Before he kissed me goodbye on Monday, we were standing beside the truck when he held me in his arms for one last moment. He brushed the loose hair out of my face, then his sparkling green eyes peered at me. "Rachel, I'm in love with you, and I don't want to live without you. But now I know I can wait as long as it takes for you to finish college."
Holy shit! Kent Walker had admitted he loved me! Oh, my God, he has changed! My body shook as I started to sob; I didn't want Kent to leave. I knew I wanted to be with him, too, but I needed time to think — I didn't want to make another mistake. So I said, "Kent, I love you, too." I started bawling so hard I had to dig inside my purse for a tissue. Then I composed myself enough to continue. "I have six weeks to go before Christmas break. Let me see what I can work out.”
"What do you mean?" Ken asked with hope in his voice.
"I think Bernard College might have an online program...but I don't know what the requirements are to get in."
Kent's face beamed with joy as he pulled me in to him for one last hug. For several moments we stood there holding each other, but finally, Kent pushed back. "I'm looking forward to our future," he said. He then turned away and got inside his truck.
I watched with tears streaming down my cheeks as Kent pulled out on Broadway, headed home. I wanted so much to be going home with him — to be a stowaway in the bed of his truck. But if I gave into my emotions and became a quitter, Kent would lose respect for me, and I would lose respect for myself. I had all the evidence I needed to make the right decision when Kent told me he loved me. He had changed and he was conquering his inner demons caused by his PTSD. Kent was an honorable man who deserved the best, and that was what I was going to give him.
As I turned to head back toward the dorm, a few pristine snowflakes danced their way to the ground. I looked up into the gray sky, but all I could see were skyscrapers instead of Eagle Peak rising behind Pitchfork Ranch. For a moment I felt saddened, but then a heartening thought came to mind. Like magic, the corners of my downturned lips were tugged into a smile when I realized the holidays were just around the corner and I would be home for Christmas.
Chapter 18
Christmas Morning
Rachel
I woke up at dawn then walked to my bedroom window and noticed how the sun's reflection across the snow made it appear like gold dust was sprinkled over the hay field. I was surprised to see the light shining through a window of Kent's trailer and wondered what he was doing up so early on a holiday. Since I had been home for two weeks, not one day had passed without holding Kent in my arms and talking about our plans for the future. I was looking forward to finally spending Christmas Day with my high school sweetheart.
I slipped on my jeans and an old baggy sweatshirt with a reindeer on it, a gift from my mother on her last Christmas. Just like I had done for as many years as I could remember, I crept down the stairs into the living room for a peek around. But this time it was me instead of Daddy who turned on the Christmas tree lights and made sure everyone's presents were under the tree.
I took my iPhone out of my pocket and snapped a few pictures of all the colorful packages and one of my old stocking that hung on the mantel by the fireplace. I giggled to myself when I noticed Daddy had played Santa. After I had gone to bed, he had stuffed my stocking with goodies. After twenty some odd years it looked a bit worse for the wear, but I didn't care, I was home, and it was Christmas!
A few hours later we all were sitting around the dining room table eating our Christmas lunch. I was holding Kent's hand when Daddy looked over at me and grinned. Then around a mouthful of pumpkin pie, he said, "Rachel, I'm so glad things have worked out for you to stay here at home and finish your studies online. It’s too quiet around here when you’re gone.”
Kent laughed and grabbed his glass of spiced eggnog. "Not as glad as I am!”
I giggled then reached for my glass and held it up. "I'll drink to that."
I noticed Sally glancing over at Daddy with a coy smile. Then he grinned back, and said, "While we're toasting I have an announcement to make. Sally has accepted my proposal to be my wife.”
A rosy color filled Sally’s cheeks as she held out her hand and showed me the most beautiful solitaire diamond ring I had ever seen. I clapped my hands together. I was so happy that Daddy had proposed to her. She seemed so devoted to him, and I had never seen my father more content. I reached out to hold her hand to get a better look, and asked, “When did you get this Sally? I hadn’t noticed it before.”
Daddy’s cheeks turned a bit red out of embarrassment. “I gave it to her on her birthday last week but made her promise not to wear it in front of you until I made the announcement this morning.” For a few moments I wondered what the big deal was, then I figured Sally’s birthday must be December 15th, the day my mother had passed away.
I looked at Daddy and winked. “The ring is beautiful — and congratulations.”
Then all on a sudden Daddy glanced over at Kent, then back at me. “Wow, it’s almost two o’clock. Sally and I will clean up the dishes. Why don’t you two go enjoy yourselves? Thanks for cooking, Rachel. Our Christmas lunch was delicious.”
Kent turned to me. “Yeah, I got a surprise, but we have to saddle up the horses and take a ride to go get it.”
An hour later Georgie-B and Licorice were trudging up the dirt road toward the east pasture, leaving their heavy footprints in the snow. Kent had been very secretive about why he insisted we ride way up to the pasture instead staying close to home. I couldn’t help but notice that someone on horseback had ridden up the road earlier, though the footprints were almost erased by drifting snow.
As I wrapped my woolen scarf tighter around my neck and patted Georgie’s flank, covered in a thick winter coat, I pondered how our relationship had grown. We had been given a second chance at romance, and I was grateful I had finally found the Kent I had longed for since high school.
Moments later, Kent turned around in the saddle and looked back at me, pointing ahead at a stand of pines. "That's where we're headed.” It was the same place TiaMaria had run toward for shelter the day of the terrible storm.
As we got closer, I saw what appeared to be a small box dangling from a bough of a pine tree. My heart began to flutter when Kent dismounted, wrapped the reins around the saddle horn and walked toward Georgie and me. I had never seen such a wide grin on Kent’s face — ever — as he helped me down to the ground. When he took my hand and tugged me toward the box, I could see it was wrapped in shiny, gold paper and was hanging by a red velvet ribbon.
I peered into Kent’s green eyes, and with a coquettish smirk, I asked, “Oh, is this for me?”
Kent nodded and pointed toward the delicate bow with a tiny holly leaf on it. “Go ahead, open your surprise!” His expression was warm and tender as I undid the bow and the box fell into my palm. I took off one glove with my teeth and held it there while I carefully unwrapped my gift. I gasped and my glove fell to the ground when I noticed inside the box was another, and that it was the type that usually contained jewelry.
While I peered in wonder at the tiny box, Kent snatched it out of my hand and dropped to his knees. As he opened the lid to reveal a beautiful teardrop diamond ring, he whispered, “I have a question that's been burning in my mind since graduation day, Rachel." I gulped and held my breath, then I gasped when Kent asked, “Will you marry me?"
I shrieked and knelt beside him. Wet snow was seeping in through my jeans as I threw my arms around his neck and whispered, "Yes, yes, yes...a billion times yes!" And I covered his face with kisses.
"I love you, Rachel, and always have."
“I love you more, Kent!” My hand was shaking when he pulled off my other glove and slipped the platinum ring on my finger. Then we hugged and fell over in the snow. After tumbling over and over a few times, we sat up and giggled. Then Kent pulled me to my feet. I stretched out my arm, flexed up my hand, and peered at my gorgeous engagement ring. It was the exact moment I had envisioned f
or so many years in myriad different scenarios. Now it had happened — it was real, not a dream!
When we brushed off our coats and headed back toward the horses, I turned to Kent. "Would it be all right if we invite Daddy and Sally and see if they want to do a double ceremony."
Kent pulled me close to his chest and gazed down at me with a sly grin on his face. "Rachel, I bet Sam would be honored to get married with his daughter."
I cocked my head to one side. "What makes you say that?”
"Sam is a man who puts the love of his daughter before everything. He's been hoping we would get together all along! That's one of the reasons he hired me."
“Did he tell you that?”
“Kinda.”
Before I could ask more probing questions, Kent put his lips on mine, and we kissed until I forgot what we were talking about. My head was still spinning as we started back toward the house. Kent turned and peered at the mountains behind us and pointed toward Eagle Peak. "Isn't that fitting,” he mused. When I turned around to see what he was referring to, I noticed how the sky was lit up in the most beautiful colors of purple, pink and yellow. It was the most beautiful sunset.
I nudged Georgie and rode up beside Kent. Then I grinned, and said, “This time you're not getting away from me. We're riding off into our future together!”
“Agreed,” he said. Then he winked just before he dug the heels of his boots into Licorice’s side. Speeding ahead, Kent held his Stetson high and hollered, “Ye ha, and Merry Christmas!”
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A SEALS’s Secret Desire
(Second Chance Military Romance)
by
Arabella Steedly
CHAPTER ONE
The undertow tugged against James as frigid waves crashed on the beach. The rip current was strong and pulled him further off shore. Breathless, he came up for air. Swimming at an angle against the tide his fins churned as he skimmed the surface back to Coronado Beach. Lieutenant James Conway, a ripped Navy SEAL, had finished another routine workout. After peeling off his wetsuit and slipping his fins in their mesh bag, James jogged back to the base. At age twenty-six his dream was to work his way up through the ranks to general. He was well on his way, solid promotions, clean record. James had learned to take one assignment at a time, do his best and move on to the next.
A few weeks back, gossip was buzzing around the base that the first female could be arriving with the next Navy SEAL Class any day. The guys, nary a one of them, thought a female could handle the mental and physical stress of a SEAL. It was a consensus that females were much more sensitive creatures and they wondered how she would react in a battlefield situation? James didn’t know if he liked the idea of a female team member, either. He could trust the guys without flinching an eye, but a female…The problem was, James had grown up with three sisters, and had seen first hand how bitchy they could sometimes be. When it was ‘that time of the month,’ if he had looked at them the wrong way, they either screamed at him or cried. How the hell would that work on a SEAL team?
Laying in his rack James pondered his situation. He remembered watching the movie The Lords of Discipline and how the first black recruit had been singled out in military school. He feared she would have a rough time too. What if she turned out like Demi Moore in GI Jane? James had remembered watching that movie, and as a kid agreed with his father that women had no place in the military. Not that women weren’t fantastic creatures, but he came to the conclusion he still believed women were not cut out to be in a battlefield position, much less a Navy SEAL. When he turned over and looked out his window at the blue Pacific, it dawned on him it was his mindset about the idea he feared the most. Since James would be helping to train and protect her simultaneously, he wondered how he would react or the others too for that matter. The commander had made it clear. He had to find a way to make their new situation work. One day, he would be a general, come hell or high water.
Commander Jones was worried too when he said, “Look, Conway, you’re one of my best. I need a favor. When that female recruit gets here, I don’t want the DC brass up my ass over any damn bad press. I need you to make damn sure the other guys don’t harass her. You know, purposely wash her out of BUD/S training. Do you think you can do that, Conway?”
“I don’t know how much influence I’ll have, sir!”
“Here’s why, for one, you intimidate the hell out of most of them. For two, I trust you, and I know that everyone else in the unit does too. So if you encourage her it will help, believe me.”
James stiffened and raised his chin. “You can count on me, sir!”
***
Two days later while James was working on the training schedule, he kept an eye out for the bus. They had gotten word the female would be coming with the next batch of new recruits, and they were due that morning. Every time he heard a sound that resembled a bus approaching he leaped up and hurried to the window. He must have paced back and forth a dozen times. He worried about all the things that could go wrong and most likely would. New male recruits were hazed. Of course, he hadn’t met her yet. So he tried to push his negative thoughts to one side.
He hoped, prayed even that she would simply not show up. Quit before she got started. Down deep inside he knew better, though. If she was anything like him, he was sure they both had a long slog ahead of them. First, she would have to make it through the initial eight-week training. After completing BUD/S, she’d advance to another three weeks of Basic Parachute Training. The first phase included a segment labeled ‘Hell Week’ for a good reason. He had sweated getting through it himself.
Finally, the bus rumbled up and screeched to a halt. The sun was high in the Southern California sky when the door slid open and one-by-one the recruits stepped off onto the pavement. She was second to last. Behind his polarized aviator shades, he studied her from a distance before he approached. “Shit,” he mumbled under his breath. “Why the hell did she have to be a leggy blond?” He wondered if they would shave her bald. It would be the best thing to do, to test her resolve. If she were allowed to keep it at shoulder length, she would stand out like a sore thumb. It would start a ruckus for sure if she were treated any differently than the others.
“Hello, I’m Lieutenant James Conway, one of your instructors.” He looked her square in her azure eyes.
She stood at attention and saluted him, “Sir, Chief Petty Officer Sarah Connors reporting for duty.”
***
Sarah had felt the pressure as soon as she picked up her duffle and followed James into the barracks. She kept reminding herself to be confident. Sarah was an award winning swimmer in high school and had broken many records. Her accomplishments paired with her natural athletic abilities and her outstanding Naval record led to her selection for SEALs training.
As they hustled past the flag pole, she thought of her father; he was her hero. He had been one of the few original SEALs to survive the Vietnam War. Ever since she had heard his stories as a young girl, her dream was to become a SEAL too. So when the military decided to allow females into the program, she leaped at the opportunity. She knew there were many chauvinists out there who were cheering against her, but she had the one person on her side that mattered the most—Daddy. She could still picture the gleam in his eyes when she gave him the news she was accepted. Just before she left home he was hugging her, saying, “You know Sarah, not many women could do this, but you can. I’ve raised you to be tough,
and not to take any crap from anyone, especially, a cocky sailor. Just be prepared for anything. Those guys will try their best to kick your ass. Hang tough, like I taught you!”
She figured James had not recognized her, how could he? The last time James had seen her was at her brother’s graduation. She had only been fourteen at the time, with braces on her teeth. James was one of the regular’s around their house growing up. He had been the one to tease her. He loved to call her, ‘metal mouth.’ He was best friends with George Jr., her brother. She was notorious for hanging around her brother’s friends as much as they would allow. She still remembered the teenage crush she had on James, and so did several of her girlfriends. When he had left for the military, she cried thinking she would never see him again. Then, two years later George was killed in a car accident. She still missed her brother and always would. But her father had been hit the hardest by George Junior’s death. He had hoped both of his children would follow his career path.
A Distant Heart: A Contemporary Western Page 11
