Broken Wings (Contemporary Romance) (13 page)

Lucy has been a rock as always and is constantly on the phone checking up on me as you can imagine! I love that girl...
Like you said in your letter, we are heading into week two now, only ten more to go and it can't come soon enough for me. I have a little surprise for you when you return home; call it a belated Christmas present! Well my darling, I am going to sign off now, but only on paper and never in thoughts. Know that I miss you more than you can imagine. I love you.

All my love, Angelina xxx

Angelina read and re-read her letter several times before addressing and then sealing the envelope. She wrote the address, copied from Joshua's letter, on the front and popped it into her handbag so she would not forget it when she left for work the following morning. She felt like an excited teenager again, a feeling that she had not experienced for years, counting down the days never mind the weeks.

This was going to be her life from now on; one lived through letters with only a few short weeks here and there to fit a whole life into. This thought saddened her briefly for a moment, the realization suddenly dawning on her and bringing down her happy mood with a thump. She felt conflicted because she was both happy and sad. A lot of her time would be spent alone and Joshua would always be on the other side of the world, training, peace-keeping or fighting someone else's wars. She wondered for a brief moment if she was strong enough and able enough to deal with such a relationship. But it was a fleeting moment of weakness and one she shoved to the back of her mind. She felt selfish for even entertaining the thought. She was in love with Joshua and he was the best thing that had happened to her for years. She just missed him so much and knew it was not going to get any easier. It would have to be something she would learn to get used to over time. After all, thousands of other women coped very well every day and many of them have children too, she thought.

Angelina decided she needed to start going out a little more; well, make a concerted effort at least to occupy her over-active mind. She called Lucy and organized a girls’ night out for the following Friday. Lucy was stunned and could not believe Angelina had thought of this all by herself with no prompting from her at all!

“Hell yes,” agreed Lucy. “I have been trying to get you to come out with the girls for like forever.”

“
Okay then, it's a date, Lucy. I will let you inform the others about Friday. Shall we meet say around seven o'clock?”

“
Sounds perfect; don't go changing your mind on us, okay?”

Angelina laughed down the phone.
“I promise I won't change my mind!”

Feeling rather content with herself, Angelina rustled up some pasta accompanied by a small glass of wine. She switched on the T.V as she sat down to eat. As per usual, the news items were all depressing; then one particular item caught her attention. A young Kingsman from the British Army had been killed in
Afghanistan, a 22-year-old sharp shooter. She watched intently as the newscaster reported the events. Then the cameras turned to his commanding officer who spoke of a hero, a soldier who was well liked and one who would be sorely missed. Angelina tuned off the television and cried into the cushion neatly placed beside her. It broke her heart to hear such reports. How on earth did the families cope? she wondered to herself as she made her way upstairs to bed.

The following morning, Angelina took her letter to the post office along with a returns parcel and then made one more pit stop to collect her photos before heading off to work. She was due to meet Lucy for lunch to fine tune the details for their Friday night out and she was rather looking forward to it as she was beginning to realize that too much time spent alone when you have someone to miss was just not a great idea.

As she walked through her office, she turned to Mary and said, “Good morning Mary, any messages for me?”

Mary smiled. She liked this new Angelina; she was happy these days and full of smiles, no longer carrying that tormented look she had been renowned for over the three years since the death of Daniel. Everyone was happy for her.
“Good morning, Angelina. There are two messages from your new client; they seem pretty urgent, I have left them on your desk.”

“
Thank you,” replied Angelina.

Angelina read the messages; her client wanted an urgent meeting that afternoon with herself and Geoffrey.

“Ah, you've seen them then,” Geoffrey said as he approached Angelina's desk.

“
Yes, what's going on? What have I missed?” she asked, concerned.

“
Well apparently they want to make some additional amendments to their contract. That's all I know right now. Those changes will determine whether or not we still have the client on our books at the end of the meeting.”

“
So what do you need from me this morning?”

“
Nothing right now, Angelina, until we hear what they have to say,” advised Geoffrey.

The rest of the day drifted by slowly and the meeting with her client ended surprisingly well. Geoffrey finally agreed to the changes but not without one or two very smart requests of his own to protect the company’s position. Geoffrey was very astute and Angelina respected him a great deal. She had learned a great deal from him over the years and totally understood why the paper was a huge success. He did not sell his soul to the devil and he always had his company’s and its employees’ interests at heart. He was old school and wanted to report the news as it was, untarnished and unchanged. He believed the people had a right to the truth and had fought many battles over the years because of his integrity.

Chapter Thirteen

Angelina had taken the afternoon off work so she could spend the time preparing for her night out with the girls. She went to work extra early so she could finish her work for Geoffrey and leave without any worries. When she finally reached home and rushed through her front door, she picked up her post off the floor and screamed with delight at the sight of another letter from Joshua. She ran into the kitchen, switched on her coffee machine and then sat down and hurriedly opened his letter.

BFPO

24536

To my beautiful Angelina,

Thank you for your beautiful letter, I felt like a young boy at Christmas when I received it! I must have read it a hundred times since. My men have noticed a significant change in me this time around and take great enjoyment in teasing me daily! It feels good, Angelina, to know I am being missed, thought of and wanted by someone. You make me so happy, I feel like I could conquer the world!

A big surprise about your boss, but a welcome one. He sounds like a good man, Angelina. As for life out here, yes it's tough but that's what we are trained for. Some men become hardened to their environment but others not at all. Sometimes it feels like there will never be an end to the wars fought all over the world, some countries resolve their issues with neighbouring countries for a while until something else upsets one side and it all starts again. Too many dictators who aren't interested in their people’s welfare at all, just their own greed and power and their need to control. But hey, that's just my opinion! I could talk about this subject forever but I don't want to bore you with my opinions on war. I just do my job, protect and serve and do it to the best of my ability. That's all any of us can do and hope that it makes a difference to the innocents caught up in it. They are the ones I feel for, their lives are tough, and it's such a struggle for many of them; it's heart breaking.

Anyway, back to you and me! Only nine weeks left now until I get to hold you again. I can't wait to touch you, feel you and kiss you once more. It's torture! What have you done to me? I am not complaining, I love what you have done to me and long may it continue...It makes me smile knowing you are wearing your heart pendant. I am very intrigued about the gift you have bought for me, although you really didn't need to as seeing you on my return will be enough, trust me!

Knowing you are feeling the same way too was the best part about receiving your letter. Those words meant so much to me. Keep them coming and know that you are in my thoughts every single minute of every single day. I thank God the day you came into my life, all dishevelled and partly submerged in the lake! I will never forget that image as long as I live.

Okay beautiful, I have to sign off now, I wait with great anticipation for your next letter.

I love you with all my heart,

Joshua xxx

Angelina held the letter close to her chest with the biggest smile on her face. She was so in love with him and with each letter she received, her love was deepening. She had the whole afternoon to prepare for her night out, so she decided to respond to Joshua first before she did anything else. She poured herself a coffee, kicked off her shoes and sat on the window seat in her living room to pen her letter.

Dearest Joshua,

I received your second letter today and was so happy I almost screamed the cottage down! I think about you all the time and try to imagine what it must be like for you and the other soldiers out there. By the way, I love to hear your thoughts and opinions on war Joshua, it's who you are and I want to know everything about you, what you like, what you don't like, your thoughts and opinions on everything. I want to feel as close to you as I can. So don't ever hold back, if you want to talk about something then write away. The last thing you could ever do is bore me! Unless, of course, you want to write a whole letter on football... There are limits you know!

I have taken the afternoon off work today as I am going out with the girls for a long overdue night out! And guess what? I actually instigated the whole thing, can you believe it? Lucy was thrilled of course as she is constantly trying to get me out of my cottage on the weekends. So I will let you know how the night fares in my next letter.

It's very cold here and snow has been predicated for the coming weeks. Everyone is preparing for Christmas which is just a few weeks away now and the town is already sporting Christmas decorations and looking very festive. Personally I can't wait for it to come and go so I can see you again.

My heart feels heavy every time I go into town and see all the couples, arm in arm, shopping together. I think of you and close my eyes and just wish for your safe return to me. I have this constant longing inside me and it never goes away. I wake up in the morning and it's there; I go to bed at night and it's still there; in a funny kind of a way it comforts me. Joshua, whatever it is I have done to you, be sure of one thing -and that is you have done the same to me.

I have to sign off now but only on paper and never in thoughts. I love you with all my heart.

Love always, Angelina xxx

Angelina sealed the envelope, headed out of the door and drove to the post office. After posting her letter, she picked up a large bottle of wine and headed straight back home. Suddenly remembering her photographs, she took them out of her handbag and glanced through them. There was one particular one of the two of them on the lake steamer that she fell in love with. She took a pair of scissors from her kitchen drawer, cut it down to size and positioned it perfectly inside her locket. She was feeling emotional now and missing Joshua more than ever. She turned on Heart FM and poured herself a large glass of wine. She decided on a red shift dress with a pair of black sling back shoes for her night out. After showering and drying her hair, she rustled up some pasta to line her stomach and polished it off with another glass of wine. Lucy had ordered a taxi to arrive for seven o'clock and she did not want to keep the girls waiting. They were going to a local wine bar in the centre of town that doubled as a mini night club after eleven o'clock.

Before she knew what time it was, Angelina heard the tooting of a horn outside. She looked out of the window and could see all the girls waving frantically up at her window like a bunch of mad women! She rushed downstairs and grabbed her clutch bag on the way out.

“Come on, Angelina, let's get this party started,” shouted Stephanie enthusiastically!

“
I'm coming, hold your horses!”

“
Wow, you look gorgeous,” said Lucy, looking rather impressed.

“
Yes, I know, I scrub up well, considering!”

“
You most definitely should make an effort more often,” teased Stephanie, as she climbed into the large taxi mini bus.

“
Well budge up, Lucy, you're taking up the whole seat!” Angelina said, laughing.

“
Sorry, I didn't want to crease my dress. You know how I get!”

The night started off well, and as the hours passed the girls became livelier, encouraged by the intoxicating atmosphere in the club, as it was buzzing. Angelina was pulled onto the dance floor by Lucy and Stephanie, and she was having a better time than she thought she would. As she turned around, Angelina came face to face with Jayden. Stunned by his presence, she didn't know what to say to him as she hadn't seen him since he'd handed his notice in at the paper.

“Hey there, how are you, Jayden?” she asked pensively.

“
I'm good, really, I am very good. Leaving the paper was the best thing for me. I felt stifled and couldn't move forward, now I have a great new job as editor for another paper and I have my own assistant!” said Jayden with a sly smile. “Look, just so we're both clear, I harbour no bad feelings, Angelina, despite what you may think. You were the best man for the job and I lost my way. So I hope we can remain friends?”