Here And Now (American Valor 2) (25 page)

Chapter Twenty-Five

L
UCKY CHECKED HIS
reflection in the mirror one last time, still finding it odd to see a clean-shaven face staring back at him. Over the past twelve weeks he’d been at Fort Benning, he hadn’t heard much from Rachel. They exchanged text messages here and there, but never really finding the rhythm of conversation since their schedules kept them from replying. And now a part of him regretted reenlisting.

How did he end up in this place, so very lost and alone?

He’d never been a guy who questioned his decisions before. He made life and death decisions all the time and never once second-guessed himself. And yet, that was all he seemed to do lately.

Six months ago he believed the right thing to do was follow his dreams to become a doctor and leave the military. And then when everything went to hell in a handbasket back home, he was certain returning to regiment was the right decision. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Rachel was the thing missing from his life all along.

And now she was carrying his baby but choosing to stay there. And he was here. He was going to end up like his mother, an absentee parent who only saw his kid on birthdays or holidays.

The thought twisted in his gut.

“That’s it,” he said to himself. “No more fucking around.”

He had to do whatever was absolutely necessary to win Rachel over. After graduation finished, he had a four-day leave and he intended to make the most of it. It was a twelve-hour drive to Durant with a twelve-hour return trip to catch the bus to Hunter Army Airfield first thing Monday morning. Which meant if he went with a minimum amount of sleep over the next four days, he had about sixty hours to convince that stubborn redhead he was madly in love with to marry him.

So no more Mister Nice Guy. No more waiting for her to come around to the idea. This time, if he needed to, he’d pack her bags, duct tape her into the front seat of his Jeep, and drive her back to Georgia kicking and screaming. Because one thing was for certain, he would not leave Oklahoma without her this time.

An hour later Lucky was standing on the stage of Marshall Auditorium with sixty-four of his fellow RASP graduates, most of them the same age as the kids he attended college with. Partway through the ceremony, even though he told his dad not to come, he realized he was searching the crowd for a familiar face. More specifically, a flash of fiery red hair. But if his dad wasn’t here, it was likely she wouldn’t be either, because he couldn’t imagine she’d get on a plane and fly here all by herself.

Once they donned their tan berets and the ceremony was complete, they filed offstage, in line but out of step. He was itching to get out of there in a hurry, but a few of his classmates wanted to introduce him to their families. Finally, having made his way out of the auditorium, through the large crowds of friends and family gathered outside, he reached the main road and broke into a trot, headed for Oklahoma and her.

T
HIRTEEN MILES BET
WEEN
the Columbus, Georgia, airport and Fort Benning and Rachel managed to get lost along the way, arriving just before the ceremony started. Which meant she was seated all the way in the back. Which was good because she was close to the bathrooms. It was also bad because she couldn’t make out any of the faces onstage.

She made it through most of the ceremony until the baby started tap-dancing on her bladder. But when she returned from the bathroom, the Rangers were scattering in every direction and she worried she’d never find him. They all looked the same with their camouflaged uniforms and tan berets and clean-cut faces. Not one scruffy beard in the bunch.

Immediately, she made her way out to the sidewalk where the crowds were thinner, hoping he’d pass by her or at least she’d be able to spot him easier. She was holding up one hand, shading her eyes from the afternoon sun, when she noticed what looked to be a uniformed man in a sea of kids. She watched as he pushed his way through the crowd before he broke into a jog headed in the opposite direction. And the moment she saw him in motion, she knew without a doubt it was Lucky.

Okay, so she was like seventy-five percent certain because it’d been a while. But either way, she’d never be able to catch up to him.

“Lucky!” She didn’t think anything of it when she yelled his name, but now a hundred sets of eyes were trained on her. Of course the man whose attention she was trying to get didn’t turn around, so she was forced to yell again. And louder this time. “Lucky James!”

This time the man in question slowed, then stopped and cautiously turned around. He was far enough away she still wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but he was walking toward her now. That had to be a good sign. So she walked toward him and they met somewhere in the middle.

He looked so different, but the same. His hair was definitely shorter. And the heavy scruff that used to tickle her skin was gone.

“Sorry I missed you when you came offstage. I had to use the restroom.”

She smiled as she said it, but Lucky stared at her, a blank expression on his face. She felt her smile slipping and suddenly she wondered why she’d come all this way. Because he certainly did not look happy to see her. “Congratulations on your graduation.”

Still not even a hint of a smile.

“How did you get here?” he finally asked.

“I flew. Your dad was nice enough to drive me to Dallas.” He nodded as if it all made sense. “I caught a plane to Atlanta and then to Columbus. Which is really crazy when you think about it because we flew over Columbus only to backtrack to it. What I don’t understand is why we didn’t just stop along the way. Anyhoo, I rode my first plane today. Two planes actually. And then I rented a car at the airport and drove here. I got a little lost and tried to turn in at one gate but they had barricades and stuff and they told me I couldn’t enter there so I had to turn around and go over to this other . . .”

He looked at her like she’d lost her damn mind. Having heard the rambling explanation that just came out of her mouth and the way her hands were flapping in midair, she couldn’t really blame him for looking at her that way. She blamed pregnancy brain. And nerves.

“So . . . you must be wondering what I’m doing here.”

Lucky still didn’t say anything. Just folded his arms over his chest and the stance made him look more imposing, bigger somehow.

“Did you grow?” The words flew out of her mouth before she could stop them. Dammit. She was really losing it now. “You look taller . . . than I . . . remember.”

At least that made him smile. Not that panty-melting grin she’d fallen for, but at least one corner of his mouth raised up a bit revealing, much to her surprise, a hint of dimple in his clean-shaven cheek.

“It’s the boots. And the beret.”

God, she’d missed the sound of his voice.

“But it’s not just the uniform.” He was leaner, stronger. She could see it in his face, his hands. She stepped closer to him now, unable to keep from touching him. “You’ve lost weight.” She placed her hand on one of his and was surprised when he turned his hand over and curled his fingers around hers.

“About twenty pounds or so.”

No wonder. He didn’t have twenty pounds to lose when he left eight weeks ago. “Brenda wouldn’t like to hear that. You better not tell her or she’ll send you a dozen lasagnas.”

His smile was bigger now as he lifted his hand to touch her hair, running a long strand between his fingers. “Your hair is longer.”

“It’s the prenatal vitamins.”

Just as he’d done so many times before, he skimmed his palm across her jaw, cradling her cheek, his fingertips tangling in the hair around her ear. He tipped her face upward to meet his gaze. “How are you feeling? How’s everything with the baby?”

“I’m good. We’re both good.”

She’d be happy to just stand here and look at him, and have him look at her and touch her.

“Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”

He dropped his hand from her face, released her fingers from his other hand, and took a step back.

She was too late. He’d changed his mind.

Her stomach twisted into knots, fearing her mother’s words were coming to fruition, that men didn’t keep their promises to women like them. But she’d come this far. She refused to give up without a fight. Her baby deserved better. She deserved better.

Rachel cleared her throat as she tried to find the words she’d spent the past eight hours rehearsing. “I’m here because I wanted to see you and I hoped you wanted to see me, too. I got used to you being around all the time and then you were just gone. And I missed you.”

He folded his arms over his chest a second time and added a little scowl to his face for good measure. “I emailed. I texted. I called when I could.”

“I know. I guess it’s safe to assume you’re mad at me.”

“Twelve weeks of radio silence from you, Rachel.”

“I thanked you for the couch.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right. You sent a picture of the couch and said how much you loved it.”

She’d wanted to say she loved
him
, but she didn’t think telling him in a text message or email was the right way to do it.

“Okay. I get why that would upset you.” She stared down at his booted feet, unable to look him in the eyes. “But I wasn’t sure what to say to you. Everything happened so fast between us. It feels like we went from arguing about who hit who in the hospital parking lot to having a baby in the blink of an eye. I was trying to straighten my life out. And I almost made it. I was standing on my own two feet, living on my own, paying my own bills, and next thing I know, my dad isn’t my dad, you’ve reenlisted, and I’m pregnant.” She looked back up at those dark eyes staring back at her. “Then you’re standing in front of me with a ring proposing marriage and I panicked.

“I got your messages. And emails. And texts. I’ve saved them all and read or listened to them a hundred times a day.” She held her hands in front of her belly in an attempt to keep them contained and not flailing about. “And before you left you said you probably wouldn’t have time to talk and I didn’t want to bother you. Because I knew this was important and I didn’t want to do anything to screw it all up and get you in trouble with your CO.”

He raised a brow and for a moment she thought he was amused, but then she blinked and his face was back to that same unreadable expression. “My CO?”

“Your commanding officer? Is that not what they call it?” One of her hands broke free and started waving madly in the air. “I’ve been reading up on these army wives blogs and trying to learn the lingo and everything in case I decided to come with you. But now I’m here and you don’t look happy at all to see me and maybe it’s for the best anyway, because I don’t think I’d make a very good army wife.

“Oh, hell,” she said, throwing both hands in the air. “I probably won’t be a very good mother either considering the job my parents did. But I’d hoped to be a good mother. And I thought I might not be the most terrible of wives, but I see that you’re not happy and I’ve completely and totally screwed up everything.”

Lucky shook his head. “That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

She couldn’t stand this space between them, so she took a step closer to him. “Because I wanted to know if you still loved me. If you still wanted me to be your wife.”

“Why does that matter?”

She took another step and then another, until her hands rested on his arms and she was looking into those deep dark eyes. “Because I love you, okay? I love you so much it hurts. I thought if you went away, the feeling would go away. But it didn’t. It just got worse and worse. And I’ve realized I want to be with you wherever you are.”

His hands came up to cradle her face. “Say it again.”

She couldn’t help but smile, and when she did, he smiled back at her. Not the little half smile, but the full-blown panty-melting smile. She raised up on her toes and whispered against his lips, “I love you.”

Lucky wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground. “It’s about damn time, Shortcake.”

F
OR A MOMENT,
Lucky had forgotten where they were as he kissed Rachel right there in front of God, his fellow Rangers, and everybody. At least until the loud whistles and clapping began.

“Where’s your rental car?” he asked as he lowered her to the ground and tried to ignore the fact that several cell phones had been pointed in their direction.

“I’m in the visitors’ lot.”

Lucky took her by the hand and began towing her down the street. “Have you booked a hotel room?”

“Your dad reserved me a room at the Holiday Inn. The directions are in my car.”

Earlier he thought he’d be on the road to Oklahoma by now. And that he’d be fortunate to spend sixty hours with her. But now . . . oh . . . the possibilities.

“Lucky.”

Admittedly, he ignored her pleas, knowing they were walking at a pretty good clip. But there would be no stopping. His central focus was to get her to that hotel room where they could have four full days together. He wouldn’t be able to make up for the twelve weeks they were apart, but he’d give it a good, solid effort.

“Lucky!” Rachel tugged her hand free from his.

Now he turned around to see her standing there with one hand low on her belly, the other on her chest.

Shit.

“What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

“You take one step for every two of mine,” she said, waving one hand in the air. “I’m practically at a full sprint here and I can’t keep up.”

He placed both hands on her waist and bent at the knees, bringing his face level to hers. “You’re okay, then? No pain?”

“I’m fine. It’s just . . .” That little crease appeared between her brows and she balled up her delicate hand into a fist and punched him in the shoulder. “You know how much I hate running!” Lucky laughed and she punched him a second time. “It’s not funny!”

But it
was
funny. And it only reinforced how much he had missed her.

“Well, then, I’ve got an easy fix.”

Rachel squealed as Lucky scooped her up in his arms and started jogging through the parking lot, much to the delight of his fellow Rangers and their families. Once again, the cell phones were up and capturing the entire scene. He wouldn’t be surprised if the video was uploaded to YouTube by the time they reached the hotel.