Her Invisible Soldier: A Military Romance with a Twist

by Grace Risata

  Dixon gave a low whistle to indicate how impressed he was at my mad skills.

  “Would you go back there again?” he asked.

  “Hell yeah. It was easy money. I’m going to call him tomorrow.”

  Yes, things were starting to take shape. My two favorite men got along like new best friends, I had a possible job opportunity, and my period was finally turning into a trickle instead of a river.

  What typically happens when life starts to go your way?

  If you answered, “Things usually turn to shit,” then you’d be absolutely right.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Dixon

  “Life is going pretty smoothly, Doc,” I happily confessed while playing with a pen that was sitting on Dr. Goldberg’s desk. “I’ve been taking the Prozac just like you suggested, the landscaping job is somewhat tolerable, and things are better than ever with Alyce.”

  In response, the man looked at me and nodded his head in approval.

  “I’m happy to hear that, Dixon. Slow down and tell me what’s been happening since I saw you last week. You certainly seem quite exuberant today.”

  He sounded a bit skeptical, but I’m not sure why. I just explained that the world was my oyster.

  “I haven’t had any negative side effects from the pills, but it’s only been a few days. Honestly, I don’t notice any difference at all. Medicine is not the reason behind the positive changes in my life. I can give the drugs another couple weeks if it will make you happy, but I don’t see a need for them. ”

  The psychiatrist frowned, but didn’t say anything. Typical doctor. The guy probably likes patients to be dependent on him for prescriptions. I had to toe the line since he was letting me get away with not going to the veteran’s center, but as soon as my probation was over then I wasn’t coming back for any more counseling sessions.

  “How about the job, Dixon? Is that going well? You’ve been there for two whole days and my nephew hasn’t called to complain yet.”

  “It actually seems to be a decent fit for me. I’m getting sunshine, great exercise, and most of the crew speak English as a second language so I don’t have to make conversation with anyone. I can just do my thing, put my time in, and go home.”

  That earned me another frown for some reason. Did he expect me to make lifelong friends with the other guys on the job? It’s not like I could join them for a beer at the bar after a hard day’s work. That would violate my probation.

  “What about your lady friend? Things aren’t getting too serious with her, are they? I remember having a discussion about taking it slowly and not putting all your eggs in one basket. If any problems should arise with her, I don’t want you to spiral out of control and end up right back where you started.”

  “It couldn’t be better,” I responded, wishing I’d never mentioned Alyce in the first place. He doesn’t understand our relationship. We’re good for each other. “I’ve actually met her grandfather and he took to me like a duck to water.”

  “And has she met your family, Dixon?”

  I hung my head and refused to meet his gaze. Why did have to go and bring them up? I just told him that things were improving for me. There was no reason to go and drag the past out into the open.

  “No.”

  “Does she know who they are?”

  “No. It doesn’t matter. I don’t want anything to do with them. Alyce likes me for who I am, not what I have.”

  “I think you might be setting yourself up to have some problems down the line by hiding things from her.”

  I’m losing my patience with this guy. Wasn’t it his job to make me feel better?

  “None of that matters right now. I have an epic surprise planned for her, Doc. Alyce has issues about her mother abandoning the family when she was a little girl. So I got an old army buddy to do some digging into her past. I’m going to find her mom and reunite them.”

  Dr. Goldberg sat bolt upright in his chair and began to shake his head with concern.

  “Have you discussed this with her first? Have you given any thought to the fact that Alyce might already know the whereabouts of her mother and not want a reunion? I think this is a horrible idea, Dixon, and I’d strongly advise you not to pursue it.”

  “You don’t know what’s best for me or my girl. I know what it’s like to have a mother you can’t depend on. I don’t want Alyce to have to go through one more day wondering what might have been. I’m sure her mom would like the chance to tell a different side of the story. Who wouldn’t want to reconnect with their kid after all these years?”

  “Are you close to your parents?” he asked, knowing damn well what the answer was. He read my file. He knew who they were.

  “No.”

  “Maybe not everyone is meant to have an ideal family with a white picket fence, Dixon. Don’t do this to her without asking for permission.”

  I had nothing left to say to the man, so I just sat there in silence for the remaining five minutes of the session.

  Before my time was up, he offered one last parting thought.

  “Keep taking the pills, Dixon. It’s not healthy for you to go from extreme lows of hating everyone and everything…to this manic version of yourself that’s nearly bouncing off the ceiling with energy. Calm down, think things through before you make a big mistake you’ll regret later, and just relax and take life one day at a time. That’s all I’m asking.”

  He didn’t know shit. I wasn’t manic at all. It was just exciting to be able to reunite a mother and daughter that hadn’t seen each other in over twenty years. What could possibly go wrong?

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Please come over tonight after you’re done with work. We need to talk.”

  I read Dixon’s text for the third time before getting behind the wheel of my Mustang and making the drive to his house. Under normal circumstances, I would have been concerned about the ‘we need to talk’ part of it. That was never something a woman wanted to hear from her boyfriend.

  However, things had been going very well lately and I had no reason to hit the panic button. While it’s true that I hadn’t seen him on Monday because I had to work late making fishing lures, and he was busy Tuesday with a doctor appointment, everything had been fine last night. I have to admit it was good to finally see him after missing the guy for two days. He drove over on his motorcycle and we went for a long and relaxing ride, just enjoying the beautiful weather and starry night sky.

  We made out like horny teenagers when he dropped me off, and a good time was had by all. I wished I could have stayed at his house, but we both had to work early so I took a rain check. Maybe that’s the reason he wanted me to come over tonight after work? Maybe there was a sexy surprise planned.

  RING.

  My car’s display informed me that Nina was waiting for me to answer.

  “Hey, Nina! Sorry I didn’t have time to talk when you called earlier today. This new job is killing me.”

  I liked the pay and the flexible hours, but it was harder than I remembered to make the damn lures. My hands must have grown since the last time I worked there and it was really cramping my fingers.

  “I’m sure that everything will work out for you, Alyce. I have gossip that is absolutely going to blow your mind!”

  I just spent an hour on the phone with her a few days ago. It’s Thursday. What could have possibly happened since Tuesday night?

  “Let me guess, you picked which cowboy you’re going to run off and marry? Do you need me to look at wedding dresses and help you choose?”

  Nina actually did figure out which phone number went with which guy from her birthday party. She’s narrowed it down to two suitors. I think she’s scheduled a few dates for this weekend in order to make a final selection. The girl might talk a good game, but she really wanted a relationship and not a quick hook-up.

  “No, Alyce. This call has nothing to do with romance and everything to do with work.”

  “Did you find a new job?” I
knew she applied at several different places after she saw Mrs. Conway show her true colors on the day that I quit.

  “Not yet, but we did get a new employee to replace you. You will never, ever guess who it is. If I gave you thirty million tries, it still wouldn’t help.”

  “I don’t know that many people. Just tell me.”

  “Kassie.”

  “Shut the fuck up!” I screeched, nearly missing a stop sign and scaring a random pedestrian innocently walking down the street.

  “It was absolutely hilarious. Kassie doesn’t know her butt from a hole in the ground, but she’s trying so hard not to get fired. Kennedy keeps checking up on her every ten minutes and it has them both stressed out to the max. I’m sorry you’re missing the show because it’s super entertaining!”

  “How the hell did she get my job? She has no billing experience and never lasts anywhere for more than a few months!”

  “How do you think she got it? Kennedy assured Mrs. Conway up and down that her sister was amazing and a dynamo with paperwork and collections. I honestly give it a week before she starts calling in sick. Is it bad that I’m not motivated to find another job right away? I totally want to watch this all play out. It’s better than a soap opera!”

  “Wow. Make sure you keep me in the loop so I know what’s going on.”

  Karma is a bitch and revenge is sweet.

  “For sure! What are you doing tonight? Got a hot date?”

  “I’m heading over to Dixon’s house. He texted me that we need to talk. Should I be worried?”

  “I think he really likes you, Alyce, but of course you should be worried. Maybe he’s screwing your best friend behind your back? Nope. Wait. That was my ex-boyfriend. You should be fine!”

  “Thanks for the pep talk and the gossip. I’ll call you later! Bye!”

  At least the whole Conway Dental fiasco wasn’t all for naught. I got Nina out of the deal, and she was turning into quite a good friend.

  Pulling into Dixon’s parking lot, a small sense of foreboding began to form in the pit of my stomach. Was it nerves? Hunger? A premonition of sorts? I guess I’d find out soon enough.

  While walking down the hall to his apartment, I went over possible scenarios in my head and couldn’t come up with anything too awful. Maybe he got fired from the landscaping job? That was really the only option.

  Dixon opened the door before I’d even gotten a chance to knock twice. Obviously I was expected, but I received no warm greeting. No hug, no kiss on the cheek, and certainly no sexy surprise waiting for me. Instead the agitated man began to pace back and forth, anxiety etched all over his face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately ready to get the problem out into the open.

  “I fucked up, Alyce. I made a mistake. I’m so sorry,” he replied, running a hand through messy hair, unable to make eye contact.

  My heart sank. What had he done? Had he failed a piss test or got caught driving with no license?

  “Are you going to jail?” I whispered, fearing his answer.

  “No. Nothing like that. This is something entirely different. It involves you.”

  Still no eye contact, still pacing, now turning red in the face. What the fuck was going on here? Did he cheat on me? Was there another woman? I’d just seen him last night…what could have possibly happened since then? Had he been mowing the lawn at some rich lady’s house and she lured him inside for a quickie?

  “We never discussed being in a monogamous relationship,” I stammered, ready to throw up. “If you found someone else…”

  He froze in his tracks and shook his head.

  “Quit talking stupid. Why would I ever look at anyone else when I have you? You’re my life. We are absolutely one hundred percent committed to each other.”

  “Then why are you so upset?”

  I couldn’t fathom any other reason for his bizarre behavior. Did he get diagnosed with a terminal illness?

  “Are you sick?” I asked, jumping to wild conclusions.

  “No. I should have been prepared for this possibility, but I didn’t use my head. This is all my fault.”

  Then it finally dawned on me.

  “Are you being sent back overseas? Were you just home temporarily and now the military needs you again? I would wait for you and be faithful.”

  Yes, I’d worry about him every single second of every single day, but what choice did I have?

  Dixon let out an anguished moan, sat on the couch, and buried his face in his hands.

  “I’m discharged from the service. There’s no chance of me ever going back,” he mumbled.

  “Then what the hell is going on? You’re scaring the shit out of me.”

  I had never seen him this upset in the entire time I’d known the man. This was far worse than his panic attacks at the veteran’s center or any reaction to the thunderstorm that triggered his flashbacks.

  “I found your mother,” he quietly confessed.

  “What did you just say?” Clearly I must have heard him incorrectly. No one was looking for the bitch, so I didn’t understand the words coming out of his mouth.

  “I saw how much pain she caused you,” he explained. “It’s not right to walk around with all that anger inside. I was trying to arrange a happy reunion between the two of you.”

  Forcing myself to keep breathing and not lose my shit, I merely stood there and tried to process what was happening.

  “Let me get this straight,” I questioned, gritting my teeth as I spoke. “You think I’m the one walking around with too much anger?”

  This asshole needed to take a good look in the mirror before he passed judgment on me. Dixon was the king of bottled up emotions.

  “I was only trying to help,” he insisted desperately, eyes searching mine as if willing me to understand his motives.

  Taking more deep breaths, I somehow managed to keep my rage in check. I think it’s safe to assume that his little mission to ‘fix Alyce’ didn’t go very well, based on the amount of agony radiating from every inch of his body.

  “Did you not listen to all the stories I shared about mommy dearest? Did they sound happy? Was there any indication I wanted her back in my life?” I snarled.

  “I just thought—”

  “No, you didn’t think at all and that’s the problem here. You wanted to fix me and make me into a normal girl that has a mom to shop with and get manicures while we read fashion magazines. That’s not me and it never will be. It must have been too much effort to take care of your own issues, so you obviously decided that you’d focus on mine instead.”

  I was livid at his blatant disregard for my feelings, so I kept on going with my tirade.

  “Did you talk to her, Dixon? Did she give you a big hug and welcome you to the family?”

  “No,” he admitted, sadly shaking his head in shame. “One of my old army buddies is a private investigator now. I gave him as much info as I had and hired him to find your mother. I only had good intentions, Alyce. I swear.”

  “And?” Let’s get this over with so I can leave.

  “I called Sebastian on Monday, he found her Tuesday, and gave me the report today.”

  Dixon nodded his head in the direction of a large manila folder sitting on his coffee table. If he thought I would eagerly grab it and take a peek, he was sorely mistaken.

  “And?” I repeated, feeling my hands begin to shake uncontrollably.

  “He went to see her yesterday, Alyce. Just to take some surveillance photos to prove he’d found the right woman. The moron parked across the street from her house, but wasn’t very cautious about what he was doing.”

  Wonderful. Not only is some stranger meddling into my personal life, but he’s clearly an inept loser. Add it to the shit pile I’m dealing with right now.

  “Sebastian snapped pictures as your mother and some teenage boys left their house in the morning. She caught him, marched right over to his car, and demanded to know who had hired him. Evidently she’s married to a promi
nent lawyer and assumed it was someone looking to dig up dirt on the guy.”

  I stood there wordlessly, waiting for the bad news that was imminent. Dixon was as grief stricken as I’d ever seen him.

  “He reassured the agitated woman that his intention was simply to reunite a mother with the child she hadn’t seen in years. It didn’t go over very well.”

  No shit, dumbass. I could have told him that. My grandparents had lived in the same house for forty years. The bitch knew exactly where to find me, had she given the slightest fuck.

  “Tell me what happened,” I demanded in a voice so cold and void of emotion that it scared even me.

  “She said…” Dixon’s voice broke and he took a few seconds to compose himself. “Your mother told him that her only children were the two sons waiting for her in the SUV across the street.”

  Clearly there was more, but he was having a hard time getting the words out. I refused to respond so he kept talking, oblivious to the whirlwind of emotions churning inside of me like a hurricane about to take down entire coastal cities without mercy.

  “She…she looked right at him and demanded that he pass along a message. She said she wants you to keep your mouth shut about the life she lived before she met her current husband. She’s not giving you a dime and you can forget about trying to blackmail her because it won’t work. Your mother isn’t interested in a reunion. She doesn’t want you in her life in any way, shape, or form.”

  Dixon’s voice had grown to a whisper as he spoke the last words, most likely due to his guilt about having to relay that repulsive message. I, on the other hand, felt nothing but rage.

  “Thank you very much,” I announced with a calmness that was absolutely forced and gave no indication of the storm brewing inside me. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to move past the pain she’s caused, suffered countless anxiety attacks worrying about who in my life might abandon me next, and feeling completely worthless because even my own mother ran away from me like I was a piece of garbage. In one fell swoop you’ve managed to bring all those feelings back tenfold. Congratulations. I hope you’re happy.”