A Soldier's Secret

by Linda Style

  He just hoped to hell that he was doing the right thing.

  It had to be. Anything was better for a child than living in an orphanage. Not only that, a child had a right to be with his natural parent, and a natural parent had a right to have custody of his only child.

  “Actually,” he said, “when I think about it, explaining to anyone other than our friends should be easy. We’re madly in love and have been having a secret affair. We got married and we’re getting custody of my child.”

  “Well, that’s pretty cut-and-dried.”

  “Which makes it a lot easier for both of us,” he answered, hoping to ease her apparent discomfort.

  But he saw resistance in the set of her jaw, the way she clasped her arms, as if she was holding herself together. Hell, he couldn’t blame her. Getting married like it was a business deal wasn’t exactly how he would have imagined getting hitched—if he ever had. But that’s what this was, a business deal.

  And if he had to bite the bullet, he couldn’t think of a better person to do it with. Being married to your best friend wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. It was making the proverbial lemonade from lemons.

  He doubted Natalia saw it the same way, though. For her, it was something she had to do, because she owed him. He knew that. He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t change how she felt, even though he’d told her more than once he was no hero. Anyone else in their unit would’ve done the same thing. She would have done the same thing.

  “I’m sorry, Nats,” he said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. “I know I’m taking a chunk out of your life, and I wouldn’t even ask it if I could see any other way.” He glanced over at her, still staring stoically out the window. “I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate it, and that’s all I can say. I was hoping that being best friends might make it kind of fun for us.”

  She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Then a slow smile emerged, and a few seconds after that she started laughing, and then she was laughing hysterically. He didn’t say anything, because it was a hell of a lot better to see her laughing than sitting there like a gargoyle.

  When she stopped, she drew a long, deep breath. “Oh, boy! Only you could think of this as fun. But you’re right.” She sat up straight, shook out her shoulders and smiled. “It’s only a short time, anyway. We can do what we have to do, and then all will be back to normal in no time.”

  Following the route on his GPS, Mac turned onto the main drag and saw the first casino. Laughlin, located on the Nevada side of the Colorado River, had boomed in the last ten years. What was once a quiet gambling Mecca for seniors was growing into a mini Las Vegas. The GPS directed him down the main street, where he turned again to find the justice of the peace.

  He’d looked up the place on the internet, then called to make sure everything was all set. They’d picked up the license in Kingman on the way.

  Jacob Larsen, the justice of the peace who was going to marry them, had been minister in Flagstaff, where Mac grew up. When he’d retired, he’d kept his license so he could perform weddings. Now living on a ranch near Laughlin, he married people in his spare time.

  As the tiny chapel loomed in the distance, Mac’s stomach did summersaults. Within the hour, he’d be a married man. Within a few weeks, he hoped, he’d be a married man with a family. All things considered, his plans were going very well.

  “I thought we were going to a judge’s chambers,” Natalia said out of the blue. “I didn’t realize we were getting married in a church.” She motioned to the steepled building up the road.

  “It’s not a church. The front is a facade. We could’ve gone to a judge, but since I knew Reverend Larsen, and he could accommodate us on short notice, it made more sense to come here.”

  She nodded, but without expression. Maybe she was as nervous as he was? If she was, she didn’t look it. Natalia was always cool, calm and collected. Nothing ruffled her feathers. When she got mad, she was mad. When she was happy, she was happy. The past few days were the first he’d seen any kind of a chink in her armor. And oddly, he liked her better for it.

  He parked in front of the white building with gingerbread trim around the rooftop, got out and circled the truck to open Natalia’s door. But by the time he got there, she was already getting out. Her long legs preceded the short black dress she’d worn for the occasion, and although she wore knee-high black boots, there was enough skin between hem and boot to make his hormones rush.

  Earlier, he’d teased her about being dressed for a funeral, and she’d looked down her nose at his charcoal-gray suit, the same one he wore for every formal occasion, weddings and funerals alike. He glanced in the rearview mirror at his hair. Not bad…presentable. He’d even stuffed a silver-gray hanky in the pocket to match his tie, but Natalia wasn’t impressed.

  He’d seen her dressed up for many a Christmas party and wedding, and she always looked as if she should be walking down a fashion runway. But today she looked Oscar worthy. Hell, who was he kidding? She looked damned hot. In fact, if he were to ever want a wife, he’d want her to look as good as Natalia.

  “Okay.” He rubbed his hands together. “Are you ready?”

  Her mouth pinched as she smoothed the front of her dress and took a deep breath. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

  Twenty minutes later, the good Reverend Jacob Larsen said, “I pronounce you husband and wife.”

  When they just stood there, he added, “David, do you have a ring?”

  He did. In his pocket. But he shook his head. Somehow, even in this comic-book setting, it didn’t seem right to seal their vows with a symbol of everlasting love until death do they part.

  Reverend Larson frowned, but quickly cleared this throat and said, “You may kiss…”

  Mac turned to Natalia, and the look in her eyes warned that he better not go overboard again. He wasn’t about to. He wasn’t going to do anything to screw up getting his son. Making sure their bodies didn’t touch, he leaned down and gave her a quick, chaste peck. Then he thanked Reverend Larsen, and they walked out of the chapel as Mr. and Mrs. David MacAllister.

  Mac reached the truck before she did, opened the door and extended a hand.

  She scowled at him.

  “A habit from childhood,” he said. “My mother taught me good manners, so blame her.”

  Natalia sighed deeply.

  Smiling through his teeth, he added, “It’s our wedding day, sweetheart, and the Larsens are probably watching.”

  She gave him her hand and held on as she stepped up and into the vehicle. As he walked around to the driver’s side, he dug the jewelry box from his jacket pocket.

  When he’d imagined the temporary marriage, it had seemed an easy fix. The only difference from their normal lives was that they’d be married on paper and living in the same house. They’d go to work, joke around, hang out with their friends, and do what they would normally do. When all the legalities were completed and D.J. was there, they’d go back to their separate digs and resume their individual lives.

  But there seemed to be so many details all of a sudden, and everything seemed way more complicated than he’d thought. Getting into the truck, he handed her the box.

  She took it, but didn’t open it. “What about you?”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out the matching one he’d bought for himself. “Right here.” He held it up and then pocketed it again. “Just wear it in public, okay?”

  He started the truck.

  “Okay,” she said, then stuffed the box in her purse.

  They drove east on AZ Route 68 in silence for about a half hour. He turned on the radio, but every song was about the joys or the angst of love, so he shut it off.

  They were married on paper, but they were still best friends, and he was counting on that friendship to make everything go smoothly. They just had to get over the awkwardness of it all.

  “Mac.” Natalia finally broke the ice. “Why did you say before that you
knew I’d want something simple?”

  He glanced over. “What do you mean?”

  “When you first showed me the ring, you said you knew I’d want something simple. Why did you say that?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought it. I’ve never known you to be hung up on all that girlie stuff. I guessed right, didn’t I?”

  She looked away from him and out the window on her side. After a long moment, she said, “Yes, I guess you did. But even if you didn’t, it doesn’t matter, since it’s all fake, anyway.”

  Another long silence ensued. Then she said, “Serena and Cole are getting married.”

  Mac nodded. “Yeah. I know. Cole asked me to be his best man.”

  “It’s going to be awkward telling them about us getting married right before them. Maybe we should wait a while.”

  He coughed like he had a tic in his throat. “What? Before you wanted to tell them, now you don’t?”

  “I did before so it wouldn’t be a surprise. Now it’s after the fact, so waiting doesn’t matter.”

  He rolled his eyes upward as if appealing to a higher power for help. “We can’t wait. Appearances are important. It’s essential for people to see us together.”

  “Maybe for us, but I feel like we’ll be stealing their thunder.”

  “But they’re not getting hitched for a while, are they?”

  She frowned. “What did Cole say about it?”

  “Just that they’re getting married…and he asked me to be best man.”

  “Well, I’m sure they’re going to do it soon.”

  “Okay. But that doesn’t have anything to do with us. Don’t make things more complicated than they are, okay?”

  After that, she made a pillow with her jacket, braced it against the door and fell asleep.

  Mac gritted his teeth. He’d obviously said something wrong. He didn’t know how Serena and Cole getting married had anything to do with them, but somehow it had become one more problem.

  But then, he’d lived with women long enough to know that their whole lives were one big complication after another. He didn’t need any of it, not even in a fake marriage. He’d thought Natalia was different.

  A couple hours later, they arrived at his house and Natalia awakened. Sleepily, she mumbled, “What are the name requirements?”

  “Name requirements?”

  She rubbed her eyes. “You know, for all the people who might be looking at us to see if we’re the proper kind of parents. Would they expect me to have your name? Because if they do, that’s going to be a problem.”

  BACK AT HER CONDO THAT evening, Natalia glanced around, making a mental note of what to bring to Mac’s house. She’d told him she’d do it by herself. When he’d protested, she’d insisted. All she really needed was clothing for a couple weeks, personal items like shampoo and toothpaste, and not much else. She certainly didn’t need a pickup truck to do it.

  At her desk, she opened the briefcase with all her flight information, which she carried with her at all times, then closed it again. She’d packed a couple weeks’ worth of clothes, her toiletries and her laptop. What else? Turning, she realized there was little more in her condo that meant enough to her to want to bring along.

  She loved books, and God knew she had enough of them, but other than what she was reading and maybe one or two more to read in the next couple of weeks, that’s all she’d need. In fact, she could just bring her Kindle and not worry about books, period.

  The nagging throb at the base of her skull warned that it could become a full-fledged migraine—or worse—if she didn’t do something quick. She took a couple Tylenol, then went into the bedroom and dropped onto the bed, spread-eagled her arms and legs, and stared at the ceiling. She closed her eyes, but her mind kept churning.

  In just a few short minutes she’d become a married woman. Mac’s wife.

  She leaned to the side of the bed, reached for her purse on the table next to it, took out the ring Mac had given her, and put it on. Flopping back down, she raised her hand and stared at the plain gold band. It wasn’t the first time she’d worn a wedding ring, but unlike her marriage to Derek, when they were in college, this one came with no strings attached. She wasn’t desperately in love, and the marriage was temporary.

  She brought her hands to rest on her chest. Derek, with his laughing brown eyes and sweet smile…a great cover for the angry, possessive man underneath. Their relationship had been tempestuous, their marriage short-lived.

  Tears suddenly welled. Her chest muscles contracted. She’d loved him so much, and it had ended so badly. She swiped at her eyes with her sleeve. They never should have married in the first place. Two headstrong people, one wanting autonomy, the other needing constant attention. It was a disaster in the making.

  So why was she all choked up about it now? What an idiot she was. She’d resolved all that years ago.

  She fingered the ring, which just happened to fit perfectly. It wasn’t an expensive diamond, but the wide, white-gold band wasn’t a discount-store purchase, either. Mac was right. If she was going to pick a ring, simple was better. But he was wrong about some of the other stuff.

  While she’d not dreamed of having a fancy wedding with all the trimmings, she had imagined if she ever married again, it would be somewhere exotic. A wedding on the beach in the Caribbean, or in Paris under the Eiffel Tower, or now, even a tranquil spot in Oak Creek Canyon, with the red rock mountains rising majestically on both sides.

  But those fantasies, along with a few others, had ended when the flashbacks began. It was her secret to bear.

  Besides, Mac wasn’t really thinking of her when he’d gotten the ring. He was concerned with how it would look to everyone else. He wasn’t a cheapskate. He was always contributing to causes and donating money to charitable events. People would think something was strange if he was suddenly too cheap to buy his wife a good ring. She pulled it off and chucked it onto the nightstand.

  The jangle of her cell phone made her jump. It was probably Serena, and Natalia didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, especially her. She let it ring. She’d have to tell people about the marriage soon enough, but everything had happened so quickly, she needed time to be alone. Time to think.

  In fact, she didn’t know why she had to bring things over to Mac’s tonight, anyway. No sooner had she thought it than the phone rang again.

  Annoyed, she glanced at the caller ID. It wasn’t Serena, it was Mac. She waited until it stopped, then clicked the phone on and keyed in, Staying home tonight. Will bring things in the a.m.

  “THAT’S IT?” MAC ASKED when Natalia opened the trunk of her car the next morning.

  “That and what’s in the backseat. How much stuff do I need for a couple of weeks?”

  He shrugged. “It could be longer.”

  “I don’t live so far away that I can’t go back home and get things if needed.”

  He grabbed a box from the trunk. All he wanted was to get this done and get life back to normal. “Right.”

  Just then he heard a horn blasting away, looked up and saw a green Volkswagen bug headed toward them, balls of dust kicking up behind.

  “Someone you know?”

  Mac laughed. “Yeah, do I ever.”

  The car roared to a halt about two inches from Natalia’s bumper, and his kid sister Stella stepped out of the vehicle, a wide smile on her face and her rock-star red hair as wild as ever.

  He bounded over and gave her a giant bear hug, lifting her off her feet and swinging her around. “Hey, baby doll. How the heck are you?” he asked as he let her down.

  “I’m great. Just great.” She gave him a once-over. “And speaking of great, you look terrific.” She glanced at Natalia.

  Natalia came over and stood at his side.

  A jolt of reality coursed through him. He had no clue what to say and simply stood there looking from one woman to the other.

  Stella placed her hands on her hips, her brow furrowed. “Aren’t you g
oing to introduce us?”

  “Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry.” He put an arm around Natalia. “Natalia, this is Stella, my little sister.”

  Natalia reached out to shake hands and said, “Nice to meet you, Stella. Mac’s told me all about your success getting accepted into Harvard Law School.”

  Stella gave him one of her raised-eyebrow looks, then shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too, Natalia. I wish I could say the same, but my brother isn’t very forthcoming about the women in his life.”

  Eyeing him narrowly, Natalia smiled through her teeth. “I know what you mean.”

  Normally he’d know exactly how to deal with both of them. A joke here, a joke there. But nothing about his life was normal right now, and he doubted jokes were the way to go. He groped for words…and got nothing. Finally, he managed to ask, “So what are you doing here, Stella? I thought you were headed off to ‘Hahvahd’?”

  “Not for two more weeks. I’m not starting until winter semester, so I thought I’d come spend some time with you and see how things were going.” She glanced at Natalia, a glint in her eyes. “But I see you’ve already got company.”

  He took Stella’s hand and directed her toward the house. “Why don’t you go inside and make some coffee, while we get this stuff and bring it in. We can talk then.”

  Stella glanced at the trunk of Natalia’s car and the backseat filled with clothes. “I can help. It’ll go faster.” She picked up a box from the trunk and carried it to the house.

  When his sister was far enough away, Natalia said to him, “I’m guessing you didn’t tell your family?”

  “I told my mom we were dating, and I figured she’d tell my sisters. That’s usually the way things work in my family. Nothing is a secret.” He sighed. “But obviously, that’s not the case today.”

  She grabbed an armful of clothes and he took a box out, balancing another one on top.

  “You said we were dating. That’s it?”

  “Serious dating.”

  “Serious dating. No one has a clue we were getting married…or why?”