“Thank you, Dakota,” was all Reegan could manage.
Her brother was still MIA, but every day she didn't get a call that the military had found his body, her hope and faith remained intact.
“It’s awful that the insurance company won’t hand you the check,” said Noah Harris, one of the baritones in the choir. The man’s gray mustache touched the bottom of his nose, causing him to wrinkle it.
Reegan wasn’t complaining. She’d take not getting a check if there was a possibility that her brother was alive. Reece was strong. He was stubborn. She knew in her heart, that if he was able to, he'd come through and find a way home.
Now she had Brandon, a man who wanted to protect her, and provide for her, and hear her sing. In truth, she hadn't lost anything. Her cup runneth over.
Brandon had taken a seat in the back of the room, but Reegan felt his gaze on her from the moment she left him. His face was no longer open as it had been when they were standing close. It remained closed, but not his eyes. His eyes were filled with admiration as he watched her. The butterflies in her heart were working overtime.
Could it be possible that she was coming to have feelings for this man? She didn’t need to question. She knew it was true.
No one had ever given her butterflies. No one had ever made her feel warm and safe. No one had ever looked at her as though she were both special and desirable. Because that was desire in Corporal Brandon Lucas’s gaze. She wasn’t so innocent that she didn’t know what a man’s hunger looked like.
As rehearsal began, Reegan’s voice sailed from somewhere in the depths of her soul. Her every note was pitch perfect. Her voice lifted above everyone else’s until all eyes were on her and all other voices went mute.
Gone was the cold and emptiness that had robbed her of her voice a few days ago. Gone was the heaviness on her shoulders and the hollow feeling in her heart. Reegan felt full. The feelings spilled out of her heart and drifted over her tongue.
All the while, she held Brandon’s gaze. He watched her as though he were in rapture. At one point, his eyes closed as though he were in ecstasy… and they didn’t open again until practice was over.
One by one, the other choristers filed out until it was just Reegan and Brandon left alone in the room. She came to him on quiet feet. She sat down next to him, the wood of the pew creaking as she did so. But still, he didn’t stir.
She wasn’t sure what to do. She’d never had to awaken any man besides her brother. She tried calling his name quietly. But still, he dozed.
She laid a hand on his forearm. His skin was warm to the touch. The tiny hairs she found there tickled her fingertips.
Then her hand was snatched away from his arm. Her fingers wrenched. Brandon looked at her wild-eyed.
It took him a second before recognition dawned. And then his dark eyes filled with horror. His cheeks went beet red, and he groaned.
"Sorry," he said gruffly. "I wouldn't have hurt you."
"I don't doubt it."
She had been startled. But not frightened. She knew better than to come upon a soldier unaware. Her brother had warned her. But just as she felt no fear from Reece, she felt none from Brandon.
“Reegan, you can’t … you can’t …” There was so much shame, and guilt digging into the features of his face, making grooves and leaving frown marks.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I know better. You just looked so peaceful.”
“I’m not.” His gaze darkened. “There’s a war raging in my mind.”
“You have PTSD?”
The muscles in his neck worked. “It’s not severe, like some others. But when I close my eyes, I see …”
He was silent for so long. Reegan ached to reach out to him, to take him into her arms. And so she did.
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. He was stiff at first, but then he relaxed in her hold. His own grip became a vise around her.
"Listen, Reegan,” he said into her hair. “About that thing I asked you—"
“That thing? You mean to marry you?”
"Yes."
She felt his breath at the cone of her ear. The single word was like a match. Her ear was the fire. The flame tunneled through her entire body. But then, it was doused by a single doubt.
“Are you taking it back?" she asked.
Reegan pulled back, but she didn’t get far. Brandon’s hold on her was absolute. She couldn’t have gotten away if she’d tried. She did not try.
"No.” His insistence was vehement.
Relief swam through her. The single word stoked the fire that had been lit a second ago. She felt the flames rising higher and higher.
"I just want you to know there's no rush,” Brandon continued. “You've been through a lot. I don't want to add any pressure to you. The offer stands today, tomorrow, next week. However long you need. Whatever answer you want to give. I want you to know that I'll be here. For … whatever you need."
Reegan’s muscles relaxed as the heat between them worked its way through her limbs. “Brandon, you should know that my answer is yes."
"It is?” His voice, so hot and sure a moment ago, came out on a dry croak.
She nodded. They were holding each other in a loose embrace. She would swear that she felt the heat of him rise a few degrees under her fingertips.
"Well.” He cleared his throat. “Good.” He swallowed. “Fine. I suppose I'll let Dr. Patel and Dylan know so arrangements can be made."
“Brandon?”
“Yes, Reegan?”
“You can kiss me. If you want.”
"I could?”
"Well, we are going to be married. So …”
“That’s true,” he agreed. “Kissing is part of the ceremony. So, we should probably prepare for it."
“That's smart." Reegan pursed her lips, tugging them into her mouth to moisten them.
"They teach us to be prepared in the army."
“Sounds like good preparation.”
Brandon took a deep breath. He leaned closer, pulling her body toward his. The bench squeaked again.
Reegan tilted her head up. She felt the warmth of Brandon’s breath on her lower lip. It robbed her of the moisture she’d just licked into her lips. She didn’t have time to prepare again. It was going to happen. Her first kiss. And not with some boy from around the block. It would be with a real man, a man who was going to be her husband very soon.
He was just an inch away now. Any second and she would—
The door to the room wrenched open. She saw Brandon’s gaze slide away from his intended target, which had been her mouth, to scope out the intruder. Whomever he saw standing in the doorway must have been a threat because he pulled away from her.
Reegan looked up to find Pastor Barrett standing in the doorway. The older man glared at Brandon. Brandon stood to attention, leaving her alone on the bench. It looked like her first kiss would have to wait even longer.
Chapter Seventeen
The sun was dipping down below the horizon when Brandon put Reegan’s Ford F-150 in park outside their home.
Their home.
When had he switched over from thinking of the small row house as a borrowed home to claiming it as a homestead for him and his soon to be wife? Probably a second after she said yes to his proposal. He turned to her now, the last rays of the sun wrapped one of its tendrils around her cheek like a warm kiss.
Brandon wanted to take that trail. But he didn’t. Not after the brief, but stern, chat they’d had with Pastor Barrett. It would seem that the senior pastor wasn’t as enthused as Dr. Patel about their engagement.
The man had insisted on premarital counseling. Reegan had stepped forward. She’d agreed but on the condition that they receive their counseling from Pastor Patel and not the man who’d stepped into the role of father to her since her own father had passed away.
Pastor Barrett had clearly wanted to argue. But Reegan’s jaw was set. Her chin was lifted high in defiance. Brandon hadn’t necessarily w
anted to spend hours each week under the man’s disapproving glare, but he’d do it if that meant Reegan was the prize. Luckily, his bride to be was fierce, and the man of cloth acquiesced to her demands.
Now she sat comfortably in the passenger seat of her own vehicle, allowing Brandon to take the wheel. Something bloomed in Brandon’s chest. He knew that he would protect this woman with everything in his heart. He would strive every day to ease her way in this life.
Reegan turned to him then, a small smile on her beautiful face. Brandon’s breath caught. Though he still felt the claws of exhaustion right now, he pushed the feeling down. He didn’t want to miss the opportunity to have his first taste of his soon to be wife. He’d been dreaming of brushing his lips against hers since … well, since the first night he’d met her, and he’d fallen into the first contented sleep in months.
He parted his lips to take a deep breath, only to exhale a long yawn.
“Oh, are you tired?” asked Reegan.
“No, I’m not.” Yes, he was. He hadn’t gotten much sleep at all last night.
“I’m surprised after that nap you took during rehearsal.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He wrinkled his nose.
“I know some of the songs are boring and—”
“No, it wasn’t that. It was your voice.”
Her brows shot up in surprise. “My voice is boring?”
“No, no.” Brandon took another deep breath. This time it came out on a sigh and not a yawn. “Your voice is beautiful, peaceful.”
He searched for the words to make her understand the numbness he felt throughout the day. The incessant buzzing that ran through his head like a radio tuned to a defunct station.
“I told you it feels like a war raging in my mind,” he said. “The constant noise and images keep me on high alert, keeps my adrenaline up. But when I hear you sing, it all just stops. And because it stops, I can rest.”
She nodded, understanding clear in her blue eyes. “We can go inside and lay down.” The moment the words left her lips her cheeks flushed a crimson red. “I didn’t mean like that. I mean—I know we’re getting married. And it’s a marriage of convenience—”
Putting his arms around her waist, he pulled her to him, effectively hushing her errant thoughts. But also putting a point on the statement he was making. “I need you to understand that this marriage is more than a convenience for me.”
“It is?” Her voice was breathless. Her eyes kept dipping down to his mouth.
Brandon had to swallow when she wet her lower lip. He was fascinated with everything that came out of her mouth. Including the small pink of her tongue. She could probably start quacking like a duck, and he'd be rapt with attention.
“Reegan, I wanted to kiss you since the first time I heard you open your mouth.”
“Oh.” She looked down. “Because my voice puts you to sleep.”
He chuckled. With his other hand, he tilted up her chin so that he could gaze directly in her eyes. His thumb brushed over her lower lip, giving himself a preview of what he was about to sample.
“Your voice gives me peace,” he said. “Being with you gives me purpose. This marriage is more than about a home. Reegan, I want to give you the world.”
“Oh,” she sighed. Her warm breath brushed the tip of his thumb. “That’s funny.”
“Funny?”
“Maggie said it’s never about the zoning.”
It was about the zoning. Brandon wanted to mark Reegan Cartwright as his territory. In fact, that was exactly what he was going to do. There were no pastors around to stop him.
Her eyes fluttered closed as he leaned down. His bottom lip got the first taste as it brushed against her upper lip. Just that small hint was enough to knock him back on his heels. He wondered if he’d actually fallen down when he heard a knock behind him.
Brandon turned to look out the driver’s side window. When he saw the man standing on two firm legs, he glared. Even the sight of his superior officer didn’t wipe the murderous look off his face.
Chase raised his hands in surrender. Ortega, who stood behind him took a step back. Smart man.
“I need a word,” said Chase through the closed window.
Unfortunately, Brandon could hear him clearly. “Right now? This actual second?”
“It’s important.” At least the man had the common decency to look apologetic.
Brandon let go of Reegan’s chin and opened the car door.
Chase’s eyes glanced over to Reegan. “In private.”
Chase’s smile was gentle toward Reegan. It was clear he didn’t want to exclude her, but it must be army business that she couldn’t know. Brandon circled around to the other side of the car and handed her out.
“I’ll meet you inside,” she said to Brandon.
She reached up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. It wasn’t the first kiss he wanted with her, but it would hold him over until they were alone. He’d be sure and lock the front door behind him as soon as he was done with this private matter that couldn’t wait.
“So, it looks like you’re sticking around after all,” said Ortega.
Brandon didn’t respond. He watched Reegan as she entered the house. She’d turned the knob easily. The door hadn’t been locked. No one seemed to lock doors here. Why would they with a ranch filled with veterans and soldiers? It was the safest place in the world, a place he would want to raise a family. A family he’d never truly even thought about. But now all he could think about was his marriage to Reegan and the life they’d have together.
“I got a phone call from the DOD about the mission,” said Chase. “They found something.”
That snapped Brandon back to attention. “Reece? They found his body?”
“Not exactly. They’re not sure. An informant came through with credible information. They had his tags.”
“So, they want to ransom the body?” Bile filled Brandon’s throat at the thought.
“No,” said Chase. “They said he’s alive.”
Brandon went entirely still. Everything in him went still as well. The constant buzzing sounds went on mute. The flickering images that flashed through his mind on a constant reel went dark.
“The information is still classified,” Chase continued. “I sent Reegan away because I didn’t want to get her hopes up, not after everything she’s been through. Our orders are to wait until it’s been confirmed.”
Chapter Eighteen
“Have you set a date yet?”
Reegan sat two glasses of lemonade down on the kitchen table. Sarai wrapped perfectly manicured fingers around the tall glass and sipped carefully. Reegan knew the woman still struggled with an eating disorder and was very mindful of what she put in her body, which was why Reegan had gone light on the sugar.
Meanwhile, Eva DeMonti tossed her head back and tilted the yellow liquid until it was bottom’s up. The co-ed then slammed the glass down for another, which Reegan happily refilled. Eva was constantly on the go between attending classes, wrangling her two tween siblings, and a husband who was also a busy body.
The two women had been walking by as Reegan had come out onto her front porch that morning. Reegan liked the sound of that; her front porch. She’d had an entire deck on her parents’ house. And though it had been her home all her life, this small house that she’d only spent two nights in suddenly felt like her entire world.
Last night, Brandon had come inside. His features looked weary and tight. Reegan guessed that whatever private matter had been discussed between him and his fellow soldiers had weighed down on him. She decided not to press him on it. They were still getting to know each other, coming to trust one another with their secrets.
Brandon had walked her to his bedroom door. But after he’d ushered her inside, he’d stayed at the threshold. He insisted she take the larger room while he went off to the spare. Before Reegan could protest, he’d shut the door and was gone.
He’d also been gone early this morning bef
ore she’d awakened. She knew he hadn’t gotten much sleep. She’d heard him tossing and turning and then up and about all night.
Something was wrong. When she saw him later, she was determined to get him to open up to her. She knew he probably couldn’t tell her the details of the matter if it was army related. Reece had often had a heavy expression on his features when he was home on leave. Despite her insistence, he explained he couldn’t give her all the details on his missions.
Reegan didn’t need the details now. She just needed Brandon to know that she was there for him. She’d be happy if he rested his head in her lap while she sang to him.
“I bet the wedding will probably happen as quickly as this weekend,” Eva was saying.
That snapped Reegan back to the present. Married? This weekend?
But just as much as the thought stole her breath, it created an equal ache in her heart. She didn’t want to wait. She wanted to be Mrs. Brandon Lucas as soon as she could. She wanted to be his wife, and she wanted to make this house a home.
There was nothing in this place that was hers, not even the clothing she wore. It was all gifts and donations. Neither was there much in there that belonged to Brandon. The two of them would get to paint this blank slate together and make it theirs.
Again, her heart filled with so much joy of how blessed she was even in the light of all the tragedy she’d experienced. There had been a reason for it all. There had been a masterplan that brought her to this moment.
From deciding to stay and take care of the house left to her brother, to getting up and singing in the choir at that particular service. She’d been there at the right moment when Brandon had shown up. True, he’d come to tell her that her brother was missing, but her faith was still firm that Reece was with her if not in body then in spirit.
It had all led her to this moment, standing in her very own kitchen, preparing to marry the man of her dreams. Her singing had pierced Brandon’s heart. If she hadn’t have raised her voice, Brandon wouldn’t have heard her sing. And now they’d be spending the rest of their lives together.
In Over His Head Page 8
