Forget Me Not (Love in the Fleet)

by Ashby, Heather

  “No.”

  “I just thought you did what you told the children. Flew up and down the shoreline, keeping us safe. And maybe did some Search and Rescue when someone got in trouble. I didn’t realize you…”

  “It’s a scary world out there, Daisy. And there are plenty of bad guys making it worse. So, yeah, I’ve hunted down my share of pirates, and killed terrorists who needed to be killed, and disrupted my share of drug deals at sea.”

  She had the urge to run away as fast as her little legs could carry her. He’d been in combat and killed people? Nobody escaped unscathed from doing that.

  “I guess I didn’t—so tell me again about being evacuated with them. I mean, I didn’t realize it was them when you mentioned it yesterday.”

  Brian smiled at her. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather talk about kissing.”

  “No, tell me.” Daisy fought to keep the tremor from her voice. “This is fascinating.”

  Brian settled back on the blanket, gazing at the clouds. “Well, it was pretty scary. Not the attack. We took care of those guys. Actually that was thrilling. You know. Doing real world things we’d only trained to do before. But the fact that Bill was in a coma. I felt pretty powerless.”

  Afraid he’d see the panic in her face, Daisy busied herself, managing to dish out fruit salad and hoping Brian wouldn’t see her hand shaking.

  “I didn’t have control over much that night. I mean, I couldn’t bring him out of the coma or anything. So I did what I could do. I flew them to Bahrain, then I promised him I’d take care of Hallie if something happened to him. You know, if he didn’t make it. He’s been my wingman since the day we met, and I knew how much he loved her.” He turned and looked at Daisy. “I swear I would have married her if I thought that’s what he’d wanted me to do. And if she’d agreed, of course.”

  The tightness in Daisy’s chest constricted even further.

  “You would have married her? Did you ever tell him this? You know, after he was okay?” She tried to choke down the fruit, but gave up.

  Sky chuckled and turned back to cloud gazing. “Yeah, he said, ‘Gee, I don’t know whether to shake your hand or punch you in the nose.’ But he got it. He knew I would have done anything for him. And I know he’d do anything for me. That’s what brothers do.”

  “But he’s not your brother.”

  “I like to think he is. Funny, I’ve got two brothers of my own, but I’m closer to Bill and Nick and Mikey than either of them.” He turned to her. “Okay, that’s it. Can we get back to kissing now?”

  Daisy ignored him as she packed up the food. She was paralyzed by the thought that not only had he been in combat, but he’d somehow felt obligated to Hallie McCabe if her husband had died. She couldn’t imagine how Brian might behave if he knew about Jack. And she didn’t want to find out. “And you felt responsible for his wife?”

  “She was his fiancée at the time. But, yeah, I would have taken care of Hallie if he’d died. Because I promised him I would and…I should keep quiet, right?”

  “But marriage is a pretty big deal.”

  “So is keeping a promise to your buddy.” He rubbed the top of his head over and over. Then he turned to her. “Way to kill the mood, huh?” He paused, but she just sat there and stared at him. “Anyway, she never came back to the ship. I don’t know how she got permission to go with him all the way to Bethesda, but she got to stay with him the whole time he was at the Wounded Warrior Barracks. She said she knew people in high places and she’d called in a favor. Must have been some favor. So she didn’t need me to take care of her, but I would have.”

  “Because you felt obligated.”

  “Yeah.” Brian helped her pack up and turned the charm back on all at the same time. “So can we get out of here now? Go somewhere a little more private and talk about other things?”

  “No, Brian, I have to go.” Daisy couldn’t even look him in the eye as she shouldered the picnic bag.

  He bolted up. “Already? What happened to ‘maybe?’ What happened to ‘We have all night, Romeo?’”

  She worked to keep the desperation from her voice. “Sorry, I’m on call tonight. I don’t have to be there the whole time, but I do have to anticipate being called.”

  “Can I come and anticipate with you? I love to anticipate,” he said with the smallest twitch of his lips.

  “No, why don’t you go home and anticipate your trip. Surely you have packing to do or something.” Daisy headed toward the parking lot. He chased after her.

  “I’d fly up tomorrow in wet clothes with no luggage if it meant I could spend more time with you tonight, Daisy.”

  She looked straight ahead, making a beeline for her car. She unlocked the Jeep from the street. Her feet couldn’t carry her away from him fast enough. Daisy climbed into the Jeep and turned to him. “Have a safe trip. I’ll see you when you get back. I’m sure Daisy Mae will have some infirmity from missing you all week.”

  She saw the desperation and confusion in his face. “Daisy, what just happened here?”

  But she didn’t answer. Just slammed her door, put the car in drive, and left him standing in the dust. Surely she’d confused him. He was probably still stuck on that mind-blowing experience in the surf, but Daisy was stuck on two words: combat and obligation.

  Chapter 10

  “Dude, you did that? I’m in awe of you, man,” Sky said to Philip as they assessed Hallie’s very pregnant belly, where she sat on their living room sofa. Philip, or “Bill Gates” as Sky called him, was the first of the Highwaymen to marry and certainly the first to become a parent.

  “Hello. I helped,” Hallie piped up.

  Philip and Sky turned to each other, shook their heads, then looked back at her.

  “Nah, it’s a guy thing,” Sky said.

  “Do you want to feel her kick?” Hallie asked.

  “Oh, I don’t think so, Hallie. It would be a little weird.”

  She looked conspiratorially at her husband, “Did you ask him yet?”

  “No.” He turned to Sky. “We’d like you to be godfather to Suzanna.”

  “Me? A godfather? To a girl? Come on, Bill, you’ve got to be kidding. What could I do for a little girl?”

  “Maybe you could teach her about the kind of guys to stay away from?” Philip laughed as he sat down and mindlessly stroked Hallie’s stomach.

  Sky had to look away from the intimacy. He glanced back when he realized he wanted exactly what Philip had. Suddenly he longed to have a woman in his life that loved him with her whole heart. And who he loved back. A woman who would welcome him sitting with her, stroking their unborn child together. Didn’t know if he deserved to ever have that, but he damn sure realized he wanted to try.

  “Now don’t laugh, but I’ve changed my ways. Well, sort of.” Sky pulled up a chair and joined the intimate family gathering. “I kind of met somebody.”

  “What else is new?” Philip asked, but changed his tune as soon as his wife reprimanded him with the look.

  “No, I mean it. Daisy’s different.”

  “Daisy? Sky has a Daisy?” Philip said. He and Hallie looked at each other in disbelief.

  “Yeah. She makes all the other women I ever dated seem like bimbos.”

  “That’s because they were bimbos, Sky,” Philip suggested.

  He looked pensive for a moment. “Well, there’s that.”

  “Tell us about her,” Hallie said.

  “Well, she’s a vet. Not a military vet; a real vet. You know, a veterinarian. And see, I got this cat.”

  “You got a what?” Hallie asked.

  “A cat. Okay, so I took Daisy Mae—that’s my cat—to the vet and—”

  Hallie’s eyebrow arched in amusement. “You named the cat after your vet?”

  “Yeah. So that’s ho
w Daisy and I met and we, um, spend a lot of time together.”

  “I bet you do.” Philip grinned knowingly as he coaxed him on.

  “It’s not like that. We do volunteer work and stuff.”

  “Volunteer work? You?” Philip and Hallie exchanged glances.

  “Yeah, like community service with old people and little kids.”

  “You’re doing community service with old people and little kids?” Philip repeated, incredulous.

  Sky’s eyes darted back and forth between them. He was probably shocking them. Hell, he was shocking himself. He shrugged as if it was nothing. “Yeah.”

  Philip turned to Hallie. “Honey, do we have a thermometer or should I call the EMTs?”

  Hallie’s eyes danced with amusement. “Sorry, but you couldn’t have shocked me more if you told me you were going to church.”

  The look Sky gave them said it all. Philip flew from the couch, his hand to Sky’s forehead, feigning distress. “Who are you and what have you done with the Skylark?”

  “Hey, cut it out. Her church is working on a Habitat thing and I can hammer as well as the next guy.”

  “So is it safe to assume the sex is that good for you to be doing all this?”

  “Philip…” Hallie admonished him.

  Sky’s mouth twitched in a wry grin. “I sure hope so.”

  Philip tried to keep a straight face, but failed. “You don’t know?”

  “Nope. Haven’t had sex since Daisy Mae moved into my apartment.” And Daisy moved into my heart. Where the hell had that come from?

  “Look, maybe you guys need to take this conversation somewhere else? This is way too much information for me.” Hallie readjusted her maternity top and reached for her book.

  “Come on, Sky. Let’s go get a beer. Somewhere we can talk man to man.” And then under his breath, he muttered, “Sky’s got the hots for someone he is not having sex with. This I gotta hear.”

  “Wait. Hallie, you’ll like this. She calls me Brian.”

  “Ooh, sounds like a grown-up relationship. You know, Bri-an, I’ve never called Philip anything but ‘Philip.’ Well, you know, when I’m not calling him stud muffin.”

  Sky put his hands over his ears. “Talk about too much information.”

  Hallie and Philip laughed.

  She shifted her bulk on the sofa. “My point is, you guys with your sophomoric nicknames—especially you aviators—I think they serve to keep you wallowing in immaturity. Maybe it’s time for you boys to grow up.”

  Sky looked at Philip and said, “What do you think, Phil-up? You think we should grow up?”

  “Only if we have to, Bri-an.”

  “Ass-hole.”

  “Jerk-off.”

  Hallie rolled her eyes. “I mean, naming me Lacey after one silly mistake. How was I supposed to know my microphone was on when I was trying to revive Philip? You’re the one who told me that whispering ‘lavender lace skivvies’ would bring him out of the coma.” Hallie smiled hesitantly over the memory from that otherwise nightmare of a Med-Evac flight two years ago.

  “We usually get our nicknames from one silly mistake, sweetheart.”

  “Do not tell me you pull that sweetheart stuff around Daisy.”

  “Yeah, and it drives her crazy.”

  “Crazy she likes it, or crazy get-out-of-my-face, jerk?”

  “Um, the latter, but…”

  Hallie threw up her hands in surrender. “I rest my case.”

  “Hey, I don’t call women anything I don’t call my helicopter and you know how much I love her.”

  “Yeah, and tell me again why the military calls their ships and aircraft ‘her,’ in case I forgot.” Cynicism dripped from Hallie’s voice.

  The men cried in unison, “Because they’re so expensive to keep in paint and powder!”

  “You guys are incorrigible.” Hallie shook her head but chuckled just the same. “Philip, I swear, you lose a year’s worth of maturity every minute you spend with him.”

  “Thanks for getting me in trouble, Sky.”

  Sky’s grin lit the room. “Bite me, bro.”

  Philip grabbed his jacket. “Come on. Let’s go get a beer.”

  “So we can talk like men?”

  “Nah, so we can talk about not growing up.” Philip kissed Hallie on the lips and then on the belly. He looked at Sky and waggled his eyebrows. “Although I gotta admit. Growing up does have its benefits.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to feel the baby, Bri-an?” Hallie asked. “She’s kicking right now.”

  Sky looked from one to the other, then sat down hesitantly next to Hallie and let her place his hand on her tummy. “Hey there, little girl. What’s happ’nin’?”

  Something rippled under his hand, and then he felt a tiny thud.

  He looked up in wonder. “Oh, my God. Was that her?”

  Hallie’s face lit with joy. “Pretty cool, don’t you think?”

  “Well, yeah.” Impulsively, he leaned down and kissed her belly, just as Philip had done. “Don’t worry, honey. Uncle Sky is gonna tell you all about men. You’ll never have to worry about a thing as long as I’m around, sunshine.”

  He caught Philip exchanging a secret, humorous look with his wife as they shook their heads at him.

  “Come on Bri-an. Beer’s getting warm,” Philip said.

  “No, you don’t understand. He said he would have married her. There is no way I can keep seeing this guy,” Daisy said to Lillian as they unpacked boxes of high-protein dog food and stacked them in the waiting room.

  “Don’t you think it’s time for you to move forward, Daisy? It’s been two years. Maybe you should start dating again,” Lillian suggested.

  “I don’t need to date and if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be someone like Brian Crawford.”

  “I still say he’s cute. And he’s been nothing but a gentleman.

  “Ha!” Daisy exclaimed.

  “He’s done volunteer work with you. Didn’t you say he was helpful at all those places? You said the people loved him. And he’s definitely not hard on the eyes.” Lillian’s mouth tipped up in a sheepish grin. “You know what I think is particularly sexy about Cap’n Crawford?”

  Daisy covered her ears. “I do not want to hear this.”

  “His smile and that space between his teeth. It makes me want to, you know…” She smiled. “Explore it or something.”

  Daisy rolled her eyes, then bent to slit open another box. “Do not go there, Lillian.”

  “Oh, Daisy, I think he’d be good for you. Tell him about Jack. I bet he’ll understand. He’s a pilot.”

  “That’s exactly why I’m not interested. Just what I need. To get involved with another pilot. What if I...? What if he...? I can’t do it again. And I am not telling him about Jack so he can feel obligated to me for anything. And don’t you dare tell him either. Actually, I think it might be better for everyone if he finds himself another vet.”

  “But I’d miss him. He cheers me up every time he comes in.”

  “Well, then why don’t you go out with him? Take him off my hands. You go ahead and see if your tongue fits—never mind.”

  But Lillian was already laughing. “Ah, so we’ve tried it, have we? And does it? Fit?”

  “We did not have this conversation, Lillian.” But Daisy laughed as she stormed back to her surgery.

  Philip slid his wallet into his pocket after paying for two beers. “Holy shit, buddy, you got it bad.”

  “Got what bad?” Sky grabbed a handful of peanuts and started cracking them open.

  “You didn’t even check out that waitress, and she was a babe.”

  Sky glanced around the dimly lit, upscale bar. “What waitress?”

  “My point ex
actly.” Philip chuckled and twisted the cap off his beer. “You heard from Nick lately?”

  “No, but you know I’m flying with his brother, right?”

  “Yeah, how’s Mikey doing?”

  Sky chomped on a peanut. “Pretty good. The kid’s smart. He’s a trustworthy co-pilot, for a lieutenant j.g. I’m still amazed Nick would trust me with his baby brother though.”

  “Look, Sky, nobody questions your aviation skills. Just because no one would trust you with his sister.” They both laughed. “What’s the Nickster up to?”

  “He’s still on the USS New York, but Mikey said Nick and Brooke broke up again. Sounds like it’s for good this time.”

  Philip grimaced.

  “I mean, that’s what? The third time since graduation?” Sky reached for more peanuts. “Same old. Same old. He wants to get married. She keeps saying ‘soon.’ I know I shouldn’t say anything bad about Brooke, ’cuz she’s an Academy classmate, but I’ve always felt her Navy career was more important to her than Nick ever was. Anyway, Mikey told me Nick put in for an exchange program with the British Royal Navy.”

  “Because he’s interested in diplomatic relations?” Philip asked.

  “Naw, I think he just wants to get away from Brooke. The New York’s moving to Mayport and she’s headed there too. Anyway, if he gets accepted for the program, maybe he’ll have better luck with—ahem—international affairs.”

  Philip sipped his beer. “Speaking of affairs, what’s with this Daisy? Oh, right. Guess it can’t be called an affair if there’s no sex. What’s up with that?”

  Sky dumped his peanut shells into the bowl. “I’ve only known her a week.”

  “My point exactly. What’s wrong with you? You haven’t been vitamin-S deprived since Plebe summer.”

  “Come on, Bill. It’s not like I jump into bed with every woman I meet.” Philip leveled him with a look. “Hey, what do you think I am?”

  “That’s just it. I’ve known Sky a long time. So I’m wondering what you’ve done with him.”