The young woman placed the tray back into the display case and pulled out another assortment of rings. One ring caught his eye immediately; it was exactly how he had imagined it in his head.
“May I see that one?” Raleigh pointed to the one with a large princess cut diamond and three smaller diamonds on each side; the band was rose gold. It is perfect, he thought as he held the ring in his hand. His hand was large, engulfing the ring, but he held it up with his thumb and index finger and imagined it on Samantha’s finger.
“Can I get it engraved?” Raleigh asked.
“Yes, sir, you can. Would you like to purchase this one?”
“Yes, I will take this one. One question. How much?” He held his breath, hoping it wasn’t going to break his savings, but for her, it didn’t matter if he spent every last dime. She was worth it.
“This ring, sir, is twenty-two thousand five-hundred fifty-nine dollars. Do you want me to show you something a little cheaper?” she asked. Waiting to hear his response, she started to take the ring and put it back in the tray until Raleigh said, “Nope, I will take this one. This one is perfect,” he replied in his typical southern twang.
“Are you sure, sir?” she asked again.
“Yep, sure am. Go ahead and have it engraved with these words: Always and Forever I Will Love You. If you can’t fit it all, just do the Always and Forever part. Can I see those charm bracelets now, ma’am?”
The young woman stood silent for a moment, almost surprised, then Raleigh looked back at her and said, “Darlin’, don’t mistake the southern twang and the uniform for not having money. I have probably been deployed more months than you have worked here and have saved just about every dime of it. So let’s see those charm bracelets.” Raleigh smiled and winked at the young lady.
“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to assume.”
“It’s okay, no problem. I’ve been called worse.” He laughed and she smiled.
“If you follow me, sir, I will show you the charm bracelets and the assortment of charms.”
She pulled one tray out then another, and Raleigh began rummaging through the different charms until he found some that matched his and Samantha’s relationship. He pulled out a heart, a teddy bear, a mask, a gun, a horse, a tie, a rope, a music note, a boat, an elephant, a plane, and a big Alabama script A. Each charm meant something different from their time together. “I will take these charms and this bracelet. Can you put the charms on the bracelet, and can you wrap both the keychain and bracelet? When can I come pick up the ring?”
“I will need the size of the ring,” the young woman countered. “And I believe we can get it engraved today.”
“Oh yeah. I borrowed one of her rings. Can you get the size from it?” Raleigh asked, praying it would be good enough.
“Definitely, sir. Just hold one moment, and I will get the size. Here is the order sheet. Can you write down exactly what you want the engraving to say?” She slid the sheet to Raleigh, who did as she asked.
The young saleswoman walked into the back room, and within a few minutes, she was back and had the bracelet and keyring wrapped and ready for him.
“I have her ring size. She wears a four, just for future reference.” She smiled and said, “She’s a lucky lady. This is one of my favorite rings in the entire store. Just give me a few minutes for the engraver to add your words. How would you like to pay for this, sir?” she asked as she handed Raleigh the bag with the keyring and bracelet in it.
“That’s perfect ma’am. Thank you. And I will pay with my Visa card,” Raleigh said. Handing her his card, he watched as the saleswoman swiped it and gave him the receipt to sign and handed his card back to him. He quickly signed it then grabbed his bag and headed to his truck.
Driving back to the hotel, he realized it was already eighteen-thirty hours. Samantha should be waiting at the Twisted Kitty, so it would be a quick shower and out the door.
***
Samantha
As Matt pulled into the parking lot, Samantha smoothed her skirt and waited for him to park the car. It was almost nineteen hundred hours, so she hoped she wouldn’t have to wait long before Raleigh arrived. Samantha had met some of the men from his old unit previously but didn’t know them well enough to feel comfortable alone with them. Samantha was starting to get anxious to see Raleigh; it had only been a couple of hours, but it seemed like a lifetime. It had to be special tonight. In her purse, she had a card with season tickets to University of Alabama football games and a dog tag that read: “Raleigh my love, I want you Forever and Always. I love you. SC SC Samantha.”
The other half of her surprise she was wearing under her clothes—black sheer bra and panties she had purchased from the mall at Victoria’s Secret. Before she had left the hotel, she had arranged to have the room decorated with rose petals and have chilled wine along with chocolate-covered strawberries and whipped cream delivered to the room. There would also be ice cream in the freezer and chocolate syrup in the pantry. She followed Matt inside, and he quickly found the table with Raleigh’s buddies she had previously met.
Chapter 18
The music was pounding, and Jackson had decided to sit next to Samantha to keep her company while the others were on the dance floor or trying to pick up women. She had only met him one other time, and she really liked him. He reminded her of a younger version of Raleigh. Jackson walked with a cane, and he was still recovering from his last surgery, so he sat down and chatted with her. He wanted to make Samantha feel comfortable, so he struck up a conversation.
“So, Samantha, how do you like Fayetteville so far?” Jackson asked as he gulped down another bottle of beer.
“I really like it. Beautiful part of the country. I am excited to move over here.”
“Oh yeah. When are you doing that?” Jackson asked as he leaned in to hear her over the music.
“Hopefully soon. We gotta wrap up this investigation. Until then, I’m in the hotel up the road a bit from here. Raleigh and I have stayed there for a while now. I’ll be happy to get all my stuff here and get settled in. What about you, Jackson? It is Jackson, right?”
“Yes, ma’am, it is. Well, I have an apartment on the other side of town. I like it, but it’s quiet and lonely at times. I do spend a lot of time in physical therapy, so it keeps my mind occupied. Bryant has a knack for dragging me out of the apartment a lot,” Jackson said, pointing to Bryant who noticed and strolled over to see what was going on.
“No girlfriends?”
“No ma’am, not anymore,” Jackson replied, his face visibly saddened thinking about it.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” Samantha said, but Jackson interrupted her.
“You’re fine, ma’am. Just one of those things that will never be,” Jackson said as Bryant slid in, pushing Jackson against the wall of the booth.
“What’s crackin-a-lackin’, Jackson?” Bryant said, grabbing Jackson’s beer and gulping down the remainder. “I’ll grab ya another. You want one, ah, Sammie is it?”
“Yeah, I’ll have an MGD long neck bottle please.”
“All right, don’t move. I will be right back,” Bryant said, getting up and pushing his way to the bar.
“So,” Jackson turned back to Samantha, “what’s the deal with you and Chief?” This was the question Samantha had been dreading, but she guessed everyone had pretty much figured it out so it wouldn’t hurt to tell, especially now that command knew. She took a deep breath through her nose and started to speak when she looked over, and Raleigh was coming their way. She was relieved and worried at the same time.
“Oh look, it’s Chief,” Samantha said, watching him as he pushed through the crowd on the dance floor. “I will let Chief answer that question, Jackson,” she said, smiling as Raleigh slid in next to her, placing his hand on her leg, kissing her on the cheek, then whispering in her ear, “Hey, baby, you look beautiful. Makes my dick hard just being next to you. I am gonna rip that dress down the middle and trace my tongue all the way from y
our lips to your wet pussy.”
Not once did he acknowledge Jackson sitting across from them until he started clearing his throat to get Raleigh’s attention. Then Raleigh turned to Jackson and said, “Hey kid, how’s it goin’? How ya feelin’?”
“I’m good but looks like you’re doing better than I am,” he said, grinning like the laughing hyena from the Lion King.
“You’re right, Jax. I am doing great. I am back home with you guys, and I have an amazing woman in my life. Can’t get much better than that. Speaking of that, I need y’all to keep an eye on Sammie with Kristen running around acting all crazy. I would feel better about leaving if I knew y’all had her back.”
Samantha was chatting with Bryant when she overheard Raleigh. “Protection! Wait, wait…I don’t need any babysitters, Raleigh.”
“I know you don’t, but if you’re unarmed you can’t defend against a gun, so let me have the guys keep an eye out. That’s all I am saying,” Raleigh said, trying to calm Samantha. She had what most would call an Irish temper, but Raleigh loved that about her.
“It’s just for twenty-four hours, a quick trip back home to Alabama, then I will be back in your arms. I promise,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her then kissed her. It was the first time they had kissed in public, in front of people who knew them. It felt like a weight had lifted from both of their shoulders.
Samantha smiled as she took in Raleigh’s scent; she did love how he smelled. She kept forgetting to look into his shaving kit to see what he wore, but she never got that far. They were usually way too busy doing other things than to be worried about cologne. Lots more important things that included no clothing and a lot of hot sweaty sex.
“Twenty-four hours. How will I ever survive without you?” she asked, flirtatiously nudging Raleigh in the arm. Then placing her hand on her forehead and leaning back, she said, “I might die. Twenty-four hours and no Fitz. Whatever will I do?”
“All right. All right, smartass. You’ve had your fun, but seriously, Sammie, do this for me, please,” he asked, placing his hand on her leg and squeezing then slowly rubbing up the length of her thigh just enough to get her attention.
Pouting, Samantha finally relented and agreed. “Fine. I don’t think it’s necessary, but if it makes you feel better, I will let Jackson sit with me, and he can sleep on the pull-out bed in the room. Deal?”
“Deal,” Raleigh said, then looking over at Jackson. “Are you okay with it? Guess we probably should’ve asked you first,” Raleigh said with a bit of a laugh and a half smile.
“Sure, Chief. I got nothing else to do, and besides, I can get to know Samantha better without you huddling over us,” Jackson replied, finding it hard not to laugh, but he failed as he watched Raleigh slide in closer to Samantha.
“Remember, kid, she’s mine. Don’t make me come back here and kick your ass. Behave.”
Jackson leaned back in the booth. “Chief, for as long as you have known me, have you ever known me to not?”
Raleigh laughed and replied, “And that’s why you’re staying with Sammie and not Bryant.”
“Hey, now I resemble that remark,” Bryant spoke up once he heard his name. “Yeah, Mccalister and I will be outside in the truck watching the hotel.”
“Holy shit, guys, this isn’t some mission. It’s only twenty-four hours,” Samantha appealed, but her words fell on deaf ears. Before she could even finish her sentence, the men were already devising the plan for Operation Samantha.
They were now in their element and in their own worlds, so this was a good a time as any to go to the bathroom. Sliding out of the booth, Samantha pushed past all the dancers and down the narrow hallway in the back of the bar where just a few nights ago she and Raleigh had snuck out the back door and become one with nature. She still laughed at the sight of Raleigh chasing her around the tree in back with his pants around his ankles.
Samantha rounded the corner to the bathroom and pushed open the door, almost hitting a woman as she was grabbing for the door handle. “I’m sorry, hun. I almost got you. Are you okay?” Samantha asked, trying to check on the lady.
“I’m fine,” the woman said as she stepped back, her head lowered to the floor as Samantha walked past her and pushed the door to the stall open.
That was weird, nothing but an “I’m fine.” Samantha finished and walked over to the sink to wash up and check her hair when she heard something behind her. She turned to look up and faced the barrel of a 9mm handgun pushed into her face. Then she recognized the woman she had just moments ago apologized to. It was Kristen, and she was standing in front of Samantha holding a gun to her head. Trying to gather her thoughts, Samantha tried to reason with the young woman.
“Why don’t you stay dead?” the woman screamed at Samantha, shoving the 9mm into her forehead. Samantha was confused at first, but then she remembered the body of the maid at the hotel. Kristen was at the hotel!
“Kristen, your name is Kristen, right?”
“Yes, but shut up and just walk,” Kristen said, pushing the gun to the side of Samantha’s head.
“Kristen, where do you want me to go?” Samantha asked. As she tried to think of ideas to get out of her current situation, she started to move toward the door. “All right, I’m walking.” Sam grabbed the door handle and slowly opened it. Samantha knew she had to at least get outside. She didn’t want anyone in the bar to get hurt by a stray bullet if she tried to wrestle the gun from Kristen.
“Why don’t we go outside, Kristen, and talk? Okay?”
“I don’t want to talk. I want to put a bullet in your brain.” Kristen pressed the barrel into Samantha’s temple. “Just walk, don’t talk. I don’t want to hear your voice,” she screamed.
“All right, all right. I won’t talk. We will go outside.”
Samantha walked out into the small hallway toward the back door, looking back toward the bar area hoping that she might catch Raleigh’s attention as she opened the emergency door to walk outside.
“Put your hands up,” Kristen screamed as the two emerged outside and walked toward the tree behind the bar.
“Why are you doing this, Kristen? Can you at least tell me why before you put a bullet in my head?” Samantha asked, turning her head back to try and look Kristen in the eyes.
“I said turn around and walk,” Kristen said, pushing Samantha in the back and forcing her forward.
Samantha used that forward momentum to dip down far enough to swing under the gun and toward Kristen, knocking the gun loose from her hand and into the gravel parking lot. Samantha scrambled for the gun, grabbing it right before Kristen, who turned and ran for her car.
“Kristen, come back! I am not going to hurt you.” As Samantha screamed the words, the door to the back of the bar opened at the same time dust kicked up in the air from Kristen’s car as she sped away. When the door opened, it was Raleigh who looked at Samantha, puzzled.
“Where’d you get the gun?” he asked.
Samantha shrugged her shoulders. “It would be compliments of your ex, Kristen, who had it pointed at my head. She ambushed me in the bathroom and had plans to shoot me in the head until I knocked the gun out of her hand and she ran off.”
Raleigh grabbed Samantha and held her. “Are you okay? She didn’t hurt ya, did she?”
“Nah, I am fine. Just a tad bit pissed off is all but I will get over it.” Samantha nudged Raleigh in the ribs. “I just don’t get why I am her target. I mean, I get it that she wants you, and I get that she’s gotta be scared, but to resort to murder is beyond my understanding. She has a baby on the way. She should be concentrating on that child and not me. Does she not understand that women every day have babies without a man around? I feel bad for her, Raleigh, I really do. I wish I could help her.”
“See, this is one of the many reasons I fell in love with you, Sammie. You care for everyone but yourself. I think if I weren’t around, you would give the shirt off your back to someone in need,” Raleigh explained as he bent down and
got on one knee.
“I was going to wait until later, but now, this seems as good a time as any.”
Samantha watched as Raleigh got down on his knee. She knew what it meant, but she couldn’t conceive the possibility.
Raleigh reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box and held it out to her. “Samantha O’Hara, will you…” Raleigh opened the small box that contained a keychain and on it a key, “…move in with me?”
Samantha’s face turned a rosy pink as she thought about what she was expecting and what she got. She popped him on the head with her hand and started to laugh. “Seriously?” She giggled, laughing more at herself than at Raleigh.
“Yes, of course, I will move in with you. Next time, don’t make such a theatrical performance out of it. I thought you were…Oh, never mind…hand it over,” she said.
“All right, but with this key comes great responsibility.” Raleigh laughed as he stood in front of Samantha and handed her the keyring.
Samantha was a bit disappointed it wasn’t an engagement ring, but in reality, they were really just still getting to know each other, and that was okay. She would take what she could get when she could get it. Raleigh was still a bit of an enigma to her, and they were still feeling each other out, so living together might just be what the doctor ordered. Even though she had said, “I love you,” and she did love him, it also scared the hell out of her. She couldn’t get over the feeling that it would all blow up in her face somehow. She just didn’t know; she tried to put it in the back of her mind, but it always seemed to creep in.
“You okay, Sammie? You seem a million miles away,” Raleigh probed.
“Oh, I’m good. I’m great, actually. I am just imagining what your apartment looks like.”
“Well right now, Jared’s parents have been checking up on it, but in a few days it’s all ours. All my things are in storage and in Alabama. While I am there, I will arrange to have everything moved back here.”
Warranted Desires Page 14
