Forever's Promises (Forever In Luck Series Book 1) (6 page)

Thinking
on it for a moment, Linnie decided she liked the idea. Nodding, she answered, “Yeah,
I’d like that. What time should I come?”

Surprised,
Bev answered excitedly, “Really? Oh Linnie, I’m so excited! How about you come
around noon? We’ll have lunch, and then we’ll work on things till whenever, or
till you need to leave.”

Feeling
Bev’s enthusiasm, Linnie’s heart warmed, and she smiled in response. “Sound’s
great. I’ll see you tomorrow at noon. Say hi to Steven for me, would you?” Then
reaching for Bev, she gave her a hug goodbye.

She
hadn’t gone farther than the baking aisle, when she ran into Wendy Peltner.
They’d known each other all their lives. “Hi Wendy, it’s good to see you. How
are you?” she asked.

“OMG!
Is that you Linnie Albrecht? It is you! Never mind about me, how are you? Holy
cow, look at you! My gosh, when did you get into town?”

Linnie
chuckled. “Just a few days ago, and I’m doing good. I see you got a little one.
Isn’t she precious?” Stepping closer, Linnie admired the squirming bundle.

“Oh
yeah, her daddy and I are totally in love with her,” Wendy said proudly. How
about you, any husband or children?”

Shaking
her head, she answered, “No, not yet. But that’s okay, I’m in no rush. I just
finished my Bachelor’s degree in nursing and am looking to take it easy for a
while, so I’m good.”

Wendy’s
face lit up. “Say, speaking of taking it easy, maybe you’d be interested in
joining us at the Luck Country Inn. As part of the community education program,
we’ve started a water aerobics class, and they let us use the hotel pool. Would
you be interested?” Wendy asked.

Oooh,
she liked that idea. She loved the water, and immediately saw herself lounging in
the hot tub. You did come home to relax, she reminded herself. “That sounds
like fun. When did they start that?”

“About
a year ago. We had class this morning. My grandma watched Mia so I could go,
and now I’m here to pick up a few things. The classes are Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday from ten to eleven,” Wendy explained. “Just come and see if you like
it, if you do, you can register later. We’d love to have you join us.”

Nodding
her head enthusiastically, Linnie answered, “I’ll do that. I’m glad I ran into
you. Thanks for inviting me, but I better keep moving if we’re going to have
supper tonight. I’ll see you Friday, we can catch up more than.”

Rushing
through the store, she quickly made her purchases and was on her way. She
needed to hurry if she was going to get the food done on time. Having found her
mother’s recipe box while cleaning, she’d decided to make another favorite for
supper, homemade chocolate cake with homemade chocolate frosting. This was
turning out to be a real nice day, she thought. To be honest, she hadn’t known
what to expect, but having gone through some of her mother’s things, and then
running into two dear friends that day, had been rather therapeutic. It didn’t
hurt that she’d gotten so much rest either. Feeling lighter in thought and spirit,
her beleaguered heart basked in the glow of simple serenity.

As
she set the platter of food on the dinner table, Nate walked in the house. She
couldn’t say for sure, but she felt confident Jake had called him, and told him
to get his butt over there. It’s a good thing I made a triple batch of
dumplings, she thought. Shifting gears, her mind reminisced. This was like old
times, with Nate being there and all, spending time at the farm, eating meals
with them. It’d been that way since forever, as he and Jake had been best
friends from the time they were very young. As a result, her mother had often
referred to Nate as her fourth son.

When
he stepped into the kitchen, Kris moved to their mother’s chair, and Nate sat
next to her. Looking at one another, they didn’t say anything, he simply put
his hand under the table and gave her knee a squeeze. She tried to pretend he
wasn’t there, which was impossible since he took up so much room, and they kept
bumping elbows as he was left handed, and she right.

“You
outdid yourself, baby girl,” her father said, as he sat back rubbing his
stomach. “It was delicious.”

“Yeah,”
Nik added. “We haven’t eaten this good in a long time. I think the last time we
had dumplings was when mom made them. Thanks Linnie, it was real nice.”

Sitting
back in her chair, she looked at the empty platter. They‘d eaten it all. Thinking
of her mother, she felt wistful, and wondered if they were feeling that way
too. Answering, she said, “It was good wasn’t it? I’m stuffed though, I
shouldn’t have eaten so much, but I was really hungry this morning, and it
sounded good. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“If
you were hungry this morning, why didn’t you eat?” Jake asked with irritation.

They
would always be protective, she thought, grinning. “I did eat, thanks to
whoever left me the plate of food in the fridge, and now, two helpings of
chicken and dumplings.” She sighed, as she patted her stomach. “I’m afraid I
don’t have room for dessert.”

“What
dessert?” Kris asked, perking up.

“The
cake I made.” she answered, with a smile.

Jake’s
silverware dropped with a clang. Then he asked with a hope filled voice, “What
kind of cake? Boxed or homemade?”

Smiling
widely now, she answered, “Mama’s chocolate cake.”

All
three of her brothers jumped from their chairs, and started tearing the kitchen
apart, looking for the cake. “Where is it Linnie?” Kris demanded.

“Yeah,”
Jake said, turning to look back at her, “we want the cake.” Then jokingly added,
“Tell us where it is, and no one will get hurt.”

She
giggled at their silliness, and noticed her dad was smiling as he watched them.
So they were all feeling it too, she thought. Sitting up, she answered, “Hah!
With the way the three of you are acting, someone’s liable to lose a finger while
the cake’s being cut. Besides, there’s no way any of you could be hungry. You
just ate three batches of dumplings, for heaven’s sake. Not to mention, you all
just destroyed my nice clean kitchen, and I want it put back together. So, when
the kitchen’s clean, and the dishes are done, I might just remember where I put
the cake. In the meantime, I’ll be in the family room.”

“Damn!
She cooks like mom, and now she sounds like her too,” Nik said, to no one
special as he started clearing the table.

Getting
up to leave, her dad took her arm and pulled her down, giving her a kiss on the
cheek. “You done good. Thanks for staying.”

After
hugging him, she headed for the family room. With the nip in the air, she couldn’t
imagine a better way to end this day but by sitting around a cozy fire. As she
knelt in front of the fireplace, Nate came down beside her. Stopping what she
was doing, she looked at him. He reached out and touched her face, caressing
her cheek gently with his thumb.

“I
worried when you slept so long. You doing okay?” he asked.

She
nodded.

So,
she still wasn’t talking, he thought. Taking a deep breath, he asked, “Linnie,
will you talk to me?”

Turning
and working to build the fire, she replied quietly, “I don’t know what to say.”

“How
about we talk about what happened,” he suggested.

“I
don’t need to talk about it,” she answered quickly, as she lit the fire.

He
shook his head. If he wasn’t so torn up about her, he would laugh. This was so
like her. He didn’t know a woman out there who’d let this sleeping dog lie.
They’d want to know every detail and then some, while raking the guy over the
coals. This was one of the reasons he loved her so much, she just wasn’t like
other women. “It’s important we talk about it,” he pushed.

Resisting
him, she responded, “No, not we,
you
,
it’s important that
you
talk about it.”

Well,
hadn’t she just hit the nail on the head? “Okay, when then? When can I talk
with you about this?”

“Not
today.”

“Can
I ask why?”

Answering
him as she built and banked the fire, she explained, “Because today, I woke up
feeling the best I’ve felt in years, and I ran into some friend’s while I was
out shopping and we had a nice visit, then I made one of my family’s favorite
meals, and now we’re about to eat chocolate cake made from my mother’s recipe. I
don’t want to ruin this day by being upset.”

She’d
needed all that, he thought. Honestly, they’d all needed that little bit of
normal. “Fair enough,” he said, and because he felt like he needed something,
anything from her, he asked, “You want me to leave?”

Sitting
back on her heels, she hesitated and answered while staring at the fire, “Only
if you want to.”

“I
don’t want to. I want to stay with you, and hold you, and love you forever.”

Turning
slightly and lifting her eyes to his, she said softly, “Then don’t go.”

Taking
her face in his hands, he kissed her with a passion.

CHAPTER
6

Linnie
woke in Nate’s arms. The night before, they’d eaten cake, and sat by the fire
watching TV to the point they both fell asleep on the couch. He was so warm,
and she was surrounded by him. Turning to him, she snuggled in close against
his chest. Tightening his hold, he dropped a sleepy kiss on the top of her
head. He kissed me, she thought, thinking back on the moment. It was a sweet,
yet passionate kiss, and she’d felt a small frisson of energy, a little leap,
deep inside when his lips touched hers. It’d always been that way with him.
Whenever they’d been apart, her stomach would be all butterflies and knots at
the thought of seeing him again, and when they kissed, she’d get all warm and
syrupy inside, leaving her wanting more of him.

Because
of their closeness, she was certain people, including their families, assumed
they’d been sexually active, but they’d never gone beyond touching and kissing.
It wasn’t because they hadn’t wanted to, it was because it’d been smart at the
time given their ages and the consequences. How smart were they being now, she
wondered. More to the point, how smart was she being? Her heart was telling her
to slow down, while her head was trying to convince her he’d come for her, and
it was okay to throw caution to the wind, or wait, was it the other way around?

Oh
man, they hadn’t even gotten started, and she already needed to slow this train
down. She knew if she gave an inch, they’d go the full mile. Nate’s hand moved
to her chin, and tilted it upwards. He had beautiful eyes, she thought, and in
the dim morning light, she was lost in their sultry color.

“Good
morning,” he said. “I would hope to wake like this every day, with you in my
arms.”

He
had a raspy morning voice, and upon hearing it, she felt a little flip, followed
by a tightening within. Lifting her hand to his chest, he took her under the
arms and pulled her up to face level. There was no escaping him, and honestly, she
didn’t know if she really wanted to. His mouth was on her, on her lips, then
her neck, her shoulder. Gentle, delicate, teasing nibbles, slowly up, and then back
down. He was tantalizing, and she quivered as she gently moved her hands along
his sides and up onto his strong, muscular back. When he came to her ear, his
breath was hot, and his lips determined. She couldn’t stop the sounds that
bubbled up in response to his ministrations.

Trying
to turn her head to give him better access, she couldn’t. Picking her up with
one arm, he had her under him in a moment’s time. Continuing his exploration, he
brushed softly with his lips, rubbed tenderly with his bearded stubble, and she
was about out of her mind from the sensations of erotic delight. Wanting more, and
yet needing it to stop, she turned her face to him and he took her mouth, just
seized it, kissing her long and deep, adding fuel to the fire that had started
between them.

Gasping,
the need for air breaking their kiss, he went back to attending to her ear and
neck. Breathing hard, she was on fire, and couldn’t remember feeling this way,
with such intensity, for a long, long time. Oh boy, if this is what he could do
just by kissing her, then what about when… Oh Lord, she was in trouble, big
trouble. Just then, she heard someone moving around upstairs. He’d heard it
too, because he stopped what he was doing and put his forehead to hers, while
 
he worked to reign in his control.

“We
have to talk. Sooner than later,” he said, while breathing hard. “There’s stuff
that has to be cleared up between us.” More deep breaths. “It’s important,
you’re important, and you have to know what happened. If this goes further
between us, I won’t be able to let you go if you change your mind. I don’t even
know if I could now,” he said, as he moved to lay next to her.

“Hey,”
Jake said, poking his head in the room.

“Your
timing sucks,” Nate growled.

“Yeah,
well so does yours,” Jake answered, as he walked through the room to the
kitchen. “Dad’s up, and will be down any minute, so you might want to quit
mauling his daughter before he walks in. I’d hate for you to have survived Iraq
and Afghanistan, only to meet your maker in Luck, Wisconsin.”

Leaning
in and kissing her on the temple, he asked, “Can I see you later?”

She
shrugged. “Maybe, I’m going to spend the afternoon with your mom working on a
project.”

Pleased
with the knowledge, he nodded and smiled, then kissed her on the lips. Moving
to get up, he answered, “Nice, I like that. Why don’t you go back to bed, get
some more rest before you meet mom.”

“I
might,” she answered, stretching a long stretch as she took advantage of the
extra room on the couch, her shirt ridding up in the process. Pulling it down,
she yawned and rubbed her bare arms.

Groaning
at the sight, he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, while giving
his head a brisk shake. Taking a deep breath, he looked at her and said, “You’re
killing me here.” Grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch, he wrapped it
around her and tucked her in, kissing her once more time before leaving.

**********

Linnie
stood on the front step of Nate’s house, waiting for his mom to answer the
door. For whatever reason, she felt nervous. She couldn’t say why, she just
did. She’d been to Nate’s house so many times in the past, it’d been like her
own, but then everything changed, and— the door opened.

“Linnie,
I’m so happy you’re here. You don’t have to wait, come on in,” Bev said,
becoming misty eyed as Linnie walked into the house. “Oh my, it’s like it was…
Oh never mind me,” she said, with a wave of the hand. “I’m just so happy.
Things haven’t been right for a long time and now, they’re…better,” she
finished with a smile. Then overwhelmed with emotion, she threw her arms around
Linnie and hugged her tight, not letting her go.

Being
there, held in Bev’s arms, was right and strange all at the same time. Linnie
knew she held a special place in the Sanders’s heart, a place she’d always
cherish, as they’d fully expected her to become their daughter. So, it was
understandable they’d have missed her, as much as her own family, had while
she’d been gone. That was the right part. The strange part, was that this was
the first motherly nurturing she’d had, since her mother passed away. It felt good,
and yet it was awkward and a little unsettling, too. Nate’s mom was one of the
nicest people she’d ever known, and they’d always gotten along, but being here with
her now, made Linnie feel the loss of her own mother more than ever.

Taking
notice, Bev asked, “Is everything okay?” When she didn’t answer, Bev pulled her
over to the couch and sat next to her. “I’d hoped this wouldn’t be difficult
for you, but I see that it is. Can I say something to you, something I’ve
wanted to say for a long time?”

Looking
down, Linnie nodded.

“You’re
the daughter I wish I could’ve had, and although I’ll never be your one true
mother, I hope you’ll look upon me as one. No matter what happens, you can
always come to me, you’re not alone.”

Crying,
she was crying again. Weren’t they supposed to be working on a project or some
shit? She hadn’t planned on this today. Man, when was the crying going to end?
She hated crying. Well, at least she wasn’t bawling. Taking the box of tissues
Bev was handing her, she used a couple to wipe away her tears. How had Bev known
that was exactly how she was feeling? Alone. No mom, no sisters, no grandma, no
aunts. Just Jules, and the men in her life. She really needed to get out more. Taking
another tissue, and a deep breath, she looked at Bev and said, “Thank you. I
appreciate that.”

Smiling,
Bev patted her hand and said, “You know, Nate would have a fit if he thought I
upset you.” This caused them both to laugh. “Come on, enough of this. Let’s have
lunch and work on that project. I hope you’re good with computers, because I’m kind
of slow at it, but I’m learning.”

An
hour later, they were joined by Gertie Aker, and Nancy Barnes. They were
putting together a slideshow presentation for the Veteran’s Day program at the public
school. Every year, the students of Luck School put on a program honoring veterans
across the country. It was a tradition, and Linnie remembered it well. Generally,
the student’s printed the names of veteran’s they wished to pay a particular
acknowledgment to, on the program handouts, but this year, the hope was to have
a picture show of those being honored playing at some point during the program.

“Oh,
look at this one,” Gertie said, handing it to Nancy.

“Gosh,
that’s a nice picture, let’s scan that one first.”

“Do
you think we should put some of these smaller ones on one slide?” Bev asked.
“Like, maybe two or three to a slide. We need to leave enough room to add text
boxes though, so we can put in their names.”

Nancy
nodded. “I think that’d be fine.”

“Linnie
and I set up the scanner before you arrived. Thank goodness she was here, because
I’d already forgotten what to plug in where.”

Gertie
reached over and gave Linnie’s hand a squeeze. “Yes, Linnie, we’re so glad to
have you home.”

“Thank
you,” she responded. “It’s been good to be home.”

“Boy,
am I glad to hear that,” Nancy added. “I wasn’t sure how it’d be, with the way
things went five years ago and all.”

“It’s
okay.” Linnie answered, feeling small.

Coming
up behind her, Bev put her hand on Linnie’s shoulder, diverting the
conversation by pointing to the computer screen and saying, “Now don’t we just
click on that to get the scanner to go?”

Linnie
nodded. “Yeah, we just need to put a picture in the scanner,” she answered,
thankful for Bev’s understanding.

“Show
me what to do, and I’ll do it,” Nancy offered, moving to the machine.

They
spent the next several hours scanning and labeling pictures. When they’d come
to the last one, Nancy stood. “Wait, there’s one more. Going to her purse, she
pulled out an envelope and stopped, then just stood there staring at it without
opening it or anything.

Gertie
got up and went to her. “You want me to help you, Nancy?”

Nancy’s
hands trembled as she passed the envelope to Gertie. Bringing it over to the
scanner, Gertie opened the envelope, and placed a photo on the glass. After
hitting scan, a photo popped up of a young man in fatigues holding a gun. From
the looks of it, it had to be Nancy’s son. Opening the lid, Gertie took the
photo out and placed it back in the envelope, then walked it over to Nancy.

“It’s
still hard isn’t it?” she asked, giving Nancy a squeeze.

Nancy
nodded. “I always thought that since he’d made it home from the war, everything
would be alright, but it wasn’t. He was never the same. The war never ended for
him, and with his coming home, the war’d just begun for us. I miss him so
much.”

“I
know you do,” Gertie said, “and he loved you, as much as you loved him.”

Smiling
a wobbly smile, Nancy reached out and gave Gertie a hug. “Thank you for
reminding me of that. I sometimes forget. I better get going, Bob will be home
soon,” she answered, as she grabbed her coat. “Thank you, Bev, Linnie, it was a
nice day.”

“Call
me if you need to talk,” Gertie added quickly.

Nancy
nodded, then walked out the door.

Turning
back to them, Gertie said, “Well, I better go too. Is there anything I can do
to help clean up?”

“No,
were fine,” Bev answered, with a little shake of her head. “Thank you for
coming. With all your help it’s mostly finished.”

“I
can’t wait, I think we did our boys proud,” Gertie added, as she gave Bev a hug,
and Linnie’s hand a squeeze. “Linnie, it was so good to see you. I hope you’ll want
to stay a while.” Then she was gone.

What
just happened? Linnie wondered. Then looking at Bev, she asked, “Is this Nancy’s
son?”

Bev
nodded, as she began straightening things up. “Yes, he came home from Viet Nam
with severe combat trauma, PTSD, shell shock, whatever you want to call it. He
struggled several years, and then one day, he ended his life. Gertie’s fiancé
was killed while at war. This project is very important to the two of them.
Wait here a moment.”

Bev
returned carrying some photos. Placing one in the scanner, Linnie hit scan, and
up popped a photo of Nate. Looking at it, she was conflicted. She felt an
overwhelming sense of pride, that moved her to the point of tears, and yet she
was worried, really worried. Jake had indicated that morning that Nate had been
to Iraq and Afghanistan. Would he suffer like Nancy’s son had? Did he suffer
now? She could barely breathe for the thought of it. Here she’d been so caught
up in her own drama, she hadn’t thought about him. Is this some of what he
wanted to talk about? Did he need to talk about—they really needed to talk.

Studying
the photo, she noted it was like a portrait, and he was wearing his official
uniform, but there was another Bev handed her, a candid snapshot. In it, Nate
was dressed in fatigues, and was crouched down low with his cheek up against
the side of a huge, scary looking gun. He was loaded down with a huge pack on
his back, and another on his front, both bursting at the seams. She didn’t know
how he could’ve possibly moved, let alone hold and aim a gun. On his head was a
helmet, outfitted with what looked like some high tech binoculars, and his
thighs had bands strapped around them holding more stuff within hands reach, as
did the many pockets on his pants. Turning it over, it was simply labeled
Sergeant Sanders
. Linnie took a deep
breath, not realizing she’d been holding it, then she shivered, unable to stop
the tremble.