“Well, you’re in a good mood. Did you talk to Jordan already?”
Snagging a dinner roll from the serving dish on the counter, she pushed down the twinge she felt every time one of them asked about Jordan. She was still weirded out that her parents knew she and Jordan were together. It’d been a month since he rescued her and they’d been apart for half of that. “No. I got off the phone with the Dean of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She offered me a teaching position.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s wonderful.” She pulled the pork roast out of the oven and set it next to the beans. “Is teaching something you want to do?”
Emme shrugged. “It wasn’t something I considered, but a nurse I used to work with up in Fairfax recommended it.” She took the plates down from the cabinet. “It’s fairly regular hours. I’ll have some clinical hours that I’ll do as well, but that will depend on my teaching schedule and whether that’s part of the curriculum.”
“I’m very excited for you.”
“What are you excited for?” Doug asked, coming in from the foyer.
“Hey! I didn’t know you guys were coming for dinner. Where’s Gilly?”
“Bathroom.”
She nodded. “How did the ultrasound go?”
“You should probably ask Gilly. I’m pretty sure I went into a coma when both babies popped up on the screen.”
Gilly rounded the corner. “He’s not kidding. I had to wipe drool off his chin.”
“Did you find out what they are?” her mom asked. “Boys? Girls? One of each?” She clasped the dish towel to her chest.
Gilly glanced at Doug. “At least one boy. The other baby was uncooperative and wouldn’t uncross its legs.”
“My money’s on a girl, then,” her father said as he joined them. “Uncooperative from day one.” He kissed his wife on cheek, then hugged Emme with one arm. “Best thing in the world to keep you on your toes.”
“Ha ha ha, Dad.” Emme poked him in the ribs.
“All right you two, dinner’s ready.” Her mom jumped in to mediate. “Doug, help Emme finish setting the table. Gilly dear, I got you some bottled water and one of those fruit diffuser bottles. I know drinking nothing but water all day gets rather dull.”
Emme flashed a grin at Gilly as her mom continued to dish out advice. She grabbed the silverware and napkins and followed Doug into the dining room. They found the same routine they’d had growing up, circling the table and setting each place. “How’re you really doing?”
“I kind of hope Dad’s right and the other baby’s a girl.” He set the last plate down. “Then we’d have one of each.” He ran his hands through his hair. “How long does the throwing up last?”
Emme set down the last fork and leaned her hip against the table next to him. “Conventional wisdom says morning sickness is actually a good thing and women who have it have healthier babies.”
“But all day? I’m not kidding Em, she’s nauseous all day long. She throws up at least twice. I asked mom to make veggie lasagna because she gags at the smell of meat. I haven’t had bacon in almost three months.”
“Really, Doug? Go to a restaurant if you want bacon.”
He cocked his head. “You know that’s not the issue.”
She smiled. “I know. I just wanted to give you shit.”
“I’m freaking out. I don’t know what to do.”
“Hold her hair back from her face. Rub her back. Get her ginger ale and saltines.”
“Emme, I’m serious.”
“So am I. That’s what she needs from you, Doug. She just needs you to be supportive. Everything she’s experiencing is normal and unless her doctor says there’s a reason to worry, there’s no reason to worry.”
“Are you sure?”
She wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed. “I promise Doug. I don’t like you enough to lie to you to make you feel better.”
He laughed, returning her hug. “You love me.”
“Only because I have to.”
“Glad he got you back,” he whispered, rocking her side to side. “Don’t think I said that before.”
“Glad you went and got him,” she said.
“You two quit being nice to each other,” their dad said. “It’s going to make me hide all the knives.”
“One time, Dad,” Doug said. He helped Gilly with her chair. “And it didn’t even need stitches.”
They passed around the serving dishes while Gilly and her mom finished discussing her appointment.
“What was so exciting when we got here?” Doug asked during a lull in the conversation.
Emme finished chewing. “Oh. I got a teaching job offer from MUSC in Charleston.”
Doug, Gilly, and her father congratulated her on the job and asked when she would start. “And you’ll only be an hour and a half from Jordan,” her Dad said.
“Charleston is three hours from Fayetteville, Dad,” Emme said.
“Yes, but he’ll be in Savannah.” He ate a large bite of roast, unaware of Emme’s confusion.
“Why will he be in Savannah?”
“That’s where his command is going to be.”
Emme set her fork down. “You’re not making any sense, Dad. What command?”
“The command he’s getting with the promotion.”
“Dad,” Doug said.
She looked between her brother and father. “What promotion?”
“Dad.” Doug’s voice held a warning.
“I called in some favors. Got him looked at on the supplemental board.”
“Dad!”
“What?”
She heard the confusion in her father’s voice, not realizing he’d just dropped a bomb on her. Her lungs felt tight, as if she was trying to breathe through a wet blanket and her heart pounded in her chest.
Had he come for her because he was promised a promotion? Had he stayed to guarantee it?
Why did she feel so betrayed? It was so… So…mercenary. She knew his career was important to him — he’d said himself being the Army was all he’d ever wanted to do — but to go halfway around the world for a guaranteed promotion?
“Did he know?” she asked.
“Emme,” Doug said.
“Dad. Did he know about the promotion?”
Her father shrugged. “I guess so. I know his commander told him there would be incentives to going on the mission.”
Incentives. Had she been just another incentive?
“Emme.” Doug’s voice was earnest and she raised her gaze to his. “It’s not like it sounds.”
She wanted to believe that, but she needed to hear it from Jordan. “Excuse me, please.” She pushed back her chair and took her plate into the kitchen.
They usually didn’t video chat until later in the evening, but she’d see if he’d answer now. He had access to wifi in his room. One of the perks of being up for promotion? She shook her head. Everything he’d said and done was now in question.
What were the conditions of his promotion? Had staying in Abu Dhabi with her been one of them? She couldn’t imagine sleeping with her had been one. Maybe that was just an added perk.
She closed the door to her room and logged onto her laptop. The digital ringing filled the room, seeming to echo off the walls. She was about to click the ‘end call button’ when his smiling face appeared.
“Hey, babe. I wasn’t expecting your call for another hour. I just got done at the gym.” His brows drew together. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?”
Her pulse raced. What if he admitted it was all a game? “I hear congratulations are in order.”
He shook his head. “Congratulations for what?”
“Your promotion and command down in Savannah.”
“How did you hear about that?”
She took a shuddering breath. “Dad said one of the incentives you got for rescuing me is a promotion and command position.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Shit.”
Her heart shattered. He’d known.
“Emme, they told me there were incentives when they approached me, but all it took was Doug asking for my help.” He leaned forward, closer to the camera.
“You’re telling me you didn’t know Dad set it up to guarantee your promotion?”
“I swear I never asked what the incentives were and they never told me.”
God, she wanted to believe him. “But you know about it now?”
“I received the notification this morning.”
“I see.” She looked down at her hands, picking at the dry cuticle around her nails. “Were you going to tell me?”
“Emme, I just found out. I haven’t even had time to figure out how the hell I got selected. I wasn’t supposed to be up for promotion until next year.”
“Was I just another incentive?”
“What the fuck?”
“Was I?”
“How can you even ask that?”
Pain tore at her. “You’re not answering the question, Jordan.”
“Because I can’t believe you’re even asking it.”
“Why wouldn’t I ask it? You didn’t have to stay with me. Someone else could have. Was it to move up the ranks?”
“For fuck’s sake, Emme. You’re right. I didn’t have to stay in Abu Dhabi. I could have come on this fucked up deployment as soon as you were out of Mali. I stayed because you needed me.”
“How did I need you?”
“Are you kidding? You used me as an emotional crutch. I tried to do the right thing and walk away.”
“Right. Because you got nothing out of us being together.”
He opened his mouth to answer, but a pager beeped somewhere next to his computer. He picked it up and looked at it. “Fuck. I don’t have time for this right now.” He stood and she caught a glimpse of his black shorts, he same kind he’d worn in Abu Dhabi. “I’ll call in a couple of days when I get back off mission.” The screen flickered black before switching to the home screen of the video chat program.
She took a shuddering breath. Would they? They’d never fought. Of course, two weeks wasn’t enough time to fight about anything.
Someone knocked at her door. Mom or Dad? “Just a second.” She swiped her fingers across her cheek and answered the door, surprised to find Gilly. “Hey.”
“Hey. Thought you could use this.” She held out a glass of white wine.
Emme pressed her lips together in a semblance of a smile and took the glass. “Thanks.”
“Can I come in a sec?”
She stepped back. “Sure.” She noticed the second glass in Gilly’s hand. “You shouldn’t be drinking. At least not right now. A glass every now and then in your third trimester won’t hurt, but it still goes against doctor’s orders.”
“Oh, this one is for you, too. I figured the way you left dinner you were going to need two glasses.”
That earned a real smile. “Thanks.”
“Sure.” Gilly sat in the winged-back chair beside the bed. “Did you get a hold of Jordan.”
Emme looked down at the glass and sat on the edge of the bed. “Yes.”
“What did he say?”
She took a sip of the chilled wine. “That he knew there were incentives when he took the job, but not what they were.”
“Do you believe him?”
Did she? “I don’t know.” But she did. Once she dug down deep enough in her heart, past the hurt and doubt, she knew the truth. “Yes. I believe him.”
“But you’re still upset?” Gilly probed.
Emme nodded and took another sip of wine.
“What bothers you most?”
She huffed. “I was wondering the same thing when you knocked on the door.”
“And?”
“It hurts to think he doesn’t want me for me.” She looked up at Gilly. “I feel like a pawn. He didn’t need to be on that mission. Titan could have rescued me fine without him and the only reason he had to go was for the promotion. It’s making me question everything that came after.”
“You’re right, he didn’t have to go,” Gilly said softly. “Doug said Jordan did it because he asked him to. You still would have been rescued, but you would have been left to the care of strangers. Possibly in a hospital without your family. Your mom wanted someone you’d know to be with you and your dad moved the world for your mom. And you. I think Jordan did it for Doug.”
Guilt rushed at her like a linebacker, picked up her heart, and slammed it to the ground in a blitz attack. They hadn’t really talked about what’d happened to her. Her mom and dad been understandably emotional the first few days she’d been home, but they’d never discussed how everything came about. Maybe they’d been content to accept she was home and put everything in the past.
“Shit,” she said. “I think I screwed up.”
“How did you leave things?”
“Not good. He got paged and had to go. A mission, I think.”
“But you didn’t end it?”
“I don’t think so?” Had she? Panic that he might think she wanted to end things made her edgy. “I don’t want it to be over, but I need to know he’s with me for me and not because I’m part of a package deal.”
“Then tell him everything you told me and talk to him about it. When are you supposed to talk again?”
“He’s said he’d call when he got back from his mission.”
“Don’t let your doubts get in the way of what could be the best thing in your life.”
“When did you get so smart?” she asked.
Gilly grinned. “Round about twelve.” She rubbed belly and tilted her head. “I watched him with you, when he was here.”
Her fear tried to wiggle its way back up into her chest. “And?”
“If I was a betting woman, I’d say you’re it for him.”
“I think he’s it for me, too.”
“I hear a but.”
Taking a deep breath, Emme grabbed her greatest fear and shoved it out in the open. “What if it was the circumstances? Hero rescues damsel in distress and they have sex because of all the adrenaline and relief to be alive?
“Then I don’t think you guys would have been video chatting every night for the past two weeks.” She drummed her fingers on her belly. “Tell you what. If I’m wrong, I’ll name my daughter Emerald.”
Emme laughed and brushed away an errant tear. “That’s a pretty bold wager. Don’t think I won’t hold you to that.”
Gilly winked. “You won’t have to.”
Emme blinked awake and looked at the red digital numbers on the clock next to her bed. Four-thirteen a.m. Pulling a hand from under the pillow, she activated the control pad on her laptop. The video chat website was still open on the screen — with no notification of a missed call.
It doesn’t mean anything. You’ve gone longer than two days without talking to him. He could still be on a mission. The internet could be down—it’s happened before. Give him a chance.
The pep talk didn’t talk. Every night she went to bed staring at the screen of her laptop and woke up five or six times throughout the night to check it.
An ache formed in the center of her heart. The more time went by, the bigger the ache got. Like a hole in fabric that kept getting bigger and bigger.
She sniffled and buried her head in the pillow, tears pooling under her cheek.
Please don’t let it be too late.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Her arms ached from being tied to the chair and her shoulder was on fire. Her cheek throbbed where her captor had hit her. “Please stop.”
“You will die today, whore.” Spittle hit her cheek and she flinched.
She struggled against the ropes that bound her wrists, her breathing rapid and out of control. “No.”
“Allahu Akbar,” his minions echoed.
No! A sob tore through her. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. Where was her rescue? Where were the good guys?
She whimpered as she watched the blade rise
over her head. She squeezed her eyes closed.
Pleasegod, pleasegod, pleasegod.
An explosion rocked the building, sending dust and small chunks of mud plaster raining down on them.
Emma coughed from the dust filling the room. Thank you, god. She heard the pop pop pop of gunfire and knew he was going to come through the door and kill her captors. She just had to be patient.
The door burst open. One of the captors fell as he was shot. Jordan strode through the door, his gun at the ready. He raised his weapon and took aim at the captor with the machete, but then he stopped.
He looked at her, lowered his gun, turned, and walked away from her.
“Jordan!” She pulled at the ropes cutting against her wrists, suddenly tied in front of her. “Jordan! Please! I’m sorry!”
The dust and smoke swallowed him as he walked away.
The machete glinted as it rose over her head and she screamed.
“Emme! Emme!”
Her father’s voice yanked her from her dream and she gasped as she opened her eyes. Blinking against the bright light of her bedside table, she turned her head.
He pushed her hair away from her face. “It was a dream, baby girl.”
She nodded into the pillow as a sob wracked her body. She’d had them for the past thirteen nights. Ever since she’d asked Jordan about his promotion…and he’d never called her back.
“Talk to me, Emme. You called out Jordan’s name.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“You still haven’t heard from him?”
She shook her head. He muttered under his breath and she turned to look at him over her shoulder. “What?”
“Nothing worth repeating. Do you want to tell me about your dreams?”
Shaking her head, she rolled so she was facing him. “I know why I’m having them, Dad.”
“Do you?
She sighed. “I dream about when I was kidnapped, right before I was rescued. When I was—” How was she supposed to tell her dad how close she came to dying?
“I read Titan’s report, Emme. I know what happened.”
“Oh.” That explains why he never asked about it. In a way she was grateful — she could talk about it without having to retell the events. “So you know it was close. When I opened my eyes, Jordan was standing in front of me calling me Emme Lou Who and asking if I was ready to go home.” She picked at the sheet next to her hand. “In my dream he turns around and walks away. Leaves me where I am.”
Rescued Heart (Titan World) Page 14
