Field Stripped: 15 Steamy Military Romances

by Marissa Dobson

  The woman walked over to her car as Savannah got out. She stuck out her hand and Savannah politely shook it. “Hi, Miss St. Claire? I’m Adrienne Miller, we spoke on the phone yesterday.”

  “Yes of course, very nice to meet you.”

  “Well, shall we go in and look around.”

  “Sure.”

  Ms. Miller pulled the keys out of her purse and opened the door. As she walked into the foyer she explained there were some things in need of repair, but nothing Savannah couldn’t do herself. “This home is completely furnished if you would like to keep whatever is here. Of course, if you wanted to bring your own furniture I could arrange for someone to put all these furnishings in storage. It’s completely up to you.” A ringing sound came from the real estate agent’s oversized purse. Ms. Miller glanced at the phone before addressing Savannah. “I’m really sorry, but I have to take this. Take a walk through the house and have a look around. Give me a holler if you need anything. Take all the time you need. I’ll be right back.”

  “No problem. I won’t be too long.”

  Adrienne walked out onto the front porch and closed the door behind her leaving Savannah to investigate the house on her own. It was a two story home with an attic and basement storage. She didn’t have much in her room to bring here so having the house already furnished was a plus. The only thing she would have removed would be the bed. She didn’t know who had slept on the bed, or did she want to know. Just the thought of all the disgusting things that could be embedded into the mattress was enough for her to shudder. Yuck. Sometimes being a nurse was not a good thing. Being so knowledgeable about how bacteria grew and spread was not easing her mind at the moment.

  As she walked through the house she went over all the things she would need to make it her own. The last room she looked at was the living room. She padded over to the big bay window overlooking the lake. The view was absolutely breathtaking. She could see a few small boats bobbing on the calm water with men casting their fishing poles over the sides. She pictured herself sitting at the end of the dock watching the sunset and drinking a cup of hot tea with lemon. She sighed deeply hoping she could make a home out of the place.

  She backed away from the window and turned to her right where a piece of furniture was covered with a white sheet. Savannah removed the cloth and under it was a beautiful wood rocking chair. She lightly dusted it with the sheet and sat next to the window admiring the view as the chair creaked under her weight when she rocked. There was no way she would let this opportunity slip through her fingers. The house was perfect for her. She could think of no better place to live other than right here. She reluctantly stood and made her way outside to go find Ms. Miller and tell her she was definitely interested in renting the house. Adrienne had already finished her phone call and was now looking at her watch. Savannah didn’t know how long she had spent looking around, but she didn’t want to keep the woman from any other appointments she might have for the rest of the day. “Ms. Miller?”

  “Yes. Did you need anything? Did you like the house?”

  “Yes. I liked it very much. It’s perfect and I’d like to rent it.”

  “Oh, have you finished looking around?”

  “That’s fantastic. Just fill out these forms and you can come to my office tomorrow and drop off all the documents. I’ll also need to make copies your last few paychecks, and your identification.”

  Savannah glanced up at the house, smiled, and looked back at the agent. “I can be there first thing in the morning.”

  “That’s fine. Oh, did you need me to call the storage company to remove the furniture?”

  “Would it be okay to just have the bed in the main bedroom taken out? I’d like to keep the rest.”

  “Absolutely. I’ll make all the arrangements and can have them remove it in a day or two for you.”

  The two shook hands and Savannah got into her car. On the way back home she drove passed Travis and Billy’s house. She didn’t know why, but that’s where she eventually wound up. She stopped for a quick minute and saw there was no car in the driveway. She was compelled to get out and go in to check on their mother. But she was afraid Billy might have been there, so she put her car in gear and drove away before anyone could see her.

  When she got home her mother was practically standing in the doorway. Tapping her foot on the hard wood floor glaring at her as she stepped inside the house. “What is this I hear about you moving out and living by yourself?”

  “What’d you hire a private investigator to follow me around?”

  “No. Ms. Miller called here when she couldn’t reach you on your cell phone. She said she needed to speak to you about the house you were going to rent.”

  “Well, what did she say?” Savannah asked nervously, hoping the house would still be available to her.

  Isabel turned and walked into the kitchen to prepare lunch while Savannah followed. “I don’t know; she wouldn’t speak to me. She said you should give her a call as soon as you could. Why are you moving out in such a hurry anyway?”

  “I am a grown woman mother. I need my privacy.”

  “You have all the privacy you need here.”

  Savannah turned to her mother with a look of contempt. “I do not have privacy here. You treat me like a child who can’t make her own decisions.”

  “Well, you are my child and I do worry about you.” Isabel sighed heavily. “But, if you feel the need to be on your own I won’t interfere.”

  Savannah was shocked at the statement her mother just uttered. “You mean there’s no argument or trying to talk me out of it.”

  “No. Like you said, you are a grown woman and I’m tired of arguing with you about everything. So, when do you move?”

  “In a few days. Oh, I have to call the real estate lady to see why she was calling me. I hope the owners haven’t changed their minds about renting it out.” Savannah scrambled around in her purse to look for her phone and called Adrienne. After explaining to Savannah that the owners wanted to clean and freshen up the house for her, she was asked if she could delay her move a few more days. To Savannah it was a weight off her shoulders after thinking the house was no longer available to rent.

  After hanging up the phone Isabel was waiting for her daughter to shed some light on the phone call. “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “What did she say?”

  “Oh, she said the house will have to be cleaned before I can move in and it would be ready in a few days.”

  “Good, that will give us some time to shop for things you will need.”

  “Ma, the house is already furnished, I don’t need anything.”

  “Well, you still need dishes and towels, that kind of stuff. We’ll go shopping tomorrow.”

  Savannah opened her mouth to argue and tell her mother that she wanted to buy everything herself, but she remembered her mother’s words about not wanting to argue so she quickly shut it. Maybe not being in the same house with her mother bickering about every little thing would be good for their relationship.

  As she turned to walk up the stairs to her room Isabel called her back. “Oh, I forgot to tell you, Travis was here this morning looking for you, but I didn’t know where you were.”

  “What did he want?”

  “He wanted to know if you were able to stay with his mother while he took Billy to the doctor.”

  Savannah felt awful that she wasn’t there for Rosemary, but she didn’t even want to see Travis right now because that would mean she’d have to see Billy, and that was never going to happen. He would have to get the nurse to stay with their mother. “Okay, thanks.”

  “I saw Billy at the picnic yesterday. Shame what happened to him.”

  “Ma, you don’t even like him. What do you care?” “I told you it isn’t that I don’t like him. I just think you can do better.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. He doesn’t love me. He never did. He’s moved on. I’ve moved on. I don’t want to talk about it
anymore.”

  Savannah continued up the stairs and took another hot shower. She was beginning to get headache, she was drenched in sweat, and her dress was sticking to every part of her body. Not a very flattering look to say the least. A long shower might be exactly what she needed to relax and forget about Billy and Travis. She needed to stay away from them both for now until she was ready to deal with her feelings. Now was not the time. But, would there ever be a right time?

  Chapter Four

  The first few nights Billy was home were the worst he’d ever experienced since his accident. All he could do was think about Savannah and how much he wanted to talk to her. Travis had given him her phone number, but every time he dialed, he’d chicken out and hung up. It had been weeks since he’d come home. He was not only bored out of mind, but he was tired of depending on his brother taking him back and forth to physical therapy twice a week. He needed a car desperately. He had to get out of the house for a while every day. He couldn’t take sitting around the house all day doing nothing. He felt like he was wasting his life away. He decided on asking Travis to take him to the dealership in town to buy a car as soon as he could take some time off from his business.

  Billy woke up early as he always did. Some habits we’re hard to break. He was so used to rising before the sun did and he couldn’t change his sleeping habits no matter how hard he tried. He made everyone breakfast, then went to eat his food out on the veranda so he could relax in the cool morning air. It was going to be another extremely hot day and being outside later in the afternoon was not going to be as enjoyable. Travis was up early as well since he had to get ready for work.

  Travis opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch with a plate full of bacon and eggs in his hand. “Hey, little bro. Thanks for making breakfast, but you didn’t have to. You should be resting.”

  “Please, I’m tired of resting. I need to start moving around and getting my life in order. That reminds me, would you mind taking me to town so I can buy a car. I can’t depend on you to do everything for me anymore. Not that I don’t appreciate it, but I need to start making a life of my own and I can’t get around without a car.”

  “Look Billy, I really don’t mind helping you out. You’re my little brother.”

  “That’s exactly my point. You shouldn’t be helping me at all. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

  “Sure, no problem. I closed the shop for today to take you to therapy. We can go to the dealership on the way back home if you want.”

  “That would be perfect. Thanks. Wait, why are you up so early if you don’t have to go to work?”

  “I’m so used to it. I wake up before my alarm clock goes off.”

  The telephone in the kitchen rang and Travis ran inside to answer it. All Billy could hear from porch was mumbling, then the sound of the phone being slammed against the counter. “Damn!”

  Billy rose from his chair slowly and proceeded into the house. “What’s the matter?”

  “Mom’s nurse is sick with the stomach flu. She won’t be able to stay with her today.”

  “So, we can reschedule my appointment.”

  “Don’t be stupid. You need to go on a regular basis.”

  “Then who is supposed to stay with Mom while we’re not here?”

  Travis hesitated a moment. He looked to the ceiling as if he were going to get an answer out of thin air. He sucked in a breath and held it in his cheeks before letting it out slowly. “There’s only one person I trust with Mom other than the nurse.”

  Billy thought to himself for a fraction of a second before he uttered the one person’s name that was weighing so heavily on his heart. “Savannah.” Travis nodded and agreed. “Yep.”

  “You know she’s not going to come over here. Why bother asking?”

  “Well, I have to try.”

  “You’ve been trying to call her for the past two weeks and she hasn’t answered one of your calls.”

  “I’m not going to call her. Mr. St. Claire said she moved into a new house and gave me her address. I’m going over there myself. I’ll be back in time to take you to the doctor.”

  “And what if she refuses to come? What are you going to do, kidnap her?”

  “If I have to.”

  “You know she’ll kick your ass right?”

  Travis laughed before grabbing his car keys off the counter. “Oh, I don’t doubt she would. But, I have to try.”

  Billy knew there would be no way in Hell Savannah would come back to the house and see the one person who broke her heart. The thought of Savannah gave him an ache in his stomach. He couldn’t get rid of that gut-wrenching feeling. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, and tell her how much he really loved her with every fiber of his being. The pain of losing her was far greater than any pain he’d ever experienced. Not even going through the Army training camp was enough to keep her out of his heart and mind. Extreme exhaustion, muscle cramps, and mental anguish were feelings he welcomed while training. It was the only way he knew was he alive because his heart went numb the moment he left Savannah.

  After breakfast his mother liked to rest and watch television in her room, so Billy washed the dishes and went to sit at the desk in his room. He pulled out some paper and a pen from the drawer and began to write one of his comrades a letter. Sergeant Federico Rodriguez had been his best friend while overseas. They were inseparable. It was Federico who saved his life. He was the medic for their squad while on patrol in Afghanistan. He talked to Billy, trying his best to keep him awake after the explosion. Billy fell into unconsciousness rather quickly and didn’t remember much about what happened after.

  The doctors had put him into a medically induced coma until his injuries were bearable. Federico was one of the first people he saw when he woke up. He had been hit with a piece of shrapnel, but it didn’t cause any major damage. He had requested to be put back on active duty immediately and was released from the hospital a few days after. It was Federico who filled Billy in with the time he’d lost when he was in a coma. He told Billy that the last thing he said before going unconscious was not to notify his family. He begged for them not to know anything unless he had died.

  He owed Sergeant Rodriguez his life. He owed all of his soldier buddies his life. They had become his family over the last four years and he missed them all. Billy wrote in his letter about what he was going through and how he was feeling, but most importantly he wrote to give Federico the support he thought he needed. Federico had been estranged from his family right before joining the Army. In fact, he told Billy the exact reason he joined the Army was because he wanted to be a part of something. He wanted to be a part of a family where someone would always have his back and support him. A family is exactly what the Army had been to both of them.

  In the four years Billy had known Federico, he’d never received one letter and he never picked up a phone to call anyone. Not a family member or a friend. Billy felt so guilty knowing his friend had no one and here he was just dismissing Savannah’s letters. Any man would’ve be lucky to have a woman like her supporting them.

  Billy placed the letter in the envelope and licked it closed. The mailman was always late so he knew he would have plenty of time to write his letter before it was picked up later in the day. He slowly walked out to the mailbox and placed the letter inside before putting the little red handle on the side into the up position. He looked down the road hoping to see Travis’ car but it was nowhere in sight. He’d been gone for almost an hour and Billy was starting to get restless. He hated being stuck in the house. Hopefully, Travis was already on his way back with Savannah so they could leave and get his therapy over with.

  Chapter Five

  Savannah had been in her new home for a couple of weeks and enjoyed her newfound peace. It was quiet and most of the time when she came home from work she ate dinner then watched the sunset on the pier. There was only one thing missing. She wanted someone to share it with. But, in her eyes no one would ever be able
to take Billy’s place in her heart. As angry as she was at him, she still loved him so much.

  She’d taken the day off to finish unpacking and clean up the mess she made all over the living room floor looking for something to wear. Since all of the clothes in her drawers were in the laundry, she had to go searching through some of the other suitcases for something clean to put on. She’d been too tired to straighten up the day before after working a double shift at the hospital. One of the older veterans had suffered a heart attack and needed to be watched carefully. The floor had been short staffed so Savannah volunteered to work even though she was completely exhausted.

  At first Savannah had a hard time working at the Veteran’s Hospital. When she was first assigned to do her internship there by the college, she pleaded with the director to give her a different place to work. But, all the other positions had been filled. There were no other options other than for her to suck it up and get her internship over with. Otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to get her degree, and she sure as Hell wasn’t going to throw four years of her life away because she was acting like a child.

  Once she got to know most of the patients at the hospital, it had felt like a second home to her. Each patient was like a family member and she grew attached to each of them and their families. She developed a special bond with her patients. Maybe it was because they’d been able to give her some insight on why Billy joined the Army and what he might be going through while he was away. She loved listening to their stories of when they were overseas and the friendships they’d made. It comforted her knowing Billy wasn’t alone.