by Marie Force
“Take care, John.”
“You, too.”
I offer a handshake to Eric. “Good to meet you.”
“You, too.” He drops my hand and starts to walk away before turning back to me. “What you did, capturing that monster who ruined so many lives… Everything else aside, thank you for that.”
“You’re welcome.”
He nods and follows Ava, Rob and Camille out of the suite. When the door clicks shut behind them, Jules leans back against it and smiles. She’s radiant. “All things considered, that went pretty well, wouldn’t you say?”
I sit on the barstool and crook my finger.
She comes to me and steps between my legs, wrapping her arms around my neck.
I’m so happy to have her back in my arms where she belongs. “It went spectacularly well because of you. You were magnificent. You told them what you wanted and left no room for negotiation. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you.” She kisses me and then leans her forehead against mine. “I guess we’re really going for it, huh?”
“I guess we are. Any second thoughts?”
“Not one.”
“Something occurred to me tonight that I probably should’ve told you before you took this gigantic leap of faith and quit your job for me.”
“What’s that?”
“I love you.”
She gasps. “You… you do?”
“I really do. I’m not sure how you managed to get this broken, bitter, miserable old man to feel hopeful again, but you did. You brought me back to life, Poppy.” I cup her sweet face and caress her soft skin with my thumb. “You held nothing back from me, not even your retainer.”
She laughs as her eyes sparkle with tears. “You’re never going to let me hear the end of that, are you?”
“Never.” I draw her into a soft, achingly sweet kiss. “I love you too much to ever let you hear the end of anything.”
“I love you, too.”
I inhale sharply. I’ve only ever heard those words from one other person in my life, and the impact the second time is no less profound than it was the first time. Love is not something that’s been bountiful for me. I’m honored to have earned the love of this extraordinary woman. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for loving you. It’s the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I really do have to thank you. For everything you’ve already done, for taking this huge chance on me, for loving me, which is the best part. I promise you’ll never regret any of it.”
“I already know I won’t regret it. People wait their whole lives to find what we have. I’ve waited my whole life for it.”
“I’m so glad I found you and that Ava was the one who made it happen. There’s something kind of cool about that.”
“It was kismet.”
“Yes, it was.” I slide off the chair, and once I’m sure my legs are steady, I put my arms around her and lift her.
“John! Put me down!”
“Shhhh. I’ve got you.” I move carefully toward the bedroom, where I put her down next to the bed.
“You shouldn’t be doing that stuff.”
I waggle my brows at her. “Wait till you see what I’m capable of at full strength.”
She reaches for me, bringing me down on top of her. “I can’t wait to see everything you’re capable of.”
With her by my side, in my arms and firmly entrenched in my heart, anything seems possible.
Epilogue
JOHN
One year later…
I’ve just run three whole miles without stopping. As the doctors predicted, right around the one-year mark after the coma, I started to feel almost back to normal. Hitting the three-mile mark is a huge accomplishment. I run at the water’s edge, where the sand is packed more firmly. I figure if I fall, it won’t hurt as badly as it would on pavement. I still fall once in a while. I lose my balance and topple over, often without any warning that it’s going to happen. The best was the time I took out an entire display of paper products in the grocery store. Since the whole world knows who I am, that was rather embarrassing.
But Jules was right there to give me a hand up, to brush me off and to continue on our day like nothing unusual had happened. She rolls with whatever comes our way and makes life easy for me just by being there.
She moved to San Diego right after we ended the LA leg of the initial media tour. She had one stipulation—that we live at the beach. We bought a beachfront condo with two fireplaces, in a brand-new complex in La Jolla that has the other thing we need—top-notch security. I still get approached everywhere we go, but things have died down a bit in recent months, or maybe I’ve just gotten used to the attention.
Our condo isn’t far from the bench on the boardwalk where our relationship took an important turn that led us to where we are today. Every time we’re in that area, we stop for a rest on our bench, where we reminisce about how far we’ve come from that day. We kept her place in New York for when we visit her family and have work commitments. I encourage her to go home any time she wants to, but she never wants to go unless I’m with her. Fine by me.
The initial media tour seems like a lifetime ago. I’ve done hundreds of interviews in the year since I officially retired from the Navy. We keep waiting for the interest in my story to wane, but it only seems to get crazier with every passing month. I agreed to an endorsement deal with Adidas. They shot me wearing only running shorts and their shoes. At first, I was hesitant to be photographed with the prosthetic showing, but Jules said, “Who cares if people see it? It’s not like anyone doesn’t know you lost a leg.”
I love how she cuts to the chase and simplifies things for me when my inclination is to overthink everything. After years of leading my team and supervising people in the Navy, I’m more than happy to take my lead from her as I adjust to civilian life. She’s never once been wrong. I joke about how I trust her gut more than my own.
The ad has gotten a tremendous amount of attention, including one of those massive billboards in Times Square, and the company is very pleased with the response. I’m very pleased with the huge amount of money they paid me to do it. Between that and my pension, we’re set up rather well.
I’ve also agreed to write my memoir, which is turning out to be much more challenging than I anticipated. I hope that by discussing my difficult childhood and successful naval career I’ll give hope to some other kid out there who may have no one pulling for them. We’ve heard talk of a possible movie deal if the book turns out not to be shit. That’d be something.
And I’ve founded the Captain John West Foundation for kids aging out of the foster system who need mentoring, direction and help figuring out what’s next. If something like that had existed when I turned eighteen, I might not have ended up in front of a judge. I got lucky with someone who gave me a choice that changed my life. A lot of kids don’t get those kinds of breaks, and I want to reach them before they get into trouble. We’ve started a pilot program in San Diego that I hope to take nationwide over the next couple of years.
Life is good—and not just for me and Jules. Rob won his election and is now representing New York in Congress. He and Camille split their time between New York and DC, and he’s considered a rising star in the Democratic Party. Her firm has offices in both cities, so it works out well for them. I enjoyed campaigning for him, and he likes to say my support made all the difference. I don’t know if that’s true, but I was happy to lend a hand. He’s become a good friend, and I really like spending time with him and Camille.
Muncie requested to be stationed in New York and is now working as a recruiter in the city. He doesn’t love the job, but he loves living with Amy. I expect to hear any time now that they’re getting married. He’s remained one of my closest friends after the months we spent working together. I give him almost as much credit as I give Jules for helping me put my life back together.
Ava and Eric recently had a baby girl named Josie. She’s absolutely beauti
ful, and they’re thrilled with her, as they should be. He and I will never be the best of friends, but we’re able to be cordial for Jules’s sake and Ava’s when we occasionally see each other. We’ve even gotten to the point where we can joke around a little and have a reasonable conversation about anything other than Ava. Against all odds, Ava and I have become good friends, regularly exchanging texts and keeping in close touch. I’m so glad that I get to have everything I do with Jules but get to keep Ava in my life, too.
As I jog back toward home, I think about my Poppy and the next phase of our journey together. I’ve had an engagement ring for weeks and have agonized about how I want to ask her the most important question I’ll ever ask anyone. I’m not worried about what her answer will be, but I want it to be perfect for her, the way she’s been for me.
Sometimes I wonder what might’ve become of me if she hadn’t shown up when she did. I was in a bad place when I got out of the hospital. When I think about how far I’ve come since then, I owe so much of that progress to her, my light at the end of a dark tunnel. I still have occasional nightmares and wake up sobbing, mourning the losses of Tito and Jonesy as well as Ava and the life that was ripped from us by a terrorist. Jules is always right there for me, holding me through the best moments and the worst, my calm in the storm.
A few months ago, Popovicci, the master chief on my SEAL team, tried to take his own life. The shock of that incident had me spiraling for a few days as we rallied around him, got him into a PTSD treatment facility and did all the things you do when you’re family to someone who’s hurting. If that’d happened before I had Jules, I don’t know if I could’ve handled it as well as I did with her by my side to help with details that would’ve overwhelmed me on my own.
She’s a rock. She’s my rock, and I want her to know how much she means to me with the perfect proposal. I’ve had and dismissed a thousand ideas. None of them has felt right to me. I keep hoping I’ll come up with something, because I’m running out of patience. I want that ring on her finger and a plan to make her my wife as soon as possible. I want kids with her. I want everything with her. It’s funny to think that when Jules and I are married, Ava’s daughter will become my niece. I like that.
I arrive at our place, use the outdoor shower to clean up and navigate the stairs to our deck. Stairs are still a bit of a challenge, but like the doctors and therapists promised, everything has gotten easier with time. I step into the condo, where Jules is tending to the stove while talking on the phone. My girl is nothing if not a master multitasker.
She welcomes me home with a big smile that touches my heart. She’s always so damned glad to see me. “No, he’s not doing that, Victor. I don’t care how much fun he has on your show, he’s not dropping rubber penises from a helicopter.” She rolls her eyes at me.
Laughing, I give her two thumbs-up.
She shakes her head, her expression stern.
I love when she’s stern with me.
“No, it doesn’t make a difference if it’s fake poop. Both those things are beneath him.” She pauses to listen. “I won’t take it to him. The answer is no. Call me back when you find some dignity.” Pulling the earbuds out, she tosses them aside. “He’s insane if he thinks I’m letting you do any of that crazy crap he does on his show. He’s lucky I let you appear on his stupid show once a month.”
She’s magnificent. That’s the only word I can think of to describe the way she cares for me on and off the job. Sometimes I worry that she’ll get tired of having only one client, but she seems to love representing me and being the “firewall” between me and the requests that continue to roll in every day. I move toward her, walking carefully on tired legs, around the counter to where she stands at the stove stirring something that smells delicious.
“What’s wrong?” She gives me a quick inspection to make sure all is well. “You didn’t fall, did you?” She’s got her hair up in a messy bun and is wearing a formfitting tank with sexy denim cutoffs that barely cover her cheeks, not that I’m complaining.
“Not this time. And nothing is wrong.” I lean in to kiss her. “I’m just checking out my warrior woman barefoot in the kitchen, fighting my battles for me the way only she can do.”
“I know you love Victor, but I have to say—”
I kiss the words right off her lips. “I love you. You and only you.” I realize there will never be a better time for what I want to do than any of the simple yet extraordinary moments we experience together on any given day.
She curls a hand around my neck. “I love you, too. How was the run?”
“Finally made it to three miles.”
“Really?” Her smile lights up my world. “That’s so awesome.”
I used to be able to run fifteen miles while barely breaking a sweat. I may never be able to do that again, but whatever. I’ve learned I don’t have to get back to where I was to be perfectly fine with where I am. Last weekend, I took her hiking at Torrey Pines, which had been impossible for me to navigate until I got stronger. It was nice to be back in one of my favorite places and to share it with her. “Felt good to notch that third mile.”
“I’m so proud of you.”
She treats each victory in my recovery as if I’ve just summited Everest or some equally momentous thing, which is just another on a long list of reasons why I love her desperately. “Can you hold that thought for one minute?”
“Sure.” Her brows furrow adorably with confusion. “I’m not going anywhere.”
That’s all I need to know. “Be right back.” I go into the master bedroom that’s on the main floor. Jules insisted on that so I wouldn’t have to deal with stairs in my own home. She’s always looking out for me in big ways and small. I retrieve the ring I stashed in a dresser drawer, take it out of the box and return to the living room sofa, keeping the ring hidden inside the fist I make with my right hand. “Come here.”
She stirs what’s in the pan as she checks her phone. “I’m here.”
“Julianne.” I never, ever, ever call her that, and it gets her attention.
She looks up from her phone. “What?”
“Come. Here.”
Sighing with dramatic exasperation, she comes over to me. “You beckoned.”
“Have a seat.”
She sits.
It’s not easy for me, but I slide off the couch onto my knees in front of her.
“What’re you doing? You’re going to hurt yourself!”
“No, I’m not. And what I’m doing, my sweet, difficult, gorgeous, utterly perfect Poppy, is asking if you will please marry me and make me happier than I already am, which is pretty damned happy.”
Her eyes go wide, and her mouth falls open. I love that she didn’t see this coming. Sure, we’ve talked about getting married, but she had no idea today would be the day.
“You, my beautiful, endlessly competent firewall, are the absolute love of my life. Spend the rest of yours with me?” I open my hand to show her the ring, and she gasps.
I went with a stunner, and judging by her reaction, it has the desired effect.
Tears run down her cheeks as she covers her mouth with her left hand. “John.” The word is muted by her hand, but I hear it anyway.
I reach up to remove the hand from her face and slide the ring onto her finger. It’s a perfect fit, but I knew it would be. “Remember when you couldn’t find your grandmother’s ring that day?”
She nods.
“I borrowed it to make sure the size was right. I felt so bad that you got upset about the missing ring and made sure you found it the next morning.”
She sniffles as she looks at the ring and then at me. “I forgive you.”
“I also talked to your dad about a month ago and asked for his permission to marry you. He said I had his approval, but you were the only one who could give permission.”
“You really asked him?”
“I really did, and I thought you’d approve of his answer.”
“I love what he
said and that you did that. Thank you. I’m sure it meant a lot to him.”
I kiss the back of her hand. “Do you like the ring?”
She laughs as if that’s the silliest question she’s ever heard. “I love it. It’s incredible.”
It’s a three-carat solitaire surrounded by another two carats in smaller stones.
I kiss her again because there’s almost nothing I love more than kissing her. “As the one who’s usually in charge of the details around here, you’re missing a rather important one.”
“What am I missing?”
“You haven’t answered my question. Are you going to marry me and spend forever with me? Are you going to run my life and have babies and everything else with me?”
“Yes.” She caresses my face as she gazes into my eyes. “Yes to everything.”
I gather her into my arms, relieved to have made it official and to have pleased her with the ring I agonized over. “You saved my life in every possible way, Poppy.”
“You like to say that, but in saving yours, I found mine.”
***
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Thank you for reading John’s story! After Five Years Gone was released last year, I was overwhelmed with requests for John’s book. Everyone wanted to see him get his happy ending, too, and I hope you enjoyed seeing him get that with Jules. Writing these two books has been so much fun, and I’ve been delighted to hear from so many readers who loved Five Years Gone and have been counting down to One Year Home. Thank you for that enthusiasm for my books. It’s much appreciated!
Join the Five Years Gone and One Year Home reader groups to discuss both books with spoilers allowed.
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A lot of people make it possible for me to write books all day, including my husband, Dan, and the HTJB team: Julie Cupp, Lisa Cafferty, Holly Sullivan, Isabel Sullivan and Nikki Colquhoun. Thanks go to my awesome editors, Linda Ingmanson and Joyce Lamb, as well as my stellar publicist Jessica Estep and my primo beta readers Anne Woodall and Kara Conrad.
