by Lisa Bingham
As he mounted the steps, John felt a flutter of nerves deep in his gut. He hadn’t written or cabled Glory Bee to let her know he was arriving—primarily because he hadn’t known when the Army would be done with him. Since he wasn’t a citizen of the U.S.—and his marriage to Glory Bee had been completed without all the necessary documents—he’d feared that he wouldn’t be able to get into the country for months. But a few words from some high-placed generals, several military transports, and a full two days of debriefing at the Pentagon, and he was finally free to see his own family.
Clearing his throat, he set his bag on the porch and wiped his hands down his trousers. Dear God, he’d faced the Japanese without half the nerves he felt now in realizing that he was moments away from seeing his wife and little girl.
Knowing that he couldn’t wait another minute, John punched the doorbell. He heard the tinny ding-dong and waited. But there was no answer.
His nerves compounded. In all the scenarios he’d envisioned when thinking of reuniting with Glory Bee, it had never occurred to him that she wouldn’t be home.
Damn.
Pulling the screen open, he rang the bell again, then rapped his knuckles on the door. But there was still no answer.
Allowing the screen to slam shut, he shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up and down the row of identical buildings. But there was no sight of Glory Bee. The shadows were growing longer and most of those who had gone to the beach for the day were beginning to trudge home trailing beach towels and picnic baskets.
The beach.
He hadn’t tried the beach.
Looking in either direction, John finally noticed a trail leading around the house. He smiled, noticing that a tricycle had been upended midway and a doll had been dropped into the grass.
A doll.
A familiar stuffed lamb.
His heart wedged in his throat as he received his first real confirmation that Glory Bee and Hope were near and his pace quickened. He circled to a back yard, taking in the clothesline that flapped with sheets and pillowcases and little feminine dresses and lace edged socks. Good lord, had Hope really grown that much?
He pushed his way through flapping laundry that smelled of sun and surf and the faint scent of roses. And there, on the other side, he came to a sudden halt.
A few yards off, a familiar red-haired beauty sat on a blanket, a book beside her, completely forgotten. She wore a simple dress, but the way the wind flattened the fabric against her body brought such a sudden crash of desire that John nearly fell to his knees.
That woman, that stunning, desirable woman…was his wife.
A peal of laughter cut through the sound of the surf, and his gaze skipped a few yards farther to where a little girl played in the lapping water. She wore a swimming suit with ruffles on her bottom and her cheeks were sun-kissed and freckled. She ran up to the water, allowing it to splash over her feet, then squealed at the still chilly temperatures of early summer.
“Don’t go too far,” Glory Bee warned. She glanced at her watch. “Just a few more minutes. Then it will be time to go inside and make some supper.”
John could have called out to them. But he wanted to take in the sight, to burn it into his brain so that he would never forget this instant when they were finally together again.
“I don’t want dinner,” Hope retorted. “I only want dessert.”
“That’s too bad, because only little girls who have eaten their dinner—complete with vegetables—are able to have dessert. And I’ve made your favorite. Strawberries and cream.”
“Fine. I’ll eat the sandwich, but not the—”
In that instant, Hope turned and her gaze fell on John. Lifting a hand to shield her eyes from the sun, she frowned in concentration, then grinned. She looked so much like Glory Bee when she smiled that John could barely breathe.
“Daddy?” she called questioningly.
“I’m home.”
Glory Bee whirled to face him, then scrambled to her feet. But even as quickly as she raced toward him, Hope arrived first, so he swung the little girl into his arms, resting her on his hip as he pulled her mother close.
Glory Bee threw her arms around him, kissing him over and over again, cheek, lips, anywhere she could reach and Hope giggled, then grew still.
“Mommy, are you crying? Aren’t you happy that Daddy’s home?”
At that, Glory Bee looked up at him with such blatant love, that it was John’s eyes that grew wet.
“Yes, Hope. I’m so, so happy Daddy is home.”
Hope kissed John on the cheek, then wriggled free, running toward the house.
“Then we’d better eat dessert first, don’t you think? After all, it’s a special day.”
Glory Bee framed John’s face in her hands, searching, ensuring herself that he was safe. He was real.
Then her smile was slow and sweet. “That’s right, Hope. It’s a special day.” She lifted on tiptoe, her lips hovering near John’s, her arms encircling his neck. “Because we’re finally all together where we belong.”
As he bent to kiss her, a surge of happiness and reverence flooded through John’s body.
This was what it meant to come home.
It wasn’t merely arriving at a certain place on a map.
It is stepping into the warmth of another person’s love and knowing, beyond all doubt, that this is where you belong.
Acknowledgments
I want to give a special “shout out” to all those who have helped After the Fall become a reality. First of all, I want to thank my family, who allowed me to disappear from the realities of being a wife and mother long enough to capture the words that seemed to spill from my brain, unchecked, once I’d begun writing the book. To the gang at Browne & Miller Literary Associates, especially Danielle, Joanna, and Abby. You’ve been there to back me up time and time again with read-throughs, phone calls, and negotiations. To the team at Diversion, Hannah, Sarah, Brielle. And to my editor at Diversion, Randall, whose insights have helped me hone my craft, and whose letters have lifted my spirits when I’ve needed it most. I’ll refrain from sending any more stuffed animals your way.
I would also like to thank all those who have served our country, past and present. I am humbled by your sacrifice. And to those who fought in the Pacific, I hope that I have been able to capture a portion of your service and your stories. If mistakes have been made, please forgive me.
More from Lisa Bingham
Into the Storm
RueAnn Boggs meets Charles Tolliver, a handsome Brit with a secret job, and in the course of twenty-four hours, RueAnn is swept off her feet—seduced, wed, and then left by dashing Charlie, who hastily departs for an assignment in England. When weeks go by and she hears nothing from her new husband, RueAnn becomes determined to find out if she’s a wife in name only, and she travels to London for answers. But what she finds there is not at all what she expects…
Susan Blunt has spent her life staying put, retreating into her books while her vivacious twin sister, Sara, lives life to the fullest. The start of the war hasn’t stopped vibrant Sara from collecting a throng of beaus in uniform, including Paul Overdone, an RAF pilot heading for the front. When Sara pressures Susan into switching places and going to a dance with Paul, Susan reluctantly agrees. Little does Susan know that a single night is more than enough time to fall deeply in love with Paul—who returns her ardor, even though he thinks she is someone else…
When the Blitz begins and bombs start raining down on London, both RueAnn and Susan must find the strength and courage they never knew they had in order to survive. They form a friendship out of the city’s ashes, one that helps them weather the storm as they wait for news from the front—from the men they love, have lost, and hope desperately to find once more.
Set against the backdrop of a remarkable era, Into the Storm brilliantly explores relationships in wartime, when the passion shared in just one day could sustain love for a lifetime and the love borne of one nig
ht’s deception could become the truth that saves a life.
The Bengal Rubies
A young woman makes a desperate attempt to find freedom, only to fall prisoner once again — to love.
Condemned to be auctioned off to the highest bidder by her own father, Aloise Crawford makes a desperate attempt to escape. When the ship she is imprisoned on docks, she jumps overboard. When she finally swims ashore, she finds herself at the feet of a dark stranger with a face as angry as it is alluring.
For years, Slater McKendrick has lived in hiding, awaiting his chance to seek vengeance against the man who stole his family’s precious jewels, the Bengal Rubies. So when Aloise arrives on his lonely beach hideaway, it seems as if the opportunity has at last been delivered to him. But while he holds her captive on his estate, he recognizes the same broken spirit in her that sees in himself.
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Lettie Grey is in love with a man who exists only in her thoughts. The highwayman, dark and dangerous, dwells in her most wanton fantasies where he stirs her deepest desires. But when Ethan McGuire, a bank robber and fugitive, arrives in her small town, Lettie realizes the sensual stranger of her imagination is more than just a dream.
On the run from the law and a ruthless band of vigilantes, Ethan seeks shelter in the safety of Lettie’s small attic bedroom, and in the heat of her embrace. But can a man who trusts no one give away his heart in the midst of a fight for his life?
Silken Promises
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When Fiona McFee first meets the straight-laced deputy Jacob Grey, he is naked and bound in a field of foxtails. A con man’s daughter through and through, Fiona leaves him there as he swears to never forget her. True to his word, Jacob tracks Fiona to Chicago years later, and he has an offer for her that she can’t refuse: A full pardon for her and her father in exchange for her help in catching a counterfeiter. All she must do is pose as a wealthy British widow and play poker on a tourist train heading West.
With her freedom at stake, as well as another chance to outwit Jacob, Fiona must perfect her poker face as she gambles for the fate of her future. But neither she, nor Jacob, can ignore the undeniable attraction between them, and as the stakes of their deadly game soar to new heights, the thin line between inevitable danger and unyielding desire begins to blur.
Now both Fiona and Jacob have more to lose than either of them bargained for— their hearts.
Temptation’s Kiss
To tame the beast in a man, one woman must unleash her own animal nature.
Chelsea Wickersham seeks a new start. The conservative English governess agrees to tutor the long-lost heir of the mysterious Cane estate. But when she arrives expecting to find a boy to teach, she is instead introduced to a strange and terrifying sight: Sullivan Cane, a feral, uncivilized man.
But Cane is craftier than any beast. Taken from his island hideaway, forced to return to his family estate in Scotland, he strives to outwit his calculating brethren. He plays the role of wild man that they all believe him to be, but even as he grows exhausted of his savage pretense, he also discovers an unexpected pleasure in watching the walls of Chelsea’s façade crumble.
As passion sparks between teacher and student, a sinister enemy lurks in their midst, threating their love and their lives. To survive, and to be together, this untamable man must learn to act his part, and this upright woman must learn to unleash the animal inside of her.
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