A Soldier's Pledge

by Nadia Nichols

  Jack felt Ky’s body press against his leg and rested one hand on top of her head. He felt more tired and discouraged than he ever had. These weren’t the words he wanted to hear from her.

  “I’m heading back to Montana first thing tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll be taking Ky with me.”

  “Oh. Okay. I just thought I’d offer, that’s all.”

  She turned away from him abruptly, set the pup on the floor and began rummaging in the box of groceries. She opened a can of dog food, mixed half of it with some milk and a few kibbles in a metal pie pan, then set it on the floor and watched Lobo immerse his muzzle and front paws in the pan as he ate with sloppy enthusiasm. She poured some kibble into another pot, added another can of dog food to it, mixed it up with a little water and put it on the floor in front of Ky. She filled a third cooking pan with water and added it to the canine collection at her feet.

  Only when Ky and Lobo were eating did she look at Jack. “I’m glad you’re taking your sister back home. That’s nice of you.”

  “She’s flying, I’m driving. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

  Cameron shrugged. “Not a problem. I just wanted you to know that if you needed someone to watch your dog, I’m available.”

  Her words stung. He pulled the envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Lori asked me to give this to you.”

  She took the brown manila envelope, lifted it up and down as if hefting the weight of it. “My bounty money.”

  “None of that belongs to Fred Andrew. I heard you offer your reward money to him in exchange for Ky, so he could buy a good lead dog, and I really appreciate you making that offer, but I gave him a fair amount of money while you were packing up your things at his place. That money from my sister is yours to keep.”

  “I don’t want it.” She held it out to him. “Put it toward your niece or nephew’s college fund.”

  “You earned it, and then some. It’s yours, and don’t feel guilty about it, either. My sister hired you. She wanted you to have that money, and she and her husband are very well-off, in spite of what she might have told you. So go ahead and buy that red Jeep.”

  They stared at each other for another awkward moment. Cameron’s eyes dropped to the envelope of money in her hands. “You better take the first shower. The hot-water heater doesn’t work very well.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CAMERON TOOK LOBO out into the fenced yard, then balanced precariously on the plastic lawn chair with the broken leg and struggled to breathe past the crushing pain in her chest. She’d just handed Jack every opportunity to tell her he didn’t want to go back to Afghanistan, but he’d said nothing. Instead, he’d told her he was leaving for Montana in the morning and didn’t know when he’d be back. And then he’d handed her the bounty money from his sister and said he’d paid Fred for Ky. His duty to her had been discharged. He was free and clear.

  Lobo wandered about her feet in his determined puppy stagger, did his duty and then chewed with great determination on her boot laces. She heaved a heavy sigh and looked down at him through a shimmer of tears.

  “He’s killing me, but I can’t let him know it,” she told the pup. “I have to be strong.”

  Lobo was young and fat and healthy, but Ky’s experience in the wilds had transformed her. Her ribs showed. Her scars showed. She looked like she’d been through hell. She needed lots of TLC, and she needed it from Jack. Nobody else could take his place. If he went back to Afghanistan, Ky would waste away. He had to know that. That poor dog hadn’t even let him go into the bathroom to take his shower without trying to claw the door open in a panic. In the end he had to take her inside with him, leaving Cameron to listen to the sound of running water and feel jealous of a dog.

  Cameron sat up straighter. She drew a deep breath and let it out very slowly. Jack couldn’t go. He wouldn’t. No matter how much he wanted to, no matter how much he thought he had to return to active duty to prove himself, he’d have to stay. After all he’d gone through to find his dog, he couldn’t abandon her again. He’d said he was going to Montana, not Afghanistan, and he was taking Ky with him. He was abandoning her, not his dog, but at least he wasn’t going back there again to be shot at or blown up and maybe killed. She should be grateful for that.

  Cameron pulled the envelope containing the money out of her jacket pocket. She opened it, counted the hundred-dollar bills, all fifty of them, all in US currency. And there were three extra, a bit of a bonus even though she hadn’t really earned it. Five thousand, three hundred US dollars in bounty money didn’t take up much space. She tucked the bills back into the envelope, tucked the envelope back inside her jacket pocket and wiped the tears from her eyes. This money was supposed to have changed her life for the better. Instead, it made her feel like a cheap mercenary. It would have felt so much better to have given it all to Fred Andrew.

  As for Johnny Allen’s red Jeep, she couldn’t care less.

  * * *

  WHEN JACK OPENED the bathroom door, the smell of food cooking made his stomach growl. Cameron was in the little kitchen, browning a package of stew beef in a cast-iron pan full of caramelized onions. She turned around when he came into the kitchen, spatula in hand, and her eyes widened. “You shaved!”

  “Good or bad?”

  Her head tilted slightly to one side as she appraised him. “You look very handsome.”

  He grinned. “What’s cooking?”

  “Moose chili. I ran into Tucker Gordon at the store when I was buying the dog food, and he insisted I take a package of his moose meat, since the store refused to sell it for him. I’m sure he shot it out of season, and it’s illegal for the store to sell wild meat, but Tuck needed the money to buy some liquor. He’s an alcoholic, and he was really suffering, so I bought it from him. Why don’t you open the bottle of wine? If this is our last night together, let’s make it a memorable one. Good meal, good wine, good company.”

  He opened the bottle of wine. “I can take over with the cooking if you want to take a shower,” he said.

  “It’ll take at least half an hour for the water to heat back up. I’ll get the chili put together, and it can simmer while I get cleaned up.” She flashed him a smile. “Lobo’s already gotten attached to Ky. He was wanting to get into the bathroom while the two of you were in there. Look at them cuddling together. Lucky for us they like each other.”

  “They’re both half wild. Maybe that’s the bond between them,” Jack said.

  “Or maybe it’s because they were both abandoned.”

  There it was again. She drew that word like a gun.

  “I’m not abandoning you, Cameron.”

  “I didn’t say you were,” she said, busily stirring the moose meat. “I was referring to the dogs. Why don’t you pour the wine?”

  He poured into the two glasses she’d set on the counter, still trying to fathom her mood. “I’m not abandoning you,” he repeated. “You think I’m running off to Montana and that’s it, that’s the end of us, but that’s not the way it’s going to be.”

  She turned to face him. “Jack, you can do whatever you want. I don’t own you. You want to go, go.”

  “Do you want me to go?”

  She didn’t hesitate for long.

  “No,” she replied. “I don’t want you to go back to Afghanistan, and I can’t imagine why you’d want to go back there after what happened to you, and I don’t want you to go to Montana, even though I know you have to. I want you to stay right here with me. But look at this place.” She swept her arm out in an all encompassing gesture. “This is my life. I can’t ask you to stick around here.”

  He ran his fingers through his damp hair, frustrated, wondering how he could make her understand. “A week ago, returning to my unit was all I wanted to do. But now everything’s changed.”

  “What do you want
to do now?” Cameron asked, turning back to the stove and focusing on the browning of the moose meat as if it was the most important thing in the world to her.

  “I want to see if we can work things out between us,” Jack said. “I want to see if we can manage something more than a clean break. What do you want?”

  Her shoulders stiffened as he spoke. She stopped stirring the meat and turned to look at him, her dark eyes turbulent with emotion. “I want the same thing,” she said. She was so beautiful, the way she was looking at him, standing there in her soiled and shredded trail clothes, covered with cuts and bruises, holding the spatula. He thought she was the most beautiful woman on the entire planet. Hell, he knew she was. He crossed to her, took her face in his hands and kissed her very gently on the lips.

  “Then we’ll make it happen,” he promised. “But first I have to go to Montana. I’m not abandoning you, Cameron. Turns out you were right about my mother. She’s really sick. I need to go see her, and I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

  * * *

  CAMERON SUFFERED A new kind of pain while standing in the lukewarm shower. She’d almost gotten used to living with the pain, the difficulty breathing, the lack of appetite, the immense loneliness that she knew was going to fill her world as soon as Jack walked out of it. Now he’d turned the tables on her. Instead of wanting to be a pen pal, he’d told her he was coming back. She stood under the shower as the water grew cooler and wanted to believe him, but she knew men said things to women sometimes, things they didn’t mean, in order to avoid unpleasant situations. They said things like “I’ll call you,” and then they never did.

  Jack said he’d be back, but would he, or was he just trying to make their parting easier? And if he came back from Montana, then went back to Afghanistan, what then? Was she supposed to wait and wonder if he’d ever return? What they’d shared together on their wilderness trek had created a special bond between them, but who was she kidding, to think a worldly man like Jack would fall for a backwoods hick like her? He’d go to Montana to visit his mother and he’d call her every night, maybe, then once a week, then from time to time, until she no longer expected to hear from him.

  The End.

  By the time she exited the bathroom, dressed in clean blue jeans and a soft flannel shirt, she had gotten past the pain and panic and forted up inside herself again. She was strong. Whatever happened, she could get through this. She’d lived most of her life without Jack Parker, and she could live without him for the rest of it, if she had to. She wasn’t going to beg and plead, she wasn’t going to be clingy and needy.

  She’d opened all the windows in the house trailer upon their arrival, but it still smelled of mold with strong chili overtones. Had it always been this bad and she just hadn’t noticed? She looked around, seeing the place with fresh eyes. The shabby furniture, the three cardboard boxes stacked in the living room with all her worldly possessions still unpacked. She could only imagine what he must think of anyone who lived like this.

  Jack was standing at the stove, adjusting the gas burner. “That hot water felt good, didn’t it?” he said when she came into the kitchen. “I need to make some phone calls to tell my mother I’m headed home and my sister to let her know I’ll deliver her to the airport tomorrow morning. Her flight leaves at 8:00 a.m. I could get my car at the floatplane base tonight, if you’ll give me a ride over. I left my cell phone in the car.”

  “Of course,” Cameron said, reaching past him to turn off the gas burner under the pot of chili. “We should go right now, before supper.” Truth was, she didn’t want to sit around making awkward small talk with Jack as the clock ticked toward The Big Goodbye. Ten minutes later Ky and Lobo were in the backseat of the SUV, and she was driving Jack to the floatplane base.

  “If you’d rather fly back with your sister, you can leave your car here,” Cameron said. “I could watch Ky for you.” She knew she shouldn’t have suggested that again, but she was moments away from begging and pleading with him not to leave her.

  “My mother wants to see Ky, and I don’t mind driving. She knows I’ll be there in two days. I’ll head south as soon as Lori’s on the plane.”

  “You’ll need to have Ky’s rabies certificate faxed to the border crossing if you don’t have it on you. I’m assuming she’s up to date on shots.”

  “She is. Lori will know the name of the veterinary clinic and I’ll give them a call.”

  Cameron fortified her inner defenses, reminding herself that she was a strong, self-reliant and independent woman. Strong. Self-reliant. Independent. She pulled into the floatplane base and parked next to Walt’s truck. There was another vehicle in front of the office, one she hadn’t seen for a while. She studied it for a moment, puzzled, then felt a jolt of happy surprise.

  “Hey, Jeri’s back! It’s been hell around this place without her,” she told Jack. “She was the brains of the outfit. I’ll run inside and get your car keys. I want to say hi and make sure Walt gives her a big raise.”

  “I’d like to thank your boss before I go,” Jack said, getting out of the vehicle. “Ky’ll be okay for a few minutes. I’ll stay on the porch where she can see me.”

  He was right behind her on the steps when the trailer door opened and Walt stepped onto the porch, pulling the door shut behind him. He looked a little disheveled and not all that happy to see them.

  “Jeri’s back,” he told Cameron. “She’s staying. We’ve talked things over and worked it all out.”

  “That’s great, Walt, I’m really glad for all of us,” Cameron said. “I’d like to say hi and pick up Jack’s car keys. I also need to talk about my extended medical leave.”

  Walt kept his hand on the doorknob, blocking her entrance. “Can’t this wait till morning? We’re right in the middle of a serious discussion.”

  “Oh, for the love of bald-headed consumption, Walt,” a familiar voice came through the door. It opened inward, pulling Walt off balance until he let go of the doorknob. Jeri smiled over Walt’s shoulder. Her hair was mussed, her lipstick was smeared and she was straightening her clothing.

  “Hey, Cameron!” she said, and gave her a big hug. “Good to see you, scars, bruises and all. Holy old boys, you look like you’ve been through hell, both of you, and you must be Jack Parker. I’ve heard all about you. Come on inside, have a cup of coffee. I’ll make a fresh pot.”

  Jack looked over his shoulder at the SUV. “I better wait out here.”

  Cameron pulled him in behind her. “It’ll be okay. Ky’ll be fine for a few minutes.”

  * * *

  “SO,” WALT SAID as Jeri handed the mugs of fresh brewed coffee to Cameron and Jack, who sat side by side on the sofa. “What’s this about an extended medical leave?” He tried to sound nonchalant, but his words didn’t quite come out that way. “You’re one of my best pilots. Where’s that going to leave me? Hunting season’s right around the corner.”

  Cameron was staring at the mug in her hands, breathing in the smell of genuine Jeri-crafted coffee. She smiled with gratitude and raised her eyes to Walt. “I just need a little time off. I’d like to go over to Yukon and see a friend of mine, Minnie Parker. She’s been like a grandmother to me, and she lost her husband awhile ago. You still have Mitch. He can fill in while I’m gone.”

  Walt sat at the desk, in the radio seat. He rubbed his face and looked between Jack and Cameron. “You mean, this extended leave has nothing to do with the two of you running off together?”

  “No,” Cameron said, looking puzzled and a little embarrassed. “Jack’s leaving for Montana in the morning to visit his mother, and I’m driving to Whitehorse to see Minnie. I’ll be gone another week or so, then you’ll have me back full-time.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” Relief flooded through him. “I’m glad to hear it. I was sure you’d be flying off into the sunset with the Lone Ranger. Guess I read you t
wo all wrong.”

  “Let me get this straight,” Jeri said, balancing on the arm of Walt’s chair and draping her arm over his shoulder. “This has nothing to do with taking a medical leave?” Cameron shook her head, and Jeri looked relieved. “Good thing. Walt’s policy expired last week. It’s going to take me some fancy finagling to get him back in the insurance company’s good graces. There’s lots of stuff that needs fixing around here. It’ll take me a month or so to get things back in order. Take your time, Cameron. You could use a long vacation, from the looks of you. You both could. Walt told me what you’ve been through.” She gave Jack a shrewd appraisal. “So you’re heading south tomorrow. Montana’s a long haul.”

  “Not that far, and it’s all downhill,” Jack said.

  Jeri laughed, but she’d gotten that scheming look that always put Walt on guard. “Walt tells me you’re in the army?”

  “That’s right, but I’ve decided on a change of careers. I’ll be getting out on a medical discharge.”

  “What will you do then?”

  Walt was disgruntled at Jeri’s line of questioning. Who cared what the Lone Ranger was going to do with his life? He had Cameron back. That’s all that mattered. And he didn’t like the way Cameron was looking at Jack just now, like he’d just given her a giant diamond or something.

  “I guess that’s up to Cameron,” Jack said. Walt glared. This was getting out of hand. “I’d like another cup of your coffee, Jeri,” he said. “Anybody else want a refill?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Cameron asked, looking at Jack.

  “I said I’d come back here and I meant it.”

  “Oh,” Jeri said. Now she was wearing that dreamy, romantic look. “Guess you weren’t wrong about them after all, huh, Walt?” She prodded him with her elbow. “Seems to me your drive to Montana would be easier with some company, Jack. Cameron should go along with you, meet the rest of your family. Then maybe the two of you can head north again, go over to Yukon and visit with her Grandma Minnie.”