by Mary May
Copyright © 2016
Mary E. Heath
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and for review purposes. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locations are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity.
ANGEL CAST LIST
GIDEON- CHARLIE
CHARLOTTE- SABRINA
ZARECK-DEVON
BAYLOR- CATHERINE
ANTHONY-EVAN
DONAVAN-CARL
EVIE- KEELIE
LEIA-KINSLEY
KAVICK-CLEO
SKYE-D.J.
RAPHAEL-LUKE
SHANA-NATE
MACDEVERON- SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 1
Charlie sat in Seth’s old truck snuggled under Nate’s arm. He had been strangely quiet all night, so she waited until he was ready to tell her what was on his mind. It was nearing the July 4th holiday, so perhaps it had something to do with that. He had been able to attend her graduation in May then had to leave again for a short while, but now he was done with his tour. Finally she heard him take a deep breath, and she prepared herself for whatever he was about to say. “Charlie, I need to talk to you about something.”
“I wondered when you were going to tell me. Is it bad?” she asked.
“I hope you don’t think so. I have a feeling you may not like it, but I hope you will try to understand it.”
Pulling away from him, Charlie sat up and faced him. “Ok, then let’s hear it.”
“I reenlisted for another four years.”
Nate’s words hit her like a blow to the chest, knocking the air from her lungs. Feeling the blood drain from her face, she stared at him in silence.
“Charlie, please say something,” he begged.
Shaking her head, she lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “What, Nate? What do you want me to say? You didn’t really leave me with many options here.” Feeling suddenly closed in and claustrophobic, she opened the door and got out of the truck, looking up at the night sky.
She heard the other door open then shut and soon felt Nate’s hand on her shoulder. “Can I at least explain why I did it?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she looked everywhere but at him. “Sure, go ahead.”
“Can you look at me, please?”
Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around.
“I did it for us, for our future. I can put enough money aside with one more tour to set us up. By the time I’m done, you will be finished with college and we can set up our lives however we want.”
Charlie nodded but made no reply.
Grinding his teeth in frustration, Nate reached for her but she pulled away. “What, Charlie? What do you want from me? Can you meet me halfway here?”
That brought her head up and with eyes flashing he finally got a response. “What do I want from you? Can I meet you halfway? Really? That’s nervy even for you. You make a huge decision that impacts both of our lives without even talking to me about it first, and then you ask me to meet you halfway?”
“I knew you wouldn’t ever agree to it, Charlie, even though it’s the best plan.”
“You don’t know that! How can you know that when we haven’t even discussed what other plans may be available to us, Nate? I’ll get a pretty big inheritance when I turn twenty-one. You didn’t have to go put your life on the line again. Our lives were already going to be set however we wanted. If you would have talked to me, you would have known that!”
She watched, as his face grew hard. “I know about your inheritance, Charlie. It’s because of that that I reenlisted. I won’t have anyone saying that I married you for your money.”
“I don’t care what people think. People will think what they want regardless of what you do, Nate. I’ll know the truth; my family will know the truth. The people that matter will know the truth. Please don’t do this! I’m begging you, don’t do this.”
Charlie grabbed the front of his shirt as she held on to him. Her eyes tore his heart from his chest.
“I’m sorry, baby…it’s too late. I’ve already signed the papers. I leave in three days.”
Sabrina and Devon looked at Charlie in surprise as she told them the news. Without waiting for their response she walked up to her room. As she lay in bed, her chest burned with unshed tears of anger and hurt and a strange sense of betrayal.
“How could he do this?” she whispered to herself. She had a wonderful fantasy in her mind of how her life with Nate would be. With one sentence, six words, he destroyed that fantasy. Rolling over, she looked at the red dial of her clock. In sixty-eight hours and thirty-seven minutes he would be leaving and she had no idea when or even if she would see him again, depending on where they sent him. The hard knot that had held back the sea of tears finally couldn’t hold back the torrent any longer. As ragged sobs tore up from her heart, she thought she might actually die from the pain.
The next morning Devon answered a knock on the door to find Nate standing on the other side looking a little worse for wear.
“Hey, Nate, come on in.” They walked into the living room when Devon offered to go get Charlie, but Nate stopped him.
“I actually wanted to speak with you and Sabrina. I wanted to explain why I reenlisted.”
Devon sat down and looked at the young man across the room from him that in so many ways reminded him of himself twenty years ago. “Son, you don’t have to explain anything to me. I understand exactly why you did it, so no one could say you married for money. That’s honorable, but let me tell you something about pride and honor. It can and usually will come back and bite you in the butt when you least expect it.” Devon told Nate his story about being honorable.
“So learn from my mistakes; let people think what they want. It’s you that you have to face in the mirror every day. As long as you can do that, then it’s all good. But I have a feeling this speech is too little too late, isn’t it? You have already signed the papers?”
Nate nodded his head. “Yes, sir, I leave day after tomorrow.” Devon’s eyes grew wide with surprise.
“That soon? That’s going to be tough. Well, let me go get Charlie. You two have precious little time left as it is.”
The next two days flew by like they had wings. Charlie stood next to Nate in the airport, not even trying to stop the flow of tears.
“Baby, please stop crying,” Nate begged as he took her once more in his arms. Charlie shook her head as she clung to him. “I can’t…I tried…but I can’t.”
“I’ll be back on holiday leave before you know it,” he said, wiping her face with his hand.
“That’s still six months away, Nate. You’re not helping.” She tried to smile for him.
“That’s my girl; be mad at me, Charlie. Sass me. I can take anything but your tears
.”
A voice came across the loud speaker announcing Nate’s flight.
Charlie flung herself back into his arms, trying to keep him with her by absorbing him into her very molecules. “Stay with me,” she pleaded one last time.
Nate lifted her head and kissed her, trying to convey everything he felt for her into one kiss. “I’m always with you, baby. I’m right here,” he said, tapping her chest right over her heart.
“And you’re always right here with me.” He placed his hand over his own heart. Charlie lifted his hand and placed a tender kiss in the center of his palm then placed it back over his heart.
“Loved you always, Nate Jackson,” she whispered.
“Loved you always, Charlie Blakely,” he whispered back. Picking up his bag, he walked toward his waiting plane, turning back to give her a wave and one last smile…
Gideon waved as Shana lifted her hand to him as she walked beside Nate. He was sad to see them go and prayed for their safe and speedy return. He felt that Nate was in good hands with Shana as a guardian, for the female was a very skilled fighter and had impressed him greatly. Hearing a quiet sob, he turned to see Charlie with her face pressed against the large glass wall watching the plane as it started to taxi itself into position. He hated this for her; he hated that there wasn’t a single thing he could do to ease her pain. He had seen her cry for many different reasons through her life, but it was the tears that fell from her heart that caused him the most distress.
During the ride home Charlie managed to get herself together for the most part. She insisted on driving Nate to the airport herself. She prayed and asked God for strength to endure the next few months until Nate would be home again. She couldn’t bring herself to think about the next four years; that seemed too big a mountain to deal with just yet, so she cut it up into manageable sections. Over the course of the next few weeks she stayed busy, really busy. The harder she pushed herself through the day, the shorter her crying session lasted each night. She missed Nate so much more than she thought she would, and she thought it would be bad! His phone calls, though few and not very long, were treasured moments of hearing his voice in her ear. He had been shipped out to the Middle East, supposedly in a safe area, but Charlie had a feeling he was telling her that to keep her from worrying. September was fast approaching, which would bring her nineteenth birthday and moving off to college. She had gotten accepted into Zion University, which she was thrilled about and sad about at the same time. In a way, now that Nate wouldn’t be going with her, she really didn’t want to move away. It seemed like it was one more thing she was losing. She was looking over some of the college’s brochures when she heard a knock on the front door. In a few minutes she heard a knock on her bedroom door; then her mom opened it. Charlie smiled as she looked up, but her smile quickly faded when she saw the look on Sabrina’s face.
“What is it, Mama? What’s wrong?” Sabrina hurried over to Charlie’s bed and sat down, reaching for her daughter’s hand.
“Charlie, Nate’s parents are downstairs. They just received a call from his captain. His helicopter was shot down and Nate was seriously injured. They came by so you could ride with them to go to where they have taken him.” Charlie jumped to her feet and flung open her closet door. Grabbing the first bag she laid her hand on, she started throwing clothes into it. Racing around the room, she packed personal items into a smaller bag and still hadn’t said a word. Sabrina caught her by the shoulders as she flew by her the third time.
“Charlie! Look at me, honey! I need to tell you something…I need to prepare…”
“No! Don’t you say it! Don’t you dare say it. I understand that he is hurt. I understand that he is hurt badly, but he will be ok. I just need to get to him, Mama. He needs me. I can help him get better!”
“Charlie! He may not get better…Nate may not make it.” Sabrina got the words out in a rush before Charlie could start talking again. Charlie choked on the sob that ripped up from her soul, doubling her over from the force of it, bringing her to her knees.
Sabrina wrapped her arms around her, praying both out loud and silently as she rocked her daughter, trying to hold her together.
Gideon and Charlotte, along with every other guardian in the house that night, circled the two women on the floor, lifting their own fervent prayers up into the heavens.
Chapter 2
Charlie hugged her parents as Nate’s dad loaded her bags into the back of their car. “Honey, we will be there just as soon as we can,” her mother promised. They had joined hands and prayed before quickly hugging her once more; then she got into the back seat. She could hear Nate’s parents talking in whispers in the front of the car. Kate would occasionally glance back and give her a brave smile, but Charlie knew it was bad.
They boarded the plane that would take them to California. As Charlie buckled her seatbelt she couldn’t help but think this was a sorry reason to be taking her very first plane ride that she was actually old enough to remember. She had tried to pray in the car, but no words would come. A knot of cold fear was lodged in her chest where her heart should be. Nate’s parents didn’t really have any more information to give her than her mother did. All they knew was his helicopter was shot down and that Nate was seriously injured. The nurse on the phone advised them that they needed to come immediately. That could only mean one thing… they didn’t expect him to live. The same knot that dammed up her prayers also dammed up her tears, leaving her staring out of the window with burning dry eyes and an aching heart.
Gideon watched as Charlie went through the motions of buckling her seatbelt and then faced the plane’s window, the pain she felt so easily seen on her face. He didn’t know the Jackson’s very well. They seemed extremely caught up in their own fears and concerns and offered little if any comfort to the young girl sitting beside them. Charlie twisted the promise ring on her left hand that Nate had given her last Christmas when they had both admitted their feelings to one another. While not an official engagement ring, to Charlie’s heart it meant the same thing. He was so concerned about Charlie that he didn’t even have time to get airsick and the long flight passed with Gideon praying, Charlie staring out of the window and the Jackson’s clinging to one another…
“Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, I’m Dr. Reed. If you will follow me I’ll explain Nathaniel’s injuries.” They followed the doctor down a maze of hallways in the massive hospital. Dr. Reed appeared to be in his mid-forties with graying sandy brown hair and hazel eyes. He carried himself as if he might have been in the military himself. He was of average height, maybe six foot, but he clearly kept in shape, judging from his broad shoulders and lean hips. Charlie was pushed to keep up with his long strides without breaking into a trot. She tried to keep track of the different turns in case she needed to get back to the car, but she lost count after the fifth or was it the sixth turn? He finally stopped in front of a door that looked exactly like the other hundred doors they had passed and opened it, allowing them inside. Nate’s parents sat down in the only two chairs that were available other than the doctor’s chair, so Charlie stood next to the door. Reaching into a filing cabinet, he pulled out a thick file and opened it on the desk. Rubbing his face, he looked up at them with tired eyes.
“I wish I had better news. Unfortunately, even my best news isn’t that great, but we will start with that. Nathaniel has suffered not only internal injuries and burns; he also has lost his right leg just below the knee and his right hip was shattered. I don’t know what all they told you about the accident itself but the Apache helicopter was shot down during a night raid. They were sent to provide air backup for the troops that were on the ground. When the wreckage was found just less than a mile from the ground troops, the leading Sargent thought both of the men were gone. The pilot was still in the wreckage and it appeared he was killed on impact. Nathaniel was found about twenty feet from the wreckage. The impact had shattered several bones on his right side. We have completed six surgeries so far. The damage to his rig
ht hip was beyond repair; therefore, we completed a total hip replacement. His ribs were broken in multiple places and some of the shards from his ribs were sent into his right lung, causing it to collapse. He also sustained lacerations to his liver and spleen. At this time his internal injuries have been repaired, his ribs have been set, two of them with titanium plates because they were broken too badly for us to set. After surgery his liver and his spleen no longer appear to be bleeding. Unfortunately his right leg was mangled to the point we had no choice but to amputate.”
The doctor paused for a moment to take a breath before he continued detailing the ever-growing list of Nate’s injuries. Charlie felt her stomach twisting tightly as the doctor spoke once more. “He also has second and third degree burns on parts of his face, arms and across the top of his chest. The burns should heal as long as they do not get infected; frankly at this point they are the least of my concerns. Honestly, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson, I don’t know how he survived at all. Although he has sustained no brain damage or spinal cord damage that can be determined at this time, his other injuries were enough to kill him. Why he is still with us I have no scientific explanation whatsoever.”
“Can Nate… will he survive with the injuries that he sustained?” Rick Jackson asked in a voice so low that Charlie barely heard him and she was standing right next to him. Dr. Reed picked up a pen and played with it for a few seconds, clicking it over and over before he answered.
“Right now Nathaniel’s biggest challenge will be not getting an infection in the burns and the surgery locations. His internal injuries, while no longer life threatening at the moment, can still cause complications if we have to operate again. The burns will heal hopefully without the need for skin grafts, but that remains to be seen. Even without grafting there will be significant scarring.”
His gaze landed briefly on Charlie before he spoke once more. “If he can survive the next week without infection setting in, then I think his chance for survival will improve greatly. He is in for a long painful road. I hate to be blunt, but I need you to be prepared for what your son will be dealing with.” He turned to Charlie, his eyes dropping to where her fingers were nervously twisting her ring.
