by Regan Black
Derek wore a charcoal sport coat and navy slacks with a with a pale blue dress shirt that made his eyes pop and her mouth water. The reporter, blonde and glossy-haired, took to him immediately and simply encouraged Grace Ann to relax.
Before they began, the reporter explained she’d open the segment with a succinct recap of the explosion timeline and a summary of the casualties. Then she started the interview. “It’s been a week since the incident and our community is still singing your praises. We appreciate you being here so we can thank you properly.”
Derek glanced to Grace Ann, his inscrutable lawyer face in place. She loved him more with every minute. She would never get through this without his steady presence. The whole point was for her composure to push Eaton into making a mistake.
“We were glad to be able to help,” she replied.
The reporter walked them through a photo essay of the event, asking for comments along the way. Whenever she felt rattled, Derek’s unflappable calm rubbed off on her. Matching his tone, they relived the horror one moment at a time. So far, so good.
Grace Ann’s anxiety ratcheted up as she assessed various pictures of the two of them treating victims. She stifled her annoyance and the urge to walk out. That was only the pent-up stress talking. Stalking off the set in a snit would defeat their purpose and make Eaton happy.
Digging deep, she kept the endgame in mind.
The reporter turned to Derek as she paused a bystander’s video. She’d timed it perfectly, Grace Ann thought darkly. Derek’s brow was pinched and he’d just pulled the belt free to hand it over. She in turn had a bloody palm turned up, while she leaned all her weight onto the man she was trying to save. H.B.
“What made you hand over your belt?” the reporter asked with grave sincerity.
“She asked for it.” Derek turned to Grace Ann with a self-deprecating smile. “What you can’t see from that angle,” he continued though the reporter hadn’t asked him to elaborate, “is that Major Riley was in emergency-assessment mode. I did as she asked, obeying or passing on directions as she gave them.”
“Miss, I mean, Major Riley, what were you thinking as you moved from victim to victim?”
The patronizing tone from one professional woman to another grated on Grace Ann’s already-raw nerves. Instead of fuming, she emulated Derek’s calm demeanor and dragged up a smile of her own.
This is war. She knew full well the reporter would lap up the truth and the publicist would have a coronary if she dared to give that answer.
“I wasn’t. During the crisis I simply followed my training and instincts. Like the other first responders on the scene, my goal was stabilizing the next person in my path.”
“And the army runs drills like this?”
“Emergency response is an essential part of our training,” she said, keeping her steely officer’s smile in place. “The Army Nurse Corps has an excellent record of service in peacetime and in crisis. As a team we work on the cutting edge of medical advancements, as well as manage the day-to-day health of the men and women who serve our nation. We do all we can to prepare to meet that need wherever we find it, be that in the field or a state-of-the-art hospital.”
“Major Riley offers a superb example of the greatness we’re all capable of,” Derek interjected. “This moment stands apart, an unexpected, tragic and unpredictable crisis,” he said. “Everyone can make a heroic difference to someone, from highly trained first responders and professionals like Major Riley, all the way to laymen like me. All it takes is stepping up and doing what needs done to assist our neighbors.”
“Well said, Mr. Sayer.”
Grace Ann had never had cause to hear Derek’s professional, legal voice. Oddly enough, it put her at ease at the same time the mellow tones sent an excited tingle along her skin.
When this was over, they were going somewhere private so she could kiss him senseless. The anticipation posed enough of a distraction that she nearly lost track of the interview. Whatever he’d just said, he made no attempt to mute his pride or affection for her, even on camera. It was a heady sensation.
“Major Riley.” The reporter tipped her head. “Do you have any advice for the rest of us, should we ever be caught in such a situation?”
“Yes.” Thank goodness for training, she thought, breaking out the core message. “Take a first aid course, get certified in CPR,” she said. “Remember the value of kindness and compassion,” she added, improvising a little. “We can all use more of that, in a crisis or in our daily interactions.”
At last they were done and Grace Ann breathed easier once she and Derek were clear of cameras and microphones. Her mother and Hank met them in the hallway between the studio and the greenroom. “Nicely done,” her mother said, hugging her close.
“Now we wait,” Grace Ann replied, shaking the tension from her hands.
No one was sure how Eaton would react to her serene composure on camera. She’d been eager to push Eaton to do something rash. Now she didn’t want to admit how frightened she was that someone she loved might get caught in the cross fire of his next stunt.
“You’re not planning on watching this as a family tonight, are you?”
“I think you’ve had enough,” Patricia said. She glanced toward Derek, who was chatting with Hank. “He did an amazing job in there for the two of you, and the rest of us,” she whispered. “Are you planning to let that get serious?”
Grace Ann rolled her shoulders. “Is there something more serious than baiting a madman?”
“You know what I mean.”
“It’s too soon for serious, Mom.” She didn’t want to share all these feelings she had for Derek. It was too new, too special to let everyone see it.
Patricia hummed. “Not from where I’m standing.”
“Well, you’re standing in a pool of hopeless romanticism,” Grace Ann said. “Let’s get to the airport. There’s a storm coming in and I’d like to get out on the waves,” she said. Between the days of surfing and nights of sleeping well in Derek’s arms, she had been feeling better than she had in months.
“Maybe the surfing should wait,” Patricia began. “You’re a little pale.”
“All the more reason to get back to the beach,” Grace Ann said. “Nothing will perk me up faster.”
“As long as you don’t go out alone.”
Grace Ann made an X over her heart, then kissed Patricia’s cheek. “You’re the best mom ever.”
“The car’s here,” Hank said, leading the way.
When Derek slid into the back seat with her, she tucked her hand into his. “Feel like coming out to the beach to play lifeguard?”
“Sounds like my kind of fun.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “You did great in there. Poised, professional, confident.”
“Let’s hope the reporter doesn’t edit me right out of the piece. I thought she’d offer to have your babies right there on camera.”
His brows shot up and then he broke into laughter and everything felt almost normal again.
* * *
Derek felt as if he was dancing on the edge of a razor blade on the flight back to the beach house. Grace Ann had dozed off, her head pillowed on his shoulder, right after takeoff. Hank had thrown himself back into work while Patricia chatted with him, deftly avoiding the real reason they were on the plane.
It was too soon for Eaton to strike back—the interview wouldn’t even air for hours yet—but Derek couldn’t shake that sense of impending doom. He wanted to put this mess behind them so he could move forward with Grace Ann.
He wanted there to be a them. A future. And if anyone was going to have his babies, he wanted it to be her. He could just imagine her face if he suggested it. But a week with the big, rowdy Riley family had him taking another look at dreams he’d set aside in his determination to give Kevin a solid home life after the tragedy. He was ready to grow, to add
more branches to the Sayer family tree, as long as Grace Ann was growing with him.
Watching her paddle out over the rollers to catch the next wave, he marveled at her innate resilience. She was a joy to watch, so free out there in the choppy water. Seeing her in a playful mood buoyed his spirits. It seemed she’d finally accepted that leaning on him didn’t undermine her independence. For him, he appreciated being needed in a way that didn’t mean finding all the answers. Some days he wondered if that trait of stepping in and solving problems had always been part of him, or if it had been honed by necessity when he and his brother were orphaned.
He grinned as she found her balance on an incoming wave and rode in until it broke apart near the shore. His breath stuttered when she went under, smoothed out again as she surfaced a moment later.
He’d gained tremendous perspective on Grace Ann, watching her with her family. Every new layer made him want to stay, to linger until the next surprise appeared. She played poker like a champ, sucked at video games, enjoyed reading medical studies on new procedures, and she could talk for hours with her nephew about metal bands or sports stats.
Given the chance, would he thank Eaton for this nonsense?
It was an impossible and irrelevant question. Without the threats and trouble, it might have taken him longer, but he believed they would have wound up in this direction anyway.
Although Derek had taught himself never to love anyone else the way he’d loved his parents as self-preservation, Grace Ann had been challenging those isolating tactics. The Riley family demonstrated a version of family that made him wish for more. Forced him to realize he was shortchanging himself and the people he cared for by locking away his heart.
Not anymore.
“Looking good, Gracie!” Luke whistled as he walked across the sand to join Derek. “Why don’t you ever get out there?” he asked.
Derek shook his head. “I prefer more of a boat between me and whatever’s under the waves.”
“It’s only more water,” Luke said, laughing a little.
“I was thirteen when the Pacific tried to keep me,” he said.
Luke flicked that aside. “You won the battle, right?”
“Obviously. And yet Caleb isn’t out here,” Derek said.
“We won’t push it while Bethany’s pregnant. The kid could totally handle these rollers. Mark and Gracie taught him well.”
“Did you enjoy being an army brat?” Derek asked.
Luke leaned back on his hands, his gaze roaming over the water and the bank of clouds closing in on the surfers, driving the waves higher. “Being the son of a command officer carries all kinds of responsibility. At least that’s what they told me time and again. You might have noticed Mom is the queen of the castle.”
Derek grinned. “I did pick up on that.”
“Seriously though,” Luke continued. “We had a great life. Different, though you don’t know that until you get off base and hang out with civilians. We learned to balance self-sufficiency with teamwork. We saw parts of the world I would never have seen otherwise.”
“Did you have a choice about career?”
“Hell, yeah. Our parents were the first to suggest options outside the military for all of us. Of course, they weren’t quiet about the benefits, either,” he said, smiling. “This situation with Gracie, and with Matt a few months ago, only emphasizes life is short,” he continued. Then he swore. “Sorry, that was insensitive.”
“It’s fine,” Derek said. “My parents have been gone a long time now.”
Luke let the rollers wash over his feet. “If we haven’t scared you off yet, does that mean you’re sticking around?”
That was his plan, assuming Grace Ann would get on board. “I enjoy spending time with your older sister,” he said. “And the rest of you. It would be nice to do it more often.”
“That’s good to hear.” Luke’s mouth slanted into a frown. “Not everyone appreciates our brand of chaos.”
“Are you afraid of what Eaton will try next?” Derek asked.
“Eaton should be afraid of us if he doesn’t back off,” Luke grumbled. “He’s crossed a line. When we find him, he’ll wish he’d never heard of Ben Riley or his kids.”
“With luck, the interview will flush him out,” Derek said.
“We can hope.” Luke lifted his chin toward Grace Ann. “You haven’t asked me, but I think you’re good for her.”
Derek knew better than to let those words go to his head, but it was a tough ask. “We have common interests.”
Luke threw back his head and laughed. “Said like a true lawyer. Common interests or not, be careful with her. She’d kick my ass for saying so, but there’s a tender heart under that tough shell. It would be a bummer if we had to kill you.” On that note, he ran for the tide as his twin brother skimmed his board over the waves and right up to the beach.
When he’d asked Grace Ann about an exclusive relationship, he hadn’t fully understood this piece of her life. Family was her cornerstone. He could see how it supported everything she did, and influenced her worldview and perspective.
Testing himself, he contemplated walking away. The immediate ball of icy panic in his gut was all the answer he needed. No further analysis required.
He watched her pop up again as another swell came up, formed into a decent wave. She lost her balance at the tail end of it and splashed into the water, her face alight with laughter. Something around his heart clicked into place and he knew she was the only woman for him. It fascinated him, this all-encompassing knowing.
He vaguely remembered his mom telling the story of falling fast and hard for his father while his dad had worn an expression of dopey contentment. Love had a strange effect on people. He supposed the next question was what Grace Ann would say when he proposed. He looked up as she stopped in front of him, a carefree smile on her face and ocean water dripping into the sand.
“Thinking big thoughts?” she asked, dropping down to sit beside him.
He nodded, turning his gaze to the ocean so she wouldn’t see what he wasn’t quite ready to say. If he asked her now, she’d blame it on Eaton or pressure from her family. Besides, he hadn’t so much as told her how he felt. That should probably come first.
They had time, he reminded himself. He picked up her hand, tracing her long, narrow fingers, the veins and tendons under her smooth skin.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Better than okay,” he replied. “Did the surfing help?”
“It did. The hip is all loose again after the flight. Now if I can just keep from going crazy while we wait for Eaton to make his next move.”
“I thought maybe we could go out to dinner,” he suggested. He had yet to learn if she wanted to watch when the interview aired. He wasn’t sure she’d figured it out yet.
“I don’t know. That didn’t work out so well last time.”
“You think takeout would be safe enough? We could bring it back here and eat on the beach.”
He thought she’d laugh. To his surprise, she sniffled and appeared to be fighting off tears. “Ah. You’ve been thinking big thoughts, too.”
“Sure,” she confessed with a watery smile. “Hard not to with everything going on. Any word from Kevin?”
He honored the not-so-subtle plea to change the subject. “We talked yesterday. He was upbeat. He tells me he hired a nursing service to help when he’s released to go home. Said he doesn’t need me at all.”
“Are you okay with that?”
He appreciated that she understood. “I didn’t think the chick was supposed to push the parent out of the nest,” he joked. “Seriously, I’m about eighty percent okay with it,” he said. “He is an adult.”
“Did you ever hope the injury would end his military career?”
“What? No.” He glared at her, offended.
“Take i
t easy.” She bumped him with her damp shoulder. “I know you worry and I assume being the only one worrying is more taxing than sharing the burden with a family.”
He hadn’t thought about it in quite those terms. “Either way, he’s made up his mind. I hear he’s good at his work.”
“The unit will step up,” she assured him. “He’s likely to invite you over just to get a break from us.”
“It’s all good,” he said. For several minutes, they watched the water roll into the shore, the storm blowing closer. “From what Hank said, you’ll be back in the rotation before long.”
“I hope you’re right.” She wrapped her arms around her knees. “I can’t believe Eaton found someone to pose as the soldier I made up that night at the house.”
There had to be a way for him to help her. “You should have independent representation.”
“Relax.” She stretched out her hip. “The JAG office has my back and the right people know the truth. My biggest challenge right now is being patient.”
“If you’re sure.” He mentally sifted through his network of friends for someone who might have some insight or advice that could help her. “At least you have a fallback if the army doesn’t come to their senses.”
She swiveled to gape at him. “I do?”
“You’d be a superb surf instructor,” he pointed out.
“Good point.” She grinned. “And there are plenty of ways to be a nurse that don’t involve the army.”
He didn’t believe for a minute that she was ready to leave her military career. “He won’t win,” Derek stated, sliding an arm around her shoulders.
“What makes you so sure?”
“Could be a hunch,” he said.
“Or?”
“Could be your family rubbing off on me.”
“You surprise me.” She studied his face as thunder rumbled through the dark gray clouds leading the storm. “I like it.” She stood up, held out a hand to him. “Let’s go have a date.”
