Marine Ever After (Always a Marine) (12 page)

But he didn’t lack in discipline. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” He saluted again and waited.

“Have a good holiday, Marine. You’ll be plenty busy when you get back after the first of the year.” It was a small reward, but the flicker of a smile around the corners of the Corporal’s mouth said he received the message loud and clear. “Dismissed.”

Alone again, Paul finished scanning the last report and signed it. It had been a good class. He passed twenty-one percent. The others would be reassigned or reassessed. But it was the high number for insertion special operations and tactical assessment training. Only eight percent of Paul’s class had graduated with him.

“Master Sergeant.” His commander’s voice sent Paul to his feet and his back ramrod straight.

“Colonel.” He saluted.

“At ease, Master Sergeant.”

Paul obeyed the order, relaxing, but he didn’t sit. Facing the older man, he nodded to him. Colonel William Sanderson spearheaded the intelligence operation for over two decades. Rumor held that he’d turned down a CIA post three times. He was that good. He’d also been Paul’s induction instructor a year out of basic.

“Assessments complete?”

“My portion, sir. Yes, sir.”

The colonel walked over and lifted the top sheet, scanning the numbers and the grades. “Good showing. I knew you were the right man for this job.”

“Thank you, sir.” He’d never imagined a gift for teaching. As honored as he’d been by the approach, Paul thought it was just another pit stop on the way to a better assignment in the field.

“Anything left to do?”

“No, sir. Most who have leave will begin it in the next forty-eight hours or begin transition interviews and PCS within seventy-two.” At least four of his students were bound for Afghanistan, another three would return stateside for a different set of training. The rest were yet to be decided or returning to the training facility after the first of the year.

“Excellent.” Colonel Sanderson paged through the report. It was unusual for him to review the information directly in front of a subordinate, but Paul kept his opinion to himself. “You need to go, Master Sergeant.”

“Sir?” He eyed the Colonel.

“You have a flight in ninety minutes. A seat opened up on the Secretary of State’s plane, it’ll get you as far as Andrews. You can take a commercial flight from there to Dallas.”

“Yes, sir.” He didn’t have leave for another week. He didn’t have the time accrued.

“Oh, while you’re Washington, I have some mail that I’d like delivered and if you review some video footage on the flight back and draft some training options, I’d be interested in your opinion.” The colonel set a thumb drive on the desk. “Everything you need is on there.” He headed for the door and paused. “Oh, and Master Sergeant? I expect the amount of work on there would take an average of a week to complete. A skilled hand could see to that.”

“Yes, sir.” Paul didn’t smile or express the fist pump flexing in his soul. “I’ll make sure it’s done, sir.”

“I know you will, Marine. Happy holidays and dismissed.” The colonel left him with that gift and strode out the door. Paul grabbed the thumb drive and his case with the laptop in it and strode out the door. His go bag was already packed and waiting. He just had to change into his Class As for the flight. A seat on the Secretary of State’s plane was a gift. Thirty minutes later, he checked through security and boarded the plane.

Christmas was in ten days, Lily didn’t expect him for another week. He curbed the temptation to call her, but it was still early in Dallas and she likely already left for work. He would be on the ground in Washington before her shift ended.

***

He arrived at Andrews by evening of the same day he left Germany and took care of the colonel’s letter deliveries—all two of them—before departing the airbase. He changed out of Class As and into some fatigues that were a heck a lot more comfortable for traveling.

A cab ride later, he checked on the flights departing National for DFW. Most were full, but he scored a standby spot on a flight departing in thirty minutes. His military ID and information got him through the TSA line swiftly. The gate area was packed, but a plane was parked at the end of the jetway. A good sign.

An airline employee called out names and Paul listened for his while checking his texts. Lillianna sent one telling him her shift ran late, and she didn’t expect to be home for another few hours so she wouldn’t be able to call until he was in class. He grinned and sent back
No problem. Get some sleep
.

Another three names were called and he watched passengers hurry up to the desk. Standby was a bitch of a way to fly. He sent a message to Damon and asked if he’d be available for an airport run that night or put him in touch with someone who could pick him up. If necessary he’d rent a car, but the car rental places didn’t tend to stay open late at some airports. If he scored a ride on the standby flight, it would be landing near midnight Texas time.

Another two names and then the attendant announced that all standby boarding seats had been filled. Any passengers waiting on a standby for Dallas-Fort Worth would have to check in for the next flight, which wouldn’t be leaving until five a.m. the next morning.

Paul sighed.
Dammit
. There might be time for him to check into another airline and see if they had any flights.

Damon texted back to say just hit him with arrival and gate info and he’d be there. Sighing, Paul turned to look for a flight monitor when a hand tapped his shoulder.

“Excuse me, Master Sergeant?” A middle-aged man and woman stood about a foot behind Paul and looked at him expectantly.

“Yes, sir?” The man was older than he and stood at a familiar posture.

“If you don’t mind my asking, were you waiting on a standby for this flight?” He gestured to the plane that had already begun boarding.

“Yes, sir. But they filled up. I’m going to check for other flights and see if I can move my standby to one of those.”

“We’ll swap for you, Master Sergeant. You look like a man on his way home. Maria and I can stay at a hotel tonight and take a flight tomorrow. Just give me a moment to let them know.” The man strode off before Paul stopped him.

He frowned, but the woman touched his arm. “Please, let us do this. Our son was a Marine. He died in Afghanistan. So, we don’t have to hurry home. It’s important to Daniel, he wants to do this for you.”

A fist tightened in Paul’s chest. “Thank you, ma’am. And to your husband.”

“Thank you. He saw your uniform and he perked up for the first time this season. Christmas is hard on us all, but David really misses Chad.”

Paul hadn’t even met his child, yet he couldn’t imagine the loss. “I appreciate it.”

Her husband, David, waved them over and Paul motioned for the wife to go in front of him then followed. At the desk, Daniel explained his plan to the attendant and she nodded. “Thank you sir, I’m going to make sure we give you a complimentary upgrade on tomorrow morning’s flight. Master Sergeant, if I could see your ticket and identification?”

Paul handed them over and turned to the older man, holding his hand out. “Paul Torres, sir. Thank you. Merry Christmas.”

“Daniel Bryant. Thank you, Master Sergeant, Merry Christmas. God bless you and keep you safe.”

They shook hands and Mrs. Bryant gave his arm an affectionate pat. The couple left without anything else to say and Paul sighed. He’d heard of stories like that, but it was the first time it ever happened to him. It made his heart hurt and elated him at the same time.

***

“You have it bad,” Damon commented after parking the truck outside Lily’s apartment.

Paul shrugged. It was nearly eleven at night and he’d been traveling for more than a day and still had hours of work to do. “You still haven’t convinced that woman to marry you, have you?”

He went to the bed of the truck and untied the Christmas pine they’d stopped to buy. Damon opened the back and extracted the plastic Walmart bags filled with a random assortment of Christmas lights, garland and multi-colored decorative balls. Paul told him to go for every shade on the shelf.

“I’m working on it. She’s stubborn. She thinks being in her thirties is too old to get married.”

Damon grunted and grabbed Paul’s duffle. “So why are we doing this again?”

“Lily’s been working a lot of extra hours because she took some vacation time for my leave. She hasn’t had time to shop, and carrying a big tree isn’t something she should be doing anyway. Did you get the keys from Rebecca?” Paul hoisted the tree up.

“Yep. Her apartment’s this way.” Damon had actually looked it up and did a map on the GPS. Neither man had been there before. For the first time since the colonel sent him on the flight, cool awareness that he was about to see Lily again for the first time in months—a very pregnant Lily—hit him square in the chest.

Focus on the task, Marine. Prep the field of battle
.

If Damon noticed his distraction, his friend didn’t let on. He juggled the bags and unlocked the door. It took them a few minutes to get the tree in and set up. Unwilling to share his first few minutes in Lily’s private space with his fellow Marine, he thanked him for the ride and sent him home. Lily hadn’t texted since the message he received at National, but she wasn’t home either.

Not letting exploring her place distract him, he decorated the tree with lights, garland and Christmas balls. He didn’t know what she preferred for a tree-topper so he’d let her pick it out. The boxes he’d shipped over the last few weeks were all stacked neatly…unopened…in her dining area. Pleased that she obeyed the notice not to open ’til Christmas, he hummed while he worked.

It was nearly two a.m. when the door locks turned. Unwilling to scare the hell out of her, he stood in full view of the front door when it opened.

She stepped into the apartment and stared at him, mouth open. She looked like a million bucks. Pregnancy softened her face, gave her a fuller, more generous figure, and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

“Surprise, sweetheart.”

“You’re here.” Disbelief etched the whisper in her voice.

“Yeah, I’m here.” He wanted to go to her and sweep her into his arms, but he’d already staged his invasion, set up shop with the Christmas tree and surprised her. So he held open his arms and waited. “Miss me?”

“I have….” She dropped her bag on the table and closed the door, moving slower than he cared to see. Tiredness seemed to shimmer off her in waves, like heat rising from sun-baked pavement. “I really have.”

Disappointed that she didn’t run flying into his arms, he braced his patience. He’d kind of invited the attitude by dropping in unannounced. And to be fair, she was extremely pregnant. She probably didn’t race anywhere. She crossed the room and stopped just within arm’s reach.

“And I’d like to make one thing perfectly clear.”

“Okay.” Man enough to take whatever she dished out.

“What I’m about to do in no way let’s you off the hook for surprising the hell out of me…are we clear?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. Crystal.” She hadn’t thrown him out yet, that had to be a good sign.

She cupped his face in her hands and he sighed, his whole body relaxing at the simple touch. She stretched up on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss to his lips, and he closed his arms around her.

“You did miss me.” He grinned.

“Yeah, what took you so damn long?”

Chapter Ten

She hadn’t even realized she slept until her eyes opened and a morning yawn stretched her jaw. Warmth snuggled to her side and she found Paul staring down at her. Tiredness lingered around his eyes, but his grin made her pulse leap. “Good morning.”

“You’re still here.” Heat warmed her face, and not for the first time, she was glad her darker skin hid a blush so well. As if to prove he wasn’t a hallucination, she brushed a caress along his cheek. Stubble rasped against her palm.

“Nowhere else I’d rather be. You fell asleep on the sofa, and I carried you in here.” He settled a proprietary hand on her belly and a fresh wave of heat kindled inside.

“I’m sorry about that.” Finding him in her apartment still seemed like a bit of a fanciful dream.

“It’s okay, it was late and you were tired. And I got to watch you sleep….” He rubbed his hand over her stomach. The slow, easy massage sent electric ripples of awareness along every nerve ending and erased the lingering traces of sleep.

“You realize that sounds distinctly creepy, right?” She’d worried how it would go, when she allowed herself to dwell on the possibilities of his visit. In Germany, he’d been too far away to be anything more than a chance meeting. A chance that left her pregnant, sure—but too far away to be anything more than a voice on the phone, an intangible.

But the man in the bed with her right then—he was very tangible. And more, he was the guy she’d gotten used to talking to—enjoyed teasing a couple of times a week at the oddest hours. They talked—really talked—about big matters and small. As unnatural as it seemed, it felt completely right that to have him with her even if seeing him in her apartment bowled her over. Emotions swamped her and although she teased him about being angry—it was the last thing she experienced.

Hope.

Relief.

Thrill.

They tumbled over each other like wrestling puppies and filled her with the strangest sense of euphoria.

“It’s not creepy, it’s a lot like pinching yourself to make sure you’re awake.” He defended his words, and she enjoyed stroking his cheek. He turned his head and caught her finger in a sweet whisper of a kiss. “Not to mention I wanted be awake to stall any chance of a disappearing act.”

Guilt flooded through her. “I did try to leave you a note.”

“I know. But it’s way too much fun to give you a hard time about it to let it go completely.” Contrition softened his expression and he went from hard man to earnest boy and back in the blink of an eye. “That said, never again. You’re stuck with me.”

Dragging her hand away from his face before she started exploring elsewhere on his body, she stretched. Her gaze landed on the clock and she blinked. “Holy crap.”