by Tess Summers
“It’s an amazing gift. Thank you.” It became even more treasured after Colonel Glenn died.
The kiss he gave her started out chaste enough, but as usual when it came to her, it quickly heated up and next thing he knew, he was lying on top of her on the couch, pushing his erection against her jeans.
“Sorry,” he said with a sheepish smile as he sat up. “You tend to have that effect on me.”
“I know. It’s so one-sided too,” she teased.
Ron picked up the pink gift bag from the table and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up and she theatrically pulled out the envelope first. He hadn’t added anything further to the card, other than his signature. He had considered it, but thought the words Hallmark provided were enough. After reading her personal note on his, he was wishing he had added something after all.
She took her time reading the message in the card, and when she finished, she looked over at him with a serious expression.
“Thank you,” she whispered, then kissed his cheek.
“Open your present.”
She pulled out the jeweler’s box with a dubious smile, then slowly opened the lid with a gasp.
“Ron, it’s beautiful,” she said as she lifted the bracelet and examined it in the light.
“I thought it was breathtaking, like you,” he replied as he took it from her and fastened the clasp around her wrist.
She kept staring at it. The colors glittering under the lights.
“It reminded me of the sea glass you like to collect, so I hoped you’d like it.”
“Babe, it’s perfect.”
Good. It would go great with the red lingerie she opened earlier. She should probably go try that on now. He only had so much will power.
She crawled up his body and pushed him back against the couch cushions, her tiny frame sprawled across his. Sucking on his lips, she eased her way down his neck, then his throat, and up the other side of his neck before back to his mouth.
“Thank you for the best Valentine’s Day ever,” she murmured against his lips.
Rolling over so she was underneath him again, he growled, “Oh, we’re not done yet.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Brenna
The next morning, Brenna had just dropped to her knees after their playful shower romp when she heard the dreaded ring tone on his phone. With his cock in her hand and her mouth inches from his balls, she glowered her eyes at him when he apologetically looked over at his phone on the nightstand.
“Don’t you dare,” she snarled.
“Darlin’, I have to.”
He grabbed the towel at his feet that she had just tugged off him and wrapped it back around his waist as he walked over and picked up phone that was insistently ringing.
More like mocking her.
She sighed, sitting back on her heels and watching him retreat to the balcony. She had known the call would be coming; she was actually surprised it had taken this long. But the fact that he answered it while his dick was in her hand–literally–left her with no doubt where she ranked in his life.
He came back in and offered her his hand to help her to her feet.
“Any chance you could come with me back to my place? I’ve got to get ready to go, but if I pack fast, I should have a little free time before I have to be on base. Can you get an Uber back so you can ride with me?”
She was pouting at his rejection of her and almost told him no to be spiteful. But then she realized she didn’t want him leaving for who-knows-how-long on a bad note, so she swallowed her pride and agreed. She hadn’t had to do that since Danny was alive, and it left her with a bitter taste in her mouth.
So she still sulked on the ride to his house.
Running his fingers through his hair in frustration, he sighed when he glanced at her while changing lanes.
“Sugar, you knew I was going to have to go at any time. I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
She turned and gave him an incredulous look.
“Are you serious? You don’t understand why I’m upset? I was on my knees about to suck your cock and you took a phone call. Do you have any idea how undesirable that makes me feel?”
“You know that had nothing to do with how much I desire you. Or how much I care about you.”
“Why would I know that?”
Ron remained quiet so she continued. “What if the roles had been reversed? Would you have answered the phone while your head was between my legs?”
She hoped that analogy helped make her point.
The point was moot when he replied wearily, “Yes.”
She sat there in stunned silence. That was not the answer she was expecting.
They pulled into his garage, and it took every fiber of her being to get out of the truck when he came round to her side and held out his hand to help her down.
He closed the door and pinned her against the black steel of the truck, leaning his palms flat on either side of her and moving his face inches from hers.
“This is part of my job, Brenna. People’s lives depend on me answering the phone.”
Honestly, she thought he was being a little melodramatic. The fact that she came to his house with him seemed to prove that.
“You have time now, what would the difference have been if you’d waited until we finished and called them back?”
“Because I don’t know how much time I have until after I answer the phone, darlin’.”
Oh. She hadn’t thought about that.
She looked away, trying to create some distance between her mouth and his.
“Can you at least tell me where you’re going? Do you know how long you’ll be gone this time?”
Frowning, he shook his head slowly and stood up taller, taking the weight off his palms.
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I don’t know how long this time.”
Brenna avoided his stare as tears stung her eyes. She was feeling vulnerable, and didn’t like it one bit. Bad memories of how secretive Danny always was came flooding back to her, but she knew better than to verbalize the comparison out loud to him.
“I have an hour before I have to leave,” he said as he brushed the hair on her forehead with his fingertips. “I’d really rather not waste it arguing, with you mad at me.”
He was right, of course. The threat of him not returning, the possibility that this could be the last time she saw him, and they spent it in a tiff was in the forefront of her mind. She couldn’t let him leave with her angry. She needed to pull it together.
She offered an apologetic smile. “I don’t want to spend it like that either. Let’s get you packed so we can make out before you go.”
He leaned down and kissed her softly before murmuring, “Good idea.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ron
Ron leaned against the headrest and looked out over the plane’s wing as the jet began its descent into Miramar. He’d only been gone a little over two weeks, and he’d been able to talk to Brenna a few days ago, but truth be told, he hadn’t felt like it.
She was happy to hear from him and chattered gleefully until she realized he wasn’t saying much. He didn’t want to tell her one of his squads had been hit by an IED, so he told her he was just tired when she asked what was wrong. He got the feeling she wasn’t buying it.
They’d left things shakier than he would have preferred when he last departed, and he didn’t want to add any more stress to their relationship, so he omitted the IED blast that killed two of his men and injured three others. He knew telling her would only make her worry more.
This had been an exhausting mission and his men’s casualties did not help. As much as he wanted to crawl into her bed tonight and wrap his arms around her tight, he wasn’t mentally prepared to interact with her, other than holding her. He wasn’t in the mood to interact with anyone, frankly.
Ron thought the higher up the chain of command he got, the easier it would be to bear the losses. Turns out, the only thing it meant was mor
e pain as his responsibility increased.
He’d already been through one debrief in Washington, he just wanted to get this next one out of the way, but he knew he owed the people on his base more than a half-assed account of what happened to their brothers, so he took a deep breath and put his game face on.
****
Brenna
Brenna knew something was wrong the minute she heard his voice when he called her a few days ago. He blamed it on being tired but she knew it was more than that. Since he wouldn’t tell her what was going on, and he didn’t really say much, she felt extra responsible to keep their conversation going and cheerful. She ended up feeling like a blabbering idiot.
The news story the next day of troops from Camp Pendleton being killed and injured explained a lot. Why didn’t he just tell her what he was upset about? Did he think she wouldn’t understand?
She cared about Ron. A lot. But she’d been here before; only knowing one side of a man, not sharing his life completely, was not something she was interested in doing again.
Yet, based on how much she’d missed him these last two weeks, she conceded there was no way she wasn’t going to at least try like hell for him to let her into his life.
Brenna knew Ron was arriving in San Diego this afternoon. She wasn’t sure how to play this. Did she seek him out, letting him know how much she cared for him and that he could tell her anything? Or did she let him come to her? And if she waited, what did she do if he didn’t come to her?
She opted to back off and see what he decided to do next.
Turns out, she didn’t like his choice very much.
****
Ron texted Brenna the night he arrived in San Diego to tell her he was tired and just wanted to go home to bed. She wished he would ask her to join him so she could comfort him and let him know she was there to listen if he needed to talk. Also selfishly, she needed to feel his body next to hers. She’d missed him so much; it stung he didn’t need or want her.
He had an excuse not to see her the next day too. On the third day when he begged off, she simply replied: No worries. I’m headed to Sullivan’s Island in the morning. Maybe I’ll see you when I get back. If not, please be safe.
He didn’t respond back, and she wasn’t surprised.
She was done with this shit. She understood he was hurting, but shutting her out wasn’t going to fix that.
Unfortunately, when she called Cassie to ask if she could stay with Zona, she learned that her sister was headed out the door to a conference. Luke wasn’t answering his phone.
Now what?
The last time she’d boarded Zona in a kennel, the pup was skittish for a week, and Brenna vowed she wouldn’t do that again, so unless she could talk Kyle into watching her dog, it looked like she wasn’t really going anywhere.
Kyle Montgomery had been Danny’s teammate and best man at their wedding. He was also her daughter’s godfather and had really stepped up when Danny died. Whenever there was an event in Danielle’s life that her father would have attended. Kyle was there, every time. Graduation, Honors Night, her volleyball games, Parents’ Nights, meeting her prom dates–anything that was important, he showed up. She loved him for that. So did Danielle.
He knew Brenna was dating someone, but she had been purposefully vague the last time they spoke. She knew if she called him now, and he did her this favor, she’d feel obligated to tell him more. Unable to decide if she was up for that, she opted not to think about it anymore and figure it out in the morning.
She looked around the kitchen and suddenly felt like she was going to crawl out of her skin if she stayed there for one more minute.
Tucson was only a six hour drive… and she could take Zona with her.
Problem solved.
Brenna raced up the stairs to pack a bag. When she had a suitcase on her bed to start filling, she remembered she needed to charge her phone, which was still on the kitchen counter. She ran back down to the kitchen, grabbed the phone off the island, and headed back upstairs at full speed. By this time, Zona had become excited at all the running around taking place without her so she decided to race Brenna to the top, knocking her owner out of the way to get there first. Brenna tumbled backward, unable to catch herself as she fell down the flight of stairs, landing two steps from the bottom.
She came to, not knowing how long she’d been unconscious. The cracked screen on her phone showed her the time, so she knew it couldn’t have been long. She was having a hard time getting up, and when she moved to push her body up, she felt the most excruciating pain she’d ever felt in her life shoot through her shoulder.
She lay there for a second before leaning over the stairs and vomiting.
This is not good.
The pain was almost unbearable and with clenched teeth, she tried to figure out what to do next. 911 was the smartest option, but she knew that was going to somehow lead to her picture being in the Out and About section tomorrow. Cassie was gone by now, Danielle was four hundred miles away, so that left her with two options, Kyle or Ron.
She refused to be the damsel in distress again for Ron.
Scrolling through her phone as best she could with the broken screen, she found Kyle’s contact information and hit ‘call’.
He answered on the third ring. “Hey, this is a nice surprise!”
When she heard his voice, she knew he would help her so her survival mode dissipated, and that’s when she really began to feel the pain. Brenna managed to get out what happened and Kyle said, “I’m on my way,” before hanging up.
Her shoulder hurt so bad that she was now crying. God, she had to be the most pathetic site in San Diego at the moment. She was sure her makeup was smeared down her face, her shoulder dangling, sitting next to a pile of barf, and the way her head was now starting to hurt, she probably had a few good knots on it.
Fuck, did I lock the front door?
She was going to have make it over to the entryway to let Kyle in if she had. Brenna thought about all the times she laid in bed wondering if she’d remembered to lock the door. For the first time ever, she hoped she hadn’t.
Zona was kissing her face and whining.
“It’s okay, girl,” she said with her head resting against the wall. She was starting to feel tired, which Brenna knew was bad.
The doorbell rang, and she was surprised at how quickly Kyle had gotten there. Had she fallen asleep and lost track of time? When Zona started to go berserk at the sound, she became irritated.
Seriously, Kyle? You’re fucking ringing the bell like you expect me to answer the door?
She could see the entry from where she was lying and hoped he’d have enough sense to look in and realize she couldn’t get up. Well, not without crawling through puke.
“Come in,” she begged.
Please be unlocked.
She heard him try the door.
Nope, locked.
Fuck.
Maybe he could break a window.
She laid there with her eyes closed. She wasn’t moving a muscle.
Hopefully he can figure a way in. Kyle’s a smart guy.
Maybe just a little sleep while he does.
When she heard the front door unlock, she was willing her eyes to open, but they wouldn’t cooperate. A voice was calling out, “Darlin’, oh my God, what the hell happened?”
Kyle never called her darlin’. Maybe she was dreaming.
Damn her shoulder hurt. So did her head.
Was someone really here?
She felt arms come under her and gently scoop her up.
You’re fucking hurting me!
She was screaming at herself to open her eyes and say something!
There were now two voices. She knew she was lying in a backseat once she figured out it was a seatbelt digging into her side. Someone was stroking her hair. She leaned over and threw up again.
“Sorry about that.” She wasn’t sure if she had actually said it or just thought it. It seemed as if everything hurt now,
and she felt the tears streaming down, wetting the hair by her ear. She was leaning against something. Or someone?
The deep vibrations of the voice were familiar.
So was the scent.
Danny?
Wait, no, it can’t be Danny.
Can it?
Chapter Thirty
Ron
Ron was pacing, unable to sit still in the waiting room. Kyle was on his phone talking to Danielle; he had the girl’s number. Ron didn’t.
He couldn’t help but overhear their conversation when he stopped five feet from where Kyle was sitting.
“No, sweetheart, I don’t think you need to come.”
Pause.
So he’s close enough to have her number and call her sweetheart.
“No, Dani–”
Another pause.
His voice got stern. “Listen to me. I’m here with her. Her friend, Ron, is here with her. We’ve got it covered.”
Friend? I’m her fucking friend?
“Yes, he’s right here.”
He looked over at Ron and held out his phone. “She wants to talk to you.”
Goddamn right she does. She knows I’m not her mother’s ‘friend.’
“Hey, kiddo.”
He could tell she was crying.
“Ron, you have to tell me the truth. Is she going to be okay? Uncle Kyle says I don’t need to come, but I just feel like I should be there.”
Uncle Kyle?
“Dani, I don’t have a good answer for you right now. They haven’t let us see her, so we don’t know what’s going on yet. Why don’t you hang tight until we know more?”
“Will you call me the second you know anything?”
“I don’t have your number, honey.”
“Give me yours and I’ll text you so you have it.”
He rattled off his number and felt his phone buzzing in his pocket three seconds later. How did she manage to do that while still talking to him? He shook his head. Kids and technology.
“Okay, I’ll let you know the second we get an update. Here’s your uncle back.” He handed the phone back to Kyle just as the doctor appeared in the waiting area.
