Heart of a Marine (The Wounded Warrior Series Book 1)

by Patty Campbell

  Donovan strolled to the pool’s edge. He smiled at the woman and went down on his haunches. “My big brother is showing off for the kids again, I see.” He picked up the boy and handed him to his mom then shoved Dwayne into the pool. “I’ll see if I can drown him for you.” He jumped in.

  When Dwayne’s head surfaced, he shook the water out of his eyes and pounced on Donovan. Marla was afraid they’d have to call the lifeguard to save both of them at this rate. She scooched back from the edge. The last thing she wanted was to be in the middle of their splashing and horsing around. Let them drown each other. Men! Did they ever grow up?

  Charlene stood next to her. “Is your Dempsey trying to kill my Dempsey?”

  “Can’t tell who’s ahead yet. Let’s go to the bar and get a Bloody Mary. We’ll come back and claim the bodies later.” She picked up the hat from the lounge and wrapped her sarong around her hips.

  Char lowered her sunglasses and made squinty-eyes. “Starting early aren’t we? Who are you and where is my sister?”

  Half an hour later, the two dripping men joined them at the poolside bar. Once they got the shoving out of the way, they squeezed onto barstools between her and Char.

  Charlene made goo-goo eyes at Donovan. “Did big bad Dwayne hurt you, sweetie?”

  Donovan laid a kiss on her. “Nah.” He signaled the bartender. “A Corona and a Dr. Pepper over here when you get a chance.” He kissed her again. “You already on the hard stuff?”

  Marla giggled when Charlene replied, “Don’t worry, we won’t drink enough for you two cavemen to take advantage of us.”

  She leaned into Dwayne’s wet shoulder. “Speak for yourself, Char.” She wrinkled her nose when he poured the Dr. Pepper into his ice-filled glass. “Did you hold your own in the pool?”

  “Donovan can beat me in a foot race, but he’s no match for me in a swimming competition.” He reached across Charlene and smacked him on the head. “Right?”

  Donovan picked up his beer bottle and raised it in a salute. “Right.”

  And that’s the way the weekend went.

  Marla wondered about all the fun she’d been missing over the years. She peered at her sister through different eyes. Maybe Char was on to something.

  * * *

  Dwayne and Marla stepped off the train mid-day on Monday. Charlene stayed in San Diego for a couple of more days.

  On the drive from Simi to Spring Grove Marla asked him, “Do you think your brother will deploy to the Middle East again?”

  “I doubt it. If he re-ups, he’ll probably go to K-Bay on Oahu. He’d like to be a drill sergeant. He’d be good at it.”

  “How long would he be there?”

  “Until they send him somewhere else. When you’re a Marine you go where they tell you.” He’d probably still be in if it wasn’t for the RPG that nearly killed him and Cluny. “He has a few months to decide.”

  Marla was quiet for a few moments then said, “Do you miss the military? Do you ever wish you were still on active duty?”

  “Sometimes, but I’ve got different responsibilities now. Life has a funny way of playing dirty tricks. Sometimes the dirty tricks have a silver lining.”

  Marla nodded. “Amber.”

  “Exactly.”

  That one word told her all she needed to know about his priorities.

  They drove to the condos. “I’ve got to grab the paperwork and get to my appointment with the storage facility owner. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to take you home.”

  “I’ll ask Cluny or one of the other men to drop me off.”

  “See if Cluny has time. My guys are on the clock. We’re heading down the home stretch and they can see bonuses on the horizon.”

  “Oh, I forgot about that. Silly me. I’ve had this persistent distraction for the past three days.”

  “Hmm, wonder what that’s all about.” He gave her a quick kiss.

  “Stop that! Somebody might see you.”

  “I checked. Nobody’s around.”

  They stepped down from his truck and entered the trailer. Cluny had the phone to his ear but nodded his acknowledgement.

  Dwayne took the storage facility blueprints and file and immediately headed for the door. He leaned to whisper in her ear, “I’ll cook tonight. Come over about seven.”

  “I can’t. I promised Rosie we’d go to dinner and a movie tonight. Can I come over after?”

  “You have to ask?” He winked and, with a nod to Cluny, left.

  She got a cup of water, sat across from Cluny, and waited for him to get off the phone.

  He smiled and hung up. “Hey, looks like you got some sun. How was Coronado?”

  She returned his smile. “Beautiful. We had a good time. The hotel is fantastic. Charlene and Donovan still have today and tomorrow to enjoy it. I need a ride home. Do you have time to take me?”

  He pressed his lips together and took a breath through his nose. “No, sorry. I’m on my way to put out a small fire for a customer in the opposite direction. That’s who I was on the phone with. I can ask one of Gunny’s guys to take you, or if you can wait for an hour, I’m happy to do it.”

  “I can wait. No problem. I’ll answer the phone and do some paperwork while I’m here.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. Go on.” She rose to let him pass then sat in the chair he’d just vacated.

  “OK, thanks. My cell number is programmed into the phone if you need to call me.”

  “Take your time. I’ve got enough to keep me busy.” She waved as he went out the door then picked up the phone to call Rosie and confirm their girlfriend date.

  “That movie was hilarious,” Rosie said. “Pete and I’ll enjoy getting out more often. There’s no such thing as a sixteen screen stadium cinema in Buffalo. We have one small movie house that shows two movies a week.”

  “How did you like the Mexican restaurant?”

  “I loved it. We do have a couple in Buffalo, but when I told you coming here was like the big city for us, I wasn’t kidding.”

  “It’s interesting to see my home town through your eyes. I’d love to see where you came from.”

  “We’ll have to make it happen then.”

  “I don’t see how.”

  “Really? Your family and the Dempseys go back a long way. I’m surprised you haven’t visited that part of Wyoming before now.”

  “The Danahers and Dempseys do have history, but it’s complicated. In any case, I hardly remember Dwayne’s mother. She went home to her family’s ranch when I was about twelve. I doubt she remembers me. My mother was very jealous of her.”

  “What was that all about?”

  Should she tell her? “Um, OK, I’ll tell you, but I’m invoking the girlfriend ground rules.”

  Rosie waved her hand. “Goes without saying.”

  Marla proceeded to tell Rosie the tale of her parents and John Dempsey. “Our dads, known as the Double D’s, have been friends since the Stone Age, even when they were both in love with my mother, Silvia.”

  “That is complicated.”

  “Yes, well when John fell for Kathleen Burwell and dumped Mom, Dad jumped in to pick up the pieces and she married him.”

  Rosie’s mystified expression told her she needed further explanation. “It’s not like Silvia didn’t love my dad. It’s just that she thought she was ‘in love’ with Uncle Johnny.”

  “Uncle Johnny?”

  “That’s what the four of us kids have always called him. Sounds incestuous, doesn’t it?”

  Rosie chuckled. “Well, if John were your uncle, I’d have to look askance at your relationship with Dwayne. What? Don’t look at me like that. Dylan told me.”

  Was it front-page news? Marla groaned and came to a standstill. “I need ice cream.”

  “Great. I’m in.”

  They sat at a table outside ice cream store. It was cool but still nice enough to enjoy the outdoors. Marla decided to admit what Rosie and everyone else seemed to know.

  “Dwa
yne and I, we’re…seeing each other.”

  “Mm hm.” Rosie picked a big chunk of Butterfinger out of her ice cream cup but said nothing else.

  “Say something!”

  “You having fun?” When Marla just stared, Rosie added, “You want out of it?”

  “Yes to the first question, no to the second, but I doubt it will last long.” At the thought of breaking up with Dwayne, her heart squeezed painfully.

  “Won’t last long? Why? You and Dwayne should be good for each other.”

  “He has other priorities.”

  “And those would be?”

  “Amber is his number one priority, and she should be. He has a business to run, a payroll to meet, and responsibilities to his mother and the ranch. I’m way down on his list.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Do you think Dwayne can only sing in one key? We all balance dozens of balls in the air. Sometimes one thing takes precedence over another, but we manage, don’t we? Having a partner is high on the scale of what’s important.”

  Yes, Rosie was right, but she wasn’t sure it was high on Dwayne’s list.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Marla rolled over and watched Dwayne as he slept. She felt as relaxed and contented as he looked. Stealthily, she lifted the sheet and rose on her elbow. She stared at his naked body, appreciating every muscle definition, every hair, the rise and fall of his chest, the way he smelled.

  He threw off the sheet. “Do I pass inspection?”

  Startled, she screeched and fell back on her pillow. “One of these days you’re going to give me a heart attack!” Pounding his shoulder she said, “I thought you were asleep.”

  “You can look anytime you want to, Danaher. You don’t have to peek at me when I’m sleeping.” He crawled on top of her and kissed her neck, ear, and lips. “I like looking at you too.”

  Marla wrapped her legs around him. His quick arousal excited her every time. “Get off me then and have a look.”

  “I’m busy right now.” He raised himself on his elbows, stared into her eyes and rocked against her. “How about you?”

  By way of an answer, she tugged his head down for another kiss and pushed her hips into his. “You’re insatiable.”

  “Me?” He chuckled, slipped inside her, and drove her passion several degrees higher. “It’s not me, honey, it’s us.”

  Marveling at how she’d lived to the ripe old age of twenty-seven and was just now discovering her deep needs and desires, she lost herself in him. Lighter than a cloud, her climax took flight and left her breathless. She clung to him, not wanting him to stop.

  It’s us.

  * * *

  Dwayne gasped, heart pounding against her breast. “You good?” He brushed his lips against her cheek and tasted tears.

  Startled, he raised his head. “Did I hurt you?”

  Marla rolled her head on the pillow and touched his cheek. “You moved me, Dempsey.” Another tear trickled down her face. She tightened her grip around his waist. “Don’t go yet.”

  What was happening between him and this woman? He’d never thought it possible to be so in sync with someone. So consumed to the point he was unable to think of anything beyond making love to her. Now. Today. Tonight. Tomorrow. The next day. Forever.

  He’d thought Donovan was a goner? He’d been so driven with his desire to get Marla into bed he hadn’t noticed he was nearly drowning in her. You moved me, she’d said. No, it was definitely the other way around.

  He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m falling for you, Danaher.” To his shock, she went still and let her arms drop on the bed. He waited a second then looked into her eyes. Her flat expression staggered him like a slap in the face.

  She moved beneath him. “I have to go. Let me up.”

  What a fool. They weren’t anywhere near on the same page. Why hadn’t he kept his big mouth shut?

  He rolled to his side and pulled the sheet up to his shoulders. “No problem.”

  “Dwayne.”

  He shrugged off her hand. “I said no problem. You have to go. So go.”

  In less than five minutes, she was gone. A cold, sick feeling gripped his gut when he heard the sound of her car engine recede down the street. Paralysis took root in his body and mind.

  What went wrong?

  * * *

  Marla drove to her parent’s home, realized it was too early to pick up Skipper, and kept going. Without realizing how she’d got there, she found herself in Charlene’s parking spot at the building where they’d briefly shared an apartment years before. She still had a key.

  The empty apartment was eerily quiet, dark, and cold with the drapes drawn. She moved to the first window, pulled the wand, and let the morning sun streak across the living room. Without letting go, she pulled them closed again, and lay on her side on Char’s new chintz upholstered couch. Her knees drawn to her waist, she choked on a sob.

  She should have been flying high with happiness, but instead she wallowed in grief and let the tears fall. She’d known going in, she was opening herself to a shattered heart. Like a self-fulfilling prophesy, she’d brought it to a head by walking out on him when he’d said, in the heat of their passion, I’m falling for you.

  What was she to do? She couldn’t possibly face him again. The building project was nearly finished, but she’d have to do a final inspection and pay him.

  Shocked when the door opened, she leaped up from the sofa and faced the door, knees wobbling, heart pounding.

  Her mother’s voice called, “Marla? Are you here? I saw your car downstairs.”

  “Mom?” She ran to Silvia and threw her arms around her. The floodgates opened.

  “Marla, sweetheart, what is it?” Silvia clung to her and patted her back. “Talk to me. What’s happened?” She edged them to the sofa and pulled her down beside her.

  Marla sobbed, inconsolable, unable to speak. She’d never been so glad to see her mother in her whole life. She leaned into her and dropped her head in Silvia’s lap.

  Her mom rubbed her arm and stroked her hair. “Take your time. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Marla placed her hand on top of her mother’s. “I love you, Mom.”

  “I know, honey. I love you too, with all my heart.” Her words started the waterworks flowing again. “Shh, all will be well.”

  After a while, Silvia murmured, “It’s Dwayne Dempsey, isn’t it?”

  “How did you know?” Marla rubbed tears and snot off her face with the sleeve of her blouse, not caring how gross it must look.

  “Your father told me you were interested in him and wary of getting involved.” She sighed. “I’m sorry the Dempsey curse has roped in both my daughters. They’re heartbreakers, every one of those magnificent bastards! What did he do to you? I’ll kill him.”

  Marla shook her head and giggled. “Thanks, Mom. I needed that. I’m a mess.”

  “Did he make love to you then walk out like a total shit heel?”

  Was this her mother? The woman she so condescendingly called Silly Silvia? Shame descended on her with a sickening thud.

  “No. I walked out on him like a total shit heel.”

  Silvia stood and went to the window. “Let’s get some light in this dungeon.” She swept back the drapes and Marla covered her eyes in the glaring light, squinting at her mother.

  “Oh, my darling. You look like you’ve been to hell and back. I’m sure he deserved it. What did that Dempsey devil say to you?”

  “He said he was falling for me.”

  “He…my word, that was a nasty thing to say, wasn’t it?” She took Marla’s shoulders and turned her so they were face to face. “Oh my, you’re in love with him.”

  Marla sucked in a sob and nodded. “Mom?” She took a breath. “Mom, were you in love with Uncle Johnny?”

  With an abject sigh, Silvia nodded. “Completely.”

  “But…what about…”

  “…your father? Bradley Danaher is the most wonderful man in the world. When John w
alked out on me, he was there to mend my broken heart. I can’t explain to you how much I love Brad. He has never once thrown John up to me. I don’t deserve him.”

  “Oh, Mom, you do. Dad’s crazy for you. He said the day John eloped with Kathleen was the luckiest day of his life.”

  “Did he? Such a dear man. He tells me I’m his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but I had no idea he shared his feelings with you. I can’t imagine living without Brad. He never complains about the money I spend, some of the silly things I do and say, but he did lay down the law about John’s wife. Told me it was time to snap out of it. He was right, you know. She’s a lovely person.”

  “Even though she married Uncle Johnny?”

  “You know something, honey? Not once did John Dempsey ever tell me that he loved me or that he was ‘falling’ for me. It was wishful thinking on my part. We were together, but in his mind we were merely pals with benefits. Very hot benefits.” She pointed her finger in Marla’s face. “That is not for publication.”

  Marla smiled and pretended to lock her lips and throw away the key.

  They took a few moments of exchanging loving looks and Marla hugged her mother with new appreciation. “What should I do, Mom?”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “Why do people always say that when you ask for advice?”

  “Because it’s the right thing to say. You must do what you think is best for yourself, not what someone else thinks is best. What do you want to do?”

  Marla put her hands on her cheeks. “I want to get in my car, drive straight back to his house, get down on my knees, and beg him to forgive me and forget what I said.”

  “That’s a bit drastic but can easily be modified.” She sat back against the cushions, crossed her legs, and bounced her foot just the way Charlene often did. She tapped a finger on her chin.

  “How about this? Go home, shower, change clothes, then find him and suggest you go out for coffee and talk it over.”

  “Finally, some advice I can use.” She kissed her mother, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door.