Rare and Precious Things

by Raine Miller

  But they were newlyweds, and needed their private time together, I argued. Neil and Elaina were trying to make a baby of their own, and hanging out with me wasn’t doing them much good in that department. When I said so, they both laughed at me and made cryptic comments that had me wondering if they’d already managed it and just weren’t announcing the news yet. I hoped so. The two of them were so perfect together, and in getting to know them both so well, I’d learned how they’d been a part of each other’s lives since they were kids. The two of them were fated to be together from the very beginning. It made me so happy knowing true love had won out for them.

  Ethan’s directive annoyed me, but at the same time, was so very typical of him. So protective, and caring…and cautious. I wondered how he was doing on the job with Prince Christian in the Swiss Alps. He’d dreaded to go as much as I hated him leaving. We hadn’t had time to work through our hiccup, and it was the worst feeling for me.

  I missed my man dreadfully, and needed him back home. I wanted to unburden everything to him about what Lance had told me. And I hoped to hear whatever Ethan was willing to share with me, to get us back to where we’d been before that hideous night we fought over things that just weren’t worth hurting the one you love. Not to me. And, I know, not to him, either.

  CHICKEN tacos with avocado and corn salsa, was my new pregnant comfort food. I tried to get Neil and Elaina to abandon their dinner plans with me by having it twice in one week, but they weren’t buying it, saying they loved my version of Mexican food. Bless their sweet Brit hearts. Because the British rendition of Mexican sucked, in my opinion. Maybe if my career in art conservation failed, I could do street-tacos and make a killing. I laughed inwardly at the idea of Ethan ever allowing me to entertain such a thing. I could set up next to Muriel’s newsstand on the street by Blackstone Security, and he could come down and have his lunch.

  Neil loved cooking, so he was the one helping me in the kitchen. Elaina was off in the nursery working on the mural I’d planned out with her help. It was just a tree with birds and butterflies right now. Color and theme still to be determined, once we knew boy or girl…Thomas or Laurel.

  “Do you know this was the very first meal I ever made for Ethan?” I popped a chunk of avocado in my mouth and savored it. “He brought along some Dos Equis, and ended up getting hooked on the Mexican beer and the Mexican food,” I said.

  “I know,” Neil answered with a chuckle, as he added some spices to the sizzling chicken. “He talked about you all the time. Said you were a brilliant cook, and to give the Dos Equis a try with a sliver of lime.”

  “Did he?”

  “Yeah. I knew he was done-for at that point. Not because of the Mexican food, mind you, but because of the beer. He left off with the Guinness practically overnight,” he said with a snap of his fingers and a sorry shake of his head.

  “That would be Ethan for you. He makes a decision about something, and that’s that.” I sighed pitifully, thinking about our unresolved “problems.”

  Neil stopped chopping tomatoes and looked up at me. “He’ll be home soon, Brynne. There’s nowhere he wants to be but right here with you.”

  “I know, but he left when things…weren’t right between us. Do you know why, Neil?” I asked, realizing it was entirely probable he did know.

  He nodded. “Yeah. I saw the photos of you and Oakley at the coffee shop. Publicity Tweets is all that was to be expected really.”

  “I didn’t think about that part. It was just something I had to do, and when Ethan gets home I will explain everything, but it just wasn’t the time for me right then, you know?”

  Neil’s dark brown eyes were very warm and understanding. “The two of you will work through it, Brynne. I know Ethan, and there is nothing he wouldn’t do for you. He’d walk through fire to get back with you.”

  I stifled a sob and worked on the corn salsa. “Neil, what’s the deal with Sarah Hastings? When Ethan saw her again at your wedding, he was really affected by her presence, and not in a good way. He told me some of what happened to her husband, Mike, and how horrible his death was to witness. I understand that part of his trauma…and at the same time, I cannot imagine how devastating it is for him to remember when he has a flashback.”

  “Sarah? She’s all right, and I can only guess that she has something to do with his therapy, but he hasn’t said—and I won’t ask.”

  “I understand,” I said bleakly, realizing that I would just have to be patient with him, and wait until the time came when Ethan could tell me what role Sarah played in his emotional health. “Ethan told you about his therapy sessions with Dr. Wilson at the Combat Stress Centre?”

  “He did, Brynne, and I am so glad he’s finally getting something in the way of support. I know it’s only because of you that he’s been able to get himself over there.”

  “What happened to him was so horrible…” I trailed off, unable to even express my feelings about what Ethan had endured.

  Neil stopped with the food prep altogether. “It was bad, Brynne, really bloody bad.”

  “I know he feels guilt, he told me he does, but why does he? Being captured and tortured was not his fault.”

  Neil hung his head and closed his eyes for just a moment. He paused with his head down over the kitchen counter for a long time. I figured he wouldn’t tell me anything, or couldn’t tell me because of strict rules within the British Army. But finally, he picked up his knife and returned to chopping vegetables, and then he started talking.

  “I don’t know everything, but I know enough to puzzle it together. E’s shared what he could with me, and the rest I know because I heard the comms when they came through—the communications between base and squad when they’re out in the field. I commanded my own team, as did Ethan. I wasn’t there, just E and his men were. There were five troops, and Mike Hastings was one of them. None of them returned alive. Mike survived the ambush along with Ethan…and you know what happened there. E went through debriefing once he was returned, and he said on the day they planned to execute him, the building where he was being held was bombed into a pile of rubble. Nobody knows how E walked out of there alive. Not even he knows. He said he had no explanation of how or why he wasn’t crushed to bits in the blast. It was something truly miraculous.”

  I held my breath as Neil explained the “why” for so many of my questions. Things Ethan just couldn’t talk about. I now understood why, and it just shredded my heart for him, and what he had to suffer. “No wonder he has angel wings on his back,” I whispered.

  “Yeah.” Neil gave the chicken another stir and told me the rest. “Mike’s torture and execution was brutal, and I know Ethan feels tremendous loss and guilt. He believes because it was his call as commander, that he put them all into danger, and as a result of his decision, five young men lost their lives.”

  “But it was war. How can what happened be his fault?” I ached for Ethan even worse than before, and wanted nothing more than to have my arms around him, and his chest, with its fiercely brave and beautiful heart, beating up against mine.

  “War is fucked no matter how you look at it. What happened to their team was indescribable really. They were lured in by a dead mother with her throat slit in the middle of the road, and with her hysterically crying son clinging to her body. He was no more than three years old. Hours of this went on and the comms kept coming in. Ethan wanted to go in and get the boy. And after many hours of haggling back and forth, he was finally given the go-ahead. But it was all a trap. The Taliban used a woman and child as decoys to take out a whole squad of elite soldiers—sympathetic Westerners, who would never conceive of such treatment to anyone or anything. It worked. Ethan went in, grabbed the boy, but he was shot and killed just seconds later, while still in E’s arms. A firefight ensued and at the end of it, two innocent civilians were slaughtered, four of our own were dead, and Mike and E were captives.”

  “Oh, my God…”

  I didn’t even have words for Neil. What cou
ld I even say to him? Were there even words to be said? No…no words could make that story feel any better, no matter how many years passed. I rubbed my belly and thought of Ethan, and how much I loved him. He was so much more than I ever could have known when we first met. He was a true hero in every sense of the word, who had served honorably and suffered because of that service.

  “Thank you for telling me, Neil, it h-helps me to…know.”

  And it really did help me, but knowing the truth was horrifying, too. I felt sick, and knew I couldn’t eat the food I’d just been preparing with Neil. How did any of them eat anything ever again, when faced with the memories of wartime experiences I’d just heard? I knew how Ethan’s mind worked, and I could honestly see him feeling the burden of terrible guilt over all of the deaths…how he suffered when he relived the events in dreams.

  “I just love him so much. I’d do anything to be able to help him,” I said finally.

  “But you do, Brynne. Your love has helped him already, more than any other thing.”

  WHEN I was awakened early the next morning from a sound sleep in my lonely bed, I was startled. When I realized Elaina had let herself into the flat to wake me, I knew something bad had happened. When I caught a glimpse of Neil hovering in the doorway, I started crying and gripped my chest. When I heard words saying that something had happened to Ethan, I screamed.

  I screamed at them both and begged them not to tell me.

  Switzerland

  NEON green burned into my eyes. What the fuckin’ hell? I tried to push whatever it was out of my face, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Ethan…oh, fuck, man. It just took us some time to find you.”

  “What?” I tried to focus, but the sun was shining down, and the light too fucking bright. All I could see was glare and flaming electric green—the colour reminded me of Christian’s jacket as he swept down the mountain ahead of me, right before the—

  “Is that you, Christian? You’re all right,” I babbled, “that’s good.” I was so relieved he’d survived I could’ve kissed the little shit, if I could even feel my face. The King still had his heir. Thank fuck. “Tell me, I want to know…did the other lads make it?”

  “Yes! We made it, and you did too, Ethan.”

  Had I? Didn’t feel like it at all. “But I’m up here on this mountain, and I can’t walk—my leg is fucked up.” I was glad Christian and the boys were okay, but I didn’t see how I would get out of this mess intact, especially if it didn’t happen soon. I was in very poor shape, and I knew it. I couldn’t really see Christian’s face, everything was blurry, and I was tired…so tired.

  “I know,” he said, before setting something hard against my lips. “Drink this. It’ll help you.”

  I sucked in some liquid but couldn’t tell what it was. I couldn’t feel much, only exhaustion. Then I remembered what I needed to do. More important than anything. I pushed the drink away. “But…do you have a mobile on you, Christian? Mine’s been lost. I have to tell…my wife—I need to give her—a message—”

  “Hang on, Ethan, they’re coming to get you. You’re gonna be okay, man.”

  “No—I need to call Brynne. Now!” I desperately needed to make him understand.

  “There’s no cellular. It won’t go to her.”

  “That’s okay…it’ll send once you get in range of service. Voice text—will—work…” I tried to reach for him to make him understand. “Help me, please.”

  “Okay, Ethan, okay. What’s her number?”

  I said the numbers carefully because I didn’t want to make a mistake. This was so important, and I couldn’t fuck this up. “Now, set it for voice…and let me talk.”

  Christian put the thing in my hand, which was hard to grip through the gloves, but he helped me to hold it and told me when to start speaking.

  “Brynne, baby…I don’t want you to be scared or sad, okay? I love you, and I’m happy right now. Very, very happy…because I got to be with you…and love you. I’ll still be here, just loving you from another place, and our little Laurel-Thomas, too.” I struggled to keep it together to finish my message, but it was so hard saying goodbye. How was it even possible I had to do such a thing? But yet, I needed to tell her. Nothing was going to stop me. “…you made me real, my beauty, and I love you for that, and I always will…until the end of time.”

  There. I’d managed it. She would hear from me one last time, and know…my truth.

  Now, I could close my eyes and go to sleep. So desperately tired...

  I floated for a time, peacefully drifting…somewhere, I don’t know where. An idea came to me and I remembered about my mum. I’d get to see her again, and that was a very nice thought. I felt unusually free and weightless, as if I were being held up by…something light.

  Wings?

  But that’s exactly what it felt like—wings holding me up, cradling my back. Silky feathers in two flowing arcs. Soft, but so powerfully strong. I realized what they belonged to after a while. They were angel wings.

  I was being held by an angel.

  12th January

  London

  COME back to me…

  I’m right here, Ethan. Always. You just have to come back to me when you’re ready. I’ll be here waiting for you with Laurel-Thomas. We need you. I need you in order to do this. I just need you, and I won’t ever let you go. I never will.

  I stayed with my man at his hospital bedside. Come back to me, baby. Same hospital we’d come to visit Lance. I was so grateful, though. He was here with me now, and I could touch him, and see him, and the doctors could help him. Neil pulled some major strings with someone and arranged for Ethan to be airlifted to London. Ivan helped, too. I don’t know what I would have done without those two. They knew people who could get things done. If Ethan were stuck in Switzerland right now, where I couldn’t go to him, I’d need to be strapped down.

  I think Jonathan and Marie were about to commandeer me home but I wasn’t going anywhere. They’d finally gone to get food and said they’d be back later. They could fuss and try their strong-arm tactics all they wanted with me, but it wouldn’t do any good. I knew where I needed to be. I won’t leave you, my darling. I’m going to be here when you wake up.

  Even so, I couldn’t do much of anything for him. The hospital had everything covered. Stitches to close the gash beside his right eye, at the top of his cheekbone. He would have a scar there now. Surgery to repair his left leg. Tibia and fibula both blown out, but they were fixed now, and would heal faster because of the pins they’d put into his bones. My man was just “sleeping” right now. He needed the deep rest so his body could regenerate.

  So I sat there beside him, and called him back to me. I got the message you left for me on Christian’s phone. He was very sweet, and very worried about you. He called and talked to me because he didn’t want me to be scared by the text message you sent from his phone. He told me what happened, how they wanted to take a backcountry run, and how you told them what to do if they got in trouble up there. He said they all did what you’d instructed them to do, and because of it, they were all okay. He feels terrible you were the one who got hurt—

  I felt a heavy hand come to rest on my shoulder. “They had blackberry flavor. I hope that’s all right.” Ivan pushed the cup of hot tea toward my hand. “Oh, and I got this for you, too.” He held out a protein bar. “Eat it, please.”

  Slowly, I raised my eyes in shock. His words—the gesture, was nearly identical. I looked at Ivan where he stood frowning at me. Tall and green-eyed, with longer hair—just as handsome as his cousin, but different. Ivan bore a slightly more refined look, where Ethan was blessed with a harshness that made him appear a bit more rugged. But the genetics they shared? As clearly visible as water in a glass. They were of the same blood, and of the same mind.

  Ivan’s offering of the protein bar brought back vivid memories of that first night, when Ethan drove me home from Benny’s show—all in a split-second. I could smell the scent of him and feel
the warmth of the Rover’s heated seats. I could see him perfectly in my mind, the way he’d set that protein bar on my knee and waited for me to eat it before he would move the car. The “don’t-fuck-with-me” attitude. And the heavy dose of persuasive dominance I couldn’t deny. Come back to me, Ethan…

  “Okay.” I nodded, and felt my eyes fill, struggling to keep it together, wanting to be strong for Ethan.

  “Good girl,” he said softly, pulling up beside me in a chair. “He’d have a tantrum if he thought you weren’t taking care.”

  “I know,” I said pitifully, taking a bite and chewing. It tasted like sawdust but I ate it anyway, and sipped the tea. My butterfly angel needed food even if I didn’t want any.

  “Thank you, Brynne,” he said with a gentle smile. This was a different side of Ivan I was seeing at Ethan’s bedside. Ivan Everley was a devastating combination of charmingly sexy mixed with witty cynicism, but not right now. It was blatantly obvious he was worried about Ethan, too. They behaved more like brothers than cousins, I thought, and I always had felt that from the two of them. They were brothers in their heart, where it mattered.

  “The first night I met Ethan he bought me a protein bar and made me eat it,” I told him.

  I felt the tears spill out and down my cheeks and tried to wipe them away with the back of my hand.

  Ivan put his arm around me and pulled me in against his side. “He loves you so much. I know he’s fighting his way back. I know him. I know how his mind works. E’s fighting his way back to you right now, Brynne.”

  I nodded my agreement. I couldn’t speak, all I could do was believe. Ivan’s words were my lifeline to Ethan right now, and I couldn’t allow any other thoughts or doubts to creep in.

  So, we sat there together, and gave him some more time to come back to us.

  FINALLY. I smelled her again. Her scent was in my nose, and I breathed it in. A lungful of Brynne. But how could that be? I’d said goodbye to her up on that mountain. I felt different, though.