“You’ll hear the chopper before you see it,” Grandpa said, sidling up next to Aria. “Then you’ll be looking around trying to find it. It’s hard to gauge what direction it’s coming from until it’s pretty close.”
“Thanks, then I’ll start listening hard.”
Stepping outside, Aria closed her eyes and hoped that shutting down one sense would heighten the other. Breezes whipped her hair around. It would be a total mess in minutes. So be it. Dex had said it was a very beautiful mess.
She opened her eyes. The whirring in the distance had to be the chopper, but where was it?
The noise grew with intensity.
“I hear it! Hey, everybody, I hear the helicopter.”
Footfalls hurried toward her from several directions.
Lights appeared in the sky and got bigger and bigger as the sound grew louder.
“There it is. The chopper’s coming.” Aria’s heart beat wildly.
“Everybody, go back into the hangar. When that baby comes down, it’s going to kick up quite a dust storm and practically burst your eardrums.” Grandpa shooed them inside.
The helicopter descended and hovered twenty feet from the ground. Dirt, grass, dust, everything swirled in a cloud just like Grandpa had described. Inside the cockpit, the pilot gave a smile and a wave, then turned the craft broadside, and set it down. The rotors slowed to a gentle rhythm.
“Oh, Mom, I’m so scared.”
Mom wrapped an arm around Aria’s waist. “I know.”
The chopper door slid open. Four men jumped out and let out a boisterous whoop. Two more followed and howled with the others.
“Do you recognize them? Are they our guys?” Aria hadn’t met at least half of the men in the unit.
“Yes, they’re ours, and they seem pretty happy to be home.”
The rotors came to a stop as Aria walked toward the chopper with her mother.
Dad leaped to the ground, smiled, and waved.
Mom waved back. “Now that’s a pleasant sight. He looks good. Handsome as ever.”
Edward and Marcus sprang out of the bird, turned back toward it, and beckoned with waving hands. “Come on, gimpy. We’ll give you a hand,” Edward shouted.
Dex appeared and squatted at the doorway. He used Edward and Marcus’s shoulders to support him as he took a slow jump to the ground.
“Oh, no, he’s hurt.” Aria broke into a jog. “Dex!”
Dex smiled and spread his arms, then moaned as she crashed to his chest.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yeah, but my ribs on this side are bruised pretty bad. Come here, you.” Dex drew her close and kissed her hard. “I love you, Ari.”
“And I love you.”
One of the guys Aria didn’t know came up beside her and Dex. “Your boyfriend ought to be the new poster boy for Kevlar. You should see his helmet and body armor.” He laughed and shook his head.
“What? You…got shot?”
Dex smiled. “Sort of.”
“How does a person get sort of shot?”
“The bullet that hit my helmet rang my bell really good, and the one that hit my chest plate knocked the wind out of me and put me to the ground. So, technically, I didn’t get shot because a bullet never touched me.”
Aria hugged Dex’s neck. “I don’t ever want you to get shot again. I need you in my life. Always and forever.”
“I’ll try to duck next time.”
How wonderful it felt to be in Dex’s arms, to know he was safe, and that he loved her. “I have so much to tell you.”
He pulled back and looked at her. “About what?”
“You were right about the professor. He was bad to the bone. And no, he didn’t touch me. But…let’s not talk about that now. In fact, let’s not talk at all.” Aria kissed him over and over, savoring his lips, his touch, and his very presence.
* * * *
Holding Aria was the next best thing to heaven, even if his ribs ached while doing it. Dex smoothed her hair and kissed her neck. “Know what? I figured out the reason you’re having trouble with the lyrics for ‘A Soldier’s Song.’”
“Oh, and what did you come up with?” Pulling back a bit, she smiled up at him.
“You can’t write the lyrics because it’s a personal and private song. Each soldier sings it in his heart. The song my heart sings for you is too deep to be put into words.”
“That’s beautiful. Thank you. I guess I can consider my work on it complete.”
“That’s right.” He pulled her back into a tight hug. “Man, do you smell nice. I wouldn’t mind standing here with you like this all—”
“Dex? What is it?” Aria turned, following his gaze.
“Dad?”
Dex turned Aria loose and she stepped aside.
His father walked toward him, his face twisted in a distressed way Dex had never seen before.
“Dad, what are you doing here?”
Dad sobbed and threw his arms around Dex. “Jason, my son, my son. Are you all right?”
“I’m okay. Just bruised.”
“Thank God.” His father cried harder. “I’m so sorry, Jason. I’ve been proud of you for so many years, but…but at the same time I was afraid something would happen to you. That you’d be killed, or, or, seriously injured. Please forgive me.”
Dex could scarcely believe what he was hearing. He had all but given up hope, but his father was here, in the flesh, and this was for real. “I do forgive you. I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, Jason. More than I can say.”
Oh, how long Dex had waited to hear those words. They were like honey to the ears. He had his dad back again. A seemingly impossible dream had finally come true.
A Soldier Finds His Way
Don’t miss the touching first book in Irene Onorato’s Veteran’s Heart series.
Sometimes getting lost is the best way home . . .
After a painful youth spent in foster homes, Special Forces soldier Edward Giordano has all but given up on love. Returning to New York from a dangerous mission in Costa Rica with no one to welcome him home, he knows he must find a way through his bitterness and embrace faith, or he’s destined for misery and loneliness. But he never expects that saving someone else’s life might help him save his own…
Audra Lorenzo is a first-year school teacher with a bright future. All she’s missing is a man to share her happiness. Her father wants her to rekindle her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, but she can’t stop thinking about the handsome, kind, and courageous soldier who rescued her from a near-deadly car accident…
Edward too, has not stopped thinking of Audra. After making peace with God and with his difficult past, he’s ready to re-connect with her and reveal his feelings. Edward knows that opening his heart will mean risking pain, but he’s prepared for whatever comes—from a perilous deployment to Audra’s meddling father…
Chapter 1
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have just been cleared to land at Stewart International Airport. Again, we ask that you stay in your seat with your belt securely fastened. We should be on the ground shortly.”
Lieutenant Edward Giordano rubbed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as landing gear hummed and vibrated his seat. The carrot-top boy in the adjacent seat yanked the tail of his seatbelt tight enough to make grooves in his thighs, glanced up and managed a smile laced with a little fear.
Edward regretted his verbal mistreatment of the child. He’d rejected the boy’s offer of temporary friendship and couldn’t bring himself to respond to his timid smile. Sure, the kid had fired questions faster than a .50 cal machine gun for half the flight, and had poked him with a pencil-sharp elbow as he colored in his book and hogged the shared armrest.
Even so, his conscience nag
ged him. He could have tried to be civil instead of chewing the kid out and finally telling him to shut up.
Major Greco’s squinty-eyed glare drilled into him from across the aisle. The message was clear. Be nice to the kid, or he’d knock Edward’s teeth out.
Turbulence bounced the plane. The boy gripped the armrests and squeezed his eyes shut. Even if Edward could choke up an apology, now wasn’t the time to deliver it.
“Welcome to Newburgh.” The flight attendant smiled at Edward as he exited the plane.
Greco’s boots clomped beside him on the way to baggage claim. Sergeant Dexter and Corporal Jackson brought up the rear, talking loud, and laughing hard, happy to be back home. Edward couldn’t fault them. Three months of back-to-back missions, dodging bullets in hot, sweaty Costa Rica had zapped the energy out of the whole unit.
Suitcases burst through rubber flaps and started their journey around the baggage carousel.
The redheaded boy waited across the carousel with his parents as the luggage circled a sign that flashed their flight number and origin. The boy said something to his father and pointed at Edward. The boy’s father then shook his fist in Edward’s direction. Edward smirked and shrugged it off.
“Jackson,” Greco said. “Grab my bag when it comes around, would you please? Get Giordano’s too.”
“Lieutenant, I’d like to have a word with you.” Greco strutted past Edward toward an empty baggage carousel. Edward followed.
“LT, what’s wrong with you? That was a nice kid, and you could have treated him a whole lot better. His dad would like to beat the crap out of you, and right now, I’d like to help him. I’ve got nothing but praise for your abilities as a Special Operator, but as a man, you need a lot of work. From this point forward, when you’re wearing your uniform, you will act in a manner befitting an officer in the United States Army. An officer is not rude or unkind to civilians. This includes children.” Greco paused. “Look, your brother Hank told me you were kicked around when you were kid, and I’m sorry about that.”
Edward clenched his fists and turned to walk away.
“Lieutenant, I’m not finished with you. Attention.”
Edward snapped to attention, stood erect, and faced forward.
Greco took a deep breath. “I’m sure whatever you went through as a kid scarred you in some way, but you can’t go around venting your anger on every kid you meet. Giordano, I don’t know why I put up with you. You’re nasty, cranky, and, on the whole, quite intolerable.”
Behind Greco, automatic doors to the outside swished open, then closed. A cold wind chased a few scraps of paper inside and swirled the debris around Edward’s legs. He didn’t flinch.
“My wife, whom you refuse to meet, calls you Lieutenant Sourpuss. You’re unlikeable, yet I like you. I don’t know why, but I do. The guys like you. You snarl and bare your teeth at us at every turn, yet each one of us knows you’d take a bullet for us in a heartbeat. Underneath that rotten disposition of yours lies a good man. I don’t know how I know, but I do.”
A seed of a smile sprouted on Greco’s face and he stepped a little closer.
“Do you know what my wife said to me last time she saw you at this very airport? She said you were one of the handsomest men she’d ever seen. Not as handsome as me, of course,” he added quickly, evoking a grin from Edward. “But she said to remind you that your face wouldn’t break if you smiled once in a while. You’re wound up tight. Loosen up, son. Dismissed.”
Edward relaxed his posture but stood glued to the spot.
Greco took a few steps, but turned back when Edward didn’t follow. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m sorry I embarrassed you and the men. You’re right. I behaved badly and I have no excuse. I’ll try to control myself, sir.”
“Edward, may I speak to you as a friend and not as your commanding officer?”
He nodded.
“Look, I’m not saying you’re crazy or anything like that, but maybe you should see someone, you know, professional. You shouldn’t have to live a life of controlling yourself. Work on getting rid of those internal demons instead. Something is eating at you all the time. You don’t seem to enjoy life very much, and you should. Come on. Let’s go home.” Greco patted Edward’s back.
The men collected their gear and made for the door.
“I don’t suppose I could persuade you to meet my wife today, could I, Lieutenant?” Greco asked.
“Maybe another time, sir.”
“Need a ride, Lieutenant?” Jackson asked.
“Thanks, but my brother’s picking me up.”
“Hey, tell Hank we miss him. He’s a great guy, and the best demolition man the unit’s ever had.”
Outside, Greco dropped his duffel bag and kissed his wife passionately. Before she got in the car, she turned and waved at Edward. He returned her gesture with a nod and a quick flick of his hand. The major gave Edward an informal two-finger salute and slipped into the driver’s side.
Jackson’s two kids ran to him crying, “Daddy, Daddy,” and held on to him as he kissed his wife and stroked her hair.
A redheaded bombshell pulled a red sports car to the curb. Dexter threw his bag in the backseat, hopped in and leaned over for a few seconds of making out.
Edward’s team drove off, destined for warm houses, home-cooked meals, and tender loving from women who looked at them as though they’d hung the moon. Lucky guys. Maybe one day he’d enjoy the same benefits. First he’d have to find a woman who could put up with him. Slim chance of that happening.
Hank arrived in his Jeep and jumped out to greet him. “I’ve missed you, little brother. Come on, let’s go home.”
Edward threw his duffel bag in the back seat and got in.
“I wish you’d called me sooner, Eddie. I’ve got a ticket to fly to Miami tomorrow evening. I guess I could cancel. What do you think?” Hank maneuvered his vehicle around a snowplow.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, Hank, but go to Miami. Really. I’m bone weary. I can’t remember being this tired in all my life. I wouldn’t be much company for you anyway. You don’t mind if I use the cabin for a while, do you?”
“The cabin would be a great place for you right now. You’ve got thirty days’ leave. Rest and recuperate. It’ll be good for you.”
Edward slid his seat back and stretched his legs as snow swirled against the windshield in billowy gusts. “How long has it been snowing like this?”
“It started last night. It’s going to be a beauty of a storm.”
* * * *
Edward gritted his teeth. Why Hank would think he’d enjoy taking his brother’s mutt with him to the cabin was beyond comprehension.
“Look, if you want to borrow my snowmobile, you’re going to have to take my dog. That’s the deal.” Hank folded his arms across his chest. “Why should I pay thirty bucks a day to board her when she can go with you for a week for free? It’s not like Cricket’s a lot of trouble. All you have to do is feed her, give her water, and let her out once in a while.”
“I know how to take care of a dog, Hank. I just don’t want to. Come on, man, give me a break. I’m dead tired, and I need to get away for a while. It seems like forever since the last time I was on leave. I’ve got thirty days of freedom, and I want to spend it alone, by myself, in solitude, o solo mio. Get it? Can’t you lend me the stupid thing without any strings attached? If you were a good brother, you wouldn’t ask me to do this.”
“If you were a good brother, you’d volunteer.” Hank jingled the keys in front of Edward’s face. “No pooch, no snowmobile.”
“Fine. You win.” Edward snatched the keys. “But if I get hungry, I’m eating her. I swear I will.”
* * * *
At the remote cabin, Edward found the same dirt, dust, and musty closed-up smell as his last visit. Some fresh air, that’s what it needed. He
opened the door and windows and unloaded the supplies from the snowmobile. He took a deep breath of cold fresh air and listened to the silence of the falling snow, finding a semblance of comfort in the solitude the woods offered. Snow covered the ground and the forecast called for more, but it mattered little to him.
He was glad to be here and relieved the snowmobile had made it the five or so miles from where he’d parked his truck after stalling several times despite its recent overhaul. Hank would be ticked when he heard the knocking in the engine after all the money he’d dumped into it.
The neatly stacked pile of wood he’d cut the previous summer would last quite a while. It had been hard work swinging an ax for hours on end, but now he’d get to reap the benefits. He stoked a good blaze in the fireplace and sat back to chow down on an MRE. Tonight, he hadn’t felt like cooking, but how much longer could he endure eating mushy meals from green plastic envelopes?
Cricket sat a few feet from him with eyes that begged for attention. Each time he cast a glance at her, she shifted her weight from paw to paw in anticipation.
“Okay, it’s not your fault that you’re here. Come here, girl.”
She obeyed with puppyish enthusiasm, and he rewarded her with dual scratching behind the ears. He found her to be a nice-looking dog of dubious heritage, somewhere in the eighty-pound range. Gentle in disposition, she appeared to be mostly Lab, with a couple of other breeds mixed in. Her dark-colored coat, smooth and silky soft, made petting a mutually enjoyable experience.
“You and I’ll get along fine if you try not to talk too much, okay, pretty girl?” She wagged her tail.
Dead tired and ready for bed, he didn’t bother to light the kerosene lamp. “Tomorrow, I’ve got to air out these smelly blankets. I’m glad I brought a couple of clean sheets.”
Great, now he was having one-sided conversations with a dog. He crawled into bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. Cricket jumped up on the bed next to him and plunked herself down with a thud.
“Hey, who invited you?” She looked away as if scolded, but he reached over and petted her for a while. “Most of my guys are home in bed with their wives, and here I am, sleeping with a dog.” He groaned, turned onto his back, and drifted off to sleep.
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