Table of Contents
Cherish Her
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Special Sneak Peek of Love Her (Military Men of Lexington 3)
About the Author
Books by Andrea Johnston
Cherish Her (Military Men of Lexington #2)
Copyright © 2020 by Andrea Johnston
Cover design and Formatting by Uplifting Author Services
Editing by Karen L. of The Proof Is in the Reading, LLC
Front cover photo by iStock
Back cover photo by Deposit Photos
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, people – living or dead – is entirely coincidental.
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To those who have suffered tremendous loss:
The light will shine again.
Prologue
Grant
“What the hell is that?”
“A stuffed animal.”
Rolling his eyes, Taylor puts the bottle in his hand to his lips, finishing the beer in one final drink. My friend and fellow veteran has no patience for my answer. “No. That is an elephant.”
“Soft, made of fabric, and has a trunk. This, Sugar, is a stuffed animal. How many of those have you had?” I tease, pointing at his empty bottle.
Ignoring my jab he retorts, “My sister said it’s a sip and see. I’m sippin’. Now that you’re here, you can see, and all these people can leave sooner. Do you need a leash for that thing?”
“Not enjoying having half the town in your backyard?” Taylor Cain and I have been friends for years. After serving decades together, we’ve both worked hard to embrace our new civilian life. He appears to be doing a much better job than me over the last few months.
Of course, that has a lot to do with his new life and love, Scarlett Gilbert. She is like a little sister to me and I can see how falling for her and creating a family has changed him. Regardless, Taylor is a lot of things, but host and social butterfly aren’t any of them.
Sure, he owns a bar and part of his job is to talk to customers. Something about that is different than him hosting a few dozen people at his home. Probably something he should have thought of before he fell in love with Scarlett. Someone who loves to host and be surrounded by her friends.
Looking down at the three-foot elephant, I smirk at the knowledge he’s going to hate having this thing around. Besides, it’s cute and I couldn’t show up empty-handed. Of course, I could have brought a traditional baby gift, but Scarlett called me last week and ordered in no uncertain terms, that I was not to buy anything else for the baby in the next calendar year.
So, I gave our friend, Connor, the money and he bought the elephant for me. This way, I have a gift and still respected Scarlett’s orders. I didn’t earn the rank of captain in the United States Army on accident. I’m tactical and always have a plan. Detail oriented and focused on the end result is how I function best.
Besides, the thing is cute and matches his room. Grabbing the bow tied around its neck, I grab the elephant and follow Taylor through the house. I spot a table with gifts and set the elephant on the floor next to it. As I rise to my full height, something catches my eye. Or, should I say, someone catches my eye.
Long tan legs are the first thing I notice. A dancer? An athlete? Do they have professional dancers or athletes in Lexington? No matter. I let my eyes wander from her legs up to her flat stomach and full breasts. But it’s when her face comes into focus that my pulse beings to quicken.
She’s beautiful. Long blonde hair that flows over her shoulders, she’s looking down at her phone, a look of either frustration or confusion on her face. Taking a deep breath, I move toward her when I hear it.
“Mommy! Is it time for cake?”
Mommy? Where there’s a mommy, there’s a daddy. And, just like that any thoughts that had run through my mind about her legs and breasts are gone. In their place, the equivalent of cold water being tossed in my face.
“Honey, you know we don’t have dessert before dinner. Let’s go find your sister.” Her voice is sweet and patient. Maternal.
Running a hand down my face, I feign interest in the gift table before turning toward the door.
“Oh, sorry,” the stranger says as she brushes past me.
I watch as she ushers the little girl out the door to join the party. Something I suppose I should do as well.
Grabbing another beer from the cooler, I scan the party for Taylor and Scarlett. I’ve not spent much time with them at this party, which isn’t unexpected. I’ve met a few of their friends and discovered that regardless of how Taylor’s sister, Addison, labeled this party, it’s less about welcoming a new baby but more about welcoming Scarlett into her new life with Taylor here in Lexington. That realization makes me happy and filled with relief that she’ll be okay. They’ll be okay.
A few people move out of my line of vision, and I see the guests of honor standing together with Nicholas strapped to Taylor’s chest. Watching them together taps into a piece of my psyche that is best kept hidden. This is my life. Best friend and honorary uncle to a little boy who sleeps through parties in his honor.
Walking up to the couple, I smile as my gaze moves to Nicholas. Nestled in a fabric papoose attached to the front of Taylor he appears to be sleeping. As I approach them, both Scarlett and Taylor turn to look at me. Huge smiles appear on both of their faces. The look is almost . . . creepy. Calculated. Planned.
As I gently run my hand over Nick’s little bald head, Scarlett makes a weird sound, drawing my attention to the couple.
“Grant, we wanted to ask if you would be Nick’s godfather,” Tay
lor says, a serious expression on his face. He’s all business and I know how important this moment is to both of them.
Looking down at Nick, his words linger in the air between us. Emotions wash through me. As my eyes move up to bounce between both Scarlett and Taylor, I smile and say to Scarlett, “Are you sure, Red?”
“Positive. He has a daddy in heaven and a daddy in life,” she pauses with a look to Taylor and then back to me. “But he also needs a godfather.”
“I would be honored.” I’m quick to respond so the overwhelming feelings I have don’t make themselves known.
Scooping Scarlett up into a huge hug, I thank her for honoring me with the title. Something that is easily the greatest honor of my life. Of course, she reminds me that this means I’ll be spending a lot of time in Lexington. We all know I’ll take this honor seriously and won’t miss a single milestone of Nick’s life.
What my friends don’t know is that I’ve been wondering what I’ll do with the next phase of my life. Now that Scarlett is starting her future with Taylor here in Lexington, and Connor began working at Taylor’s bar, Country Road, there’s nothing keeping me from relocating myself.
“Know any realtors? It may be time for me to put down some roots.”
I thought my question would startle them both. Instead, a smirk appears on Taylor’s face as he says, “As a matter of fact, I do.”
I don’t hear the rest of his words because the beauty I saw earlier is beckoned and starts toward our little group.
Dakota
“Stealthy” is not my middle name. Far from it. Perhaps Dakota “Too Obvious” Jennings is a better choice. I thought I was good at hiding the glimpses I took at the handsome stranger talking to Taylor, but my younger sister crushed those dreams.
“You should talk to him.”
Rolling my eyes, I do my best to avoid looking at him again but fail. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Dakota, it’s a good thing to be interested in someone. Besides, he’s hot. If I weren’t hopelessly obsessed with Owen, I might just push you out of the way to talk to him.”
Startled by her proclamation, I spin to look at her. The smirk on her face and quirked brow confirm I’m busted and she’s a little too smug.
“Cocky isn’t a good look on you, Minnie.”
“I’m serious, Sissy. You told me your therapist has encouraged you to at least consider dating. Why haven’t you pulled the trigger? Aren’t you—” She pauses and looks around before leaning toward me, whispering, “horny?”
Barking out a laugh, I smack her arm. If I give it a lot of thought, it isn’t horniness I suffer from, it’s loneliness. I miss the comfort of another person. I miss inside jokes and snuggling on the couch. Intimacy would be nice but it’s sharing a life with a partner I long for. I’m saved from having to give her a response when I hear my name called from across the lawn. Turning my attention toward the sound, I spot the only person to catch my eye in years standing with Scarlett and a baby-clad Taylor. All three are looking at me when Scarlett motions for me to join them.
“Oh lookee, you don’t have to make the first move. Go on. I’ll keep an eye on the girls.”
With a slight shove by my sister, I walk toward the trio. Smiling, I approach them as my heart picks up its pace. It’s been a long time since a man has made my heart feel like I just ran a mile. More than a decade in fact.
“What’s up?” I ask in greeting.
“Dakota Jennings, this is our good friend and Nick’s godfather, Grant Ellison. Grant, Dakota.” Grant offers me his hand and I slip my palm onto his.
“Hello.” My voice is breathy, and I can only hope it goes unnoticed by the rest of the group. Unfortunately, Grant is slow to release my hand and that can only mean he heard it too.
“Grant is considering moving to Lexington and is looking for a realtor.”
Reaching into the back pocket of my shorts, I put on my most professional and kind smile before presenting my business card.
Laughing Grant says, “Wow, what else do you have in those pockets?”
“There may be a cookie or hair tie. You never really know,” I retort with a shrug.
“Ahh, beauty and wit. Tell me, are you always this prepared for prospective clients?”
“What? Oh! No, my sister just gave that to me. She designed it and brought it to me for approval. I actually just got my license, so you’d be my first.”
I did not just say that. I did. I can feel the heat of my embarrassment all over my face. This is why I cannot be encouraged to re-enter the dating world. I’m horrible at small talk with a prospective client.
“Well, I’ve never bought one, so you’d be my first too.” Holding my gaze, he smiles, and I swear I swoon. Not like a teenager but pretty darn close. What is happening to me? I need to get a handle on this. I blame my sister. If she hadn’t planted the seed, I wouldn’t be thinking . . .
“We are still talking about houses, right guys?” Taylor asks but neither of us break eye contact and only respond, “Yep.”
“So, Dakota Jennings, what are the chances of me finding a place in Lexington?”
Okay we’re back to business. Slipping my hands into my back pockets, I take in a deep breath and exhale. When his eyes dart to my chest I realize the movement is really me thrusting my chest toward him. Can I not catch a break? Removing my hands from the pockets, I stand awkwardly, crossing and uncrossing my arms.
“It would depend on what you’re interested in. Is there a Mrs. Ellison with a list of preferences?”
A slow smile appears across his face as he replies, “No Mrs. Ellison. Will Mr. Jennings be looking to kick my ass at my horrible attempt at flirting?”
The smile I was returning drops, a weight of guilt crushing me. Slowly I shake my head and look off to where my girls are running around chasing one another.
“I need to check on my children. My number and email are on the card. Please, feel free to give me a call when you’re ready to start looking.”
Rushing away from him, I detour from where the girls are and into the house. I just need a minute to catch my bearings. To reconcile my feelings and remind myself this is part of the process of moving on. It’s okay to want to try and love again. Jeff would want that for me. For us. He’d want me to let someone into our lives. I’m just not sure I agree.
Chapter 1
Grant
Three months later . . .
I’ve been told for years that the nights are the hardest. The vast darkness wrapping itself around you like a vice, choking you as memories flood your mind. An overwhelming blanket of emotional pain holding you down as you claw your way to the surface.
While I’ve experienced each of those emotions more nights than I’d care to admit, it’s the mornings that are the hardest for me. The hours before sunrise when I’m alone. Not only in my thoughts but in life. The reality of who I am, or better yet who I am not, sitting before me.
My entire adult life has been focused on my career and serving my country. I never once wavered in my decision to join the Army. Never once looked back as I fought for decades alongside men I respected and considered my family.
That is, until four years ago when I received the call that my mother had passed. A single call that broke me in a way nothing else had. Reality hit me like a freight train.
I was alone.
An only child of parents who too were only children, I suddenly found myself without a single person in the world related to me by blood. The fact wasn’t new, yet it overwhelmed me just the same. Can you be considered an orphan at thirty-nine? There must be another term for an adult whose parents have both passed. Who has no living relatives to speak of.
Regardless of the title or term appropriate for my newly found status, I began to question where I was headed in my life. For twenty years I’d sacrificed a lot. Not only time with my parents but living a life for myself in a way that fueled a fire inside me. As a leader and mentor to other soldiers, I kne
w it was the path I was meant to take. That was before. Before the call about my mother. Unexpected and without warning she was gone; my entire world blew up like the IEDs I avoided in combat.
Her voice was ever present in my thoughts as I took leave to tend to her arrangements. Sorting through her belongings and the photos of our small family through the years sparked something in me. I wanted more. I needed more.
The gurgle of the coffee pot as it sputters the last drops into the carafe draws my attention from the silence, and I rise from the table to pull my travel mug from the dish drainer. A spoonful of sugar and a splash of creamer later, I lift the cup to my lips. Eyes lifting over the rim, I spy the time on the clock and know I have enough time to shower before heading to The Mess Hall for breakfast.
Padding my way out of the kitchen, I make my way to the bathroom and start the shower. The old pipes groan in protest before the cold water begins to warm. It isn’t lost on me that I make a similar sound when my own body resists movement. Years of pushing it to limits most people couldn’t handle, I’m paying the price now. Three years after my mother’s passing and two since I left the military, some days my knees and back make me think I’m approaching my seventieth birthday instead of my forty-third.
Slipping out of my sleep pants, I step under the stream of scalding water, letting the drops pound against my shoulders. The beat is welcome, and I stand there long enough that the water begins to cool ever so slightly. Rushing through the rest of the shower, I hear the shrill of my phone alarm. I still don’t know why I insist on setting an alarm, rising early is ingrained in my body composition; I’d worry if I slept until dawn.
Wrapping a towel around my waist, I enter my bedroom and locate the phone, tapping off the alarm. My shower was longer than I expected but a notification of a text message surprises me more than anything. Tapping the icon, I open the message from my good friend, Taylor Cain.
The smile that covers my face is instant when I take in the picture that populates. A gummy smile on my godson, Nicholas. While I’m overjoyed with the family Taylor and Scarlett have created, I feel like I’m missing out on time with my godson. A little boy who suffered through more than most, long before he was born. I should be there with him to tell him stories of his parents, to create memories, and to sneak him candy whenever he wants it.
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