First Class Hero (First Class Novels) (11 page)

He walked to the waiting car and slid into the back seat.
The door was shut and the driver pulled away from the curb, heading for Naval
Amphibious Base Coronado, his home away from home for the past eleven years. He
looked at the buildings and the people milling about. The gate was opened and
the black SUV took him all the way to the front of the building he had spent
thousands of hours in, planning and preparing for hundreds of missions. He
stepped on to the curb and took the steps, two at a time, up to the front door.
He was escorted to a large conference room and heard his mother before he saw
her.

“Paul!”

He hugged her tightly and then his father. His brothers
shook his hand and hugged him too, Matt last and taking a little longer as he
choked up a little. Then Janie, Katy and Rory each embraced him and he marveled
over his niece and nephew that were just weeks old the last time he saw them.
His attention was interrupted by the pulling of his pants.

“Unca Paw! Pick L’Ella up, pease!”

Paul scooped Ella into his arms and she threw her little
arms around his neck and knocked his hat right off his head. She refused to let
go, so Paul greeted his fellow Seals with a three year old locked to his chest.

Out of the corner of the room, a movement caught Paul’s eye
and as he turned his head, Ed stepped towards him. Janie pried Ella from her
uncle and Ed and Paul clasped each other’s hands and then hugged firmly.

“What are you doing here?” Paul asked, astounded at his
friend’s appearance.

“You want me to go?” Ed laughed.

“NO! No, I’m thrilled. Just surprised.”

“I’m not here as your friend. I’m here on assignment.”

Paul was about to ask what was going on when Captain Banks
came forward and the Seals came to attention.

“Lieutenant Commander Lathem.”

“Sir,” replied Paul.

“Let’s get this going shall we?” Captain Banks stated. He
directed the civilians to make themselves comfortable and Rory stood at the
back of the room with a video camera, capturing it on film. The Seals all stood
at the front of the room until they were directed “At ease” and could sit in
the chairs around the walls of the room.

“I know this was going to be a little informal goodbye,”
smiled the Captain. “But now it’s not quite so informal. Commander Branson?”

Ed walked to Paul where he stood at the head of the table.
He pulled from his pocket a piece of paper, which he carefully unfolded and
began to read.

“Attention to award.

“The President of the United States takes pleasure in
presenting the Silver Star Medal to Lieutenant Commander Paul Lathem, United
States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the
enemy as a member of Seal Team Seven, Naval Special Warfare Task Group in
Operation ENDURING FREEDOM near Kandahar Afghanistan while serving with British
Special Forces in the rescue of two American and one British hostage.
Lieutenant Commander Lathem placed his body in between an explosion and the
hostages in order to protect them from harm, saving two of his brothers in
arms, two American hostages and a British hostage. By his bold initiative, wise
judgment, and complete dedication to duty, Lieutenant Commander Lathem
reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the
United States Naval Service.”

Paul was speechless. He slowly turned to see his entire family
wiping their eyes and blowing their noses. He turned back to Ed who shook his
hand and his Captain who stepped forward, handed him a black box, opened and
displaying the medal.

“But…” he began.

“You deserve this, Paul. You have earned the title of true
American Hero. Congratulations.”

Paul thanked Captain Banks and then one by one, his team,
his brothers in arms, his buddies, all congratulated him.

“We’re gonna miss you,” they said.

Paul tried to fight the emotion sitting in his throat but
finally gave up as his voice hitched as he said goodbye to the men that he had
risked his life with over and over again. And then a tear, or two, rolled down
his cheeks. The honor that had just been bestowed on him was enormous and he
felt extremely unworthy.

For a split second he wondered if he had made the right
decision. But then the conversation with his wise older brother replayed in his
head.

Do I want to just walk away?
he’d asked Matt.

I guess that depends on what you’re walking to.

Nic stood at the baggage claim of the Norfolk International
Airport waiting for Paul. According to the arrival screen his plane had just
landed so he would still be a few minutes. She walked over to the row of chairs
against the wall and sat, pulling her phone from her pocket.

“Nic?”

Startled, Nic glanced up to see Jenny standing in front of
her. “Jenny,” she mumbled and turned her attention back to her phone.

“You have nothing to say to me?”

Nic took a deep breath and lifted her eyes back up to see
Jenny shooting daggers back.

“No,” she said. “I don’t.”

“Well I certainly have something to say to you! I got fired
because of you!”

That got Nic’s attention. “How so?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet, but I’m sure it was you!”

Nic snorted. “You’ve got a nerve. You accuse me of something
I am completely innocent of while you stand there having fired
me
!”

“That was out of my control. There were budget issues that
had to be dealt with. You weren’t
fired
, you were laid off.”

Nic all out belly laughed at Jenny. She stood in front of
her, hands on her hips, in the most ridiculous turquoise pumps Nic had ever
seen. She really believed that Nic’s hand was in her firing.

“I didn’t even know you weren’t at River Grove anymore. I
did
not
get you fired.”

Jenny sat down next to Nic and sighed. “I don’t know what
happened. Everything was fine and then one day I get a call from the
superintendent and at the end of the school year I’m out.”

Nic was incredibly uncomfortable. She didn’t like Jenny and
she certainly wasn’t interested in trying to make her feel better.

“Well now you know how it feels.”

“You were just a teacher, and a kindergarten one at that! I
am a principle!”

“
Were,
” Nic corrected her, a slight smugness in her
tone she couldn’t quite keep out.

Jenny sneered at her and then folded her arms across her
chest. “There aren’t any jobs this side of the Mississippi. I may have to
become a waitress like
you
.”

“Oh, I’m not a waitress anymore.”

“Have you been promoted to hostess?”

Nic chuckled. “No. I am a Kindergarten teacher.”

“Where?” Jenny asked, her unbelief obvious.

“In Manhattan. Got my New York teaching license and
everything.”

That shut her up. Nic looked up to see an incredibly
good-looking man in denim shorts, flip flops and a Navy t-shirt standing in
front of them.

“Hi,” he smiled as their eyes met.

Nic jumped from her seat and stood next to Paul.

“Hi,” she whispered. “It’s really good to see you.”

“Likewise.”

Jenny cleared her throat. Nic looked down to see her smiling
at Paul. “Hello,” she purred and extended her hand.

“Paul? This is Jenny, my old boss at River Grove.”

Paul raised his eyebrows at Nic and she shrugged her
shoulders. He took the offered hand and shook it quickly and released it. Then
he snaked his arm around Nic’s waist and pulled her close to his side and
kissed her forehead.

“It’s really good to see you,” he breathed his warm breath
onto her skin.

Shivers ran the length of Nic’s spine, her body betraying
her completely.

“If you’ll excuse us, we have some catching up to do,” Paul
dismissed Jenny and walked Nic in the direction of the exit.

Jenny watched them leave, mouth open.

Once outside, Paul let go of Nic and laughed. “Sorry about
that,” he grinned. “I just couldn’t help myself. I had to wipe that…that smirk
off her face. And…I think we did it.”

“That we did,” Nic mumbled and tried to concentrate on
walking to the car.

*****

Once back at Nic’s house, the rest of the day was spent
putting all her furniture and boxes in the U-Haul truck. She had picked it up
at the rental center that morning and just driving it the few blocks home had
been insane. She hadn’t made one right-hand turn without the back tire driving
over the curb. She was just grateful there hadn’t been any pedestrians around.
Once on her street, she’d thought she’d done an okay job at parking until she
walked around to the curb and saw she was at least two feet from it, but she
wasn’t going to re-park…her nerves couldn’t take it.

Nic kept a backpack of stuff she would need tomorrow and
Paul left her mattress and some bedding and a quilt for him to sleep on.
Everything was loaded and tied down ready for the move the following day.

They ordered a pizza and sat on the floor with paper cups
and a bottle of root beer. Nic was exhausted. She wasn’t used to that kind of
physical exertion. She leaned against the wall and rubbed her thighs.

“You look like you just stepped out of a GQ magazine,” Nic
frowned. “And here I am, dried sweat on my face, my hair looking like medusa
and my legs aching.”

Paul grinned at her. “You look beautiful, a rustic charm,”
he said as he leaned forward and pulled a piece of lint from her hair.

“Well,” she blushed, “thank you. But I’m obviously in need
of some kind of fitness training.”

“I could help you with that.”

Nic looked up at Paul. He appeared serious.

“I will continue my routine. I’m not gonna let myself get
all flabby,” he chuckled. “I wouldn’t have a shot finding a wife if I did.”

“Oh, I think you’ll do just fine there,” she blushed again.

“You think so?”

“Yeah, you won’t have any problems.”

Paul pulled another slice of pizza from the box and they ate
in silence.

When it was time to call it a night, after Nic scrubbed the
kitchen and bathroom and Paul had vacuumed all of the floors, Paul threw the
quilt on the floor, lay down and shoved his backpack under his head for a
pillow.

“You can’t be serious!” Nic choked.

“What?”

“You can’t sleep on a blanket without a pillow!”

“Why?”

“Because…it’s not…comfortable!”

“Oh this is like the Ritz compared to some of the places
I’ve slept!”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah,” he said as he sat up. “I’ve slept on the side of
the road in full gear, in the partial shade of a Hummer in the middle of the
desert in the middle of the day in the middle of summer. This is paradise
compared to that!”

“Wow,” she whispered. “That sounds awful!”

“Well when you are that tired, you can literally sleep
anywhere…and I have.”

“I feel terrible. I have a mattress and sheets and pillows,
and you’re here with…with a backpack.”

Paul laughed. “I’m perfectly fine. Really. Now go to sleep.”

“Good night then,” Nic surrendered and walked down the short
hallway to her room. She closed the door behind her and changed into clean
shorts and a tank top. Lying on the mattress, she wondered if she’d be able to
sleep. The morning’s events at the airport had blind-sided her. The body
contact, the kiss, his breath blowing across her skin had awoken something
buried deep inside her, something she was completely conflicted with.

Nic stared at the ceiling and contemplated her goals. Beyond
being a kindergarten teacher, she didn’t have any. The realization made her
sad. She’d never thought of herself getting married. Her deep-seeded distrust
of men, a gift from her mother, had kept them all at arms’ length…until now.
Paul was the first man she had established a friendship with. He was the first
man she felt comfortable with, until the airport this morning. And Paul was not
just the first man, but the first
person
she had confided some of her
childhood experiences too. And Paul was the first man that had awoken her body
in a sexual way. She hadn’t set out to remain a virgin, but there hadn’t been
any men that she would have even
considered
sleeping with.

To say she was conflicted was an understatement. She liked
Paul…but as a friend. And he seemed to like her…as a friend. He hadn’t made any
passes to make her think otherwise. Maybe she was getting worked up over
nothing. Maybe he wasn’t at all interested. Maybe she should just go to sleep.

*****

By the time Nic had showered and gotten dressed and made her
way into the kitchen, Paul had already put his belongings in the truck and had
gone and picked up bagels and coffee for breakfast.

“Mmm,” she smiled. “Smells good.”

“Eat then,” Paul insisted.

She did as she was told and slathered cream cheese over a
blueberry bagel. Paul disappeared and ten minutes later he re-entered the
kitchen and finished his coffee.

“All we need is your bag and we’re ready,” he stated.
“Mattress and bedding are loaded, the back of the truck is all locked up and we
are ready for the first day of the rest of your life,” he grinned.

“You are efficient,” she chuckled, swallowing the last of
her breakfast.

Paul smiled and shrugged. “I try to be useful.”

Nic disappeared down the hall and returned a few moments
later with her two bags in hand. She gazed around the room, the bittersweet
moment upon her. It was interrupted however as Evelyn burst in.

“Hey! I’m here!”

“Morning,” Nic sighed.

“I brought you your money. I think I’m overpaying but you’re
a friend so I won’t complain.”

Paul walked out of the kitchen and Evelyn stopped mid-step.
“Well hello Navy boy. What brings you here? Or shouldn’t I ask?” Evelyn leered
at Paul and then turned her attention to Nic, her eyebrows raised in question.