecca released Colton to clap for the men as they tipped their heads down in a bow. Colton watched her walk to each and hug them fiercely.
“That was beautiful. Thank you.”
“Anything for you, Hot Tamale,” Sticks said. “And the song choice was my suggestion.”
“Only after he suggested the Air Force Fight Song,” Gunny grumbled with a smile.
“Alright, fellas,” Colton said, his hand gesturing to the doorway. He needed to get these old guys back to their rooms before their usual arguments got rolling. “I think I can handle the rest of the night on my own.”
Each of the D-Wing veterans ambled out, making sure to give Colton a look that he guessed said he’d better not mess this up or he’d find his belongings on the porch with a one-way ticket back to Texas.
Colton started to slide the pocket doors closed and then paused. Pushing them open, he popped his head into the hallway. Sticks, Gunny, and Sarge startled and stumbled over one another.
“We were just, uh, waiting for the elevator,” Gunny said.
“I can handle this, guys.”
“Atta boy, Cap,” Sarge said just as the elevator doors opened.
Colton waited u
ntil all three were inside the elevator and on their way upstairs before he shut the pocket doors.
When he turned, he found Pecca already sitting on the blanket, the char—whatever it was—next to her as she propped pillows against the bottom of the couch to lean on. When he saw her tonight, it was like he was seeing her for the first time and made him want to memorize every detail of her. Lately, he felt like that every time he saw her, and it reminded him of the look in his dad’s eyes whenever he caught him staring at his mom. Colton asked him one day why he looked at her that way, and his dad said simply, “Never thought I’d be so blessed.”
He took a breath and lowered himself next to Pecca. “If they leave us alone for the rest of the night, it might be a miracle.”
“They were wonderful.” Pecca sighed. “I didn’t even know they could play.”
“Me either, but they insisted music would woo you.”
“Woo?” She giggled. “They said woo?”
“It’s a little old-fashioned, huh?”
“I like old-fashioned. A lot.” She wrapped her fingers around his, her touch warming his skin. “Consider me wooed.”
Man, he wanted to kiss her. But getting D-Wing to agree to his plan tonight came with a lecture from Gunny, Sarge, and Sticks about date etiquette, including when it was appropriate to kiss a lady. It was a painful hour of his life, but he had to admit it was like taking lessons from a bygone generation, and all of them had been married over five decades, so their wisdom carried merit. Now, if he could just control the urge inside him to settle down. D-Wing might like him, but he had a feeling they liked Pecca a whole lot more.
If Colton messed this up, it would be like having to answer to three fathers.
“Is everything okay? Do you need anything else?”
“This is . . .” She looked up at the twinkling lights. “I’m not sure you could ever top this date.”
Colton leaned against the pillows, taking in the library. “If we were in Jasper, it would’ve been different.”
Silent Shadows Page 17
