Forgive & Forget (Love in the Fleet)

by Ashby, Heather

  Philip Johnston was the luckiest guy in the world.

  He dozed off every night thinking of her. How she’d agreed to table their actions until she was discharged from the Navy, or at least until the cruise was over, knowing how dangerous things might become now that they were officially in the Middle East. Hallie understood how important it was for them to focus on their jobs. There was no room for passion now. Except for the mission. When he thought about his class ring—United States Naval Academy, class of 2006—nestled warmly in the crevice between those luscious breasts, he became aroused every time. Thinking about the gold absorbing her warmth and her scent. Protected from the world, like their secret.

  Oh, they still had a secret, but it was a good secret. They’d declared their love and were promised to each other. They respected each other, each other’s professional dreams, and the Navy as a whole. Respected them enough to wait. And they knew they’d each be fine doing their jobs every day, as long as when they crawled into their racks each night, they could pull their memories and their secret out of their seabags and dream about their future. Together.

  Only a hundred fifty-eight more days to go.

  Rashid liked the idea of the two-minute bits McCabe was doing with members of the crew. He’d thought he had his portion of the attack all figured out, but he hadn’t planned on McCabe becoming so popular. He really wanted to use her somehow. Wanted to take her out with him, and now she’d presented him with a perfect opening. He thought about contacting her to see if she’d come to Combat and interview him on September ninth.

  Wouldn’t the McBabe make a perfect hostage if he should need one? He’d have to figure out how to get in touch with her though. He couldn’t email her. Guess she was getting too much email or something. Her fucking boss had to go on the air and ask that all emails concerning the broadcast go directly to him. He said that any messages sent directly to the staff, meaning McCabe, would be deleted unread.

  Because if he couldn’t take Rosie out with him while he punished the men she’d slept with, McCabe might just have to do.

  Yeah, this was definitely worth thinking about.

  Despite all that she’d been through in the last week, Hallie fondled the ring around her neck and knew everything was going to be okay. She felt safe. And loved. And trusted.

  Philip repeatedly told her in his letters how much he respected her for using her “fertilizer mentality” and moving on, continuing to view the positive side of life. Taking shit and letting things grow from it. He’d also told her he was glad she wasn’t planning to pursue anything embarrassing for the Captain. What good would it do anyway? Except to ruin him. And his family. And the spirit of the ship. And possibly the mission. Hallie was not a vindictive person. And Captain Amerson was doing a good job as Commanding Officer. Did he really need to deal with the baggage of her existence while trying to run the ship, just as they headed into the Middle East?

  Maybe she’d sit on it and approach him after they arrived home, although the idea of ever looking into those eyes again gave her the creeps. But the thought of him treating another woman the way he’d treated her still bothered her. She had a lot to think about. This was not a time to act impulsively. So she sat back and enjoyed knowing Philip loved and trusted her—and wanted to marry her. Was going to marry her. Life was good.

  Sitting there thinking about feeling safe, she jerked back to reality when Captain Amerson walked out of Commander Scott’s office and headed straight for her desk. Hallie’s heart snapped to attention as he approached her with those blue eyes twinkling.

  “Well, if it isn’t the captain of the Blanchard’s cheerleading squad. How are you today, McCabe?”

  She stood up respectfully, heart hammering, a mouth-only smile on her face. “Fine, sir.”

  “Well, it looks like we might be working together. Just talked to Commander Scott. Now that we’re in the Red Sea, I want to chat with the crew every day. Going to see if I can get down here and do a short taping for you to air before the broadcast each night. We can be cheerleaders together all the way through the Gulf.”

  “Yes, sir.” Not a good idea, but she said nothing but, “Yes, sir.”

  Hallie felt as if her safety net had just been ripped out from under her. Her heart thudded at the prospect of seeing Rick on a regular basis.

  Maybe she’d have to move up that little chat with him.

  Chapter 25

  “Hallie, hurry up. There’s a pilot waiting for you in the office.” Gina had raced all the way back to berthing to get Hallie the next morning, because she apparently had a visitor. “He says he’ll only talk to you.”

  Hallie scrambled up the ladders behind Gina to their office, her heart thumping. What pilot wanted to see her and why?

  “Good morning, sir. What can I do for you?” Hallie asked the man in the desert tan flight suit sitting by her desk.

  The cute pilot shot her a warm, friendly, country-boy grin and stuck out his hand to shake hers. “Lieutenant Crawford, McCabe. Nice to meet you.” She used the word cute to describe him because that’s what he was. Not handsome. Not hot. Not threatening. Cute. Like a big, overgrown, mischievous boy. Stocky and muscle-bound in his flight suit, with a blond crew cut and a gap between his two front teeth when he flashed his infectious smile. “My squadron would like to shoot a video to send back to the families. Any chance you could give me a tour of the studio?”

  “I think you might want to chat with Petty Officer Hall, our cameraman. Let me—”

  “Look.” He glanced around then leaned in close to her. “If I’m going to be the best man at your wedding, I thought I should get to meet the bride first.”

  Hallie’s face lit up. “Sky!” She’d heard so much about him, but this guy seemed more like a puppy dog than a player. “Let me show you the studio, sir.” She led the way.

  Hallie shut the soundproof door and anyone looking through the glass would see her giving him a tour, but they were definitely talking about other things. Sky exuded enthusiasm. She liked him right away.

  “Bill put a care package together for you and—”

  “Bill?”

  “Sweetheart, I’ve called Philip Johnston ‘Bill Gates’ since the day I met his worthless ass. Look, I got a special delivery package for you here. There’s a letter explaining everything. Read it first and follow the directions.” He pointed his index finger at her. “Do not open the box until you read it.”

  “So what’s in the box?” Hallie’s curiosity was piqued.

  “How should I know? I’m just the messenger.” Mirth glittered in his blue eyes. “I only have a few minutes with you so let me say my piece and then I’m outta here. First of all I want to say thank you for being so awesome. And if we weren’t in the public eye right this minute I’d give you a big hug because you’ve made my best buddy the happiest man on earth.” Then he turned serious. “Do you have any idea what a good man you’ve got there? They don’t make them like that anymore.”

  Hallie’s eyes misted up. She knew a compliment like that coming from a guy like Sky was big.

  “I do know, Sky. Trust me. I know how special he is. And I also know how special you are to him. And just meeting you I can tell why you’re good for him. Thank you for being such a terrific friend. I promise to take care of him and never let you down. And thanks for standing up for us when the time comes.”

  “Oh, yeah, that. I’ve got to get busy. I’m trying to think of all the stories I know about Bill to embarrass him at his wedding. Okay, gotta run. I’m still looking for the Brasso. Buttons to polish.”

  Hallie laughed as she shook his hand and walked him to the door. She already felt comfortable with Sky.

  Just before he left the space, Sky leaned in and flashed her one more of his wry grins. “Oh, and one more thing. You don’t by any chance have a sister, do you?”

 
Philip sat across the desk from his Commanding Officer in the Captain’s at-sea cabin. The same man who’d told him at a party, “If you ever need anything, you know where to find me.” The exact same words he’d told Hallie. Philip and the CO had chatted at the party about Andy, and the CO had told him “any friend of Andy’s is a friend of mine.”

  Never has been. Never will be. Knowing the Captain’s son had been his ticket in the door today, however.

  “What’s on your mind today, Lieutenant?” Captain Amerson asked him.

  Philip pegged him right in the cornflower blue eye. He did not want to miss the reaction. “I’m in love with a female sailor aboard this ship, sir.”

  The CO blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair. “I certainly hope you’re not planning to do anything about it on my watch. Besides the fact that there are to be no relationships between crewmembers, you’re talking about an enlisted woman, I take it. That’s fraternization and it’s totally illegal in this man’s Navy. That’s just damn foolish, son. It has the potential to be a career ender. Surely you know that.”

  “I’m well aware of it, sir.”

  “Then why in the hell are you telling me this?” He leaned forward and began to shuffle papers on his desk, noticeably pissed off that Philip was wasting his time.

  “What if I came up here to ask for her hand in marriage? Since you’re her father.”

  The CO’s hands paused in their shuffling. His eyes flickered to Philip’s. “Then you’d be mistaken because I don’t have a daughter. And if I did, she certainly wouldn’t be on board this ship.” He returned to his paperwork.

  “Hallie McCabe is your daughter.”

  The Captain’s hands froze. His eyes narrowed in confusion and darted back to Philip. The fact that he hadn’t responded with defensive words told Philip he was on the right track. He just hoped to hell he was on the right train. He’d obviously hit a nerve. Amerson hadn’t moved a muscle, except for those eyeballs. He’d probably gone right to Hallie’s blue eyes, now that somebody had mentioned it to him. Philip paused two more heartbeats, challenging him with his cool brown eyes, letting his CO know that he—Philip Johnston—was now in command of the situation.

  “Tell me honestly you don’t know anything about fraternization, sir. AG2 Suzanne Chandler? Or maybe you remember her better as Suzie Q. Atsugi Air Facility? July ’86?”

  The color drained from the CO’s face.

  “She took the five hundred dollars and invested it in Hallie’s future, not her demise.”

  “Rick” looked like he’d been sucker punched. Something in his eyes, Hallie’s eyes, showed Philip he’d hit pay dirt.

  “You think I’m making this up? Take a look at her eyes. And take that fucking gleam out of yours when you look at her. No, belay my last. Don’t ever fucking look at her again.”

  Captain Amerson remained speechless, although if eyes could kill, Philip would be a dead man.

  “You know Hallie said something interesting on the news the other night. Okay if I call her Hallie, since you apparently feel comfortable enough with her to use her first name?” He didn’t wait for a response. “She was talking about sunscreen, but it kind of applies to a lot of things in life. It’s amazing how using protection in your twenties can definitely keep problems from coming back and biting you in the ass when you’re fifty.”

  “What do want from me?” the CO asked, barely above a whisper.

  “I want you to leave Hallie McCabe the hell alone. Your daily chats with the crew over the 1MC are going just fine. I personally don’t think you need to be hanging around Public Affairs. Ever.” Then he leaned across the desk, confidentially. “And just so you know, she isn’t planning to do a single thing about knowing you’re her father.” He indicated the Captain’s family photos. “She doesn’t like disrupting families. She got some closure and she wants to put it all behind her. So don’t worry about your precious admiral’s selection board. I’m just here to let you know if you ever so much as breathe the same air as her again, I will fucking kill you.”

  The CO slit his eyes. “Are you threatening me, Lieutenant?”

  “You’re goddamn right I am, sir. I want you to leave not only McCabe alone, but also every other woman on this ship. If I ever hear of you being unduly familiar with a female service member anywhere, I will spill the beans so fast you won’t know what hit you. I don’t think this crew would need DNA proof. With the way scuttlebutt spreads around here, I’m sure the fact that McCabe’s the spitting image of you would get the ball rolling. And I’m certain it wouldn’t take long for it to get back to Washington.”

  The Captain swallowed thickly, but did not say a word. The son of a bitch was a master at control. A pulsing vein near his temple was the only indication of his rising anxiety. That, and the pallor of his face.

  “Thank you for seeing me today, sir. I don’t think we’ll have any more problems here.” Philip stood to leave. He didn’t ask if that would be all. He didn’t ask for permission to depart. He didn’t even say goodbye. Nothing. Just arose and walked to the door. But just as he reached for the door handle, he turned back and added, “Oh, and don’t even think about going the chivalrous route after twenty-five years. Petty Officer McCabe knows nothing about this little pow-wow and she never will. Got it?”

  The CO scowled at him and looked away. He breathed in and exhaled deeply. The poor prick probably hadn’t taken a decent breath in the last five minutes.

  Good.

  Philip laughed, like he was hanging with a buddy. “And anyway, sir, I gotta warn you. I wouldn’t mess with her if I were you. She’s got a pair of highly-polished, solid brass ones on her that you definitely do not want to tangle with.” Then he paused two beats before smiling and delivering the coup de grace: “Must have gotten them from her mother.”

  Philip departed, lowering his imaginary sword and sliding it into its imaginary scabbard. He knew damn well he’d left the CO scrambling to cover his imaginary sword, so he wouldn’t fall on it.

  When Trixie arrived at work the next day, she practically burst at the seams. “Okay, you guys. Listen up. I’ve got some good shit here. It’s all over for you losers. McBabe showed up last night with the biggest fucking diamond ring on her hand you ever seen. And I’m guessing it didn’t come from one of you.”

  One of the guys smiled in his office. His plan had worked. Once Sky discovered they were engaged, he’d told Bill he’d ride his ass every day until he got a ring on McCabe’s finger, so the men would leave her alone. With no liberty expected until mid-September and the possibility of it taking weeks to get one sent from the States, they’d slipped back off the ship in Port Said and found something that would let the rest of the crew know McCabe was spoken for. All Hallie had to do was to open the box in front of Trixie, and let nature take its course. He hoped that nobody would notice that everything else in the box was available in the ship’s store.

  Amidst the feigned heart attacks and groans of disappointment from the men, Trixie continued. “She got a care package from lover boy yesterday. You know. Snickers Bars, Slim Jims, magazines, and a big, honking engagement ring! There’s just one thing I can’t figure out. Who would’ve ever guessed her boyfriend was a cowboy?”

  Oh, it had been a banner day when the care package arrived. Just before Hallie opened it in front of Trixie, Commander Scott had informed her the CO had changed his mind about the tapings.

  All was well in Hallie McCabe’s corner of the world, which allowed her to concentrate on the ship’s passage through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait into the Gulf of Aden. Dangerous territory. This was where the USS Cole had been attacked. Where she knew seventeen people had died and thirty-nine had been wounded. From here on out, they’d all need to keep their dog tags around their necks and their heads on swivels.

  Taping a segment from the flight deck with Yemen in the background
, Hallie relayed safety messages that had been handed down from the CO via her boss. That was as close to Rick as she ever wanted to get. As long as there weren’t flight ops going on, Hallie tried to do the taping topside. After gliding through the Arabian Sea, they rounded Oman. Several days later they headed for the Strait of Hormuz, a frightening bottleneck, that would take them into the Persian Gulf, or the Arabian Gulf as the Arab side called it. If all went as planned, they’d be able to have some down time overlooking Dubai over Labor Day weekend.

  Hallie couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 26

  The steel beach party on the flight deck started early on September sixth. The sailors and airmen had worked hard for the past forty-five straight days, although some had a few short breaks in liberty ports, and they deserved a day off to honor the American worker. Labor Day took on a whole new meaning for them. Considering the temperature was expected to hit one hundred fifteen degrees by mid-afternoon, the festivities began at 0800 hours. Some of the participants wore uniforms, but most dug out civilian clothes or bathing suits. Inflatable swimming pools were filled and charcoal grills were fired up.

  The crew didn’t care what time it was. It didn’t matter to them if they ate a full meal of ribs, chicken, burgers, and brats with all the fixings and all the sides in the middle of the morning. This was a vacation day.

  And the best part of eating what came off the grill? Knowing their superiors had done the cooking.

  Even Captain Amerson flipped burgers and wiped sweat from his brow with his forearm. The XO manned another grill, as did the Command Master Chief. All the chiefs cooked. Or served. Or cleaned up. That was the part the crew liked the best. Watching the chiefs and officers doing clean up. And it was finally somebody else’s turn to do the dirty work: separating the trash into plastics, cans, paper, and garbage. This was a real vacation day.