Hero by Night (13 page)

“Put on your pants, Chad.” She nodded to his clothes. “And then we'll negotiate.”

He obeyed, pulling on his clothes. “I like it better when you tell me to take them off.”

“Me too,” she said. “Me too.”

Chad followed her out the door and down to his pickup. She was still his. But someday their little game would end.

 

Chapter 15

“
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you think we can keep this up?” Chad asked, his stride slow and lazy despite her rushed steps down Independence Falls's Main Street.

After seven days helicopter logging at a remote job site, her pretend boyfriend had returned home ready to kick back and relax. Lena had the day off, her work schedule still limited to the Friday through Monday overnight security shifts, but she also had plans.

“As long as we need to.” Lena glanced at her watch. Georgia and Katie would be at the nail salon right now. They could get started without her. Lena had no intention of parting with her hard-­earned dollars for a coat of polish delivered by a nosy stranger. But she'd promised she'd meet them there to talk about Georgia's wedding plans.

“It's been three weeks,” Chad said. “You're not tired of me yet?”

“I haven't seen you in seven nights.”

“You're right. I think it might take a while longer.” He stopped in front of Ariel's Salon, wrapping his arm around her waist and drawing her close. He touched his lips to hers, stealing a quick kiss.

But she wanted more, so much more. She ran her fingers through his hair, capturing his mouth, her tongue touching his as she deepened the kiss.

“Lena,” he said, breaking away. “We're on Main Street.”

“Hmm.” She brushed his lips over his again. “Georgia and Katie might be peeking through the salon window. I wouldn't want them to think you found someone else while you were away.”

“There's no one else, Lena.”

“I'm glad I'm your only fake girlfriend,” she teased, resting her forehead against his.

“Lena—­”

“I should go in,” she said, breaking free from his hold. At some point they needed to talk about how to end the charade, but not yet. “They're waiting for me.”

“Are you ready for our road trip Thursday?” he asked.

She nodded. He'd scheduled three days off to drive her down to the medal ceremony. She'd done the same, knowing she'd lose two nights' pay to make the trip. But the medal had helped her land the job. And her family would be there. Plus the vice president and the media . . . Hero pressed close as if sensing her rising panic.

“We're meeting my parents and my brother for dinner Thursday night,” she said, focusing on the concrete details. “So we'll need to leave early. They picked a Chinese restaurant not far from the motel. The Red Dragon.”

“Sounds great, Lena.”

She blinked. It sounded like hell to her. But Chad hadn't met her family yet.

“I look forward to meeting them,” he added.

“My dad,” she said, knowing she needed to give him a warning. “He's not easy. Most ­people don't like him. And—­”

“Don't worry about me. I have charm on my side, remember?”

She frowned. Maybe this was a horrible idea. “It won't work on him.”

“Go meet Georgia and Katie.” He nodded to the salon. “Talk wedding plans. I'll swing by and pick you up for dinner later. Around six?”

Lena nodded, her hand brushing Hero's coat.

“And Lena, stop worrying about Thursday.”

He turned and headed down street, waving to Trish as she set the picnic tables for the lunch rush.

Chad walked as if the road in front of him was paved with rainbows and sprinkled with fairy dust. He lived in a fairy-­tale world, one she'd caught a glimpse of but could no longer enter. The land of once-­upon-­a-­time was in her past, divided from the rocky, uncertain path in front of her.

Lena glanced down at the dog leaning against her legs as if trying to hold her up. Kneeling, she wrapped her arms around Hero. “I'm OK,” she murmured. “Just daydreaming about following Chad Summers to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I know he'll find his way. He's got charm on his side.”

Hero licked her face.

“And I've got you,” she added, tightening her hold on the dog. “We'll get where we're going. But I have a feeling success for us looks a little different than it does for him.”

She stood and headed inside the salon. Later, she could worry about the medal ceremony. Right now, she needed to focus on white dresses and wedding cake. If she let her friendship with these two women slide, her future in Independence Falls would look bleak and lonely when Chad Summers reached the end of the road with her and went on his merry way.

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Lena sat in an overstuffed chair, sipping green tea. The recent dose of fall weather ruled out sitting on the salon's back patio while Georgia and Katie waited for their nails to dry. Instead, they'd claimed a quiet corner inside Ariel's Salon.

“I'm moving up the wedding,” Georgia announced. “Eric plans to log all winter now that the helicopter operation is up and running. He says he makes more per log this time of year, so I said go for it. We'll get married in December, time the wedding with the year-­end accounting when everything slows down.”

Katie nodded, admiring her shiny red nails. “It does. But December is weeks away. You need to find a dress and a venue. Unless you're thinking Vegas?”

“No.” Georgia shook her head. “I think we're going to have a small ceremony and reception in the backyard by the pond.”

“You still need a dress,” Katie pointed out.

“I was hoping to do some shopping when I'm in Portland on Saturday.” Georgia looked at her. “I thought I could use a little pick-­me-­up after our group therapy session.”

Running a finger over her nails to check if the polish had dried, Katie nodded. “I'm in. For the shopping, not the therapy.”

“I can't make it to the group meeting this week,” Lena said. “We're driving back from the medal ceremony on Saturday.”

“We?” Georgia wiggled her red toes. “Is your family bringing you back?”

Lena shook her head. She'd told her friends about the Silver Star—­Georgia had jumped up and down with excitement, threatening to throw a party to celebrate—­but Lena had left out some of the details.

“Chad is going with me,” she said.

Katie stopped blowing on her fingernails and stared at Lena as if she'd announced her plan to run down Main Street naked. “You're taking my brother to meet your parents?”

“He volunteered to go to the ceremony,” she said. “And I can't exactly leave him in the motel room while I eat with my family.” Although that plan had merits. Then she wouldn't need to explain.

But he'd see her father and brother the next day, and then he'd know.

“That a big step,” Georgia said, her brown eyes sparkling with delight.

“Do you think your father will hate him?” Katie demanded.

“Yes,” Lena said.

Katie pointed one perfectly manicured nail at her. “Promise me that if you run off to city hall, you'll call first. I want to be there when my brother gets married. And you'll need witnesses. Lots of them if Chad's tying the knot.”

Lena choked on a mouthful of hot tea. Coughing, she struggled to find her voice. “We're not getting married. We're not even—­”

Dating.

She couldn't say the word, revealing their plan to Georgia and his sister. Chad's dream had turned into reality. He was flying. Even when they staged a breakup and went their separate ways, she couldn't reveal the truth and put everything he'd hoped for at risk.

“I'm not interested in marrying anyone right now,” she said.

“Lena, I know, believe me I do, that you have a lot to deal with right now,” Georgia said. “But life is too short to second-­guess happiness.”

“I know.” Lena stared out the window at the mountain peaks. “And I'm getting there, bit by bit. But it's a long battle.”

And it was one she refused to lose. But with Chad it was not a question of winning or losing—­because she couldn't claim a victory when the prize was merely an illusion.

“Right now, I just need to get through the next few days.” Lena turned to Georgia. “And you need to buy a wedding gown. Do you have any ideas or should we start tearing out pages from bridal magazines?”

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Lena followed the waiter to the far corner of the Red Dragon's elaborately decorated dining room. Her steps were slow, as if she were trudging through ankle-­deep sand, wishing she could fast-­forward hours into the future.

“We could skip dinner and go straight to the bedroom at the motel,” she whispered.

Chad took her hand, probably to ensure she didn't run for the door before they saw the menu. “We've been driving for eight hours. I need egg rolls before sex.” Raising his voice, he called to the waiter: “How are the egg rolls?”

Ignoring the answer, Lena studied the space. Red walls lined with gold trim suggested this was a step up from the Asian take-­out in Independence Falls. But unlike the fancy Chinese food place near her old home in Portland, the large dining room was mostly empty.

“We're ten minutes early,” she said when they reached the circular table in the far corner of the restaurant.

“We'll order some starters.” Chad walked around, selecting two seats that faced out, the backs against the wall. “Your folks had a long trip from Texas, I bet they'll be hungry too.”

Sitting down, she ran her hands over her long skirt, smoothing the fabric. Wearing his ser­vice dog vest, Hero remained glued to her side, hidden from view by the large table.

“Before my family arrives,” she said, “I should warn you—­”

“You dad will hate me from the moment he walks in?” Chad accepted a menu from the waiter. “Your brother will demand to know my intentions? Don't worry, Lena. I'd do the same in his shoes. Ask Liam. When he started seeing Katie again, I tried to start the conversation with my fists. But I'm guessing your family might be a little more civilized. Especially if there is food on the table when they arrive.”

Lena shook her head. “My brother stopped trying to defend my honor years ago. Joe doesn't think like that.”

Her brother treated her like a soldier, and he expected her to behave like one. The same went for her father. They refused to accept any signs of weakness. They had fought, suffered, and pushed through it. And they were baffled when she'd failed to do the same.

“Joe and I were never close growing up,” she added. “And when he left the military and moved back home, I was already deployed.”

“Joe lives in Texas too?” Chad asked, scanning the menu.

“Down the street from my parents in the town where we grew up.” She drew a deep breath as a tremor ran through her body. Hero rested his head in her lap.

“Lena,” Chad said. “Don't worry about it. Even if they hate me, we'll survive dinner. I promise.”

“But I should have warned you in the car,” she said quickly, hating the trembling in her voice. “I should have—­”

“I don't need warnings, Lena.”

“But—­”

“Right now, Hero is thinking about climbing onto your lap and making you do some deep breathing exercises.” Chad nodded to her dog without taking his eyes off the menu. “I think we need to focus on two things, breathing and food.”

“You can read my dog's mind now?”

Hero lifted his head and looked at Chad. She could have sworn the golden retriever smiled at him. Over the past few weeks, her pseudo-­boyfriend and her ser­vice dog had grown close, becoming a team. The Keep Lena From Freaking Out Duo. It was sweet, but also disheartening to admit she needed so much help. Still. After being home for a year and a half. A point her father would likely drive home over egg rolls.

Chad reached under the table and took her hand in his. “I can read you, beautiful. And I think you might want a drink to go along with the appetizers.”

Pressing her lips together, she shook her head. “I can't drink tonight.”

“I'm driving.” He raised his free hand and waved to a waiter. “Have whatever you want.”

Lena listened, her gaze focused on the front door as he ordered enough food for an army and a glass of wine for her. His thumb traced soft circles on the palm of her hand while he spoke. And Hero nudged her with his nose, demanding attention. Sandwiched between Hero and Chad, her nervous energy gradually subsided.

She could do this. Whether she liked the fact that she needed them or not, her team was here. And this was just dinner in a quiet, nearly empty restaurant. She could—­

The front door opened. A tall, slim woman with gray hair that Lena knew had been the same blond as hers once upon a time maneuvered a wheelchair through the door. In the chair sat the tall, proud man whose words still haunted her. His darker coloring presented a sharp contrast to his wife.

“My dad injured his spine during a training accident,” she said softly, knowing the explanation came too late. “It happened when I was twelve.”

Her gaze shifted to the tall, smiling man behind her parents. Her brother wore long pants, but when he moved, she caught a glimpse of his prosthetic.

“And my brother lost his leg in Iraq. IED. His convoy was hit,” she explained quickly as the waiter guided her family to their quiet corner of the Red Dragon.

Chad nodded, his mouth forming a thin line as he pushed back from the table and stood to greet her family.

“And after Joe came home, you went over there to fight,” he said, his voice soft. But there was a hard edge in his tone. “You went knowing your brother had lost his leg.”